What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
Story 01What We Are Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
Story 02You Probably Need A Haircut: The Dawn of Virtual Barbers
Story 03How To Ask Your Auto Insurance Company For A Refund
Story 04NatGeo and the Smithsonian Offer Help For Homeschooling
Story 05Why We All Need To Rethink The Term "Media"Even More Stories
What We Are Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
Toilet paper is gone in most stores and it's because of panic buying consumers, right? Maybe not, as this fascinating article points out. The real reason may actually be because the market is split into commercial and consumer toilet paper and the processes for making both are very different. So when people stop "going" at work and restaurants and instead use their bathrooms at home more often, the industry is left with too much of one type of toilet paper and not enough of the other. In other words, it's a supply chain issue and not consumer irrationality. And as the article notes, this same problem may affect other household goods like bananas and alcohol too.
You Probably Need A Haircut: The Dawn of Virtual Barbers
When was the last time you got a haircut? For many of us, it's getting to be about that time when we might usually have gone ... but now barber shops are closed. Now there's a new service called "You Probably Need a Haircut" where you can pay for a virtual chat with a barber to help you get a haircut at home. While the site seems to also offer help to people cutting their own hair, hopefully you can find someone to cut yours for you ...
How To Ask Your Auto Insurance Company For A Refund
Aside from all the empty roads, there's another benefit of the fact that less people are driving: no automobile accidents. And while that's awesome for humanity, it's also great for auto insurers who are getting paid premiums, without having to pay new claims. This week, two of them proactively offered customers refunds. If yours hasn't done the same, it may be the right time to call them and ask for money back. How's that for an idea to make some income during lockdown?
NatGeo and the Smithsonian Offer Help For Homeschooling
The plight of shuttered museums has been covered widely in arts media, but one upside of the closure of museums right now is the long-awaited chance for many of them to refocus on their digital initiatives. The Air and Space Museum has a combination of Facebook Live chats, 3D exhibits and podcasts. On TV, the Smithsonian Channel has a range of content and is offering 2 months free (Code: BRIGHTERTOGETHER). National Geographic is similarly focusing on digital learning programs.
Why We All Need To Rethink The Term "Media"
There is a plague on journalism right now and it's the idea that entertainers who share their opinions about current affairs should be given the same credibility as trained journalists. This is a frustration that I share with my friend Sree Sreenivasan and that he explores brilliantly in this essay about rethinking the term "media" that you need to read. Like Sree, I trust journalists and the work that they do. Unfortunately, they seem to be making up a smaller and smaller percentage of what is commonly described as the media.
