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Amazon is gearing up for a significant restructuring of Wonderythe podcast studio behind popular shows like Scamfluencers, Dr. Death, and Business Warsand it might be a signal that the podcasting industry is shifting to more video-centric formats. Wondery was founded in 2016 as a studio dedicated to spotlighting long-form, narrative-based podcasts (think stories and formats along the lines of This American Lifes iconic Serial). It was acquired by Amazon in 2021 at the height of the pandemic-induced podcast boom for a reported $300 million. Now, Wonderys brand and existing shows will be shuffled off into larger Amazon products as its CEO Jen Sargent and around 110 employees are let go from the company. A recent analysis from the analytics firm Grand View Research shows that the global podcasting market was estimated at $30.72 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $131.13 billion by 2030. But while podcasting is still on an upward trajectory, the way that fans consume podcasts is clearly shifting. Today, listeners are turning to podcasts that also include a video component, with popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy increasingly relying on repostable video formats. The podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years, Steve Boom, Amazons vice president of audio, Twitch, and games, wrote in a memo to Wondery staff that was viewed by Fast Company. The rise of video has also blurred the lines on what it means to be a podcast creator. Bad news for audio-only podcasts In an initial report on August 4, Bloomberg claimed that Amazon was planning to fully shutter Wondery. However, Amazon has since clarified that it is not closing down the brand and instead plans to keep at least some of its properties afloat under a new structure, but things are changing. The team responsible for Wondery’s narrative podcast series, including Dr. Death, Business Wars, and American Scandal, will now report to Amazons Audible platform. Meanwhile, celebrity-led podcasts including Dax Shepards Armchair Expert and Jason and Travis Kelces New Heights will join a new organization called Creator Services under the Amazon umbrella. “This new team will continue to operate our creator-led podcast studio under the Wondery brand, working with a select number of top creators to drive scaled listenership and unlock broader and long-lasting relationships across Amazon,” Boom wrote in the staff memo. In response to Fast Company‘s request for more details on whether any Wondery shows will be canceled, an Amazon spokesperson shared: “We’re still finalizing content distribution details for specific shows, and will share updates once decisions are made.” On the reasoning behind the restructuring, the spokesperson added: “The podcast landscape has evolved significantly in the past few years, particularly with the rise of video-forward, creator-led content. These changes reflect that evolution and will streamline how Wondery integrates further into Amazon.” The video-based podcast evolution is having ripple effects across the entire industry. Currently, YouTube is the number one place that podcasts are consumed, topping 1 billion total podcast views per month this February. This year, Spotify picked up on the trend by leaning hard into its video podcasting arm, taking cues from social media in its UX design. Netflix has also signaled that it may make a move into video podcasting.
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E-Commerce
Ask any parent and theyll tell you that the laundry list of daily tasks is relentless. Now, some are turning to a new kind of support system: artificial intelligence. One mom has recently gone viral on TikTok for co-parenting her child with the help of ChatGPT. Lilian Schmidt, a corporate brand strategist based in Zurich, Switzerland, began sharing her AI prompts earlier this year. Since then, shes built a community of over 21,000 followers who swear by her tips for navigating the highs and lows of parenthood. Schmidt has a partner, but with both working full-time, she found herself increasingly burnt out by the mental load of parenting their three-year-old. So she turned to ChatGPT. Whether its generating imaginative bedtime stories, creating cleaning schedules, offering advice on sleep regressions, or planning meals based on whats in the fridge, the AI helped her offload the logistics of parentingfreeing her up to simply be present with her daughter. I feel like Im cheating at mom life, she wrote in one post. @heylilianschmidt If this is your vibe, I wanna be friends! And if you want this kind of life, but dont know how or where to start – COMMENT life and Ill give you 7 of my best ChatGPT prompts to get you started! #livingourbestlife #motheranddaughter #momlifevibes #sahmtok #toddlermoms #chatgpt #chatgptformoms As It Was – Harry Styles Parental stress, the U.S. Surgeon General warned earlier this year, is a public health crisis. Parents are consistently more likely than other adults to report high levels of stress, so its no surprise that many are seeking creative solutions to manage the load. ChatGPT literally helped me with breastfeeding, and how to decorate my daughter birthday cake, one commenter wrote under Schmidts video. Chat gpt is carrying the weight of my family at this point, another added. @heylilianschmidt HERES EXACTLY HOW I GOT HERE This is the version of mom life I used to think was impossible. I took me 3 years to get here, because nothing worked: Waking up before the kids Ruthless declutterring Having a new routine Whatever I tried, the mental load was still there – stressing me out and preventing me from being fully present with my kids and enjoying our little life Until I thought: what if someone (or something) could carry the mental load FOR me? I started playing around with ChatGPT – and it didnt just become a tool. It became my mom assistant, my co-parent, my second brain when mines filled with cotton candy and empty batteries Wanna try and see for yourself? COMMENT prompts to get my free AI Mom Magic Starter Kit with 7 ChatGPT prompts I use every single week to save time, stay sane, and make everyday life feel more magical (or grab it straight from my bio!) Your motherhood gets to feel like this, too #wokeuplikethis #morningroutine #toddlermom #mentalload #chatgpt #chatgptformoms #momhacks inside out theme – Santiago Melo With 2.5 billion prompts made every day in ChatGPT, according to a recent Axios scoop, each day users are coming up with new ways AI can slot into their daily lives, from therapist, to stylist, to co-parent. But not everyone is on board with AI-assisted parenting. Is it just me, or is it a problem that women feel relief turning to AI instead of their partners? one commenter asked. Others raised concerns about the environmental cost of AI, and what that might mean for the next generation.
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E-Commerce
With the White House Rose Garden grass ripped out and replaced with a brand new stone patio, the Mar-a-Lago-ification of the White House has reached a new phase. After returning to office for a second term, President Donald Trump quickly took to updating White House interiors to better match his maximalist, rococo aesthetic with elements like gold embellishment in the Oval Office and more pictures of himself lining the hallways. Now, the new Rose Garden patio and other recent and planned outdoor updates represent more permanent updates to the most historically significant home in the United States. Trump isn’t just redecoratinghe’s working to leave his physical mark on the property, and the Rose Garden is just the beginning. The Rose Garden in July of 2024. [Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images] Designed during John F. Kennedy’s administration by gardener Rachel Mellon, the Rose Garden has hosted presidential press conferences and the 1971 wedding of Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia. August, 2025. [Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images] According to Trump, though, the space was unusable after it rained. “We had to do it,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “When we had a press conference, youd sink into the mud.” The new patio just so happens to resemble the patio at Mar-a-Lago where he holds court. The National Park Service oversaw the Rose Garden’s redesign, and it was paid for by the Trust for the National Mall, a nonpartisan nonprofit. Work began on the patio on June 11, and one week later, Trump had two jumbo, car dealership-sized flag poles installed on the White House’s North and South lawns. Now that the patio’s done, Trump is turning his attention to his next project: a planned $200 million ballroom inside of the White House. The White House said construction begins next month on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which resembles Mar-a-Lago in renderings. Preservationists are worried. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order promoting traditional, classic federal civic architecture, but at home, he’s following his own rules. This isn’t a revival of classical architecture as much as it is an attempt to bring the style of South Florida to D.C. Redesigning the landscape was just the first step. No matter how far Trump’s White House renovations end up going, one thing’s for certain: the office won’t look the same after he’s done with it.
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E-Commerce
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