The Zeitgeist: October 3, 2025

Today's Edition: Struggle Meals, Dot and Porch Decorators

October 03, 2025

Good morning. On October 3rd, we usually ask what day it is - but today, we hit play on Taylor’s new album. Meanwhile, this week, OpenAI dropped Sora 2, its next-gen video and audio model that cranks out scarily realistic clips - and comes with its own app to share and remix AI-made content. Within a day, users were generating videos featuring characters like Lara Croft and Nintendo icons, immediately raising red flags for copyright and deepfake experts.

On a lighter note: Reading Rainbow is back after nearly 20 years, now streaming on YouTube’s KidZuko. TikTok’s beloved Mychel the Librarian will host, alongside guests like 4-year-old author Bellen Woodard and The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Campaigns

Earned-friendly campaigns & clever moments

Heineken Turns Seoul Rooftops Into Urban Community Spaces

Heineken’s Rooftop Revival repurposes overlooked spaces to fight urban isolation and spark real-world connections.

By Brittaney Kiefer | Adweek

‘Everybody’s in the protein game’: Inside the marketing behind consumers’ favorite food fad

Health-focused Gen Zers and millennials are fueling a protein boom, pushing unexpected brands to partner with protein pros.

By Kristina Monllos | Marketing Brew

Also, Progresso’s BBQ-scented deodorant, Hellmann’s garlic-scented book for Halloween, Président’s hunt for a Chief Feta Officer and Doritos x Netflix’s Stranger Things telethon.

Culture 

Snackable bites of consumer culture

No time for the pumpkin patch? Hire a porch decorator

A growing field of “pumpkin concierges” are helping fall enthusiasts go all out for spooky season.

By Sami Sparber | Axios

More people searching for ‘struggle meals’ as grocery ‘stress’ continues

Groceries stress many Americans, keeping cheap, simple meals top of mind.

By Yin-Jin Yu | Good Morning America

Looking to invest more in their friendships, some are opening shared bank accounts

“Financial intimacy” via joint accounts helps friends spend smarter and simplify group travel.

By Elizabeth Maline | NBC News

The Extravagant (and Loud) Candies Adults Can’t Stop Eating in 2025

Freed from sugar shame, adults are flocking to bold, colorful candy.

By Charlotte Druckman | The Wall Street Journal

Corporate

The Future of Loyalty in Corporate America (Opinion)

Workplace loyalty is unraveling as both employers and employees abandon long-term commitments, fueling corporate dysfunction.

By Aki Ito | Business Insider

Walmart CEO: ‘AI is literally going to change every job’ - how the best employees can still stand out

Workers in every type of role must be prepared to adapt to the rise of AI in the workplace, says Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

By Tom Huddleston Jr. | CNBC

New Reporting Program Gives Companies a Platform to Highlight Emissions-Cutting Efforts

A new independent body lets companies showcase unrecognized carbon-cutting efforts.

By Yusuf Khan | The Wall Street Journal

Commerce

Shopper society snapshot

OpenAI’s “Instant Checkout” lets you shop in ChatGPT

The new feature will be powered by an open-source “Agentic Commerce Protocol” co-developed with Stripe.

By Ina Fried | Axios

DoorDash Unveils Delivery Robot, Smart Scale in Hardware Debut

Dot, a 4’6” autonomous robot, is small enough for doorways yet big enough to haul 30 lbs. - or six pizza boxes.

By Natalie Lung | Bloomberg

Retail’s love affair with incentivized reviews

The beauty sector relies on incentivized reviews to attract attention - and sales - while some consumers grow skeptical of their authenticity.

By Dani James | Retail Dive

Spirit Christmas to open 30 locations

The spinoff of Spirit Halloween is building on last year’s success and nearly quadrupling its footprint from last year.

By Kaarin Moore | Retail Dive

Connections

Feed intelligence & AI tips

How Press-Shy Stars Are Finding Their Voice in Hollywood During the Podcast Era

Celebrities are swapping traditional interviews for long-form podcasts with fellow stars - just as podcast ads race past the $3B mark.

By Clayton Davis | Variety

Why does everything online feel so embarrassing?

The rise of “embarrassment porn” shows how Gen Z turns awkward or humiliating moments online into entertainment and social capital.

By Kyndall Cunningham | Vox

Relatively few Americans are getting news from AI chatbots like ChatGPT

New research shows only about 1 in 10 US adults say they get news often (2%) or sometimes (7%) from AI chatbots.

By Michael Lipka, Kirsten Eddy | Pew Research Center

Media Moves & Intel:

  • Sarah Jackson, formerly senior reporter at Business Insider, is now reporter at CNBC Make It covering work-related issues.

  • Rebecca Heilweil, formerly reporter at FedScoop, is now senior writer at Fast Company covering the technology industry broadly, including AI, technology policy and the commercial space industry.

  • Mary Schlangenstein, formerly airlines reporter at Bloomberg News, is retiring.

  • Kylie Robison, formerly senior correspondent at Wired, has left the news organization and is now writing on KylieBytes.com.

  • Bailey Schulz, formerly general assignment money reporter at USA Today, is now global tourism reporter at Skift.

  • Anthony Galloway, formerly head of content at Yahoo Finance, has left the news organization and has yet to announce his new role.

  • Alan Murray’s new WSJ podcast series, Leaders, is open to guests for 2026 through the lens of how executives are shaping the future of their business.

  • Joe Ciolli, executive editor at Business Insider, is starting a markets newsletter called First Trade. First Trade will deliver weekday market breakdowns with insights for your work, wallet, and group chat.

  • Layoffs were announced this week at Bloomberg Radio.

Also... ever wonder how theme parks are engineered? Check out this article in The Atlantic.

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