Issue No. 28Week ending Sunday, July 12, 2026648 episodes · 2854 articles
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5.6 Stories, Meta Bull Case, Phia Affiliate Drama, Movies and Mansions

With John Coogan, Jordi Hays · Sunday, July 12, 2026
Also discussed: Daniel Ten Riro, Alex Wang and Trace Cohen

This episode covers SK Hynix's massive IPO and its impact on the AI memory market, the controversy surrounding OpenAI's GPT 5.6 Soul desktop app, and Meta's aggressive AI investment strategy. It also delves into allegations of affiliate marketing fraud against Phoebe Gates' company FIA and the burgeoning trend of Hollywood adapting internet horror memes into films.

Key takeaways

  • Costco's business model has quietly minted "thousands of employee-millionaires" through its generous pay, benefits, and robust 401k program, a direct result of founders' belief in high employee value. Read more →
  • Phoebe Gates’ shopping app, FIA, is under investigation by Bloomberg and other researchers for alleged 'fake clicks' or 'cookie stuffing' in its affiliate marketing practices. Read more →
  • Hollywood studios are now signing multi-million dollar deals for internet-native horror memes, exemplified by Warner Brothers buying the rights to Trevor Henderson's "Siren Head" for over $1 million. Read more →
  • Reality dating show 'Love Island' has become an unexpectedly powerful user acquisition channel for prediction markets, generating $52 million in trades. Read more →
  • Meta's aggressive AI investment is a calculated move by Mark Zuckerberg to avoid paying a "30% tax" to platform owners like Apple, securing Meta's control over its future. This echoes their earlier failure to create their own hardware platform during the mobile shift. Read more →

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