What's going on: You wouldn’t know it from the Oscars speeches, but Hollywood seems to be adjusting to shifting political winds — aka moving a touch more conservative. For example, A&E revived Duck Dynasty, the right-leaning hit about a family-run duck-hunting business, and Amazon recently added The Apprentice reruns to Prime Video. It’s a surprising embrace for an industry known for its liberal stances (think: Grey’s Anatomy’s abortion episode). The Wall Street Journal reports that executives are steering away from more liberal content, with studios hesitant to green-light projects that seem overly progressive. Disney recently removed a transgender storyline from an animated Pixar show, citing parental preferences. Beyond content, many studios are also scaling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
What it means: While studios’ DEI pullback can be linked to the president’s attacks on mainstream media, analysts say Hollywood’s pivot may not be all about Trump. Rather, the industry appears to be recognizing that a significant conservative audience — one that’s often overlooked by mainstream TV and film — wants to see its values reflected on screen. It comes as conservative podcasts, like The Joe Rogan Experience, dominate the charts and right-leaning influencer content fills up social feeds. Experts say studios are simply trying to hold on to their audience and maintain trust (and more importantly, their profits).
What's going on: You might want to pour one out… President Donald Trump escalated the trade war with the European Union yet again on Thursday, threatening 200% tariffs on all alcohol products — including wine and champagne — from France and other EU countries. His threat came a day after the EU announced plans to slap 50% tariffs on American goods like whiskey and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Trump called the EU “hostile and abusive” in response, but the EU says it’s simply retaliating against Trump’s existing tariffs on European steel and aluminum. (Noticing a trend here?) EU officials have signaled they’d rather strike a deal than follow through on the tariffs, but they might have to play hardball.
What it means: If Trump follows through, a bottle of Italian Prosecco could jump from $15 to $45 — bad news for your brunch plans. And it’s adding another shot of anxiety to already-strained US-EU relations, with businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic feeling the heat. The alcohol industry has found itself in a similar trade tiff before. During his first term, Trump imposed lighter tariffs on liquor and even threatened champagne, though he didn’t follow through on the latter (which, cheers). And this time around, tequila might not be safe from Trump’s tariffs either. Whether he follows through remains to be seen — but for those who imbibe, this news could put a cork in Aperol spritz season.
Is BV an STI? Time To Share the Blame (and the Antibiotics)
What's going on: As if getting bacterial vaginosis (BV) once isn’t bad enough, half of women who get the condition will have it again within three months — even after completing treatment. BV has long been written off as a routine annoyance that women just have to deal with, but a new study published earlier this month makes a strong case that it’s a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Researchers gave the participants — heterosexual couples in which the women had BV — oral antibiotics. But the men also received a topical treatment. About 60% of the women whose partners were treated didn’t get BV again, while those whose partners went untreated were more likely to have a recurrence. Add this to the long list of things that could be a man’s fault.
What it means: Researchers say the study makes a strong case that BV should be considered an STI — and that it’s time for doctors to change how they treat it. Or as one expert put it: It’s important to “emphasize that [men] can now be part of the solution.” Based on the findings, some doctors could consider prescribing a woman and her sexual partner antibiotics. However, this can be more of an issue for heterosexual couples since men don’t show BV symptoms, and there’s no way to test them for it. While researchers say viewing BV as an STI would require a “paradigm shift,” one expert told National Geographicthat his hospital is already working to change its policy on BV treatment plans.
