Suburban Moms Gobbling Psychedelics Like Candy, Online Betting Markets BETTER Predicitors Than Political Polls?!, The STRANGEST--Stranger Things Spinoff(The Five for 10/25/24)
Plus, fast food giant launches streaming app focused on reality shows for kids. Yellowstone prepares to end. The John Wick Universe expands.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter, but don’t always make the front page.
One note…I’m wrapping this edition up on Thursday, so I won’t be commenting on the Trump/Joe Rogan episode that’s set to drop on Friday. I’m sure the internet will be aflame, so you’ll be able to find all the hot takes you want.
With that being said, let’s get into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
While the polls between Trump and Harris are currently neck-and-neck, the betting markets tell a different story. When people put their own money down on what will happen, The Donald is absolutely crushing.
Anthony “Pomp” Pompalino, one of the most respected journalists in the Crypto space (which I realize will take his credibility to ZERO with part of the audience) thinks that, in the near future, betting markets will actually REPLACE flawed political polling:
Prediction markets seem to be creating a new data point in the market about the U S election. Here's the thing though. If the prediction markets end up being right. This could mark the beginning of the end for political polls. Why is that important? Because prediction markets are another example of free markets, disrupting incumbent traditions dominated by academia and bureaucracy.
Bitcoin is the free market solution to money. Prediction markets are the free market solution to politics. There will be many more. Now that, now that the technology is available and an entire generation has grown up with free market products, we should expect technologists to continue building these systems to take on the incumbents, regardless of whether you use Bitcoin or prediction markets.
It's important to understand that free market products are good for the general population, more information, less manipulation. Welcome to the future.
Obviously, whether or not this is correct…will be revealed in less than two weeks.
While I’m mildly supportive of gambling being legal, that doesn’t mean I would advise you to go gamble. I place on bet per year, on the UFC fight that always falls the week of my birthday. It’s a fun tradition, and then I’m done.
Gambling addiction is getting worse and worse each month as state laws around it are becoming more permissive. If you or someone you love struggles in this area, find resources and in-person groups in your specific state here.
If you’re reading this in Missouri, I would encourage you to vote no on Amendment 2…sports betting will be legal in MO one way or another, but we don’t need to put gambling in the state’s Constitution.
[two]
I’m a pretty big fan of Saturday Night Live, historically…and I would say that Season 50 (possibly the last) has returned the famous sketch show back to (mostly) essential viewing after a half decade of duds.
But SNL went too far on weekend update when a new cast member claimed Jihadists haven’t embraced “rights for women and gays” because they are "too busy getting bombed."
In reality, PhD student Sana Ebrahimi just pointed this out:
Iran isn’t getting bombed by any foreign countries, but don’t worry, the Islamic Republic is still busy executing gay people and kidnapping, arresting, torturing, and killing women for daring to show a strand of hair and an improper head covering. So F*** SNL. The photo is a real photo of the public execution of two gay men in Iran.
The photo Sana shared with the post is disturbing…and allegedly shows two day Iranians executed via hanging. Click here if you want to see it…but you have been warned.
[three]
…and speaking of Entertainment being out of step…the celebrities are not alright.
With less than two weeks to go to the election, there are so many swing-and-a-miss moments happening. Ben Stiller (who’s last hit movie as an actor released in 2008 with Tropic Thunder) and Andy Cohen (yeah, I didn’t know who that was either—apparently he produces the Real Housewives reality shows) appeared in a video with Doug Emhoff (who brings a LOT of baggage to the ticket) and Kamala’s stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff…
Ella: What do I love about being a girl dad?
Cohen: I love how much smarter she is than all the guys in the room already. I can tell that she's going to be a powerhouse. She is already at two and a half. My daughter's twenty two and a half is a feminist, incredibly strong, and has, uh, really, uh, I just inspired me in so many ways.
Who is this…for exactly? Who are they trying to convince? What does Andy Cohen’s toddler have to do with the election?
Meanwhile, Jennifer Garner, who’s last starring role (Juno) in a hit film released six months after the iPhone 1 (2007), also thinks you will vote for Harris…because Jennifer Garner exists.
I'm Jen Garner and I'm Gwen Walz. I'm co starring Gwen Walz. It's the Jen and Gwen. We're here in Nevada and like Nevada, many states are starting early voting today. So we have been all over Nevada here rallying people to get to the polls and vote and lots of states are starting to vote and so we encourage you to make a plan, get there, if you don't know where to go, go to IWillVote.
com. Very good and we'll be coming to a state near you. Yes! Woohoo! Get out the vote! Get out the vote! Let's win!
