Sunday Soup: Colbert, Car Dealers, Potatoes, High-Energy Lasers, U.S. History
These are the articles, streaming ideas, and books that caught our attention this week.
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While we made moves with the Pro Portfolio and did co-hosting duties with Yahoo! Finance this week, our travels between New York and DC led to the discovery of some interesting articles, streaming content, and a new book.
Potatoes may be the better way to go instead of French fries? Say it ain’t so. Laser weapons, prepping for high-stakes conversations, and what to contemplate with dealers when buying a car.
We’ve heard about how athletes use self-talk to amp up their performance, but Jonathan Adler explains how we tell our stories in ways to enhance our well-being. Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss the pending cancellation of The Late Show on CBS, and we share a new book that will refresh your knowledge of key events in US history.
If you have a recommendation to share, we’d love to hear about it in the Comments section below.
Now enjoy this latest offering of Sunday Soup.
Articles 📰
Why Armies Are Using Laser Weapons to Zap Things Out of the Sky
"Armies have dreamt of firing laser weapons for a long time. A lab funded by America’s Defence Department demonstrated one in 1960. But decades of development failed to produce a practical weapon, and the ambition waned. Now it is back. Last year America reportedly used a high-energy laser (HEL) to down drones aimed at its forces in the Middle East. Israel and Russia have both recently used HELs to foil drone attacks. Ukraine may soon do the same. Why are laser weapons suddenly useful? And what role could they play in future wars?"
The Worst Things to Say to Someone With Anxiety—And What to Say Instead
"If you want to stay on an anxious person’s good side, don’t tell them to calm down. It’s infuriating in part because it minimizes their experience and implies they have control over something that’s largely involuntary. 'I’ve never met an anxious person who hasn't tried every trick in their tool box to decrease their symptoms of anxiety,' says Leah Riddel, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who has anxiety. 'No one wants to have a racing heartbeat or be sweating everywhere and shaking, with an upset stomach and racing thoughts.'"
The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation
"Before commercial pilots push back from the gate, they complete a comprehensive preflight check to verify that every system functions correctly during the journey ahead. Before surgeons make the first incision, they conduct a safety check, confirming patient identity, procedure details, and equipment readiness. Before software engineers ship new code, they check for bugs and vulnerabilities. Yet when business leaders approach their most consequential conversations—those make-or-break negotiations, difficult performance discussions, or strategic decision-making sessions—they too often dive in without the right mental preparation. This oversight can be costly…"
The Business Traveler of Today Is Changing—and So Is Their Flight Map
"'Most of my work starts in Lagos, but it doesn’t stay there for long,' says Anita Ashiru. She’s one of the sole production designers working in Nigeria, where her team builds multi-scale sets and stage designs for the country’s booming Afrobeats industry. Requests often come at a whim for work; Ashiru might be called abroad by the likes of frequent collaborator Davido, a Nigerian-American singer-songwriter who frequently shoots music videos in South Africa."
Why Dealers Don’t Understand Buyers’ Needs
"If you thought that car dealers didn’t truly understand current consumer sentiment, that gap is only growing. That’s the finding of an Urban Science/Harris Poll of 254 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) car dealers and 3,026 U.S. car customers who own or lease a vehicle, or intend to within 12 months. The poll was conducted mostly in January 2025, but includes a follow-up study to evaluate how attitudes have changed since new policies were put into place by the Trump Administration."
Potatoes Are Healthy, but French Fries? Not so Much, New Study Suggests.
"They’re the most popular vegetable in the United States, where people eat an average of nearly 50 pounds of them a year, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s most recent food availability data. But the humble potato doesn’t always get the nutritional respect of say, Brussels sprouts. 'Potatoes have long been associated with poor health despite being basically healthy foods,' said Marion Nestle, a molecular biologist and Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies and public health, emerita, at New York University."
What Does Inflammation Do to the Body?
"Inflammation has become a bit of a dirty word. We blame it for a number of diseases. We try to eat foods that fight it. We take medication to tamp down the pain it causes. But inflammation, when it functions normally, is a natural and helpful response by the body to protect us. It’s the alarm sounded when we are infected with a virus, and what helps bones heal in the days and weeks after breaking an ankle. It’s only when it sticks around for too long—or appears when there’s no threat—that inflammation can become harmful."
What We’re Streaming 📺📲
What We’re Reading 📖
A Little History of the United States (Little Histories) by James West Davidson
"The United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world. This is the remarkable story of how it came to be. Beginning with the first contact between the old world and the new over 500 years ago, this Little History moves through the centuries from the first European explorers and slave-owning farmers, to the Declaration of Independence and the Civil War, to the Great Depression and the wars of the twentieth century.
"We meet key figures, including founding father Benjamin Franklin, the Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull, the abolitionist Harriet Tubman, and the civil rights activist Rosa Parks. This is a fast-paced, character-filled history that brings the great, diverse American saga to life."
