Morning Brew - 🍋 Limoncello

Career building with a dose of self-care 

Francis Scialabba

You hear “mandatory harassment training” and think: bad acting, quiz, random stock photos, bad acting, quiz. The takeaways are important—pointing out offensive comments, unwanted behavior, and ways to speak up or help a coworker in need—but as Leah Fessler explained in The New York Times, this good old-fashioned content often fails to address virtual workplace harassment. 

A recent Deloitte survey found that "52% of women have experienced some form of harassment or microaggression in the past year," and Fessler said a remote work environment can actually make it easier for unwanted behavior to take place. "That’s because the channels through which remote work occurs—text, phone, video—are often unmonitored, unrecorded or occur outside employer-sponsored platforms,” she wrote. Not only that, but “working from home deprives us of witnesses; the colleague who may otherwise overhear an off comment in the office is not present when we’re on a call at home.” 

In part because POC can be less likely to report harassment, “[e]mployers need to be especially race-conscious right now, privately checking in with each employee and paying special attention to what employees of color might be needing,” one expert said. As for something you can do? Take notes, another expert added, which “builds credibility and a narrative over time.” 

Fun stuff to do outside work

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• In the Heights is now in theaters and on HBO Max, and I’m already listening to the soundtrack on repeat. Join me and head out on a self-guided walking tour of all the filming locations. 
• From Campari to Ramazzotti Aperitivo Rosato, live la dolce vita with this Italian aperitivo cocktail starter kit.
• Or try your hand at bottling your own limoncello. Warning: This recipe calls for 35 lemons, but you can freeze any leftover juice for up to three months. 
• With 19.2K TikTok followers, Ashna (product manager at Morning Brew) has a few tips to upgrade your morning routine. 
• Catch Elizabeth Olsen in her bathroom as she talks to Kaley Cuoco on Actors on Actors. And find out whether Olsen will return for a second season of WandaVision.
• One final summer reading list (and then I’m done, I promise) from The Atlantic. Cultish, a book on cult-adjacent groups like SoulCycle, is calling my name.

Exploring new skills for the sake of personal growth

Francis Scialabba

I know a guy for hanging art, installing AC units, and scoring concert tickets. But when it comes to investing my money, it always helps to hear what Morning Brew’s Ryan Lasker (hi, Ryan, if you’re reading this!) has to say. Beating the market is like scoring a Carbone reservation...not easy. Before you say “Yolo” and head straight for the meme stocks, Ryan chatted with some experts about what to know if you want to be your own stock analyst. 

Even if you were an Olivia Rodrigo stan before “drivers license” became a number one hit, odds are you’re probably not going to spot the next $GOOG or $AMZN. Emma Rasiel, an economics professor at Duke University, told Ryan: “It's incredibly unlikely that somebody who spends a few minutes a day looking at it is going to find or see something that somebody else hasn't already spotted, and is therefore not already in the price.” But with that expectation in mind, Rasiel and other financial experts did share a few of their go-to research strategies with Ryan. Go get ’em here. 

And now, a word from your to-do list:

Hey. This is the fresh parsley you need for that pasta recipe you spotted. And the garlic powder you’re almost running out of. And the necessary beef patties for your 4th of July celebrations. 

All of us could be on your doorstep as soon as today with a Walmart+ membership. We’ll show up without breaking the bank with free same-day delivery from your store.* And we’re always available at the same everyday low prices you love. 

What kind of groceries are we, you ask? We’re the fresh, tasty kind, like organic vegetables and USDA Choice beef. 

Sign up for Walmart+ here so we can all hang out. 

Products that just make life better

Jan Sedivy / Unsplash

• For a smooth, non-chalky protein powder, my vote goes to Orgain’s Creamy Chocolate Fudge. It’s a plant-based formula with a full amino acid profile and 21g of protein per serving (fills me up until lunch). The biggest W is that when you add almond milk, it actually tastes like chocolate cake (but not the way-too-rich kind).
• I thought the whole shroom boom was overrated, until I tried Apothékary’s Lion’s Mane. I recently added the anti-inflammatory energy booster to my smoothies, and it’s helped improve my focus (at least I think it has). 
• I can’t go a day without eating some form of nut butter, so I like to drop a tablespoon of Barney’s powdered almond butter into my breakfast smoothie. The powdered form is less messy and tastes the same as the OG, with all the oil extracted (for better or worse).