The New Doctor and A Wasteland of Sorts ⚕️

Midwives, hospice workers, and educators are charting a distinctive course to become state-licensed psychedelic facilitators, according to The Guardian. The legalization of supervised psilocybin use for people ages 21+ has opened up a new career path — and no it’s not the path of selling mushrooms. 

In Oregon, the first US state to pass the legalization, people are scrambling to enrol in a government-recognized training program and obtain a license to administer psilocybin. 

Pioneering the movement is InnerTrek, the world's first government-recognized program in this domain.

The program spans six months and 120 hours of crucial "core training" and an additional 40 hours of hands-on "practicum." Equipped to offer support across a spectrum of issues — from anxiety and depression to trauma, addiction, and grief — facilitators also cater to those merely intrigued by the psychedelic experience. InnerTrek distinguishes itself by teaching students to construct "containers," establishing safe spaces where they can provide preparation and structure. 

So it seems that those who love psychedelics and helping others have found their dream job. 

Then what’s the catch? This groundbreaking program comes at a cost, with tuition reaching $8.9k. And something tells us that those spending their days immersed in psychedelics might not have a cool 9k lying around in their bank accounts. 

But InnerTrek is not alone leading the charge. A total of 24 state-approved psilocybin training programs, akin to InnerTrek, have emerged, reflecting the surging interest in psychedelic administration.

A mere 20 days into the new year and there have already been more than 7,500 layoffs in the tech industry. This week alone, Google said it’s cutting a few hundred jobs from its sales team, and Apple reportedly said it’s shutting down its team working on AI features in San Diego, giving the 120 odd employees an ultimatum to relocate or face layoffs. As a result, industry giants such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google are no longer seen as the gold star employers they once were. 

Here’a quick timeline of the major other layoffs of 2024. Read and weep. 

Jan. 2: Frontdesk, a Milwaukee-based “proptech (property technology) company laid off its entire 200-person staff on a 2-minute Zoom call. 

Jan. 3: Lazada Group, one of Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce businesses, which is owned by tech giant Alibaba, laid off 100 staffers. 

Jan. 8: New York-based design startup InVision, once valued at $2 billion and seen as a competitor to Adobe, shut down. Meanwhile, Indian commerce company Flipkart cuts 1,000 jobs. 

Jan. 9: Humane (an AI startup backed by Sam Altman himself), Rent the Runway, Uber Freight, and Twitch (Amazon-owned streaming platform) all announced layoffs.

Jan. 10: Amazon said it will lay off hundreds of employees of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.

Jan. 11: Audible (also owned by Amazon) and Discord, announced job cuts of 100 or more employees each.

Jan. 17: YouTube slashed 100 jobs.

New data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicates a shift in TikTok's growth trajectory. In 2023, TikTok experienced a mere 3% growth YoY per quarter in monthly active users, as compared to a healthy 12% YoY increase in 2022.

This change coincides with the introduction of TikTok Shop in the U.S. The testing phase for the Shop began in November 2022, expanding as more brands, such as Revolve and KimChi Chic, joined. Even though Shop officially launched in September 2023, users were bombarded with Shop ads much earlier. So it seems TikTok annoyed its users into quitting the app. 

Business Insider reported in November that certain users found TikTok Shop turned the platform into an "ad-filled wasteland" and described it as a "dystopian" space. On various online forums, like Reddit, discussions emerged about whether TikTok Shop had ruined the app experience, with users noting an influx of "people dropshipping/selling cheap products.”

🧑‍🏭 Home & Work - Mortgage rates fell to their lowest levels in eight months. Meanwhile, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level in over a year.

🪫 Finding Energy Fast - According to Sam Altman, AI models require an astronomical amount of electricity and a breakthrough in energy sources soon.

🤳 Live-streaming Layoffs - Workers are recording and live-streaming being fired from jobs, especially when layoffs occur over Zoom or other online platforms.

🚂 Death of a Hobby - The model train hobby industry is nearing the end of the line, as the average age of its hobbyists is up to 64, from 39 in the mid-’70s.

🥱 Sleepless in The States - Americans average less than six and a half hours of sleep per night, according to a new study reported on by Axios. .  

🦟 Fighting Malaria - Cape Verde is now the 4th African country to be Malaria-free.