Matthew Gardea

Yogurt probiotics aren’t all they’re cracked up to be

Probiotics aren’t actually improving our gut health. Or at least they’re not as scientifically sound as yogurt marketers lead us to believe. Ed Young, author of I Contain Multitudes, a new book about gut microbiota, tells Fresh Air that store-bought probiotics aren’t very good at populating our guts with helpful bacteria, and yogurt isn’t much better. A “poop” procedure could help though.

How Silicon Valley helps spread the same sterile aesthetic across the world

“AirSpace” is the realm of coffee shops, bars, startup offices, and co-live / work spaces that share the same hallmarks everywhere you go: a profusion of symbols of comfort and quality, at least to a certain connoisseurial mindset. Minimalist furniture. Craft beer and avocado toast. Reclaimed wood. Industrial lighting. Cortados. Fast internet. The homogeneity of these spaces means that traveling between them is frictionless, a value that Silicon Valley prizes and cultural influencers like Schwarzmann take advantage of. Changing places can be as painless as reloading a website. You might not even realize you’re not where you started.