The Navigator, Saturday, June 14, 2025
Fave dad texts, Pop music prediction, phasing-out FEMA, DEI books returned, the battle over data centers—and more
There’s a term we’ve been thinking about a lot lately—bubblegum dystopia. Coined by writer Stephen Nothum last year, it describes a peculiar kind of cultural decay: one wrapped in bright colors, powered by convenience, and designed to distract us, intentionally or not, with just enough digital dopamine to keep scrolling, buying, and believing everything’s okay.
And yet, we all know things aren’t okay, or at least not normal. Anti-ICE protestors are in the streets of Los Angeles this week, the president has called up the National Guard and the Marines to quell them as an “insurrection,” and today in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Army will parade for the first time since the end of the Gulf War in 1991.
At the same time, there seems to be a quiet resurgence of analog living, authoritarian resistance, community engagement, mutual aid, slowness, and systems thinking. You see it in the pushback against presidential overreach, the growing appetite for policy over platitudes, and, of course, the rejection of manufactured crises. Across the nation today, thousands are expected to participate in No Kings Day, a “nationwide day of defiance.”
Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of bubblegum dystopia and the start of something new? Because if this era is ending, we have a rare opportunity to ask not just what comes next but what we want to come next.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
And, don’t forget to also find joy this Father’s Day weekend. Happy day to all dads!
Can pop music actually predict a recession? (Vox)
Now that’s what I call economic downturn!
Phase-Out of FEMA On Course, Trump Says, Raising Worries About a Weakened National Disaster Response (Inside Climate News)
President Trump said he will begin dismantling the Federal Emergency Management Agency this year: “We want to bring it down to the state level.”
A Political Battle Is Brewing Over Data Centers (WIRED)
An AI-related provision in the “Big Beautiful Bill” could restrict state-level legislation of energy-hungry data centers—and is raising bipartisan objections across the US.
The World Is Embracing the Dollar, Not Abandoning It: BofA (Barron’s)
The decline is a reflection of other factors, the bank’s interest-rate strategists say.
The Perilous Spread of the Wellness Craze (The Atlantic)
A new book reveals how health-care inequality fueled the spread of anti-science conspiracy theories.
In the age of AI, IQ and EQ are no longer enough. Here’s why (FastCompany)
What AI reveals about the future of leadership.
‘This is coming for everyone’: A new kind of AI bot takes over the web (The Washington Post)
As consumers switch from Google search to ChatGPT, a new kind of bot is scraping data for AI.
As floods keep coming, this small city can’t afford to let people leave (The Washington Post)
Floodplain buyouts can reduce the financial toll of future disasters. But some small towns losing property and people are now saying no.
Millions in US expected to join today’s ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump (The Guardian)
Rallies at roughly 2,000 sites are planned for today, June 14—the same day as Trump’s military parade and birthday. Trump has warned that those who protest the military parade “will be met with very big force.”
Hundreds of ‘DEI’ books are back at the U.S. Naval Academy. An alum and bookshop fought their removal. (The 19th)
Following a public outcry, the Academy returned titles by Maya Angelou, Harper Lee and others — many by women — that were purged under Pentagon orders targeting race and gender discourse.
The Subtle Art of the Dad Text (The New York Times)
In honor of Father’s Day, The Times asked readers to submit their most cherished dad texts, and shared some of the 900 sent in.