today in tabs: 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would leave the US if they could

ALSO: is gambling eating politics, the iPhone pocket sock, the end of the hemp economy, and more

Nov 15, 2025

Happy early hours of Saturday, November 15th. If you’re reading this in real time, much love to my fellow night owls.

WELCOME :)

Just a reminder: every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

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Gambling Ate Sports Media. Is Politics Next?

If more people put more money into markets like Kalshi, it’s easy enough to imagine how a sportslike media transformation might unfold through sponsorships, normalization in existing media, constant metacoverage of prediction odds, and content produced by the prediction platforms themselves. Aside from its posting habits, Polymarket already has a podcast; on the websites of shrinking newspapers around the country, you can already find aggregated articles sharing the current betting odds for the 2028 election. (NY Mag, 11/13 – free version)

A Proposed Federal THC Ban Would ‘Wipe Out’ Hemp Products That Get People High

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the sole Republican to vote against the spending bill Monday after failing to amend the bill by striking the hemp ban from it. In September dozens of Kentucky hemp farmers sent a letter to fellow state Senator Mitch McConnell, who has been pushing for the ban, pleading with him to reconsider.(WIRED, 11/12)

Lina Khan’s populist plan for New York: Cheaper hot dogs (and other things)

People familiar with the transition, and her thinking, have an answer: Khan has been scouring city and state laws — some overlooked by past mayors and some too new to have been tested yet — for legal footing for Mamdani’s priorities. It’s a skill set the Yale-trained lawyer wielded while running the FTC, where she dusted off laws, some dating from the early 20th century, and sued companies under novel theories of harm. (Semafor, 11/12)

Lucy’s note: f*ck yeah

We analyzed 47,000 ChatGPT conversations. Here’s what people really use it for.

OpenAI has largely promoted ChatGPT as a productivity tool, and in many conversations users asked for help with practical tasks such as retrieving information. But in more than 1 in 10 of the chats The Post analyzed, people engaged the chatbot in abstract discussions, musing on topics like their ideas for breakthrough medical treatments or personal beliefs about the nature of reality. (WaPo, 11/12)

Are you listening to bots? Survey shows AI music is virtually undetectable

A staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs, a Deezer–Ipsos survey showed on Wednesday, underscoring growing concerns that AI could upend how music is created, consumed and monetized. (Reuters, 11/12)

Record Numbers of Younger Women Want to Leave the U.S.

In 2025, 40% of women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity. The current figure is four times higher than the 10% who shared this desire in 2014, when it was generally in line with other age and gender groups. (Gallup, 11/13)

Charli XCX Launched a Substack

On Wednesday, the pop star posted her first blog-slash-essay as itscharlibb (no caps) on Substack, where she mused about the meaning of her art, what Brat has morphed into in the hands of her fans (“the umbilical cord is cut and naturally everyone begins to project the work onto themselves”), and whether releasing an album is akin to birthing a baby. (The Cut, 11/12 – free version)

Apple launches $229.95 iPhone Pocket ‘sock’ to widespread bemusement

However, eyebrows have been raised by the hefty price tag of what Apple says is a product “inspired by the concept of ‘a piece of cloth,’” with the short Pocket set to cost $149.95 and the long version $229.95. (CNN, 11/13)

Lucy’s note: knitting friends, please weigh in… how easy is it to make this

‘Naked’ Cheetos and Doritos Ditch Iconic Colors in Health Push

PepsiCo Inc. is introducing “naked” versions of its popular snacks that strip out artificial dyes as part of its push to boost healthier options. The offerings — marketed as “Simply NKD” — don’t have any added colors, leaving them a natural pale yellow instead of the bright hues for which the brands are known. (Bloomberg, 11/13 – free version)