Same questions…who is this speaking to?! Who is this persuading?!
Obama was once the epitome of cool in American pop culture, with his Miles Davis style slim cut suits, singing Al Green and name dropping Lil Wayne and LeBron in a way that felt natural. But the 44th POTUS tried to rap Eminem’s Lose Yourself after being introduced by the Detroit rapper…and it was so bad the moment has already become a meme.
During Obama’s first run, Democrats OWNED cool. Jeezy and Nas were two of the biggest artists in the world at the time, and paired up for “My President is Black.”
Jeezy brought fun and optimism to the ‘08 election, where Ben Stiller and Jennifer Garner just bring…a sense of scolding, dourness and obligation.
Now, Democrats self-own with the “how do you do fellow kids” meme.
Meanwhile, J.D. Vance, the guy who was labeled “weird” by the press back in June, is creating viral moments left and right.
Vance got pretty personal about loving his drug-addicted mom with Comedian Theo Vonn, but also found time to laugh during an otherwise serious subject.
Vonn: I don't know if I'd be sober if this stuff weren't killing people, to be honest with you. I know that's sad to say, but that keeps me out of the risk of it. This is ridiculous to say, you can't even do cocaine in this country anymore [without risking Fentanyl poisoning].
Vance: [Laughing] I'm going to steal that line after the election though. And I know we had to win first. It's unfortunate.
The difference here…Vance is having fun. The endorsing b-list celebs are not.
It’s entirely possible the Democrats just chose the wrong allies this time around. The power actors and musicians held circa 2008 has now shifted to podcasters, content creators and comedians.
The cool kids from ‘08 aren’t that cool anymore. In fact, they’re 50something out of work actors. And when they try to be cool, it makes the Harris/Walz campaign look hopelessly out of date.
[four]
“Mushroom Mommies” is the new trend of suburban women regularly taking hallucinogens…and it may have a VERY dark side.
The Free Press reports:
Picture the platonic ideal of the millennial woman, and you’re probably thinking of someone like Rachel.
At 42, she has enviably unblemished skin and a nose piercing—nostril, not septum—in which she sports a delicate gold hoop. She’s been married for nearly two decades to her college sweetheart, with whom she has three kids under the age of 13. She worked for 10 years in the healthcare industry, before becoming a full-time mom. She rides a Peloton every morning, attends PTA meetings in the afternoons, and in her spare time, knits gorgeous, understated sweaters that look like the kind of garment Gwyneth Paltrow would wear on a trip to the Scottish Highlands.
But Rachel also has another hobby, one that makes her a bit different from the other moms in her Texas suburb—not that she talks about it with them. Once a month or so, after she and her husband put the kids to bed, Rachel texts her in-laws—who live just down the street—to make sure they’re home and available in the event of an emergency.
And then, Rachel takes a generous dose of magic mushrooms, or sometimes MDMA, and—there’s really no other way to say this— spends the next several hours tripping balls.
“Everything feels incredible. Everything tastes incredible. All your sensory experiences are really intense. Sex is incredible as well,” she told me. “If you take MDMA with a partner, it feels almost like you can accomplish what you would in, like, five years of couples counseling, in a night.”
In American popular culture, psychedelic drugs are probably best known as recreational substances beloved by the sort of dreadlock-sporting, patchouli-marinated, camper van–dweller who takes sound baths instead of actual baths and just wants to free his mind, man. But their use has sharply risen in the last decade or so; one study published in July 2024 found that the percentage of adults aged 35 to 50 who had used hallucinogens within the past year was seven times what it was in 2014. And it’s not just hippies driving the trend.
Celebrities of all stripes—from Mike Tyson to Miley Cyrus—have gone public about their love of psychedelics; Prince Harry’s memoir describes how he used them to cope with his mother’s death. And in the tech community, where optimization-obsessed men are always trying to live better through chemistry, microdosing has become a ubiquitous practice; a 2023 Wall Street Journal article called psychedelics “The Drugs that Power Silicon Valley.”
But beyond tech bros and their Hollywood neighbors, there is a less-vocal cohort of psychedelic users: high-achieving women who use these drugs as a form of self-care.
