May 27, 2026

The Appetizer

“Could you imagine being known as the woman who hung up on the pope?”

• Illinois priest recounting the story of the bank associate who ended a call with Pope Leo as he was attempting to change his bank information after moving to the Vatican.

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• 42%: The percentage of Americans who live within five miles of an existing or planned data center.
• 6.7%: The percentage of SAT takers who received extra time last year versus 2% a decade ago.
• 22 years: The length of Arsenal Football Club’s Premier League title drought before winning this year.
• 7,000: Approximately 7,000 employees are reportedly being moved into roles focused on artificial intelligence at Meta.
• $100: The cost of an extravagant hot dog featuring Australian Wagyu, crème fraîche, and mascarpone at the Miami Grand Prix, and it wasn’t even the most expensive one.

Dig In
Market Debuts

After a long nap, the IPO market is finally waking up – and not quietly. Through the first quarter of 2026, 35 companies have gone public raising approximately $9.9 billion, according to Renaissance Capital, marking the strongest start since the 2021 surge. In other words, the “wait-and-see” environment is starting to look a lot more like “welcome back.”

To appreciate the shift, rewind to 2021. Nearly 400 companies hit the market that year, raising over $140 billion in what felt like a nonstop IPO parade. Then interest rates moved higher, liquidity tightened, and the new-issue window slammed shut. In the years that followed, companies stayed private longer, leaning on venture capital and delaying their public debut.

Now, that dynamic appears to be changing. There’s a growing pipeline of companies preparing to go public – many of them larger, more mature, and carrying hefty valuations built during the private market boom. Bankers are increasingly optimistic that 2026 could be a peak year for IPO activity, with a significant backlog of companies finally ready to test public markets.

The big picture? The IPO market isn’t just reopening – it’s evolving. Companies may still be more selective about timing, but the days of staying private indefinitely may be fading. The stage lights are back on, and the line of companies waiting backstage is getting longer.

Weekly Specials

Hacky sack is somehow cool again, and millennials are both proud and confused. Teens have turned the chill ’90s foot game into a full-blown athletic social media sport, complete with tricks, school rankings, and viral clips. Parents are thrilled kids are finally off their phones … though most admit one high kick today would immediately turn into a hamstring “hack-cident.”

Scientists have reportedly finally solved the mystery of a golden blob found two miles under the ocean near Alaska. After years of wondering whether it was an alien egg, cursed ravioli, or Poseidon’s leftover pierogi, researchers identified it as part of a deep-sea anemone. Their method? Poke it, scratch it, then vacuum-slurp it off a rock like the world’s weirdest (and most expensive) underwater taste test.

AI-powered bionic legs, are here, turning normal hikes into low-budget superhero origin stories. A tester used robotic hip boosters to climb hills faster, bike harder, and briefly feel like Iron Man – until the battery died and the robot nearly punched back. Cool? Yes. Slightly dystopian? Also yes.

The St. Louis Cardinals accidentally discovered the ultimate baseball strategy: shirtless college kids. A group of rowdy students turned Busch Stadium into a soccer-style party with chants, chaos, and flying T-shirts so electric the manager started buying them tickets himself. Honestly, MLB might’ve finally found the cure for “games are too boring.”

Corporate Lunch

Shein just bought “transparent” favorite Everlane for about $100 million: Can sustainability survive ultra-fast fashion ownership, or will it turn into just another fast-fashion basics machine?

Amazon reported it is retiring pre-2013 Kindles from new downloads. Your old device still works; it’s just entering its “Florida condo and early bird dinner” era.

Nvidia posted another monster quarter based on publicly released earnings: $81.6 billion and 85% growth from last year. At this point, Wall Street treats “only” hypergrowth like a disappointing group project contribution.

Google is going full AI mode according to recent announcements: smarter Gemini models, AI-powered search, voice tools, and a new cloud partnership. Basically, search bars are becoming coworkers now.

Pizza Hut is reviving red tablecloths and Tiffany lamps from the ’80s and ’90s according to recent reports. Nostalgia officially tastes like greasy pan pizza and unlimited Pepsi refills.

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