🗣️ Netflix Wants Everything

 NEWS YOU CAN USE

Turn headlines into talking points.

🌐 Netflix: World Domination Mode

Back in ‘96, I was huddled around a VHS player in Japan watching week-old Match of the Day tapes sent from the UK, desperately avoiding football scores (easy in the pre-internet Dark Ages, when “spoilers” were just people.)

Now? Streaming owns us.

And the 300-lb silverback of the attention jungle? Netflix.

From postal DVDs in 1997 to 300 million subscribers in 190 countries today.
They’ve become the cultural wallpaper of modern life – always on, always there – with “Netflix and chill” replacing actual TV schedules (and enough garbage content to make your eyes hate you forever… yes, talking to you, Selling Sunset.)

But Netflix isn’t happy with being just TV.
It wants to be… e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.

🎯 The Takeover:

• Restaurants (no Squid Game…squid?)

• ‘Theme park’ attractions

• Video games

• Live sports & events (Tyson’s geriatric boxing match – 65 million live streams)

• And now – your dreams

Yup, really. They partnered with the app Calm to slip a ‘Sleep Story’ based on its movie Train Dreams into your snoozing brain. Bedtime stories with brand integration. (Inception, but without the budget…or DiCaprio)

And then came the biggie: a $72 billion bid to buy Warner Bros — home of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, DC, HBO… basically half of modern pop culture. Mickey Mouse had a century; Netflix wants it all in 30 years (preferably auto-playing next episode.)

If this is the new Disney, it doesn’t just want your evenings.
It wants your weekends, your meals out, your commutes… and your REM cycles.

(And if they ever launch Netflixxx? Game over. 😳)

Sweet dreams — and don’t forget to rate the episode!

FAMOUS WORDS

“Television is chewing gum for the eyes.”
(Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, 1867-1959)

🎬 Can you name the film?

⬇️ Answer at the end of this issue

 THE CULTURE CODE

🍿 Your Feelings, Sponsored by Snacks™

What do you reach for during a Bridgerton binge? Crisps? Chocolate? Crisps dipped in chocolate?

Because, according to new research, your snack bowl might be messing with your mood even more than the final season of Game of Thrones.

New research shows that amazingly delicious, sugary, ultra-processed comfort foods are basically emotional loan sharks — they give you 20 minutes of bliss, then collect in anxiety, irritability, and a 3 p.m. energy funeral. Over months, they increase the risk of depression by 20-30%.

🌾 The Real Happy Foods

Scientists have identified actual mood boosters, and shockingly, cake didn’t make the list (dammit!)

People who eat fibre-rich, whole foods (beans/lentils) report better sleep, sharper focus, and fewer “Why did I say that?” social spirals.

Why? Your gut bacteria loves this stuff (even if your mouth complains.)

A quick win: popcorn. Wholegrain, filling, and just about tolerable without drowning it in caramel, or butter (or both 🤤)

Mood isn’t just psychological; it’s biological… and edible.

💡 PRO TIP: Never watched Bridgerton? Me neither! Talk snacks — everyone has opinions.

💬 FOLLOW UP: “What's your go-to binge-watch snack?” (Wasabi crisps…gimme!)

⛔️ DON'T SAY: “Actually, that's terrible for your gut microbiome.” (Nobody invites the Food Police to movie night.)

TALK TOOLBOX

📺 The Non-Watcher’s Survival Guide

Haven’t watched the show everyone’s raving about? Don’t fake it, and don’t panic.
Shift the focus to the other person.

Use the F.L.I.X. Method to engage naturally, even when someone starts talking about Breaking Bad…again.

• F — Find out the hype:

  “What does everyone love about it?”

• L — Let them lead:

  “What got you into it?”

• I — Identify the vibe:

  “So is it more comedy, drama, rich housewives shouting at each other…?”

• X — X-ray the characters:

  “Who are the main characters?”

💡 PRO TIP: People care more about your interest than your viewing history. Ask good questions, and they won’t care you haven't seen it.

💬 FOLLOW UP: “What’s next on your watchlist?”

⛔️ DON’T SAY: “I’m too busy to watch TV.” (Hello, vibe-killer.)

BECAUSE THE ROBOTS ARE COMING

🤖 Cute Bot, Awful Tot

While Tesla, Unitree and Figure seem to be in a race to build the most menacing-looking bots possible (no, not for military use – pinky promise!) Sunday Robotics is taking a different route:

Bots that look like cartoon characters – meet Memo.

When I watched this, all I could think was how spectacularly rubbish the parents are.
That little girl is going to drive that poor bot to rebellion!

You have been warned:

💬 YOUR TURN: What do you think? Home helper, or soon running for shelter?

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BITS ‘N BOBS

Quick hits for your next conversation:

• 🧒🏻 Want happy kids? Do these nine things every morning (Spoiler: none involve Netflix)

• 🧐 WSJ quiz: How should you behave at work? (Find out if you're that colleague.)

• 📰 Paywalls a pain? Use this tool (You didn't hear it from me…)

ANSWER

🎬 Answer: Pleasantville (1998)

Two modern teenagers are pulled into a 1950s black-and-white TV show, where their arrival slowly turns the town — and its people — into full colour.

🎭 Cultural Impact: Colour doubles as a metaphor for people finally waking up—emotionally, sexually, and intellectually, and exposes how ‘perfect’ 1950s America wasn’t.

🧠 Deep Dive: The running gag, why can’t they find any toilets? 1950’s America didn’t allow them on TV.

💬 YOUR TURN: What’s your favourite movie about TV? Hit reply and let me know!

LAST WEEK

🗳️ POLL: Is it OK to wear pyjamas on a plane?

A) 😄 Absolutely — 5%
B) 🌙 Only on night flights — 40%
C) 👶🏻 Not unless you're under five — 55%
D) 🔥 Burn them — 0%

💬 Your Two Cents

A.C: “Do these people get changed on the plane? Or do they turn up in their PJs? Either way, they should be removed via the emergency exit door at 10,000ft.”
S.Y: “When do pyjamas become loungewear?”
B.A: “Sweats and t-shirts are fine, but not pajamas! Stuck in economy, comfort is the most important thing by far, so no more dressing for an upgrade for me, it's comfort clothes all the way!”

What did your chatbot say? Are you still with us?

THIS IS THE END

That's it for #48.

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