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The News Fix

Pretty nice phone you got there … it’d be a shame if anything happened to it. That’s the gist of Apple’s objection to the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which the Senate Judiciary committee approved Thursday. The bill, now on its way to the Senate floor, prevents platforms like the App Store from giving preference their own products and services, but Apple says lock-in keeps the world’s billion iPhone users safe from malware and other threats. Google made similar claims. Meanwhile, smaller players in the industry are banding together to support antitrust legislation.

That legislation has a ways to go. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act’s House counterpart made it out of committee last year but hasn’t gone up for a vote yet. The Federal Trade Commission isn’t waiting around — along with suing Meta, it’s teaming with the Justice Department to reassess mergers and acquisitions under existing law. In her first interviews since becoming FTC chair, Lina Khan said she’s undeterred by tech giants “trying to intimidate us.”

For Microsoft, it’s all in the game. It’s been a long time since the 1990s, and The Washington Post points out the company has largely skated through this renewed bipartisan scrutiny of Big Tech. While its biggest rivals were writing to lawmakers, Microsoft was plunking down $69 billion for video game publisher Activision Blizzard. That comes with its own management headaches, but it’s far from a sure thing — with gaming moving toward a consolidated streaming model, the merger could hit snags if enough regulators take Khan’s broader approach to antitrust that considers socioeconomic effects on consumers.

Kimberly Adams’ first game of “Wordle.” She got the word in three tries.

Kimberly Adams did well in her first-ever game of "Wordle," solving the puzzle in three guesses.

Smart In a Shot

If you’ve been on social media much in the New Year, you’ve probably seen these gray, green and yellow squares all over your feeds. It’s a kind of box score from Wordle, a free online word game that sort of combines Mastermind with The New York Times’ Spelling Bee.

Software developer Josh Wardle made the game for his crossword-loving partner. While he’s tweaked and refined the game, he hasn’t monetized it. Maybe he’s wary of what happened to HQ. For now, it’s just a nice, quick way to wake up your brain and get bragging rights over your co-workers.

The Numbers

Even as Americans are drinking more in the pandemic, sales of nonalcoholic beer, spirits and other beverages are way up. Let’s do the numbers for Dry January.

33.2%

That’s how much nonalcoholic beverage sales grew last year, according to Nielsen. And it’s not just O’Doul’s — celebrities and craft brewers are growing the market.

58%

The analyst IWSR reported that the majority of people drinking no- and low-alcohol drinks are still consuming regular alcoholic beverages, just cutting back.

$10 billion

That’s how big the market for nonalcoholic booze is in key markets around the world, according to IWSR. It’s expected to grow in all sectors, with so-called “buzz-less” spirits growing the fastest.

This week on the podcast

Two people in shadow hold hands in front of a large screen showing Earth.

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Episode 581: How sci-fi can make us smart
And teach us about solving big problems in the real world. (Listening time, 28:57)

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None of us is as smart as all of us

Tell us what’s making you smarter at smarter@marketplace.org. We'd love to include your recommendation in a future newsletter.

Looking for a starter mocktail?

Here’s the fauxmosa Kimberly Adams mixed up for a happy hour livestream this summer: orange juice and club soda. If you’re more sober-curious, you could add a dash of bitters and — why not? — garnish with a cherry.

•••

Two spacey reading recs

Listener Sheila R. tipped us off this week to the works of sci-fi writer John Scalzi (start with “Old Man’s War”) and the beautiful photography in The Planetary Society’s quarterly mag.

•••

The Maya Angelou quarter got us thinking...

What happened to the pandemic coin shortage? This great piece in New York Magazine explains how it was more of a coin supply chain snafu. And the problem was all of us.

This Make Me Smart newsletter is written by Tony Wagner.

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