Sunday Soup: Cortisol Obsession, 'Face Age', Nosferatu, and a Must-Read Mystery
These are the articles, streaming ideas, and books that caught our attention this week. Face Age, Cortisol, Nosferatu
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Falling temps, an approaching Polar Vortex. How about some soup?
We’re sharing more items of interest that caught our attention as we ended 2024 and began the new year. While they don’t tie into the holiday season, we suspect the topics of toxic consumer products, cortisol, and the importance of listening are ones you may find of interest.
We’re also passing on a Christmas present we received, the latest Hawthorne mystery written by Anthony Horowitz. Having completed the volume, we’ll just say that it puts a nice twist on an already differentiated storytelling trope. If you’ve read one of the Hawthorne books before, you’ll know what we’re referring to; if you haven’t, well you’re in for a treat.
If you have a recommendation you’d like people to know about, feel free to share it in the Comments section below!
Articles 📰
It’s Not Just Sunscreen. Toxic Products Line the Drugstore Aisles
“An emerging field of research has uncovered a minefield in US consumer goods, finding scores of products like sunscreen, tampons, and antiperspirants are laced with poisons that can make people sick. These products are everywhere. Americans spend around $40 billion on nonprescription drugs each year, which include many personal care products, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.”
High Cortisol: Why We're All Obsessed With It
"The recent buzz around cortisol reflects how we oversimplify health issues, often tying them to weight and body size," Katherine Metzelaar, a dietitian and the owner of Bravespace Nutrition, told Newsweek. "There's this pervasive idea that if we can just 'fix' cortisol levels, we'll lose weight, and life will magically improve…"Elevated cortisol is caused by chronic stress," Maria Villamin, a hormone coach and functional nutritionist, told Newsweek. "The problem in our modern world is that…”.
What Your ‘Face Age’ Can Tell Doctors About Your Health
"Scans of face photos are estimating people’s ‘biological age’ and even predicting how long they’ll live… “The FaceAge test is just being used in research for now, but you can find other consumer tests online already that estimate your biological age based only on a selfie. A free version from longevity company Novos gives a score not only for your overall face, but also for eyes, wrinkles and pores.”
De Beers Amasses Biggest Diamond Stockpile Since 2008 Financial Crisis
“De Beers Group has amassed its biggest stockpile of diamonds since the 2008 financial crisis, laying bare the group’s challenge in reviving demand for jewels long seen as the pinnacle of luxury. A slump in Chinese demand, intensifying competition from lab-grown alternatives and the legacy of pandemic lockdowns, when the number of marriages fell, has left the world’s biggest diamond producer by revenue with inventory worth about $2bn.”
Trump Wants Federal Workers Back in the Office. It May Be a Tall Task.
“President-elect Donald Trump warned federal employees last week that they must return to the office — or else “they’re going to be dismissed.” The threat was the latest and loudest signal yet that Trump, his allies and Republicans in Congress are committed to ending a remote-work culture that became widespread for the civil service of 2.3 million during the coronavirus pandemic but that many conservatives now decry as an outdated taxpayer-funded perk that has hurt performance across the government."
Percussionist Evelyn Glennie: ‘Listening Is Tolerance’
“Very simply, listening is presence. It is the here and now. It is paying attention. It’s also a kind of tolerance — the ability to give somebody a chance without thinking, ‘Oh, no, not them again.’” It is, she says, “unbelievably simple in concept, something that we can all do and yet we don’t do it to our fullest ability.” Was there a time when we were better at it? “Yes. Far, far better,” she says, “Just think about how people used to listen to the environment for survival, how they listened using distance and space.”
‘New Year, New You’ Doesn’t Work. Here’s How You Can Actually Improve Your Life.
“Many of us are familiar with the experience of making New Year’s resolutions to boost our physical fitness, get on top of the to-do list, save money, be less irritable around the kids and so on. What keeps us from accomplishing those things is rarely a lack of self-discipline, or needing a more efficient system for building healthier habits. More often, it’s the very attempt to make sweeping changes — to “become unrecognizable,” in the parlance of contemporary self-help — that stands in the way of a different, happier and more meaningful life.”
2025 Officially Marks the Transition From Gen Alpha to Gen Beta
“Generation Beta officially begins on January 1, ushering in an era likely to be marked by rapid technological advancements and profound societal changes. Spanning from 2025 to around 2039, this cohort follows Gen Alpha (2010–2024), Gen Z (1996–2010), and millennials (1981–1996). As with past generations, these dates are flexible, reflecting the evolving nature of generational definitions.”
What We’re Streaming 📺📲
The Omnicom/IPG deal, and What It Means for The Advertising Universe
What Your Online Self Reveals About You
Moment 190: Everything You Don’t Know About Marketing (But Should) From 4 World Leading Experts!
The Reading List 📖📚
Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
“The residents of a quiet, gated community in London are appalled by the arrival of Giles Kenworthy. With his noisy children, parties, and plans for a swimming pool in his garden, Giles makes plenty of enemies when he moves to the neighbourhood. So, when he is found dead, everyone becomes a suspect. Retired Detective Daniel Hawthorne is on the case. But even with his sharp eye for clues, he is stumped: how can you solve a murder when everyone has the same motive?”
