Roundup: The final days of the writers strike?

Read to the end for a fun song about sitting

It’s not hard to know it’s iPhone release week. I passed by the Apple Store in downtown Montreal on Friday and I was honestly shocked at how far the line of customers stretched not just through the store, but then down the sidewalk. As far as I could tell, people were waiting to pick up orders they’d already made, but they must’ve had to be there for quite a while to get their overpriced phones on Day One. No thanks!

I have to say, I am a bit disappointed Apple got rid of the iPhone Minis though. I don’t understand why phones need to be so excessively large these days and why so few manufacturers will keep smaller ones around even if they sell a few million fewer units than the larger flagship phones. At some point, I will eventually have to move up — but I’m not look forward to it.

iPhones aside, this week’s issue has a quick roundup of some breaking details on the Hollywood writers strike. Plus, the usual recommended reads, labor updates, and other news you might have missed. If you want the full issue, make sure to upgrade to a paid subscription so you can get the full Disconnect experience and support the work I put into writing it every week.

Over on Tech Won’t Save Us, I spoke to environmental compliance expert Eric Roesch about the SpaceX Starship explosion back in April, the environmental damage it caused, and the consequences of constantly letting Elon Musk’s companies off with breaching regulations. It was a fascinating conversation!

Have a great week!

— Paris