To provide both sides of the story here…yes, there are potential therapeutic uses of these substances. Early research shows them to be particularly effective for combat soldiers struggling with PTSD.
On the flip side, a guy I played high school sports with blew his brains out with a shotgun while taking hallucinogens…likely by accident. And bad drug trips can randomly return as flashbacks…i.e. when Ms. Mushroom Mommy from the above story doesn’t have her in-laws around to watch the kids.
There’s no doubt that a lot of people experiment with psychedelics at some point in their lives (although I am sure not one of them—and never will be), but there’s a chasm sized gap between some thing you did in college and going into an altered state every other Tuesday night as an adult with responsibilities.
And even if you’re not shooting yourself in the head fending off imaginary spiders or something, death can come from Dehydration or Hyperthermia (the body getting too hot), cardiovascular strain, or just good old fashioned poisoning from Fentanyl being mixed in to save the drug dealer a couple bucks.
Tragically, this trend will probably continue until we see enough affluent kids in the suburbs orphaned from it to make the Mushroom Mommies think twice about having their Living Room Woodstock a couple times a month.
[five]
As always, let’s head into the weekend with a Pop Culture Roundup:
MOVIES: The first feature from director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker) is now running the struggling DC Universe…before he kicks things off with a live Superman movie in 2025, Gunn is releasing the uber-violent animated feature Creature Commandos, directly to HBO Max on 12/5 (trailer). The Hugh Grant led horror movie Heretic will feature blueberry pie scent released into the theater during one pivotal scene in the film…at select theaters (trailer). John Wick director Chad Stahelski says he has ideas for John Wick 5, as well as spinoff films featuring Halle Berry and Donnie Yen reprising their roles. The first reactions to Gladiator II are that isn’t not as good as the first film, but wildly entertaining. Angelina Jolie returns to acting after a three year break with Maria, the biopic of one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century (trailer).
TV: HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series will be “more in depth” and true to the books than the films. A stack of failed projects have recently died on the vine for not being faithful to the source material (Netflix’s The Witcher and HALO on Paramount+ come to mind) may have influenced that decision. If you’re a fan of Steven King, his novel Carrie is being developed as a show for Prime Video.
STREAMING: Fast food giant Chick-Fil-A is getting into family-friendly TV shows. We’ll see what happens with that on 11/18.
STRANGE (LITERALLY): I figured there would be a Stranger Things spinoff or two…but not on Broadway. Stranger Things: The First Shadow opens on Broadway in April of 2025.
Ugh. The problem of the long layoff. The last time Yellowstone was on TV it was…December 2022. I don’t even remember who some of these people are…but hey, I’ll show back up to watch Beth Dutton wreck people one last time…returning in November
The comeback of Ke Huy Quan has been something to behold. The actor struck gold as a kid with high profile roles in Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but wasn’t seen much after 1985…until he was nominated for an Oscar in the sci-fi flick Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Now, he’s reviving the 90’s Jackie Chan Kung Fu playbook in Love Hurts, in which an assassin becomes a mild mannered real estate agent, only to get sucked back into his old life...
Goosebumps was hated on throughout the 90’s as Millennials (such as myself) gobbled them up at school book fairs. The series clearly relied heavily on ghost writers, as author R.L. Stine dropped up to 12 novels per year from 1992-1998, which teachers tended to equate with a lack of quality.
However, just because something is ghost written doesn’t mean it’s poorly written. I remember the books pretty fondly, and it’s nice to see the horror-lite fare being adapted for some family-friendly scares.
[new music]
You probably haven’t heard of 23-year-old Wyatt Flores.
Here’s the thing—he’s probably the next Zach Bryan and, in my opinion, just released the best country album of 2024. And it’s his debut.
Do not sleep on this one. We may be looking at the next Jason Isbell.
[read & learn]
Gary Vaynerchuk is prolific on the internet…and some people hate him for it. An early adopter of social media for business and brand…his latest is an essential business book of 2024. (Amazon | Barnes & Noble).
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Podcasts | Pocket Casts
If you’re active on Twitter, you probably know who Gad Saad is. If you need an intro—he’s a Lebanese Jew who’s family bribed the PLO (yes, the Palestinian Liberation Organization) to smuggle them to Canada.
Gad’s take on the on how the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) maps onto current trends in the U.S. is fascinating. And scary. And worth your time.
Until the next one,
-sth