Dez Reads. Midwestern Gathering Places, Subscription Wins, Birth Control for Rats, Rogue AI, Chatty Pets, and Fashion-Forward Space Travel.

The first time I snuck in the side door of the Village Idiot in Maumee, Ohio, I was probably 18 or 19 years old, and I wasn’t supposed to be there. While I had eaten more than a lifetime’s fill of Idiot pizza by then, it was the first time I participated in one of the most interesting communities in the Midwest. There were construction workers, middle-class moms, college students, hippies, and retirees, all sipping beer and listening to bluegrass. This suburb of Toledo, my hometown, is not the type of place where you would expect to see such a cultural mélange. But, it showed me that good vibes and great pizza are a magnet for all walks of life. The Idiot is one of my favorite places on earth.

That’s why I wrote about Byron’s in Pomeroy, Iowa this week. Where my beloved Village Idiot continues to thrive in a suburb of 18,000 people, Byron’s is on the brink of extinction in a farm town of less than 1,000. For the sake of the folks impacted by economic reality, it is crucial that we commit to fighting for physical spaces and vibrant communities. And that’s exactly what the Byron’s crowd did successfully. God bless them.

Additionally this week, Mark Emerson celebrates an FTC ruling governing subscriptions (pro-FTC commentary is rare within our firm at the moment), Nathaniel Beach writes about rat contraception, Annie Moore shows us that even Gen Z has some AI anxiety, and Jen Hirshon explores AI applications for our pets, as well as Prada in space.

Another wild one. Thanks, as always, for reading along with us.

Here we go.

Business.

WSJ. A Fading Farm Town Seeks Salvation in an Unlikely Spot—the Local Bar

This, to me, is a beautiful story of a once-proud Midwestern town that faces an existential threat: extinction due to raw economic reality. The one institution that still exists is the local bar, Byron’s, which provides one of the only gathering spots for miles, as well as a healthy dose of live music and cold beer.

When local government in Pomeroy, Iowa, ruled that the building the Byron’s had occupied for decades was structurally unfit, the town risked losing one of its last vestiges of community. Fortunately, residents and patrons rallied to raise money and find a new location for the bar, which will mercifully continue to exist. In an era of rising online communities and declining physical ones, it is crucial to create and maintain spaces for people of all walks of life to gather. Sadly, Byron’s will probably exist on a knife’s edge for the rest of its existence, but the energy and cooperation that went into preserving it shows that even in dying Rust Belt towns, important institutions won’t go down without a fight.

– Josh Culling

Policy.

NPR. Canceling subscriptions has to be as easy as signing up, the FTC says in a new rule

Finally, the FTC has done something I can seriously get behind: holding companies accountable for making it nearly impossible to cancel a recurring subscription. I’m looking at you, Adobe Premiere. For far too long, businesses have been profiting from the practice of burying the cancel button in a maze of confusing jargon and small print. Most people simply give up out of sheer frustration – or worse, they get slapped with a ludicrous cancellation fee. Gyms, streaming services, tech platforms – they're all guilty, and I couldn't be happier to see some accountability here (fingers crossed).

The FTC's new "click to cancel" rule requires subscription cancellation to be as easy as signing up. No more lengthy calls with customer service reps trying to persuade you to stay or forcing you to send certified mail just to quit your gym membership. The rule mandates that businesses let you cancel online if you signed up online and give clearer terms from the start, so you're not swindled into unwanted services and frustrating cancellation hoops.

It's a serious win for anyone who's spent hours battling a $15 monthly charge, only to find it reappearing on their statement the next month – this time with bonus marketing emails.

– Mark Emerson

TCD. Birth control for rats? New York City passes bill for rodent contraceptive pilot program

Growing up in the rural suburbs and moving to the "big city" is a classic American story. Transitioning from a quiet, family town to the city skyline brings common fears  – getting lost, navigating transit, crime, and making friends. However, when I moved to Washington DC, my biggest fear was rats. I heard horror stories of "cat-sized" rodents scurrying about and wanted nothing to do with these Lovecraftian monsters of disease.

