UVALDE, A DECLINE IN COLLEGE ENROLLMENT & TEAM COCO

I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about in life and culture this week, after yet another school shooting has gripped the United States. Sadly it feels like there is nothing to say when these tragedies happen and no changes are made. When children are taught to “train for this”. When this is a uniquely American problem, as other countries, like Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, each tightened their gun laws after mass shootings. A few things we can do is donate to the victims fund, reach out to legislators, and remember the 19 students and two teachers that lost their lives on Tuesday morning.

It looks like even as pandemic restrictions soften, less students are enrolling in college. Yesterday, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shared the latest numbers, which showed that 662,000 fewer students enrolled in undergrad programs in spring 2022 compared to a year earlier. This is a decline of 4.7 percent. Grad programs also declined 1 percent from last year. This is all representative of the larger question young people are asking themselves: is college worth it? 

SiriusXM just acquired Conan O’Brien’s production company, Team Coco, to the tune of $150 million. This includes the podcast network’s existing podcasts (which reportedly bring in 180 million downloads a year), like CONAN O’BRIEN NEEDS A FRIEND, WHY WON’T YOU DATE ME? WITH NECOLE BYER and LITERALLY! WITH ROB LOWE. 

Today I discovered this guy who makes videos of his super specific job—rescuing cats stuck in trees—and I am fully hooked. I’ll admit, this sounds pretty random, but his impressive climbing skills paired with his patience and dedication to helping the cats return to safety make for some very heartwarming content. 

—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist