Researched by: Aarthi Ramnath, Anannya Parekh & Aakriti Anand
Wanted: A fabulous editor for Advisory
Our weekend edition—the Advisory—is all about helping our community get the best advice on what to watch, where to travel, what to buy etc. All of it served with wonderful essays on art, music, food, history and more. We are looking for someone who really gets what makes the Advisory special—and can take it to the next level. Requirements of the job include:
- At least five years experience in lifestyle/culture content.
- A well-informed taste in books, travel, movies and more—and the network to commission content across a range of categories.
- Impeccable writing and editing skills is a must.
- Ability to work closely with our partners—and forge new relationships with institutions and brands.
- Willingness to explore lifestyle & culture in new and innovative ways.
- A knowledge of and love for splainer is a huge plus—since we’re not the usual news product.
Please note this isn’t a job for someone who is looking to edit the standard lifestyle section of a newspaper or site. Our aim is to break new ground—and build something truly valuable for our subscribers.
As for the rest: There is a six-month probation period and the pay will be industry standard. We are an equal opportunity employer and work remotely. Please send your resumes and cover letter—telling us why you want this job—to talktous@splainer.in. We will reach out to you if you’re shortlisted.
War on Gaza: The latest update
One: Israel is now telling hundreds of thousands of residents of Gaza City to evacuate—and move south… again! This has become a brutal pattern. The IDF ‘clears’ a part of the strip of Hamas (with all the bloodshed that involves). People return to these areas after being squeezed to the south—only to be told to leave again. So the same people and regions are bombed and occupied over and over again. (Washington Post, paywall, Al Jazeera)
Two: Ahead of the new round of ceasefire talks that started in Doha, Qatar, yesterday, an Israeli air attack on a school in Gaza Strip killed at least 30 people and wounded 53—most of whom were women and children. This is the fourth school that has been targeted this week, Below is an exclusive footage obtained by Al Jazeera of when the school was bombed: (BBC News)
Three: The US grandly constructed a floating pier off the Gaza coast—promising to deliver aid via the sea—since the land routes are being blocked by Israel. But the pier fell apart in the rough seas—then was rebuilt last month—and now will be permanently dismantled by the US in two weeks. The Guardian has more on this absurd PR exercise.
Microsoft cedes OpenAI board seat
First, Apple declined an observer seat on the company board—as part of ChatGPT’s integration into Siri. Now, Microsoft has given up its seat just eight months after taking the post. The reason: The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are investigating Microsoft, Nvidia, and Open AI over potentially anti-competitive behaviour in AI. The UK is looking into Microsoft and OpenAI’s collaboration, as well. (Axios)
Speaking of OpenAI: It is hooking up with health guru Ariana Huffington to create an AI health coach. This is part of Huffington’s latest venture Thrive—which is focused on personal wellness. TIME Magazine has a massive ad-like op-ed for the new AI health coach. (The Verge)
In far more important AI news: Scientists have unveiled an AI model that can generate new proteins—which can be used to develop new medicines. It works kinda like ChatGPT. You give it a prompt, it gives you a protein. Quartz explains why this is potentially a big deal.
Meanwhile, at Samsung: The three-day strike by 6,500 union workers has now become an indefinite strike of 31,000 employees. The company continues to insist that none of this will disrupt production. The union claims it has shown “no intention” to engage in a dialogue about their demands from the three-day strike. Labour trouble comes at a crucial time when Samsung is trying to make a big AI play. (BBC News)
Cash remains king in urban India
For all the hype about India going digital, 50% of us still use good old fashioned paisa at stores. Digital payments are higher in metros (75%) than smaller towns (65%). What’s interesting is the rise of digital payments for basics like groceries and clothes. And this: ”[E]ven street vendors, including paan shops, fruit and flower sellers, food stalls, and Kirana stores, are swiftly adopting digital payments, receiving an average of 46% of their payments digitally.” Most unsurprisingly, 90% of online shopping involves digital payments—since cash is rarely an option. (Fortune India, paywall, NDTV)
A massive password leak
Hackers posted a single file with 10 billion passwords—which is the largest such collection of confidential user data:
Not all the passwords in the compilation appeared to be new — in other words, they have been leaked previously — but the way they were presented, in a single, searchable file, increases the chance of “credential stuffing.” The practice allows a bad actor to take a user’s known password and try to reuse it to break into other accounts in their name.
Semafor has more on the story.
In much happier news: Google will now let you know if your personal information has been leaked on the dark web. The report will be available on a “results about you” page, and you can also send a request asking Google to take that information down from its search results. FYI: This used to be a paid feature—but is now available to all. (The Verge)
England are through to the Euros finals!
Thanks to substitute striker Ollie Watkins’ late goal, England edged out the Netherlands 2-1 to book their spot in the Euros final against Spain—cue ‘It’s Coming Home’ chants for at least a few more days. However, the standout moment of magic came from Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons, who gave his country an early lead by scoring this thunderbolt—“in an orange flash!”, quips commentator Peter Drury. The Guardian has the match report.
And here’s Watkins’ winning goal:
Moving on to cricket: Rahul Dravid is getting huge kudos for turning down Rs 5 crore in prize money for the T20 World Cup win. He insisted that he get the same amount as the rest of the coaching staff: Rs 2.5 crore. Rahul, the ultimate nice guy! (Hindustan Times)
Speaking of head coaches: The BCCI announced that Gautam Gambhir will replace Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach across all formats until December 2027. ESPNCricInfo has more on Gambhir’s coaching career.
Recognition of trans rights in Indian civil services
The Finance Ministry has approved the request of a senior revenue officer—to remove their deadname and gender from all official records. It will be replaced with his chosen name, M Anukathir Surya—and their recorded gender will be altered from female to male. FYI: A deadname is the name a transperson used before their transition. Why this matters: This landmark decision comes 10 years after the 2014 Supreme Court judgement that recognised gender identity as a personal choice—whether or not a person goes through a sex reassignment surgery. (The News Minute)
Two things to see
One: On his two-day trip to Russia, PM Modi added Russia’s highest civilian honour to his kitty, called the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First. It made for a sappy bromance moment between Vlad and Modi-ji. (The News Minute)
Two: The edgy Hollywood studio A24 dropped a trailer for a seemingly soft romantic drama starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Maybe grownup romcoms—with actual adults—are making a comeback! The film releases in theatres on October 11. (Deadline)
