Netflix Saves ‘Sesame Street’ & College Towns Are Fading Away

Summary

Morning Brew Daily: Episode Summary Title: Netflix Saves ‘Sesame Street’ & College Towns Are Fading Away
Hosts: Neal Freyman & Toby Howell
Release Date: May 20, 2025

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1. Sweeping Tax and Spending Bill

Overview:
Neal Freyman and Toby Howell begin the episode by dissecting the ambitious tax and spending bill that Congress aims to pass. This extensive legislation, spanning over 1,100 pages, is a cornerstone of President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Key Points:

• Extension of 2017 Tax Cuts: The bill primarily seeks to prolong the tax cuts from Trump's first term, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Without this extension, most Americans could face tax increases by 2026.

  Neal Freyman (04:14): "The primary purpose of the bill is to extend the 2017 tax cuts from Trump's first term in office."

• Elimination of Certain Taxes: It also proposes the removal of taxes on tips, overtime, and car loan interest, aligning with Trump’s campaign promises.

• Revenue Shortfalls: Despite these tax cuts, the bill fails to offset the lost revenue. It includes cutbacks on clean energy credits from Biden's Inflation Reduction Act and reductions in Medicaid and food stamps. However, these measures are insufficient, leading to an anticipated increase of over $3.2 trillion in the national debt over the next decade.

  Neal Freyman (05:00): "The bill claws back clean energy credits from Biden's Inflation Reduction act and would make other cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. But it won't make up the difference."

• Market Reactions: The combination of Moody's downgrade of the US credit rating and the potential for larger deficits has unsettled Wall Street, resulting in bond sales and a weaker dollar.

  Neal Freyman (06:14): "The investors sent bond yields higher, which means they sold off bonds. Yields are extremely high right now."

• Internal GOP Struggles: The Republican Party faces internal conflicts, with fiscal hawks opposing increased spending and constituents resisting cuts to essential services like Medicaid. Additionally, there is opposition to rolling back the salt deduction, which primarily affects affluent individuals in blue states.

  Toby Howell (05:45): "They're just kicking the can down the road once more. There are those cuts coming to Medicaid all are those cuts coming to clean energy, among other areas."

Conclusion:
The bill’s passage remains uncertain due to its complexity and the divergent interests within the Republican Party. The overarching concern centers on the exacerbation of the national debt and the potential economic ramifications of the proposed tax and spending measures.

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2. Sesame Street Finds a New Home on Netflix

Overview:
The beloved children’s show Sesame Street has transitioned from Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max to Netflix, marking a significant shift in its distribution strategy.

Key Points:

• Deal with Netflix: After ending its partnership with Max, Sesame Street has secured a new streaming home with Netflix, which is aggressively expanding its children's content library.

  Toby Howell (07:42): "This is a huge lifeline for Sesame street and its owner Sesame workshop, who cut 20% of its workforce."

• Financial Implications: The transition helps Sesame Workshop after losing $35 million in annual revenue following the end of the Max deal. Netflix’s acquisition supports the continuation of new episodes and broadens distribution.

  Neal Freyman (09:07): "Netflix swoops in. And it's a big win for Netflix, which wants to build its lead over the other streamers with kids programming."

• Competitive Landscape: Netflix already streams popular kids' content like Ms. Rachel and Cocomelon. In contrast, Max, rebranded back to HBO Max, is shifting focus to more adult-oriented programming, leaving Netflix to dominate the children's streaming segment.

  Neal Freyman (09:07): "Netflix already holds the streaming rights to Ms. Rachel and Cocomelon... Netflix is just forging ahead in world Kid domination."

• Distribution Benefits: The new deal ensures that episodes are available simultaneously on Netflix, PBS, and the PBS Kids app, enhancing accessibility and restoring Sesame Street to its traditional PBS audience alongside new streaming viewers.

  Toby Howell (10:08): "This new deal brings new episodes to Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day."

