☕ Good Morning! 

If your American coworkers don't understand why you talk about summer holidays like a prisoner talks about escaping Shawshank, send them this picture. They’ll know why.

Today’s reading time: 5 minutes.

HEALTH

Covid’s comeback tour

You may have not thought about Covid this summer. But it's been busy hitting the gym, drinking protein shakes, and fragmenting into immunity-dodging subvariants.

What happened: The UK Health Security Agency reported the first confirmed case of the new Covid spawn, subvariant EG.5 (aka Eris), in London. The severity and transmissibility of this new variant… TBD.

• EG.5 > Your Covid Antibodies. A large part of the woes surrounding EG.5 has to do with its ability to sidestep immunity (meaning that a prior bout with Covid won’t necessarily give you that Mario Invincibility Star against the new spawn). Which is a bit concerning given that the OG Omicron was already one of the fastest-spreading diseases humanity has ever known.

• Phew. “The good news is that this strain (likely) won’t cause as big of a wave as past variants,” Maureen Miller, an epidemiologist with Columbia University, told Vox.

Looking ahead…This cat-and-mouse game with new variants seems to be the post-pandemic norm now. There's no sign we're headed for anything like the waves of the pandemic era yet, but the rise in cases + new variants gaining ground is def an alarming trend.

For most everyone immunity from a cocktail of previous vaccinations and infection could offer “substantial protection.” And experts say that the same ol’ precautions still apply: masks, distance, and getting vaxed if you're due — even against these new subvariants.

WORLD

Tour de headlines

When a Company > a Country. While we’re facing eye-popping inflation here in the UK, Denmark has a different problem: Novo Nordisk. The pharma giant’s insane success with the magical weight-loss drug (Wegovy) has grown so much that its $419 billion market value eclipsed the nation’s $406 billion GDP. All those dollars flooding back into kroner are artificially pumping up the local currency, spurring the central bank to lower interest rates to keep the exchange rate from going haywire.

Moonstruck. Russia’s robo-spacecraft crashed while attempting to land near the moon’s south pole. Luna-25 meant to mark the nation’s return to the moon almost after half-century spun into an uncontrolled orbit and “ceased to exist” when it struck the surface.

Chi-na-data. Another day, another ominous sign for China’s economy. Youth unemployment in China is so bad that the country straight up decided to stop publishing data on it.

TECH

Spotify’s profit is being cancelled out by white noise

We thought we were the only ones enjoying the sound of fans blowing air while we wrote this newsletter…

But it turns out, white noise podcasts are so popular that the not-just-music streamer considered giving them a red card, reported Bloomberg.

What happened: Spotify’s internal document said that the white noise and ambient podcasts (picture: rainforest mixes, static, or even lawn mower sounds) made up 90 million monthly consumption hours on the platform.

• Crashing waves = cashing checks. Some ambient podcasters are raking in ~£14,000/month from Spotify ads alone, Bloomberg reported. The co isn’t making much money off these sounds (all while their own algorithms promote podcast-type content in an attempt to become a leader in the podcasting space) and the streaming giant said pulling the aux away from them will bring in an extra $38M in profit.

• Pouring drops ≠ Pop stars. Record label companies like Warner Music and Universal aren’t too happy either. Music execs are miffed that these tracks get the same value as songs by Ed Sheeran. “An Ed Sheeran stream can't be worth the same as rain on a roof,” said Warner Music's CEO.

Yes, but: While Spotify did consider a plan to thwart bird sound-looping freeloaders, it didn't come to fruition, though some creators have complained their episodes are disappearing, costing them tens of thousands of daily listeners.

BY THE NUMBERS

📺 25%. The average cost increase for ad-free streaming platforms in about a year. (#streamflation)

🚙 $30 million. Cost of the new Rolls-Royce Droptail. But don’t roll out your chequebooks just yet… only four of these will ever be made.

🐛 65%. Year-on-year increase in bedbug infestations in the UK.

JUST CLICK IT

Crown recs

• Read: How Brexit failed England's premier fishing town.

• Scientists have built a humanoid robot that can fly a plane.

• 8 secrets to faking a clean house.

• Chart: The highest-grossing concerts of all time.

• Watch: Why the British Museum is full of stolen artefacts.

• And finally, why the UK is doing a shoddy job of keeping up.

GAMES

Guess the price

Today’s listing… A charming and historic Cotswold stone house in the heart of Church Street, Bampton, Oxfordshire with off-street parking and views of the Church spire. Amenities include:

• 3 bedrooms, 2 baths

• 2 reception rooms

• Exposed beam ceilings (delicious if you were a termite)

How much for this historic house? Check back tomorrow to find out.

Answer for Friday’s puzzle

2029. In 2023 all their ages are prime numbers, and the next year they’ll all be prime again is 2029 (17, 19, 47, 53).

LET US HEAR IT

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