The Weekender

The Weekender
AI: The Best Supporting Actor You’ll Never See
February 21, 2026

Every Oscars season, Hollywood celebrates “human artistry” while quietly adopting whatever tech makes the deadline less terrifying. This year, artificial intelligence (AI) is the newest crew member: it doesn’t need a trailer, and it definitely won’t complain about craft-services hummus. The only catch? Nobody wants...

The Weekender
The Friction Economy: Why Gen Z Is Trading Smartphones for Dumb Devices
February 07, 2026

There’s a special look kids give a floppy disk. They turn it over, tap the little metal shutter, and then ask, politely but devastatingly: “So where do you plug in the Wi‑Fi?” It’s the same energy adults bring to a rotary phone: reverence, confusion and...

The Weekender
Search Is Having Its New Haircut, New Me Moment
January 31, 2026

Search used to be a simple transaction: you typed “best tacos near me,” the internet shrugged, and 10 blue links politely fought to the death. Now search is more like a conversation with a caffeinated concierge who answers your question, summarizes three articles you didn’t...

The Weekender
Drones, Diamonds and the Ultra-Extravagant Impulse Buy
January 03, 2026

Somewhere between the last peppermint latte and the first “dry January” seltzer, the consumer psyche performs an elegant pivot: from recovering to romancing. Valentine’s Day is the annual reminder that love may be priceless, but the surrounding ecosystem is extremely price-discoverable, highly shoppable and increasingly optimized for impulse...

The Weekender
FIFA World Cup Turns Fandom Into an Experience Economy Moment
December 27, 2025

The last of the holiday glitter is still stuck to your shoes, but the digital economy is already dangling a shinier object: the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As our audience sharpens New Year’s intentions—tighten budgets, simplify stacks, stop paying “fees” that feel like emotional damage—soccer’s...

The Weekender
NYE Rentals Offer Everything From Bunkers to Castles
December 20, 2025

New Year’s Eve is supposed to be a clean break. A fresh calendar. A symbolic reset. Instead, it has become the Olympics of planning: the group chat that never sleeps, the spreadsheet of “who’s bringing what,” and the annual question that haunts every host like...

The Weekender
The Holiday Dinner Set for the Ultra-High-End Digital Chef
December 13, 2025

Holiday dinner used to be a meal. Now it’s a full-stack deployment: procurement, last-mile logistics, kitchen hardware and (inevitably) one device that “just needs to reconnect.” The turkey is still traditional, sure — but in 2025 the supporting cast includes sensors, apps, subscriptions and at...

The Weekender
The Weekender: When Baseball’s Brain Trust Becomes a Tech Stack
November 01, 2025

If the Dodgers and Blue Jays keep playing like they did in that 18-inning fever dream last Monday in Los Angeles, the World Series might need a server upgrade. Between Shohei Ohtani’s video‑game night and Freddie Freeman’s walk‑off in Game 3, the ballpark screens felt...

The Weekender
The Gas Station Gourmand: Why Your Road Trip Just Got Fancy
October 25, 2025

You used to stop for unleaded. Now you stop for unctuous. Somewhere between the windshield squeegee and the air pump, America’s pit stops quietly swapped day-old hot dogs for black‑truffle chips, balsamic jam burgers, and, yes, charcuterie you’d actually serve to friends. Your road trip...