Insider Finance - Business - Zuck’s comeback is in full swing

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June 27, 2023

Hello, Insiders. Shona Ghosh, UK deputy executive editor for business, here. We’ve arrived at peak tech-bro culture, a kind of inevitable culmination of the rise of the jiu-jitsu-loving podcasters Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman. It’s all very “Fight Club,” but Zuckerberg, who has been showing off his jiu-jitsu skills on Instagram, could do with a dash of cool.

In today’s edition:

Your employer may be quiet quitting on you.
Inside the biggest debate in podcasting and how it could shape the industry's future.
The sun's activity could peak sooner than expected.

— Shona Ghosh

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THE LATEST

Mutiny, WEF, & student loans

Yevgeny Prigozhin broke his silence for the first time since his Wagner Group mutiny ended. He expressed “regret” for having shot down Russian military aircraft. Read more.
China kicks off its first in-person “Summer Davos” since the pandemic. Insider’s Spriha Srivastava is at the World Economic Forum's conference.
The fate of millions of student-loan borrowers is set to be decided this week. The Supreme Court could rule on Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan as early as today.

THE BIG STORY

Peak tech bro

Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos. Scott Olson/Getty/Mark J. Terrill/AP/Drew Angerer/Business Insider Composite

They’re two middle-aged billionaires overseeing some of the biggest tech companies and… they’re apparently going to have a cage fight.

In one corner is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In the other, his longtime nemesis, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. To recap, last week Musk said he’d “be up” for fighting Zuckerburg in a cage match. Zuckerburg responded: “Send me location.”

The posturing marks a new point in the evolution of tech-bro culture toward, simply, bro culture. Zuckerberg has been documenting his progress and medal wins in jiu-jitsu on Instagram over the past few months, while Musk is now tweeting about training up.

It’s a weird, hyper-masculine flex, but it’s all intentional. Zuckerberg, often memed for his weird, android-like moments, is on a drive to switch up his image and appeal to the tech in-crowd. What better way than to beat up the bro-iest tech bro of all?

TOP READS

Podcasts, Costco, & more

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/Insider

Podcasters ask: To video or not to video. Audiences are increasingly watching videos. So the podcast industry is currently grappling with whether to start using visual elements to help with social-media discovery. More on the debate here.
Your employer may be quiet quitting on you. As more companies become comfortable with employees working from home, they are now looking for the cheapest remote workers available, Insider’s Aki Ito writes. And that could be a huge problem for everyone.
Finding the American dream in Europe. Many Gen Zers are looking abroad to achieve a higher quality of life: long lunches, extended holidays, work-life balance, and more. Meanwhile, others are incorporating European norms into their lifestyles. Get the full story here.
Costco is cracking down on sharing membership cards. The wholesaler said more customers had been getting away with sharing cards by using self-checkout. Now, the corporation is cracking down. Dive into it here.
The sun’s activity could peak two years earlier than expected. It recently had an unusual burst of sunspots. This sudden peak could fry satellites and cause radio blackouts by the end of this year. Read the full story here.
Shocking images of destroyed Russian planes. Footage from the Wagner Group’s mini rebellion showed that it downed a Ilyushin Il-22M aircraft. It’s a valuable airborne-command post operated by Russia's air force. Take a look here.
China slammed the West for hyping up the concept of “de-risking.” “De-risking” is the process of reducing the economic vulnerability from a country without damaging trade or investment. In other words: governments are reducing their dependency on China. And China’s premier isn’t happy about it.

TAKE A LOOK

Disney World restaurants

Will Varner/Insider; Getty Images

We ate our way through every restaurant in Disney World. We tried more than 40 of the restaurants in Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios and compiled a list of reviews. Here are our favorites, and a breakdown of each by category.

WATCH THIS

Cannibalistic crickets

Millions of Mormon crickets are invading homes and destroying crops in northern Nevada. Residents and local officials are beating them back with chemicals, vacuums, high-pressure water, and snow plows. Watch more here.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH?

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This edition was curated by Shona Ghosh, and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, Jack Sommers, Diamond Naga Siu, and J.R. Stacey. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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Insider Finance - Business - Zuck’s comeback is in full swing

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