Conclusion:
Netflix’s acquisition of Sesame Street not only provides financial stability for the iconic show but also positions Netflix as a leading platform for children's programming. This move revitalizes Sesame Street’s presence in the competitive streaming landscape.

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3. The Decline of Small College Towns

Overview:
The hosts explore the economic challenges facing regional college towns across the United States, highlighting a worrying trend of declining populations and economic stagnation.

Key Points:

• Economic Dependency: Smaller metro areas reliant on higher education are experiencing weaker economic growth compared to the national average, primarily due to declining enrollments.

  Toby Howell (11:12): "A Brooking study found that among metro areas that are reliant on higher ed, 75% of them experienced weaker economic growth between 2011 and 2023 than the US as a whole."

• Case Study - Macomb, Illinois: Once thriving with an enrollment of over 15,000 students in the 1970s, Western Illinois University now enrolls just 5,500 students. This drastic reduction has led to a 23% population decline from 2010 to 2024 and a corresponding drop in city sales tax revenue.

  Neal Freyman (12:39): "The city's population plunged 23% from 2010 to 2024."

• Broader Factors: Contributing to the decline are anticipated cuts in federal funding, reduced international student enrollment due to visa restrictions, and a dwindling number of young people entering the higher education system following a declining birth rate since 2007.

  Toby Howell (12:39): "Federal funding to colleges is likely going to be cut under the current administration... there are less kids entering middle school, entering high school, and therefore entering these college towns as well."

• Divergence Among College Towns: While smaller towns struggle, larger college cities like Ann Arbor, Madison, and Gainesville are thriving due to increased enrollments at flagship state universities and enhanced public funding.

  Neal Freyman (13:36): "Enrollment at these large flagship state public universities are increasing a lot... while at Western Illinois University, enrollment fell 47%."

Conclusion:
The economic viability of small college towns is under significant threat due to multiple converging factors. Without substantial intervention, many of these communities may continue to decline, highlighting a broader demographic and economic challenge.

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4. Toby’s Trend: Transformation of the Funeral Industry

Overview:
Toby Howell delves into the rising trend of cremation and its profound impact on the funeral industry, which is prompting funeral homes to innovate and diversify their services.

Key Points:

• Rise in Cremation Rates: The national cremation rate has surged to 62% in 2024, up from 6.2% in 1974. Projections suggest it will reach 82% by 2045, driven by cost-effectiveness, environmental concerns, and changing religious practices.

  Toby Howell (16:04): "Today's Toby's trend is all about what happens right after you die."

• Economic Pressures on Funeral Homes: With the median cost of direct cremation at $2,750 compared to $8,030 for traditional services, funeral homes are facing reduced revenue. Approximately three-quarters of the 15,700 U.S. funeral homes are family-owned and struggling to adapt.

  Neal Freyman (17:58): "These are small businesses that can't really adapt to the changing landscape of people paying $2,700 for a service that they used to pay $8,500 for."

• Innovative Adaptations: To stay afloat, funeral homes are repurposing their spaces to host events such as weddings and other life celebrations. Examples include:

  • Hamilton Funeral Home in Des Moines: Hosting weddings alongside funerals.
  • Richland, Washington: Featuring an airy 6,000-square-foot event center with catering options.

  Neal Freyman (18:52): "We're no longer just a funeral company who does events. We're an event company who does funerals."

• Creative Services: Some funeral homes are offering unique memorial services tailored to individual preferences, such as baseball-themed funerals for sports enthusiasts or fashion show-inspired services for former models.

  Neal Freyman (19:41): "For a beloved little league coach, one of these funeral directors turned her funeral home into a baseball field..."

• Community Impact: The shift towards event-based services not only helps sustain the business but also provides meaningful and personalized ways for families to commemorate their loved ones.

  Toby Howell (19:41): "They are getting creative with how they can survive."

Conclusion:
The dramatic rise in cremation rates is compelling funeral homes to innovate and diversify their offerings. By transforming into versatile event spaces, these businesses aim to remain relevant and financially viable in a rapidly changing industry.

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5. Brief News Highlights

a. 23andMe’s Genetic Data Sold to Regeneron

• Overview: After declaring bankruptcy, 23andMe sold its genetic data assets to biopharmaceutical company Regeneron for $256 million, a significant drop from its previous valuation of over $7 billion.

  Neal Freyman (20:00): "Regeneron has pledged to keep it safe with its CEO saying they have a, quote, proven track record of safeguarding the genetic data of people across the globe."

• Implications: The acquisition highlights the persistent value of genetic data for research despite 23andMe's business struggles.

b. Leadership Exodus at CBS News

• Overview: CBS News is experiencing a significant departure of high-level executives amidst internal conflicts with parent company Paramount over editorial direction and ongoing lawsuits.

  Neal Freyman (22:59): "This is a major exodus of leadership from CBS News. They're clashing with Paramount ownership..."

• Impact: The resignations of key figures like Wendy McMahon and Bill Owens are indicative of deeper tensions within the organization, potentially affecting its journalistic integrity and operational stability.

c. Spain’s Housing Affordability Crisis

• Overview: Spain faces a severe housing affordability issue, prompting government intervention to limit short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb. Rental prices have surged by 57% since 2015, with Barcelona alone seeing a 68% increase in a decade.

  Neal Freyman (23:50): "Rental prices have jumped 57% in Spain since 2015. Home prices have soared 47% compared to household income which has grown just 33%."

• Government Actions: To address the crisis, Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry ordered Airbnb to block over 65,000 listings, aiming to free up housing for long-term residents.

d. Monkey Kidnappings on Higaron Island

• Overview: Researchers on Higaron Island, Panama, documented unprecedented behavior where young male capuchin monkeys are kidnapping infant howler monkeys, leading to their deaths.

  Neal Freyman (27:39): "These are just really interesting facts about capuchins adapted to capture tiny howlers, but it's a disturbing mirror to human behavior."

• Research Insights: The phenomenon appears to be influenced by a charismatic individual monkey, dubbed "the Joker," whose actions are being mimicked by others, raising questions about animal behavior and cultural transmission.

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Final Thoughts

In this episode of Morning Brew Daily, Neal Freyman and Toby Howell provide an insightful analysis of significant political, economic, and cultural shifts. From the complexities of the new tax bill and the strategic relocation of Sesame Street to the challenges facing small college towns and the evolving funeral industry, the hosts deliver a comprehensive overview of the issues shaping today's landscape. Additionally, their brief news highlights offer a snapshot of intriguing developments across various sectors, ensuring listeners stay informed and engaged.

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For feedback or comments, contact Morning Brew Daily at MorningBrew.com.

Transcript

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[Neal Freyman]

Good Morning Brew Daily Show. I'm Neal Freyman.

[Toby Howell]

And I'm Toby Howell.

[Neal Freyman]

Today we'll dive into the details of the sweeping tax and spending bill Congress hopes to pass this week.

[Toby Howell]

Then hope you don't mind Mr. Snuffaluffagus coming to your Netflix and chill sessions because Sesame street has a new home. It's Tuesday, May 20th. Let's ride.

[Neal Freyman]

If you don't already put your phone on do not disturb disturbed mode during work, you're about to A new Microsoft report on the workplace found that the average 9 to 5 employee is interrupted every two minutes by meetings, emails, slacks and other pings. And that's not even taking into account non workplace apps like Imessage or Spotify or YouTube. Toby, one interruption every two minutes sounds pretty nice.

[Toby Howell]

I know we were laughing at this because that actually does feel like a blissful little two moments of peace for you. But. But add in all those messages plus postwork messages and we are experiencing 275 interruptions a day. No wonder you can't think. Some other data points just showing how scatterbrained we are in the modern workplace. 60% of meetings are ad hoc versus scheduled and then edits in PowerPoint spike 122% in the final 10 minutes before a meeting. So love all you procrastinators out there. Also, the messages do follow you home. Microsoft found that there's been a 15% year over year increase with messages outside the nine to five work hours. So any time you feel like your work is chaotic or fragmented, you're probably right. Now Microsoft tries to position AI as the answer and the solution to all of this. But I say the answer is go outside and take a walk without your phone. And now a word from our sponsor, Iterable. Neil, I want you to imagine something. Imagine. Imagine you just jumped into the ocean wearing a full business suit.

