Trending
Riley on the day · June 19th
storyflo · daily
Jun 19, 2026 · 12 min listen
Listen · storyflo · daily
Riley on the day · June 19th
0:00-11:31
Live · Kokoro-82M
In May, the federal government announced without warning that it would take apart a network of ocean monitoring systems that it had spent over $350 million to build. No reason was given for the decision to shut down the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI), but suspicion immediately focused on the network's role in tracking climate change. But the OOI also provides data that's useful for weather forecasting and fisheries management, leading to widespread opposition. Today, it appears that the opposition has won, as the government will announce that it's reversing the decision. The big remaining question is how much damage the OOI took during the intervening month. As of now, there is no formal statement available from the federal government. However, The New York Times reports that the decision will be announced later today, and Ars received a statement from Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee, indicating that the decision has been made.
With the exception of Superman and Batman, no comic book character has had the kind of recurring cinematic success that Spider-Man has. In just 24 years, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s most famous creation has appeared in eight live-action films (plus MCU guest appearances) and gone through three reboots, not to mention a host of animated projects and TV shows. Part of that success is due to Spider-Man’s longevity on the page, which has given him 65 years of intricate comic book canon to explore on-screen. So far, the MCU has strayed away from direct adaptations of specific storylines (except for loosely introducing the concept of the Spider-Verse), instead preferring to remix them or go with original plotlines featuring classic villains tailored for Marvel’s cinematic universe. The Vulture ended up being an aggrieved blue-collar cleanup worker, Mysterio sold himself to Peter as a reality-hopping hero, and the villains of No Way Home aren’t multiversal vampires but an interdimensional version of the Sinister Six. There’s not one specific text being adapted, but rather a variety of concepts being cut into puzzle pieces that can fit within the larger jigsaw of the MCU. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the start of Tom Holland’s next trilogy, looks like it’s breaking that trend, though, very obviously taking inspiration from two major 2000s storylines that weren’t exactly acclaimed when they first released. While the biggest point of speculation regarding Brand New Day remains the identity of Sadie Sink’s mysterious antagonist, other mysteries abound, too, and arguably the second most discussed is the nature of the transformation Peter is undergoing. The updated synopsis for the movie hints at a “change in Peter he may not have the power to control,” one spurred on by the stress of being Spider-Man and losing his friends after No Way Home. The most popular assumption is that the movie will see Peter temporarily transform into Man-Spider, a feral, mutated state that sees him grow an additional four arms. But based on what we see in the trailer, it’s more likely that his transformation will pay homage to the 2005-2006 12-issue arc known as “The Other.” A status quo reset for the character, “The Other” throws Peter through a brutal crucible that sees him shot by a robotic villain named Tracer and mortally wounded by the interdimensional vampire Morlun, all the while reeling from a mysterious radiation-based illness that’s slowly destroying him. Ultimately, Peter succumbs to his ailments and dies, only to be resurrected by an ancient spider-deity known as the Great Weaver, who encourages Peter not to neglect his animalistic spider instincts. This revelation prompts a drastic change in Peter, one that sees him cocoon himself on the Brooklyn Bridge and emerge completely rejuvenated with new powers, including retractable stingers, night-vision, and, in an attempt to build synergy with the Raimi films, organic webbing. “The Other” was controversial for a few reasons, notably as part of a concentrated effort by Marvel Comics to retcon Spider-Man’s origin into a cosmically predetermined affair, which many fans believe defeated the point of Peter Parker being randomly given his powers. There are also many readers who simply dislike the convenience of organic webbing, a reliable alternative to the fallible quality of mechanical web-shooters. However, that storyline is a masterpiece compared to the reception of the other arc that the upcoming movie seems to be pulling from: 2007’s widely hated four-part crossover “One More Day.” Technically, “One More Day” was already loosely adapted in Spider-Man: No Way Home — the central thrust involves Peter Parker making a deal with the demon Mephisto, sacrificing his decades-long marriage to Mary-Jane Watson in exchange for saving Aunt May’s life from a fatal gunshot wound. Instead of a demonic pact that literally changes canon history, No Way Home’s climax opts to have Peter and Dr. Strange cast a spell that causes everyone on Earth to forget Peter’s secret identity, including his girlfriend, Michelle, and his best friend, Ned Leeds. Brand New Day will mostly engage with the aftermath of that spell, and the social and emotional toll weighing on a Peter Parker who once again finds himself completely alone. While neither storyline was well-received, the way the MCU is borrowing from both could be a perfect reset for Tom Holland’s version of the character. From the moment he debuted in Spider-Man: Homecoming, a common criticism of his depiction was his overreliance on advanced technology.
