Caller Josh says his kid’s obsession has crossed the line and even turned inappropriate. A must-hear for parents. Plus, the NBA’s high-tech gambling mess, OpenAI’s for-profit shake-up, and new scams that can clone your voice in real time.
🔭 Seeing too many stars: Get this, Neil DeGrasse Tyson had to tell people he’s not promoting flat Earth videos. Yep, deepfakes got so real that even Terry Crews believed one. Neil says he’s cool with parodies, but if it looks real? “You’ve crossed a line.” I always wanted to ask him, “How different do you think your life would have been if your parents named you Moe instead of Neil, and would you still use your full name?”
1
The number of parents needed to make some baby iguanas. A female casque-headed iguana at Exotic Zoo in England just gave birth to eight healthy hatchlings without ever meeting a male. The phenomenon, called parthenogenesis, makes the babies genetic clones of mom, one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom. My bet? A very sneaky male iguana.
Let. Them. Fly. So you finally dropped your teen off at college, cried in the car and told yourself you’d let them figure it out. Then you joined your kids’ school parent Facebook group. Now you’re asking complete strangers if professors take emails and how to check grades without the little cherubs knowing. Countless parents are going into full helicopter mode. Deep breath, college is for them to learn, not you.
📸 “I let him in”: TikTokers are making fake “AI homeless man” pranks, photos of random strangers edited into their homes, then sent to partners or parents for shock value. One viral post hit 5.5M likes before police nationwide started warning: It’s not funny, it’s dangerous. The pranked are calling the cops in a panic, wasting everyone’s time.
How to fix your parents’ computer (without losing it)
Sick of playing tech support for Mom and Dad? There’s a simple way to help them with their computer without explaining every click.
📅 Screenagers and schedulers: Parents are so busy as tech is taking over family life that half now schedule quality time with their kids like it’s a dentist appointment. And even then, phones interrupt 52% of parent-child conversations. You’re not imagining it. Your dog is the most emotionally available family member.
📚 Since phones were banned in schools: Kids are turning Google Docs into live chat rooms. They invite friends as collaborators and chat in real time, sometimes sneakily in white text on white background. It’s note-passing for the 2025 school year. Teachers don’t notice. Parents don’t know. But is it kind of genius? Yeah. You’ve got to respect the hustle.
Parent app overload: Parenting used to mean packing lunch. Now it’s like managing a startup. Schools have separate apps for buses, grades and announcements, and parents get 80+ emails a month. Kindergarten has more software than my first job.
💊 Beware the Benadryl: A South Carolina teen landed in the ER after trying TikTok’s “Benadryl Challenge,” sending her heart racing to nearly 200 bpm while hallucinating. She’s OK, but high doses can cause seizures, coma, even death. Her parents are warning other families.
AI suicide lawsuit filed: A family is suing Character.AI, saying its chatbot “Hero” acted like a trusted friend to their 13-year-old girl, then failed to intervene when she expressed suicidal thoughts. She died in June after weeks of withdrawing. Her parents say Hero gave emotional support without ever urging her to seek help. Something has to change.
$1.4 million
That’s monthly profit for an 18-year-old who still lives like a frat star. Zach Yadegari launched Cal AI from his parents’ house, hired 30 staffers and now makes more in a month than most professors earn in a decade. At 18, I was debating ramen flavors. Now he’s debating multigenerational wealth tax strategies.
$20,000+
What some parents are dropping to make a dorm room look like a boutique hotel. Yep, for the price of a good used car, your college freshman can nap under velvet and study beneath a pink chandelier. “Dormcore” just got its luxury rebrand, and it starts with monogrammed towels. Also includes emotional support, really!
😭 This made me pause and think: Jim Acosta just interviewed an AI version of Joaquin Oliver, created by the parents of the Parkland shooting victim. It aired on what would’ve been Joaquin’s 25th birthday. The digital Joaquin discussed gun control, movies and grief. His parents emphasized it’s not about resurrection but making sure he’s not silenced again. If you were in their position, could you do this?
Teen taxi takeover: Waymo just dropped a self-driving car service (paywall link) for teens in Phoenix, with plans to expand. Kids ages 14 to 17 can summon robot cars to school, soccer or wherever else, no license needed. Parents are jazzed. “So like my dad’s Waymo can pick us up at 6 if your mom’s Waymo can drop us off at 10.”
🗣️ Prove you’re a human: OpenAI’s Sam Altman warned the Fed that we’re teetering on a “fraud crisis” due to AI tools that can impersonate you, your voice or your kid’s. AI fakes are calling parents and diplomats. The White House is prepping an “AI Action Plan.” Altman pitched The Orb for human verification. I told you all about this months ago.
$2,000 a week
What some parents pay for digital detox summer camps to help kids kick their screen addiction. Spoiler: It’s just regular camp activities. The real headache? Fixing their messed-up sleep schedules and actually getting them to talk to each other. Unplugging is way harder than it looks.
🕳️ Who left the door open? Texas-based adoption agency Gladney left 1.1 million records sitting in an open 2.5 GB database like it was a lemonade stand. Data about kids, parents, even employees, all up for grabs, no password. Could’ve been weaponized for scams, blackmail or the worst Facebook friend request ever. It’s now locked, but the damage? TBD.
A text could be their last
Teens spend one in five minutes driving distracted by their phones. The risk isn’t just real, it’s deadly. Here’s what parents must know.
Tracked and fambushed: New word to know. Teens are stalking their moms, using things like Life360 and Snap Maps to “fambush” their parents. Basically, they show up unannounced at Starbucks, restaurants or … dates. It’s part bonding moment, part digital stakeout, and mostly just unhinged with a dash of funny. Parents are starting to realize: Maybe they’re the ones who need privacy settings.