[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

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[Toby Howell]

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[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

Neal Again with this birthday suit metaphor.

[Neal Freyman]

Don't let your marketing sink swim smarter and less inhibited head to end the campaign.com to learn more the the Big Beautiful Bill is on the move Late Sunday night, a congressional committee advanced President Trump's massive spending and tax package with the hopes of teeing up a House vote before Memorial Day weekend. This thing, running over 1100 pages, is the centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda and would shake up everything from your taxes to Medicare to the electric vehicle tax credit. The primary purpose of the bill is to extend the 2017 tax cuts from Trump's first term in office. Those would expire at the end of the year, so absent an extent mentioned, taxes would go up for most Americans by 2026. So that's priority number one. In addition to continuing those tax cuts, the bill also eliminates taxes on tips, overtime and car loan interest, fulfilling promises Trump made on the campaign trail. All of that foregone revenue is going to be extremely costly for the US Government to pay for the tax cuts. The bill claws back clean energy credits from Biden's Inflation Reduction act and would make other cuts to Medicaid and food stamps. But it won't make up the difference. And it exacerbate a spiraling debt problem cited by Moody's when it cut the US Credit rating on Friday. Even with the spending reductions, the bill would add over $3.2 trillion in new red ink over the next decade. That's according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. And this double whammy of the Moody's rating cut and the prospect of even higher deficits from the tax bill shook Wall street yesterday, spurring investors to continue selling bonds and the dollar.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, four main priorities here extend those tax cuts, introduce some of those new tax breaks that he campaigned on, boost some military and border spending, and then fourth, raise the debt ceiling so the money so the government can continue to borrow money. And all of that is super expensive. So a lot of people are going, all right, how are we going to pay for the thing? And the Mass, vast majority of it just won't be paid for. We're just kicking the can down the road once more. There are those cuts coming to Medicaid all are those cuts coming to clean energy, among other areas. But, but this has created a problem within the Republican Party who already holds a narrow majority because you have fiscal hawks that are saying, wait a second, why are we spending more? Why are we adding more to the deficit? Let's add some deeper spending cuts to this thing. Then also some Republicans in their own districts are saying we don't want to cut Medicaid. These are our constituents here. We don't want to do that. And then others don't like the clean energy cuts too because again, you are increasing costs for know, buying an electric vehicle for some of their constituents. And then probably the biggest kind of hold up is one group that really wants to roll back a Trump tax hike, AKA the salt deduction that would hit mainly affluent people living in blue states that came back in 2017. That would be an expensive change because that was one of the big tax hikes that did help offset some of the tax cuts in Trump's previous administration. So a lot of just nitty gritty things that are still to be worked out in this big beautiful bill.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, they're trying to pass it or get at least to the House before everyone goes on break before Memorial Day. But as you mentioned, there are a lot of provisions here with a lot of stakeholders from people getting large clean energy tax credits in their states to those people in California, New York and New Jersey who really rely on that salt deduction. And then investors. Wall street really had a strong reaction to all that's been happening recently. And it really has one common theme of fiscal deterioration. From the Moody's cut on Friday to increasing the deficit with this tax bill on Monday. The investors sent bond yields higher, which means they sold off bonds. Yields are extremely high right now. They're much higher than they were in 2017 with these tax cuts, which could make borrowing a lot more expensive for the US government. The yield on the 30 year treasury bond yesterday settled in at 4.937%. That's up from 4.786 at the percent at the end of last year. Let's talk about the 10 year note. That was up to 4.47% yesterday, up from 4.2% at the end of April. Already nearly $1 in every $7 the US spends goes toward, toward paying interest. When we borrow money now, it's going to be at these much higher interest rates than they were in 2017. And that's what Moody's is setting. That's what these budget hawks at when they're saying, you know, this fiscal picture for the United States is looking more dire than ever.

