Joe Rogan, Peloton, DeFi Options Trading, & More

Happy Sunday!

We want to start off by saying that our hearts are with the Ukrainian people during this time. Our commitment to you is to continue to publish even during tragedy—so here’s what we wrote this week.

We hope it brings you some joy :)

Peloton’s Next Move: Become a Platform

Nathan Baschez / Divinations

Peloton has had a horrible couple of months: their growth has stalled, their stock price has plunged, and they've laid off 20% of their workforce. But all of the analysis of their demise misses something important: Peloton is undergoing a strategic shift to become a platform player.

If they pull it off, Nathan argues, Peloton can occupy a position in fitness similar to the position Apple occupies in computing. Want to find out how? Read on.

Read.

Joe Rogan: The Platform-Proof Creator

Between the vaccine misinformation and the viral supercut of racial slurs, The Joe Rogan Controversy Experience has Spotify in an impossible pickle. But there’s no sign of Rogan getting deplatformed, and if there was, he would probably fare just fine. Why? Evan has a theory. In this latest question of content moderation, Evan’s Double-Bind Theory (which we first published back in September) is an especially compelling explanation. And as far as Rogan ever losing his throne as the Podcast King, Evan argues, “In the marketplace for ideas, better content is the sole path to victory.”

Read.

How JonesDAO Puts Options Trading on Autopilot

Nat Eliason / Almanack

One of the major deterrents of DeFi is that it requires so much damn work to keep up. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just...automate it all? In this week’s piece, Nat explores a protocol that automates DeFi options trading: JonesDAO. JonesDAO is basically an actively managed hedge fund, in which you can invest. But because this is crypto, there are all sorts of tricks and hijinks you can pull to optimize yield. Read more for Nat’s thorough tokenomics analysis and exclusive advice.

Read.

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Reading Recs:

Bringing MMO dynamics to Web3 business models

In this essay, Chia Jeng Yang argues that if we want to understand the future of web3 all we need to do is look to the past of MMO gaming.

By understanding the tools that MMos built to get players involved—tutorial systems, navigation, and competitive/collaborative incentives—we can build a roadmap to understanding what web3 will need to do to reach the masses too.

Read.

New World Same Humans

David Mattin | New World Same Humans

DAOs! The Great Resignation! The metaverse! In 2022, change feels fast and chaotic. But amid it all, we’re still the same humans with the same age-old, fundamental needs. New World Same Humans is a weekly newsletter about trends, technology, and our shared future. It’s obsessed with the collision between a changing world and human nature.

Read.

Equity Breakdown

Igli G. Laçi | Equity Breakdown

Equity Breakdown is a weekly newsletter focused on bringing you research-driven insights about disruptive companies. They are on a mission to build Time Investors who will walk away understanding the competitive advantages, risks, and opportunities of a company. Every company has a story and we want to explore what role they will carry in our future. 

Read.

That's all for this week!