love island for virgins + how ozempic deletes desire

🪞 Wellness

Some people love saunas, others genuinely can’t take the heat. But are they really as good for you as they’re marketed to be? Experts say that a standard 15-minute sauna session triggers the same heart-rate and circulation boost you’d expect from moderate exercise, programming the body to better handle stress and reduce inflammation over time. In a study in Finland (where there is one sauna for every 1.6 people) found that two to three visits to the sauna weekly not only positively impacted the cardiovascular health of locals, but also improved brain function, helping to reduce the risk of developing psychosis and dementia in older age. Though more randomised trials are needed to truly understand the benefits of regular sauna use, the general consensus is that we shouldn’t be afraid to really sweat it out.

The one, big unanswered question about Ozempic – vox
One of the biggest appeals of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic is that its prolonged use leads to the end of ‘food noise’. In other words, the drug eventually reaches the brain and suppresses cravings that cause people to constantly think about what they’ll eat next. Aside from muting food noise, users have noticed that GLP-1s help to curb the desire to drink alcohol. Some say they work to silence compulsions that lead to indulging in illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, while reducing the impulse to online shop or bite their nails. If GLP-1s can help humans stop desiring things that generate momentary pleasure (even when they’re not so good for us), could they eventually – and unintentionally – eliminate people’s desire to do anything that brings them joy? Because research remains limited and everyone reacts differently to the drug, scientists still aren’t entirely sure.

📲 Tech

The death of 46-year-old French streamer Jeanpormanove during a live Kick broadcast has had a profound impact online. Kick says it is ‘urgently reviewing’ the circumstances around the streamer’s death, which occurred after a 10-day marathon in which he was subjected to sleep deprivation and physical abuse. A legal investigation is now underway, and an autopsy will be performed to discover the exact cause of death. With over one million followers across his social media platforms, Jeanpormanove was known for extreme content – primarily marathon streams, in which he was subjected to sleep deprivation and physical abuse from his co-creators. He was sporadically and regularly manhandled by multiple people, choked, forced to ingest dangerous substances, and shot with a paintball gun – among other countless horrible acts now making the rounds on X. Many are suggesting Jeanpormanove was a vulnerable person who was exploited and blackmailed to remain as the channel’s whipping boy. How did Kick fail to recognise the danger?

OnlyFans hands record $701mn dividend to owner ahead of sale – financial times
OnlyFans paid out a record $701 million in dividends ahead of a potential multibillion-dollar sale. This pending move comes after another massive year of financial and user growth for the platform. In 2024, the total number of creator accounts on OnlyFans grew 13% to 4.6 million, while the number of fan accounts grew almost a quarter to 377.5 million globally. OnlyFans said it took in $7.2 billion from subscribers, up from $6.6 billion in 2024. It also paid out $5.8 billion to its creators, which earn 80% of all payments made by fans on the platform – more than $500 million more than the previous year. Its Ukrainian-American owner, Leonid Radvinsky is now in talks to sell a majority stake in the site to a consortium led by Los Angeles-based investment firm The Forest Road Company.

🌍 World

Israel hits Gaza hospital then bombs it again, killing rescuers + journalists – guardian
On Monday Israel killed 20 people, including five journalists, as they rushed to help people wounded in a strike on the main hospital in southern Gaza. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel deeply regretted what he called a ‘tragic mishap’ and that the IOF would investigate how it occurred, following international condemnation and accusations that the attack constituted a war crime. But 88% of investigations into war crimes allegations in Gaza so far have been shut down or left unresolved. Israel has prevented international media from covering the 22-month conflict, an unprecedented ban in the history of war reporting. Palestinian journalists in Gaza who work with international outlets carry out their duties while facing starvation and the risk of death. At least 193 Palestinian journalists have been killed since 7 October 2023.

Actually, slavery was very bad – the atlantic
This week, US President Donald Trump targeted the Smithsonian Institution for its portrayal of the Black experience in America. On his platform Truth Social, he called its museums ‘the last remaining segment of “WOKE”’ and said the Smithsonian ‘is OUT OF CONTROL’ because it is overly focused on ‘how horrible [the US] is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been.’ In reality, the museum makes a clear distinction between slavery and the Black American experience of today, while spotlighting the art, literature, and cultural traditions that have emerged from centuries of interpersonal and structural violence. If the MAGA mentality involves ignoring the parts of American history that are both shameful and disturbing, how can we be confident that future generations will not repeat them?

📚 Recommendation

Ahead of a recent trip to Croatia, I stumbled upon this new release in a local bookshop and decided to buy it solely because it’s set across various parts of… well… Croatia. I’m only 100 pages into this story, but am absolutely loving it so far. Click here to read the Goodreads synopsis.

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