#5SmartReads - March 31, 2022
Hitha on OnlyFans, the power of walking, and dying with dignity
This week’s #5SmartReads is sponsored by Blue Apron.
Scoop: OnlyFans wants to go public (Axios)
The so-called sin economy - sex work, cannabis - is insanely profitable and growing at a rapid rate. You would think investors would be clamoring to have a piece of it.
You’d be wrong. Many of the CBD brands I’ve invested in have a hard time raising institutional capital and market online the way non-cannabis brands can.
And despite OnlyFans massive growth and that the company has paid its creators BILLIONS, they’ve struggled to to raise private capital (for other reasons on top of the platform’s adult content) and have been looking for SPACs to help them go public.
What Mindy Kaling Has Learned About Making Great TV (TIME)
Kaling International is my blueprint of what I want All The Smart Things to be.
Productive. Lean. Impactful. And we fully encourage working however works best for you - especially if that means working from your bed, in pajamas, whenever inspiration strikes.
To see a company like this creating the art that has brought me so much joy and reflection (and representation!) be recognized in such a big way is a big deal - as is Mindy Kaling herself.
I cannot wait to see what’s next from this incredible leader - and growing company.
How China’s TikTok, Facebook influencers push propaganda (Associated Press)
“Some of China’s state-affiliated reporters have posited themselves as trendy Instagram influencers or bloggers. The country has also hired firms to recruit influencers to deliver carefully crafted messages that boost its image to social media users.
And it is benefitting from a cadre of Westerners who have devoted YouTube channels and Twitter feeds to echoing pro-China narratives on everything from Beijing’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims to Olympian Eileen Gu, an American who competed for China in the most recent Winter Games.”
Follow and engage on these platforms with caution. That’s all I have to say.
Most days, I start making dinner around 4:30 pm, after I’ve set the kids’ meals out and say “take a bite!” every two seconds.
And some days, I prep a Blue Apron meal earlier in the day - like today, when I know I’ll be out to dinner but want my family to have something good to eat. A mid-afternoon cooking break between Zoom calls is what I like to call productive procrastination (no explanation necessary). And a delicious meal is far more satisfying than scrolling social media for 40 minutes or so.
Want to give productive procrastination with Blue Apron a try? Get $110 across your first 5 boxes and free shipping on your first box with this link.
What Muscles Does Walking Work? Trainers Explain (Bustle)
More respect for walking, please. Because for those who are able, it is an excellent workout and the easiest to stick with.
I appreciated this informative article (and the studies referenced by writer Carolyn Steber), and learned a lot about just how much of your body is engaged by and strengthened by walking.
Now - please warm up, New York! I miss my morning walks in the park and the treadmill just doesn’t feel the same.
Physician-assisted death in Oregon is no longer limited to just state residents (NPR)
I understand the magnitude of the Hippocratic oath - “to do no harm” - that physicians and nurses swear to uphold (nurses as a part of the Nightingale Pledge).
And for those whose quality of life is unbearable, helping a patient end their life with dignity is, in my opinion, in line with that oath. And I’m grateful that Oregon will no longer enforce the in-state residency requirement for terminally ill patients who wish to end their lives with dignity.