Two Things On A Tuesday - 14/01/2024
What I'm thinking about this week
Hello,
I’ve made a decision: Tuesdays are for Deepfield. Every other week, you’ll get the in-depth analysis you’ve come to expect. On the alternating weeks, I’m keeping it lighter but no less thoughtful with two quick notes on things I’ve found intriguing or worth sharing.
Welcome to one of those ‘alternating’ weeks, which I’m calling Two Things on a Tuesday. It is what it says on the packet.
Thing #1 - What I Read Online
I often get colleagues asking me which newsletters or press they should follow. I subscribe to a wide range of them, and they’ve become an essential part of how I stay informed.
For me, being a good Strategist means understanding a broad spectrum of ideas and perspectives. That’s why I’ve put together this table of newsletters I read regularly. I update it about once a year, and I’ve just done a cleanup to share it with you.
If you’re looking to expand your horizons and deepen your thinking, why not start here?
Thing #2 - Progress at a Price
The rise of vaping, spearheaded by brands like Juul, exposes a grim reality: innovations that aid one generation can harm another. The Juul documentary, Big Vape, lays bare how a smoking cessation tool devolved into a youth epidemic. Slick ads, youth-focused campaigns, and candy flavours weren’t accidents. They were calculated moves to turn teens into lifelong nicotine customers.
This echoes past systemic failures, like South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster and Itaewon crowd crush, where youth bore the brunt of negligence. With vaping, the harm wasn’t incidental but intentional, profiting off addiction.
In Australia, e-cigarette use among 14–17-year-olds rose over fivefold between 2019 and 2023, while 12-year-olds who vape are 29 times more likely to try smoking. These figures are chaotic and impossible to ignore. But vaping and tobacco companies did.
The question the documentary left me with is clear: how do we move forward responsibly? Progress can’t mean solving one problem while creating another. True innovation uplifts all generations. If we care about the future, we must confront these uncomfortable truths and demand better.
Until next week, happy trails.
Cat