[Toby Howell]

Let's move on. Every Sesame street episode begins with a theme song, sunny Day, which features the iconic line, can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? Now that old question has a new answer. Log on to Netflix. The king of the streamers announced it had picked up the rights to Sesame street yesterday, giving the kids show a new home after it had ended its partnership with Max late last year. Despite shaping millions of children's vocabulary and math abilities for decades, Sesame street has struggled to adapt to the streaming age. After more than 50 years as a PBS staple, the show struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery in 2016 to make the show available on its flagship streaming platform, Max. But as Wall street soured on the chase for subscribers, the eye popping price tag Warner Bros. Paid for the right to air Sesame street in the $35 million a year range, the suddenly seemed too expensive. So as Sesame Workshop has geared up to work on its 56th season, it's also been shopping around for a new home, one that Netflix was happy to provide given its broader push into children's content. Netflix already holds the streaming rights to Ms. Rachel and Cocomelon, two of the most popular children's YouTube channels. In 2021, it acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company and now it's got Sesame street in the fold. Neal certainly seems like it wants to make sure any byproducts of Netflix and Chill Sessions from nine months ago have some entertainment as well.

[Neal Freyman]

This is a huge lifeline for Sesame street and its owner Sesame workshop, who cut 20% of its workforce. They lost $35 million in revenue per year when this Max deal ended. And Netflix swoops in. And it's a big win for Netflix, which wants to build its lead over the other streamers with kids programming. It's already number one. 72% of 10 to 12 year old viewers have watched programing on Netflix recently. That's compared to 57% Disney, plus 32% for Hulu and just 13% of Max, which you can see these streamers going in very different directions. Netflix is bolstering its kids programming. Meanwhile, Max has just rebranded back to HBO Max, and it's going to rely on that more adult, prestige programming that you know is its bread and butter. It tried to compete with Netflix by bringing Sesame street, by rebranding as Max. Now it's going back to old hbo and Netflix is just forging ahead in world Kid domination.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, it's not necessarily as lucrative for Sesame Street. The the actual reports of the deal haven't come out yet, but a lot of people are saying it is well below that $35 million figure. This new deal brings new episodes to Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. The Max deal actually was less advantageous for Sesame street, especially pbs, because Max would get the episodes months before they would actually air on pbs, its long time home. So this kind of returns it to the status quo. You can just toss on pbs, you can find these episodes as they air. Netflix also gets them. So it's just broadening the reach of this iconic kids program, making less money, but also getting maybe a better distribution side of the of the equation. So it is good because Sesame street was kind of lost in the shuffle of this very fast changing TV landscape. It couldn't compete with Bluey, couldn't compete with Cocomelon in terms of streaming numbers. Now potentially this wider distribution will help cement it again as one of the apex shows of the of the children's streaming era.

[Neal Freyman]

Yesterday on the show you heard that major US cities were growing like weeds again after years of stagnation. At the same time, though, other places around the country are facing an existential crisis. I'm talking about the old college town. You know the places. I'm talking about the quaint cities in western Pennsylvania or O Ohio or Illinois that have a regional college and a cute Main street with bars and coffee shops. According to the Wall Street Journal, they're becoming economically endangered. A Brooking study found that among metro areas that are reliant on higher ed, 75% of them experienced weaker economic growth between 2011 and 2023 than the US as a whole. That's a result of falling enrollment at regional schools. Fewer students means fewer customers for local shops and and in turn lacks less tax revenue for the city government to make improvements. Some call it the real estate doom loop you didn't know was happening. Take Macomb, Illinois for example, home to Western Illinois University. In the boom times of the 70s, the school's enrollment peaked at over 15,000. Now it's just 5,500. And the town is suffering. The city's population plunged 23% from 2010 to 2024. City sales tax revenue has dropped almost proportionately, according to the mayor. And pizza shops that were once humming at 2am are struggling to stay open until 9. Toby, this is happening in college towns across the country. And it's probably not going to get any better.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, it is bleak out there because there's also some other forces that are making it hard for these towns to survive. One, federal funding to colleges is likely going to be cut under the current administration when there's no money. That results in hiring freezes and layoffs. And then also some of these efforts to cancel student visas from students coming in from abroad also hurts these institutions because those students typically pay a higher out of state tuition. And then just in general, there are less young people flooding into the college system. In 2007, that was the last, that was the peak of the US birth rate. That's when 4.3 million Americans were born. And that has been falling steadily ever since then. So that's less kids entering middle school, entering high school, and therefore entering these college towns as well. So a lot of just factors converging to make these college towns kind of the center of this big demographic struggle.

