| | 1. DIY Summer Camp With summer camps shuttered, families are scrambling to figure out what to do with children stuck at home — and without any more online classes to keep them occupied. For some, like these Colorado parents, that means teaming up on a rotating schedule to host a camp for the neighborhood, with lessons and activities. The high-end version? Rich parents in places like the Hamptons are hiring out-of-work camp counselors and coaches to create private camps in their (expansive) backyards. |
| | 2. Kids: The Recession-Proof Industry Personal spending dips are natural during a recession, and especially during a pandemic. But as parents fight to cover basic needs amid mass job layoffs, there is one area where they haven’t stopped spending: on their children. Forced to entertain and teach their kids at home, parents are purchasing books, games and crafts in skyrocketing numbers. Read More on OZY |
| 3. A Traffic Catastrophe? Inspired by Georgia’s decision to grant driver’s licenses without tests, 17-year-old New Jersey high school graduate Jake Snyder petitioned Gov. Phil Murphy for similar leeway. Titled “Allow 17-Year-Olds to Receive Their Driver’s License in New Jersey Without the Road Test,” Snyder’s campaign on Change.org got 11,000 signatures within five days. While the Garden State hasn’t changed its rules, Georgia’s move and Snyder’s petition mark a trend that experts worry could lead the country toward a crisis of untested drivers hitting the roads in coming months. Read More on OZY |
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| | | The Shoe of This Summer We declare it: Cariumas are the shoes of this summer. The bright colors of these sustainable, stylish and crazy comfortable sneakers will bring the summer wherever you are. Better yet, for a limited time, OZY readers get $15 off these premium kicks. Order now with code OZY-15 before they sell out again! Buy Now |
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| | | 1. Forget the G-7, We Need the C-6 Currently consisting of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, the G-7 is a divided house, unable to build consensus or provide global leadership on anything, from the coronavirus to climate change. What does the world need now? We’re calling it the C-6, a group of six countries that were most successful at containing COVID-19, as example-setters in public health management. New Zealand, Ghana, Paraguay, Mauritius, South Korea and Denmark fit the bill. Read More on OZY |
| 2. The Squad Faces a Test Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned the nation two years ago by upsetting a Queens power broker in a congressional primary. This week the leading light of the left faces a well-funded threat of her own, from former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera in New York’s Democratic primary. That’s the case for most of the members of the Squad, the group of first-term women of color who have shaken up the U.S. House — and now find themselves in spirited primary challenges in deep blue districts. In August, Rep. Ilhan Omar will take on Minneapolis mediator Antone Melton-Meaux, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces the toughest fight of all — from Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. All of the women’s foes say they’ll be more effective legislators than bomb-throwers. |
| | 3. Reset America Swag You asked for it, you got it. We’ve launched our Reset America section in the OZY Store, with 100 percent of profits being donated to your choice of racial justice organizations. Grab a Reset America T-shirt, backpack and more to look good while doing good. And be sure to post your pics on social using #ResetAmerica and #OZYmerch! Shop Now |
| 4. Roommate Revolution Splitting bills is appealing. But quarantine has taught us that living with roommates can bring a lot of nonmaterial benefits, including a powerful guard against loneliness. Living with roommates into your late 20s and beyond is no longer something that raises eyebrows. Read More on OZY |
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| | 1. Meet the CARLYs Corporate America is fond of acronyms for its target demographics, such as DINKs (dual income, no kids) or HENRYs (high earning, not rich yet). A new study by research firm Future Commerce and marking platform Klaviyo identifies a new brand of fashion consumer that we’ll probably hear more about in the years to come: CARLYs, which stands for “can’t afford real life yet.” These under-25 Gen Zers are interested in social change as well as the blemishes of the world — not the airbrushed version. So they enjoy celebs who show their imperfections and brands like Crocs or the athleisure company Madhappy, which are not considered high-end. |
| | 2. Travel in a Bubble It started with a proposal for secure trans-Tasman travel between Australia and New Zealand. But while that plan is yet to take off, other countries have established travel bubbles as they look to restart business and tourist travel amid the pandemic. China and South Korea have created one such bubble; as have China and Singapore. Indonesia is eyeing one with Japan, China, South Korea and Australia; in Europe, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have created a “Baltic Bubble.” |
| 3. Dining Out on Data In this new world of restaurants, takeout and delivery are king. So much so that DoorDash is now valued at $16 billion. Restaurants have long rebelled against DoorDash and its cousins like GrubHub and Uber Eats for their high fees. But these companies present another existential threat to restaurants because they own the consumer relationships. Experts say restaurants must invest in their own loyalty programs and tech platforms to survive and thrive in an era without packed dining rooms. So don’t be surprised when your local pizza joint or diner asks you to download their app. |
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| | 1. Home Field Disadvantage The world’s pro sports are creeping back from dormancy, but what does that mean for the competition? There are a few lessons we can garner from the return of the Bundesliga in Germany that will apply to the English Premier League, the NBA (well, hopefully) and others. First, home-field advantage doesn’t really exist when there are no fans in the seats: There were only 11 home wins in the first 55 Bundesliga games. Second, injury and substitutions were way up — indicating that star athletes had as much trouble staying in shape during lockdown as you did. |
| 2. Striking Out Squabbling among players and owners — and a new round of positive coronavirus tests at spring training sites — raises the odds that Major League Baseball won’t return this year. And that would potentially be catastrophic. The league continued a 12-year attendance slide in 2019, and has been struggling with how to make games move more quickly and make the game more appealing. This is shaping up as a blow at least on par with the 1994-95 strike, which — as documented in OZY’s chart-topping history podcast, Flashback — helped force Michael Jordan’s return to basketball, and the sapping of baseball’s cultural relevance in American life. Listen to Flashback |
| | 3. The Giannis Effect On a sunny Saturday in March, a group of players ages 12 to 16 were ebulliently passing the ball, smiles on their faces, on a spacious basketball court in the northeast Athens district of Labrini. They’re among 100 young players selected from underprivileged Athens neighborhoods and refugee camps as the first batch of a pioneering basketball lab called the Antetokounbros Academy, backed by Milwaukee Bucks megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers Thanasis and Kostas (both of whom also play in the NBA), Nike, the Onassis Foundation and basketball site Eurohoops. They’re part of a broader churn sparked by the exploding popularity of Antetokounmpo, who was born in the country to Nigerian parents, and has changed the face of what it means to be a sports star in Greece. Read More on OZY |
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