As does anyone with an irrational fear, I coped by reading extensively about our cities' greatest foes. I discovered the province of Alberta, Canada has effectively become rat-free through a decades-long "War on Rats". In 1950, as the Cold War loomed over the Western World, Alberta shared my belief that rats were our arch-nemeses, declared war, and have been relentlessly fighting ever since.

As with any challenge, humans innovate. While rat poison is common, it harms other animals. Cities have been striving to find more humane ways to handle infestations of animals. DC has utilized "blue collar cats", while New York City, known for its rat problem, is attempting a new idea. The City Council has recently approved a pilot program to use birth control for the rodent population. This non-poisonous contraceptive aims to gradually reduce the rat population while minimizing the risk to other animals.

We'll have to wait and see if this approach works, but hopefully, cities will keep finding innovative solutions. Shifting from poison to birth control seems promising, but only time will tell.

– Nathaniel Beach

Technology.

404. AI-Powered Social Media Manipulation App Promises to 'Shape Reality'

The AI of nightmares? As a digital strategist and former political operative, I think the new social media app that allows coordinated campaigns to send AI talking points out through real social media users will be a cool new way to push disinformation about politics, organizations' competitors, and retail traders' target of the day. With so much AI-generated BS on the Internet (remember when I wrote about Shrimp Jesus?), this concept will not empower the good actors and crisis managers to stomp out fires and mitigate harm. Instead, it will allow bad actors to juice the social media algorithms and bend public conversation to their will.

Working in the crisis and reputation management space, we see A LOT of coordinated bot activity, but we're able to sift through and understand where people's sentiment lies. If it's real users who are manipulating the conversation, it's going to be harder to identify and monitor what's organic and how people actually feel about specific issues and companies. I could see an uptick in crazy theories like immigrants eating pets, pump-and-dump schemes by retail investors, and big companies going after disruptive startup competitors if guardrails aren't put in place. Anyway, I hope you can still sleep at night after reading about this nightmare app.  

– Annie Moore

WIRED. This Talking Pet Collar Is Like a Chatbot for Your Dog

Many Dezzers, including myself, are dog lovers fascinated by AI. When I read about this new pet collar, I was thrilled! Finally, I can have a conversation with my dog, Pippa. I’d love to know what she’s thinking when she digs those massive craters in the backyard. With this collar, I could tell her to stop, and she’d listen! Or, you know, pretend to listen while plotting her next excavation project.

The Shazam pet collar, equipped with a microphone and sensors, makes dog (or cat) owners feel like they are conversing with their pets. The collar uses a chatbot with an AI voice and personality to generate responses. The sensors provide safety features, such as detecting if your pet goes missing or hasn’t eaten. Our CEO Anne Marie’s dogs were dognapped last year, and thankfully, she found them, but not without a lot of worry and hours on a slow-speed chase with the police. 

While the collar won’t reveal your pet’s deepest thoughts (like why they insist on barking at the squirrels daily), it may make you feel you understand them better. However, the microphone is always on, which means another device is always listening. For that reason, I’ll continue having one-sided conversations with my pups. At least they never argue back!

– Jen Hirshon

Space.

WIRED. NASA Will Do Space in Style With the Prada Axiom Spacesuit

So, NASA is teaming up with Prada to design spacesuits for the Artemis III mission. Yes, you heard that right—Prada! I am already envisioning astronauts strutting around the moon in high fashion. It's not just about functionality anymore; it's about looking good while doing it.  Astronauts will sport two red lines on the sleeves and meticulous stitching that Prada is known for.

From a reputation management perspective, this is a masterstroke. It is a collaboration dream – it grabs headlines, captures imaginations, and makes space travel seem even cooler. Plus, it shows that NASA is innovative and willing to think outside the box – or should I say, outside the atmosphere?

– Jen Hirshon