[Neal Freyman]

And it's really a rich get richer separating from the pack. Because when you think of college towns, yes, maybe you think of Macomb, Illinois or Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, these smaller towns, but you also maybe think of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Madison, Wisconsin and Gainesville, Florida. Well, they're doing just fine. Enrollment at these large flagship state public universities are, is increasing a lot and students are filling dorms and bars and these places are thriving. And like, let's just go back to University of Illinois, for example. So the flagship University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, enrollment there this past academic year was up 36% from 2010. Meanwhile, at Western Illinois University, enrollment fell 47%. So you're starting to see divergence between these rich college towns, these bigger ones with more public funding and research universities, and the smaller towns which are facing an existential crisis.

[Toby Howell]

Up next, let's dive into my Toby's trend.

[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

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[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

Yes, one particular platform thinks I'm obsessed with Faberge eggs.

[Neal Freyman]

Maybe because we keep talking about egg prices. That also proves that a lot of the time the best B2B marketing gets served to the wrong people.

[Toby Howell]

I have purchased over 17 Faberge eggs in the last two weeks.

[Neal Freyman]

I wow. Okay. Point is, LinkedIn has a network of over 1 billion professionals and over 130 million decision makers, which makes it stand out from other ad purchases.

[Toby Howell]

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[Neal Freyman]

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[Toby Howell]

LinkedIn will even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign, so you can try it yourself. Just go to LinkedIn.com mbd that's LinkedIn.com mbd Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads. On today's edition of Toby's Trends, I want you all to take a moment to contemplate what's next. No, not your next meeting on your Google Cal or what you're having for dinner later. I'm talking about what's really next. Today's Toby's trend is all about what happens right after you die. In the last few decades, the national cremation rate has soared since they are a lot more cost effective for grieving families. According to the New York Times, the median cost of a direct cremation is $2,750, compared to 80300 for a traditional package that includes a casket viewing ceremony and burial. The National Funeral Directors association says the rise in cremation is also tied to things like environmental concerns and less religious customers who don't need or want heavily ritualized ceremonies. In total, the NFDA thinks the cremation rate will hit 82% by 2045, up from just over 60% last year. It's a trend that has put the whole funeral industry at risk of dying out. When customers opt for cremation rather than a more involved funeral, it hurts their bottom line, leading many funeral homes to start to innovate and move more into the event planning space. For instance, one young hunter's family, the New York Times profile opted for his cremated remains to be put into Some shotgun shells for one last hunt. A service Hamilton Funeral Home in Des Moines helped facilitate. So, Neil, there are really two trends emerging here. One, more people opting for cremation. And two, more funeral homes are coming up with creative ways to drive revenue to support their business.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah, the cremation rate this year, last year 2024 was a record 62%. That's up from just 6.2% in 1974. So we've seen a huge boom in cremation. We're also seeing these funeral homes have to get creative. Because there are 15,700 funeral homes in the United States. Roughly three quarters of them are all family or privately owned. These are small businesses that can't really adapt to the changing landscape of people paying $2,700 for a service that they used to pay 80 $500 for. So you see some of them, here's a quote from one saying we're no longer just a funeral company who does events. We're an event company who does funerals. And they're adding plazas and doing things like weddings and other lifetime rituals. So you get the real circle of life at these places because they need to use their real estate to stay alive.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, there's one in Richland, Washington that has this airy 6,000 foot event center. It's got a patio, it's got this view overlooking kind of the, the pnw. And they have a menu, a catering menu. It's got a brisket buffet, buffet as well. And so rather than a traditional funeral parlor, they actually host 10 to 20 weddings a year at this place. So you are right, like it is this odd circle of life moment, but that has proved to be so popular that they're spending two and a half million dollars to renovate its next funeral home to also support events like this. So it's interesting how this trickle down effect of more people opting for cremation because of a variety of factors, not just economic, there is an environmental factor as well, has put these businesses in a much different calculus. And now they have to get super creative with how they can survive.

