Dez Reads. Scamming the Scammers.

There are few people I hold in lower regard than scammers, especially those who take advantage of the elderly and vulnerable. Around the time my parents retired, I started policing their social media activity (no, Mom, that meme about Nancy Pelosi isn’t true), even though they are smart and level-headed people. The sheer volume of manipulative information bouncing around the internet leaves us all susceptible to online crime.

Enter AI Granny – an artificial intelligence chatbot that keeps scammers occupied as they think they are getting their hooks into their next victim. We lead with Anne Marie’s blurb on this brilliantly practical innovation designed to make scams less efficient.

As for the rest of the crew, Steven Schlein opines on the futility of predicting future foreign policy developments, Maggie Johnston mourns the loss of her favorite podcast host, David Manitsky contemplates the future of a global NFL, and Mike Bova writes about private equity’s next frontier.

Thanks, as always, for reading along with us.

Here we go.

Technology.

NPR. A phone company developed an AI ‘granny’ to beat scammers at their own game

A few months ago, a spoofed version of me sent emails from a fake, but deceivingly real-looking email account asking colleagues to run a quick errand or buy gift cards. I was mortified, but I know I am not the only one. Phishing attempts, spoof texts and calls, and digital scams are rampant.

So much so that the British mobile company, O2, created Daisy, a chatty granny who talks to scammers and keeps them away from real people. With retorts about her cat, Fluffy, and having all the time in the world, Daisy can occupy scammers for up to 40 minutes per call.

A few defeated scammers have shared their thoughts: “It’s nearly been an hour! For the love of [bleep],” and “I think your profession is bothering people, right?” It is, and Granny Daisy is proud of it. Cheers to O2 and Daisy for working to beat the bad guys at their own game.

– Anne Marie Malecha

Entertainment.

Rolling Stone. ‘Normal Gossip’ Is Getting New Hosts

This Tuesday brought a bittersweet moment in my podcast world. Logging into Spotify for my weekly dose of Normal Gossip, I was met with unexpected news: Kelsey McKinney, the beloved host and gossip queen, is stepping down, passing the mic to a new host. While I’ll give the newcomer a fair chance, it’s hard to say goodbye to such a brilliant and engaging voice.

Kelsey created something extraordinary. The concept is deceptively simple: real stories submitted about wild, funny gossip—like a pet mayoral race, drama in a knitting club, or a man building a mushroom-foraging group out of his Tinder dates. Yet Kelsey’s storytelling elevated these anecdotes into rich, nail-biting narratives that left you laughing, gasping, and utterly hooked.

Beyond the entertainment, Normal Gossip offers a surprisingly nuanced view of gossip—not as something cruel or petty, but as a tool for connection and accountability. Kelsey showed how gossip, when thoughtfully wielded, can uncover inequities, foster community, and hold people accountable.

Her work reminds us that even something as seemingly frivolous as a gossip podcast can carry real meaning. In her hands, gossip became a subtle but powerful force for justice, a celebration of human connection and the quirky beauty in everyday life.

– Maggie Johnston

World Affairs.

NBC. What to know about Assad’s fall and what might happen next in Syria

Arnold Toynbee, the 20th-century historian, famously said, “History is one damn thing after another.” I thought of that after seeing this ridiculous headline. NBC thinks they know what’s going to happen next? If they’re so smart, why didn’t they tell us that Assad was going to be overthrown? Nobody knows what’s going to happen next. Nobody predicted Castro’s quick takeover of Cuba; American business was investing in Cuba right up until the day Castro marched into Havana. Nobody predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989. Experts did tell us in the early 2000s that China’s economy would surpass ours by 2024. Well, it’s 2024: our economy is at $28 trillion, and China’s at $18 trillion. Oops.

After 45 years in Washington, I’ve learned not to listen to the foreign policy pontificators. World events are not like a math equation that can be solved by some genius. World events are driven by the actions of people, many of them irrational. My prediction is that Middle Eastern events will take a turn that no one predicted.

– Steven Schlein

Sports.

ABC News. NFL and Nike extend their partnership with a 10-year deal, will focus on growing the sport globally.

In recent years, the NFL has expanded to have games in England, Germany, and Brazil. However, this could lead to unforeseen outcomes that today’s NFL fans may not be prepared for.

We’ve seen this before: In the last century, MLB and the NBA both expanded out of North America, and today, the best players in each league aren’t American. In the most recent NBA season, the MVP finalists, Nicola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are all foreign-born. Shohei Ohtani, the face of baseball and the modern-day Babe Ruth, is from Japan and doesn’t speak English. And this brings me to my final question that I don’t think the NFL has considered: How will Americans react to foreign-born, non-English-speaking players in the NFL?

Personally, as long as you win games, I don’t care where you are born or what language you speak. But I wonder if the majority of NFL fans in America agree. Although this is only starting with a couple of games leaving the country, it very much could end in a campaign to “Make the NFL Great Again.”

– David Manitsky

NYT: Dolphins, Bills sell stakes in team to private equity firms for first time in NFL history

Well, that didn’t take long. For the first time in NFL history, private equity firms will be in the NFL owner’s box. The Eagles, Dolphins, Bills, and Raiders all voted to approve bids from Ares Management and Arctos Partners at a special league meeting.

In August, NFL owners voted to allow private equity funds to purchase up to a 10 percent stake in a franchise. At least a 30 percent stake is required to be a controlling owner of a franchise, so there won’t be a situation where a private equity firm runs an NFL team. Private equity funds that buy into teams have to hold their shares for at least six years, so we won’t be seeing any quick flips of these ownership positions.

These deals illustrate the meteoric rise of the value of anything associated with sports. For example, over the more than three decades that Jeffrey Lurie has owned the Eagles, the team’s value increased 13.2 percent annually, outpacing the S&P 500 at 8.9 percent annually.

– Mike Bova

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