Karamo Brown, famous for his pep talks on Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” has jumped into the wellness and AI space with his new app, Kē. After spending a year and a half focusing on his own journey—from fitness and nutrition to meditation, sobriety, relationships, and personal growth—Brown wants to help others do the same.  Kē offers […]
Plague swept through groups of hunter-gatherers in southeastern Siberia 5,500 years ago, leaving dozens dead in its wake—with DNA from Yersinia pestis bacteria still trapped inside their teeth. University of Oxford ancient DNA researcher Ruairidh Macleod and his colleagues recently sequenced the telltale bacterial DNA in teeth from plague victims at four ancient cemeteries in the area around Russia’s Lake Baikal. The tragedy that befell these communities is now the earliest known plague outbreak, courtesy of the oldest strain of Y. pestis ever sequenced. Unearthing a new backstory for the plague Until recently, scientists who study the evolution of diseases have held two fairly solid ideas about the origins of plague, the disease caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria. It's a scourge so awful that it has gone down in history as not just a plague but the plague. The first idea is that the earliest strains didn't have the right genetic traits to be really lethal. And the second is that the plague first began menacing humans when the first farmers settled in densely packed towns alongside rats and domestic animals. Read full article
Karamo Brown, the life coach from Queer Eye, has created a wellness app called Kē. He spent a year and a half working on his own personal growth, focusing on things like fitness, nutrition, meditation, and relationships. Now he wants to help others do the same.
The app is unique because it features a digital clone of Karamo Brown, powered by AI. This digital version of Karamo can offer users personalized advice and guidance, similar to the pep talks he's known for on Queer Eye. The goal of the app is to help people improve their overall well-being, whether that's through fitness, mental health, or relationships.
Kē is designed to be a supportive tool for people looking to make positive changes in their lives. By using the app, users can get access to a variety of resources and guidance, all tailored to their individual needs. Karamo's digital clone is a key part of this, offering a sense of connection and support that can be hard to find in traditional wellness apps.
The app is the result of Karamo's own journey of self-improvement, and he's hoping it can help others achieve their own goals. Whether you're looking to get in shape, improve your mental health, or just find more balance in your life, Kē is designed to be a helpful tool.
Karamo's decision to create a wellness app is a natural extension of his work on Queer Eye, where he's helped people transform their lives through his coaching and guidance. With Kē, he's taking that same approach and making it available to a wider audience, using AI to make the experience more personal and engaging.
Karamo spent the last year and a half digging into his own habits—tracking workouts, tweaking his diet, trying meditation, and even cutting back on alcohol. He turned those notes into a digital companion that lives inside his new app, Kē. The twist isn’t just a sleek interface; it’s an AI version of Karamo that learns from how you respond, nudges you when you’re slipping, and offers bite‑size pep talks that sound oddly like his own voice.
The app stitches together data from your steps, sleep, and food logs, then feeds that into the AI so it can suggest next‑day routines, mindfulness exercises, or quick habit hacks. It’s built on a subscription model, but the core idea is to give you a personal coach who’s always listening, without the need to schedule a session.
What’s surprising is how the AI is trained on Karamo’s own coaching style—his phrasing, his humor, even his pauses—so the experience feels less like a generic chatbot and more like a conversation you’d have with him over coffee. It’s a very personal take on scaling wellness, and he’s positioning it as a tool for anyone who wants that same level of intentional self‑work.
Jeremy Grantham has a long history of calling bubbles. On this episode of the Odd Lots podcast, GMO's co-founder and chief investment strategist tells Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway what he thinks about Mag 7's multibillion-dollar investment into AI and the signs he watches out for to spot when a bubble might burst.
Five years after being convicted of murdering his young son, David (Sam Worthington) gets word his kid might still be alive, so he breaks out of prison, partners with a disgraced journalist/ex-sister-in-law (Britt Lower), and unravels an absurd conspiracy to find his only child.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is getting closer, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is now confirmed to bring back one of the best suits that never made it to the big screen. Superhero costumes are a key part of adaptations.
Plague swept through groups of hunter-gatherers in southeastern Siberia 5,500 years ago, leaving dozens dead in its wake—with DNA from Yersinia pestis bacteria still trapped inside their teeth. University of Oxford ancient DNA researcher Ruairidh Macleod and his colleagues recently sequenced the telltale bacterial DNA in teeth from plague victims at four ancient cemeteries in the area around Russia’s Lake Baikal. The tragedy that befell these communities is now the earliest known plague outbreak, courtesy of the oldest strain of Y.
Send this story to anyone — or drop the embed into a blog post, Substack, Notion page. Every play sends rev-share back to storyflo · daily.
We’ve simplified responses to 👍 / 👎. Past comments are archived but no longer visible.