Welcome back to The Update! This newsletter is a companion to The Andrea Brown Podcast, a weekly show that recaps the latest in news, culture, and innovation.
The show drops every Wednesday. Click on one of the links below to listen on your preferred platform:
ABP on Apple Podcasts | ABP on Spotify | ABP on Google Podcasts | ABP Online
Don’t forget, anything underlined in this letter is a link. Click to learn more!
news.
After more than 11 straight days of violence that left 200 people dead, there is peace in the middle east today. Israel & Palestine finally agreed to a cease-fire. How long will it last? Who knows. Both Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian protests have literally popped up all over the world, including here in America, but mainstream media doesn’t seem to be covering them like that. *sips tea* Make sure you listen to the podcast to hear my thoughts on the resistance as a whole.
COVID numbers are decreasing and people are starting to get back to pre-pandemic life. Texas Governor Greg Abbot is trying to get things moving quickly. This week he signed an executive order banning mask mandates in schools & government run entities. On top of that he signed legislation banning abortions after 6 weeks (or the time of the presence of a fetal heartbeat) in Texas. I knew the mask thing was coming but so soon? And, does Greg Abbott know that most women won’t even know they’re preggo at 6 weeks? This is only going to drive up illegal abortions. *face palm*
you should know.
J. Cole made his debut in the Basketball Africa League with the Rwanda Patriots BBC last week, fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing pro ball. He finished the week with his latest album, The Offseason, debuting at #1 on the Billboard charts, so I’d say this one was one for the books.
Kobe Bryant was posthumously inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, and daughter Natalia took part in the ceremony. It’s still hard for me to process the fact that Kobe’s gone, but what an impactful life he led. Grateful that I got to witness a part of it.
Have you noticed more people talking about the WNBA lately? I have. The 25th season kicked off last weekend and I just feel like I’ve seen more chatter about it on social media. Have you watched any games? Do you feel a difference in the way people are talking about the league? Leave me a message about it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
DJ R-Tistic came up with a cool thread on Twitter that I thought you might like to see. What if we treated artists like stocks? Who should we buy, who should we hold and who should we sell? The tweet breaks it down:
My artists to buy are Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch & Megan Thee Stallion, my artists to hold are Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole…, who do you think I sold? I talk about it on the show this week, so make sure you give it a play!
wknd guide.
it’s still the weekend so I dropped a guide for you for today and tomorrow. Big deal - The Chi is back on Showtime tomorrow and there’s a collaboration with Lil Baby & Kirk Franklin from the new Space Jam soundtrack that you should hear. Click the link to grab the guide.
Well that’s all for this week friends. Until next time:
