Weekly Recap Sept 26-Oct 2: NASA’s DART mission, British pound plummets, Do Kwon's red notice, SoftBank layoffs, Mr. Beast turns down $1B

Hi everybody!

???I’m not sure what it means when people say “Mercury is in retrograde”...

... but I think it’s happening right now.

Coincidentally or not, we covered some wacky tech news this week.

• E1570 :?The British Pound dropped it?lower than Flo Rida ?(for the first time in 50 years)
• E1571 :?Girls Who Code made a banned book list (!?)
• E1572 :?$WBD was sued for allegedly misrepresenting HBO Max numbers by 10M subscribers
• E1573 :?SoftBank is planning to cut at least 30% of its Vision Fund staff
• E1574 :?Mr. Beast turned down a $1B offer for his media empire!

Producer’s pick:

???On a brighter note (but still involving out-of-this-world activity), Jason and Molly covered NASA’s DART mission on?E1570 !

NASA rammed a Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab-made robotic spacecraft called DART (aka “Double Asteroid Redirection Test”) into a football field-sized asteroid about seven million miles away from Earth to prove it can defend us from hazardous space rocks in the future.

This marked NASA’s first “planetary defense” test in space!

The 525 ft-wide asteroid it hit was called Dimorphus, a moonlet of the 2,500 ft-wide asteroid Didymos.

To put things into perspective, DART hitting Dimorphus was like a golf cart hitting a football stadium at 14,000 miles per hour.

So. Cool.

DART had one instrument onboard: the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical Navigation, aka the DRACO camera.

This camera live-streamed all the action seven million miles away, and if you missed the livestream, you can still?check it out ?on YouTube!

Episode and interview recaps:

How VCs decide to sell a position + Future’s Jean-Louis Warnholz | E1575

On VC Sunday School, J+M discuss how and when VCs decide to sell a position. (2:01) Then, Molly welcomes Future CEO Jean-Louis Warnholz to discuss his fintech startup which offers a climate-friendly debit card! (21:28)

The virtuous cycle of tech startups, Mr. Beast turns down $1B offer + OK Boomer | E1574

First up, J+M discuss the virtuous cycle of tech startups (2:15) before discussing Mr. Beast turning down a $1B acquisition offer for his media business (24:58). Then, Producer Rachel is joined by content creator Taylor Bell to discuss her lessons from growing a brand to 180K+ subscribers while having a full-time job. (39:02)

Meta’s text-to-video tool, Zuck’s grand plan, Vision Fund to cut staff 30% + $WBD lawsuit | E1573

J+M discuss Meta’s new text-to-video tool and what the future of creativity might look like. (2:59) Then, they break down Zuck’s grand plan (14:49) before discussing what a recession might mean for startups (27:18) and SoftBank reportedly cutting 30% of its Vision Fund staff. (36:41)

Apple allows in-app NFT purchases + Bitcoin’s role during global macro headwinds | E1572

Sunny Madra and Vinny Lingham are BACK for another crypto roundtable! First up, a full breakdown of the current NFT space: Apple allowing in-app NFT purchases (1:35), best uses cases & platforms for distribution (15:07). Then, they discuss Bitcoin’s role during global macroeconomic headwinds. (37:46)

Cathie Wood’s new VC fund, Bill Gurley’s best insights, Girls Who Code on banned books list | E1571

J+M break down Cathie Wood’s new VC fund (1:53), Bill Gurley’s best insights from his interview with McKinsey (26:13), and Girls Who Code making a banned books list in a Pennsylvania county!

British pound crashes, Do Kwon’s red notice, NASA’s DART mission, TikTok nears US deal | E1570

J+M break down the British pound dropping below $1.04 (5:15), Interpol issuing a red notice for Do Kwon (27:07), NASA’s DART mission (53:52), and TikTok discussing an agreement with the Biden administration! (59:44)

Have a great one,

Producer Rachel