[Neal Freyman]

And they are getting creative. I mean, some of the examples of what funeral homes are doing to change up their services are just really, I'm not going to say fun, but interesting. So for a beloved little league coach, one of these funeral directors turned her funeral home into a baseball field with bases, a popcorn machine and hot dogs. And for a woman who had been a model and fashion designer, there was a cocktail hour with a Runway and mannequins in her clothing. So they are getting creative. My question for you is, would you get married in a funeral home?

[Toby Howell]

I know it just doesn't seem like the best, the most auspicious start to a marriage, but also, I guess if it was a beautiful space, then maybe you can overlook it. So I did think that was a little bit odd, but maybe just it is the circle of life and there is some, some good.

[Neal Freyman]

Well, another thing that's expensive besides funerals is weddings. So if you find a good deal at a funeral home, maybe you got to take it. Okay, let's sprint to the finish with some final headlines. If you're One of the 15 million people who gave their DNA sample to 23andMe, your genetic information is under new ownership. The bankrupt genetic testing company sold its assets, including its massive treasure trove of genetic data, to the US drug developer Regeneron for $256 million. It's a steep price cut from the more than 7,000,023, and me was once worth on the public markets, highlighting its downfall under a business model that was never profitable once it went bankrupt a few months ago. The big question was what it would do with its highly sensitive bank of DNA from customers. Regeneron has pledged to keep it safe with its CEO saying they have a, quote, proven track record of safeguarding the genetic data of people across the globe. But it's not clear whether those concerns will be put to rest.

[Toby Howell]

So, obviously it's down massively from its $6 billion valuation in 2021, but also it's up from its current market cap of $25 million. So what was kind of the, the purpose of buying this company? Regeneron actually beat out six other bidders. So clearly this treasure trove of genetic data was something that a lot of people did find valuable. I mean, again, it's down 95% from its peak, but it's also up 10x from what it's currently valued at. So it's just fascinating to see how there is still this very competitive demand for 23 and Me's assets, despite the company never actually quite figuring out its profitable business model. Regeneron says we're going to use it to, you know, fund our own research because, yeah, genetic data is genetic data. The head of CBS News hit the exit yesterday, marking the second high profile executive to leave the company as it stares down a $20 billion lawsuit from President Trump and an $8 billion merger. This time, it was Wendy McMahon tendering her resignation, writing in a memo, it's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. Her words echo those of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens, who also left in April after feeling he had lost journalistic independence in the face of the merger in lawsuit. Neal, remember, this merger requires federal approval. So there has been internal pressure from cbs, his parent company, Paramount, to not rock the boat too much. And that boat is one that high level execs like McMahon and Owens don't want to be in anymore.

[Neal Freyman]

This is a major exodus of leadership from CBS News. They're clashing with Paramount ownership, including Sherri Redstone, who's trying to take a more active role in their news decision making. And that's ranking the top news leadership. So CBS News is kind of chaos right now. Morale can't be good. There was reporting that a new 60 Minutes segment on executive orders that Trump did targeting law firms was also perhaps sparking a second lawsuit from the Trump administration on top of the $20 billion one. I think that caused a lot of urgency on the on the side of Paramount leadership to maybe take a sterner line with their news executives, which again turned into a major pushback from these news executives. So yes, CBS News, probably the, you know, one of the more iconic brands in news in American history is devolving into chaos right now.

