25 2025 July
The U.S. Postal Service Turns 250—So Let’s Celebrate the Innovations They Have Given the World
For over 100 years in the early days of the U.S. Postal Service, the way mail would get sent from small towns involved a crazy...
Read Now
17 2025 July
An Important Lesson About Youth Culture from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Every summer on the National Mall in DC the Smithsonian hosts their Folklife Festival. Typically, the weekend-long event brings craftspeople from around the world to...
Read Now
15 2025 July
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Afrofuturism by Kevin M. Strait and Kinshasha Holman Conwill
“There are Black people in the future.” That’s the brilliant reminder on the back cover of this book I recall reading and selecting for our...
Read Now
08 2025 July
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Generations by Jean M. Twenge
If there was ever a book that could demystify and explain the differences between these generational labels we assign to one another, this is it....
Read Now
16 2025 June
How To See Through a Manipulated Headline (A Retailwire Case Study)
One thing I often talk about in this newsletter is honing our media literacy. This week I found a perfect case study to illustrate how...
Read Now
10 2025 June
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The New Tourist by Paige McClanahan
Ask anyone if they describe themselves as a tourist or a traveler and most people will say the latter. Seeing yourself as a “tourist” has...
Read Now02 2025 June
LEGO Dives into the Book Nook Trend with Latest Set for Adults
A “book nook” is the term typically reserved for a cozy corner of a home or office where you can enjoy reading a book in...
Read Now15 2025 May
People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies
For years, people have been worried about what will happen if humans start to worship AI and technology. The opposite question is one we rarely...
Read Now23 2025 April
Tattoorism and the Elusive Quest for the Ultimate Souvenir
How do you remember a trip forever? Last year there was a feature story about “the rise of tattoo tourism” and how more Millennials and...
Read Now04 2025 April
The Sad Retreat of April Fool’s Day and What It Reveals About Our Culture
The week of April Fool’s Day, I regularly look forward to reading about all the brands taking risks, exploring their fun sides and doing something...
Read Now02 2025 April
Rimowa Sells Old, Beat-Up Suitcases and Demand Is Off the Charts
Buyback programs are getting popular among retailers in many categories but usually they are for products that are still in “sellable” condition that can be...
Read Now20 2025 January
The Problem of Fake Job Postings
The Wall Street Journal published a piece this week about the rise in fake job postings online. The reasons for these range from some companies using those listings to...
Read Now17 2025 January
What the Canadian Angst Over the Upcoming Trump Inauguration Can Teach Us
In days, President Trump will take office again and there is certainly some concern among the groups you would expect. One unusual source for some...
Read Now