Every Friday
Five years out of school and it still feels like we’re prepping for the fall semester.
Bieber is back. Outdoor Voices is doing things again 👀. Back-to-school ads are running, and we’re trying to lock in the last of our summer plans. Five years out of school and it still feels like we’re prepping for the fall semester.
We’ve got lake trips on the calendar, late-summer weddings on the horizon, a last-minute Cape Cod escape before a new job starts, and a few more months of sweltering Nashville heat for the Tennesseans in the crew.
We’ll keep you in the loop as we soak up what’s left and coast into the season shift. Cheers to the final stretch.
You will never touch the hearts of others, if it does not emerge from your own.
— Alex Karp
Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.
— André Gide
Top of Mind
America Won’t Exist If We Can’t Build Things (The Free Press)
The U.S. is still a global powerhouse in technical talent and software. But the generational degradation of manufacturing talent means that most of our industrial base lies with a small handful of patriots who still know how to make things. The rest of the country is forgetting how.
We in the United States are staunchly located in what Peter Thiel has called the world of bits. Our ability to build things in the real world on our own shores has declined significantly in the last fifty years. As Chris Power says in the article, the U.S. is still the place to be for bleeding edge tech and software, but our world of atoms, as Thiel puts it, is seriously lacking. We’ve left the atoms behind and traded them for the bits on our screens.’
Silicon Valley’s Elite Descend on D.C. to Celebrate Trump’s AI Action Plan (Fortune)
Donald Trump’s ongoing alliance (and dependence) on Silicon Valley CEOs and VCs was on full display at the launch of his administration’s AI Action Plan - unveiled via a live event-slash-new media blitz called “Winning the AI Race” (co-hosted by the All-In podcast crew.)
The event blended tech-world bravado with some actual policy substance. The VP dropped in to tout deregulation (despite recent bipartisan support for repealing the 10-year ban on state-level AI rules via the “big, beautiful bill”). TL;DR: The White House wants to:
Loosen regulations to accelerate AI development
Expand infrastructure (think: data centers and energy supply)
Tighten export controls to curb China’s access to U.S. AI tools
Craft a cohesive international AI diplomacy and defense strategy
Best of Substack this Week
Mr. Flood’s city guides do not miss.
11's: A No-Reservation Weekend In Chicago -
I (James) have a couple weeks off before I start my new gig and this article about his trip to Iceland is making me want to book a flight. - Feasting at the Edge of the World -
ICYMI: Happy Hour Edition
I mean this just seems bad: Your body can be fingerprinted and tracked using Wi-Fi signals.
Elon bringing back Vine but AI? Does it need to be AI?..
SoftBank and OpenAI’s $500 Billion AI Project Struggles to Get Off Ground 👇🏻
This week in Relay’s shopping cart
Agua Mágica' Cabana - Tombolo, Jack
There must be something in the air for Tombolo… I finally sprung for this set I’ve been eyeing for weeks the other day (and may or may not have also included the Whaler top that James mentioned last week).
‘New York Workwear Jersey T-Shirt’ - Randy’s Garments, James
If you’re on the market for some basics to replace your Carhartt t-shirts, this workwear tee from Randy’s Garments should be on the list.
It’s Not That Deep, Randy
Thanks for reading — or for mega scrolling all the way down here.
The internet is an overwhelming mess of headlines, ads, and mid takes from the worst people you know. Big Tech owns our attention spans. Everything is content. Nothing makes sense.
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Anotha one
There is NOTHING in the world that compares to the first few summers post college