[Toby Howell]

Speaking of chaos, Spain's housing market is in Spain without the ass. It's staring down an affordability crisis that has caused thousands of Spaniards to take to the streets to protest rising costs. So how do you free up inventory quickly without building new units? Order Airbnb to block more than 65,000 listings on its platform as Spain's consumer Rights ministry did yesterday. As you would imagine, vacation rental homes are a big business in Spain. About 321,000 homes in Spain had holiday rental licenses, according to Reuters. That's 15% more than in 2020. This is a country in citywide crackdown we are seeing. Last year, Barcelona announced it will shut down all 10,000 short term rental apartments by 2028 to protect housing for full time residents. So, Neal, they're really pulling out all the stops here to try to free up some inventory.

[Neal Freyman]

These numbers are staggering in terms of how unaffordable housing has become in Spain. Rental prices have jumped 57% in Spain since 2015. Home prices have soared 47% compared to household income which has grown just 33%. Barcelona is probably the worst offender. Rents have surged there 68% in a decade. So whenever you see this happening, it's happening all across the world. And what is the first thing city governments do is they call up Airbnb and say, hey, you guys, we're kicking you out. Airbnb has a playbook because they've been targeted by so many cities. They say that the root cause of affordable housing, unaffordable housing, is not Airbnb. It's the fact that you're not building more housing. They pointed to other examples of places like Amsterdam and New York City, which instituted restrictions on Airbnb and said this had. This did not have any factor whatsoever in decreasing house price growth. So Airbnb is pushing back. At the end of the day, I think they're outgunned over there in Spain because the knives are out. Finally, a spate of monkey kidnappings has stunned researchers on Higaron island off of Panama. I'm not talking about humans stealing monkeys. It's monkeys swiping other monkeys of a different species. In a study published in the journal Current Biology, scientists said for the first time ever, they saw video footage of young male capuchin monkeys kidnapping infant howler monkeys, who often later died from dehydration or lack of nutrition. Calling the behavior viscerally disturbing, the researchers believe that the male adolescent monkeys are taking the howlers simply because they are young and bored, similar to the way a young human child would capture lightning bugs in a jar. As animal culture expert Brendan Barrett said, I think seeing this occur in another species is somewhat terrifying because it kind of reflects a mirror on the actions that we do as people.

[Toby Howell]

This was kind of scary because you see the footage and it seems so innocuous. But then you realize that these howler monkeys usually end up going on and dehydrating and dying. The trend appears to have been started by a monkey that the researchers nicknamed the Joker, which is this young male capuchin who has a small scar by the side of his mouth, AKA the Joker. And other monkeys seem to observe the Joker doing its thing and started mirroring the action back to him. So it is just this weird part of monkey culture that these researchers have stumbled upon as they've been following around this troop for a while now. And yeah, they don't think they actually are intending to harm these monkeys. But you are right, it is a uncomfortable mirror staring back at us, reflecting some of maybe the worst parts of human culture as well. So just a fascinating thing, these capuchins are a very smart and advanced species. The researchers have observed them using stone tools often throughout their research. So now they have this different and strange behavior that they've also picked up upon.

[Neal Freyman]

Maybe they just need to get pinged every two minutes so they don't get bored and start kidnapping other monkeys.

[Toby Howell]

No thank you.

[Neal Freyman]

That is all the time we have. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us and have a wonderful Tuesday. If you have any thoughts on the show, let us know so we can make it better. Send an email with questions, comments or feedback to Morning Brew daily at Morning Broadcom. Let's roll the credits. Emily Milian is our executive producer. Raymond Lu is our producer. Our associate producers are Olivia Graham and Olivia Lake. Scoop star Daris is on audio, hair and makeup is out looking for the Fountain of Youth. Devin Emery is our president and our show is a production of Morning Brew.

[Toby Howell]

Great show today, Neil. Let's run it back tomorrow.