Welcome to the weekly newsletter that curates the best and most interesting stuff in tech, media, and culture. This edition focuses on a standout Mac utility, exciting book and game releases, smart glasses commentary, and a special interview with a journalist who immersed herself in AI for a year.

The Drop: Essential Picks

Mole – Your Mac’s Deep Cleaner

After following its development for a while, the Mac utility Mole has earned a spot in the toolkit. For just $9, it does an excellent job of tracking down huge files, abandoned apps, and memory-hungry processes that slow down your computer. Unlike many cleaner apps that nag you to upgrade constantly, Mole is straightforward and effective. It doesn’t try to upsell you or delete things it shouldn’t. If you own a Mac that feels sluggish, this is a no-brainer purchase.

Dungeon Crawler Carl Returns

The wildly popular series is back with its eighth book, “A Parade of Horribles.” For those unfamiliar, Dungeon Crawler Carl follows an unlikely hero and his talking cat Donut through a deadly reality-show dungeon. The combination of absurd humor, strategic depth, and pure chaos has made it one of the most recommended series in recent memory. This new installment promises even more mayhem.

Twelve South PowerClip

This tiny $40 dongle isn’t meant to fully charge your phone – it’s designed to prevent it from dying. It cleverly doubles as a USB-C cable, making it easy to keep your device alive during a busy day without carrying a giant battery pack.

Bartender Pro

A classic Mac power-user app for cleaning up the menu bar has been upgraded. For $15 a year, Bartender Pro adds utilities like audio controls and calendar to your Mac’s notch or menu bar. A standout feature: zero-click AirDrop to your iPhone just by dragging a file.

Subnautica 2

This underwater adventure game launched into early access and immediately became one of the biggest titles on Steam. Despite reviews pointing out bugs and weirdness, players can’t get enough of exploring the alien ocean. The first-person survival crafting experience is both beautiful and terrifying.

Indigo – Fediverse Multi-Client

Imagine a single timeline that combines Bluesky and Mastodon. That’s Indigo, a sleek new app from the same developers who made Croissant (for cross-posting). It’s exactly the kind of tool that keeps the fediverse exciting.

We Aren’t Ready for Meta Glasses

Christophe’s video provides a terrific cultural analysis of smart glasses, exploring why these devices are both thrilling and horrifying. As my colleague Vee Song has also covered, Meta’s Ray-Bans may be here to stay regardless of our readiness.

Snapseed 4.0

Google surprisingly updated its photo editing app with a new look and simple yet powerful controls. It’s a rare example of a big tech company making an app that’s genuinely cool and user-friendly.

Disney Plus’ The Punisher: One Last Kill

This special has gone viral for questionable VFX and audio issues, but gritty superhero fans will find a well-executed action story beneath the glitches.

Interview: Joanna Stern’s AI Year

For the first time, the newsletter hosts a repeat guest – journalist Joanna Stern, who spent the last year using AI for everything to test where it’s genuinely useful. She recently published a book “I Am Not a Robot” and launched a new media venture.

What’s your daily AI setup? “I’m a Claude person and a ChatGPT person. I use Claude Code and Claude Cowork for multi-step work and integration with Google tools. ChatGPT is better for editing and conversation, especially with voice and live video.”

Surprising successes? “I love Projects in both ChatGPT and Claude. I created ‘BookBots’ – uploaded research notes, papers, transcripts, deadlines, editor notes. Those bots kept me on track, helped find things during writing, and answered questions about which experts to talk to.”

Vibe-coding? “I built the website joannastern.com and a backend for a pin promotion where people who pre-ordered the book got a free pin. I coded an order form and a workflow that automatically added submissions to a spreadsheet and sent confirmations. All vibe-coded.”

What stuck after a year of AI experiments? “I talk to AI a lot – ChatGPT in the car via voice mode, Meta AI in my Ray-Bans. Mostly because no one else picks up my calls.”

Joanna offered six podcasts she’s been on recently instead of her personal recommendations. They include Decoder, Fresh Air, Hard Fork, Pioneers of AI, Stratechery, and The Journal.

Crowdsourced: Reader Favorites

Each week, readers share what they’re into. This edition features gameplay recommendations for “Mars First Logistics” – a Lego-like robot-building game on Mars, where failures are both funny and educational. Parents love “Trash Truck” on Netflix, which charms both four-year-olds and adults. A tabletop role-player uses NotebookLM to keep track of five years of D&D adventures, asking questions about past characters and maps. Other readers are enjoying “Devil May Cry 5” and its Netflix series, building websites with Blento (a fediverse alternative to Bento), slowly reading “Mason & Dixon,” and being pleasantly surprised by the horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay” on Apple TV. The game “Graveyard Keeper” – described as “Stardew Valley with zombies” – has also become an obsession after a free Steam promotion. Finally, the audiobook “Apple: The First 50 Years” by David Pogue on Everand is recommended as an alternative to Audible.

Signing Off: Desk Organization Tips

Taking a half-vacation meant time to organize a disaster-zone home office. Two purchases solved major clutter: an Anker power strip that clamps to the desk, balancing minimalism and accessibility; and 10-foot USB-C cables that allow flexible charging without stretching. The author is considering upgrading to the Native Union Pop Cable, which is coiled, stretchy, and tangle-free. With the long weekend over, it’s back to work Monday.

Source: The Verge News