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👋 Good morning. Hope you enjoyed wrecking your 10-year-old nephew in ping-pong over the weekend (we heard he had it coming). Take your victory lap now, because it won’t last long: An AI-powered Sony robot recently beat some of the world’s best table tennis players at their own game. Ace the robot won three out of five matches against his elite opponents, reacting to balls moving at 20 meters per second and spins up to 9k RPM. Unlike past systems, Ace can play under real conditions — a big step for robots and a big setback for your pro sports career.

NEWS FLASH

An antelope moves in front of a tombstone.

🦌 A major comeback: Colossal Biosciences — the company attempting to resurrect extinct species like the woolly mammoth and the dodo — has a new animal in its sights: the bluebuck antelope, a South African species pushed to extinction in the 1700s by European colonists. Colossal claims this project would help conservation of African antelopes, many of which are endangered, overall. Colossal previously announced a trio of dire wolves that, while not exactly the same as the OG species, are very cute.

🏢 Big, fancy, empty offices: While Manhattan office space sitting empty isn’t anything new, some empty offices actually do have tenants: AI companies. AI startups are driving an NYC office boom, leasing 845k square feet in 2025 and 414k more in early 2026, according to JLL. They aren’t all packing the cubicles, though — one founder is paying $28k+ per month in rent for a startup with one employee, per The Wall Street Journal. Why? To lock in a prime location and signal credibility, AKA the ol' fake it till ya make it.

📱 Light it up: Dumbphone maker Light Phone will launch a developer program in May that lets anyone build tools for LightOS, the operating system its latest model, Light Phone III, uses. They’ll be vetted and available on Light Phone’s Tool Library, debuting this fall. While the point of such phones is that they do very little, many users find they miss a few features, whether that’s a public transit app, a digital wallet, or a tool that can scan documents or QR codes. Now, y’all can just make your own.

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

Sweet: Lithuania’s Pentasweet began construction on a new facility to produce brazzein, a protein 1.5k times sweeter than sugar that can be used as a sugar replacement like monkfruit or stevia.
Not so fast: California law enforcement will now be allowed to
ticket manufacturers if their autonomous cars commit traffic violations, such as running a red light or speeding.
That’s a lot: 1X Technologies AS plans to build 100k humanoid robots by the end of 2027. Its “Neo” bot, which can perform chores like folding laundry, is available for pre-order for $20k.
Smells like teen spirit: Skunk Skin, a startup founded in a dorm room selling anti-odor socks, was acquired by clothing retailer Western Wearhouse to take the stink out of boots.

GO VIRAL ON LINKEDIN

How to go professionally viral

To earn those hearts and thumbs on the humdrum-est of news feeds, it helps to know what’s already won.

See the 50 viral LinkedIn posts we compiled to inspire more attention-grabbing content that cuts through the fluff.

Scroll stoppers: Insights on real posts with 1k+ likes
Content strategies: 6 proven post types (including hot takes, personal stories, and corporate jokes)
Tips and takeaways: Exactly what you should steal

Each section breakdown covers stats, success factors, and lessons worth sending to your friends.

Win on LinkedIn

THE BIG IDEA

Lines, lines, everywhere, lines

Waiting in line once meant you were: 1. stuck at the DMV, 2. buying concert tickets, or 3. clambering for Elmo on Black Friday.

Now, all it takes is a viral croissant or a matcha latte, and lines stretch for blocks.

But what if you could avoid that line madness altogether, and still nab that pistachio-cardamom-ube-churro-banoffee croissant?

Damn Lines, a new website, monitors the lines of trendy NYC restaurants with strategically placed cameras to help users avoid the longest lines, per The New York Times.

Somebody's watching me

Created by software engineer Lucas Gordon, Damn Lines pays neighbors of popular restaurants to install cameras to monitor lines. The site provides wait-time estimates and suggests when to go based on historical data.

It's a bit creepy — line-waiters don't know they're being watched. And one of the surveilled restaurants, John's of Bleecker Street, complained that inaccurate wait times cost them business.

Meanwhile, other businesses are taking novel approaches to address the growing trend of big dumb lines:

San Francisco's Butter & Crumble bakery employs a "line coordinator" and received positive feedback.
A buzzy bagel bakery in NYC, facing eviction due to its long lines, uses line supervisors and stanchions.
The Wait App estimates wait times at select In-N-Out locations.

A fine line to walk

Driven by viral sensations and herd mentality, restaurant lines can be a double-edged sword:

Long lines boost perceived popularity of restaurants, but after 15 minutes that positive effect wanes.
A 2019 study found that long lines signal high quality, which may make consumers more willing to spend. And we tend to value something more — and get a dopamine hit — if we've put sweat equity into obtaining it.
However, 80% of consumers avoid businesses with long lines. And while 60% eventually return, 40% go elsewhere or give up.

Age also factors into how long people wait. According to a 2025 survey:

Sixty percent of Gen Zers and 48% of millennials stood in line for 30 minutes or more for a specific food or restaurant.
Only 31% of Gen Xers and 14% of boomers waited that long.
Over 90% said it was worth it, and 74% said they'd do it again.

For some, waiting in a restaurant line is embarrassing. To others, it's part of the whole experience.

Where do you stand?

🔗

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A cheesy success story: In 2009, Domino’s was flailing. Within three years, it was outperforming Google, Amazon, and Apple. It took three risky bets to get there.

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

Number of people on the waitlist for Raya, the $25/month members-only dating app for good-on-paper hotties. Some, Wired found, have been waiting as long as seven years to shoot their shot within the exclusive dating pool, which has included celebrities from Dakota Fanning to Ben Affleck (allegedly).

Prospective members need an invite from an existing member, then to apply. After that… Well, it doesn’t seem anyone’s too sure. It’s unclear what the trick is to getting in (if there is one), but with up to 100k new applicants a month and an 8% acceptance rate, we wouldn’t take it too personally.

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: In 1959, "The Chipmunk Song" won three Grammy awards at the inaugural ceremony.

🔮 That’s cool: Get your fortune read. But instead of tarot cards, it’s art.

🐱 Chill out: with this cat purr generator.

📃 Game: Unfold the paper.

🛀 Aww: A baby elephant in a bath.

SHOWER THOUGHT

As you have group chats that have specific people excluded, so are there group chats with you specifically excluded (probably). SOURCE

Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Danny Jensen, and Singdhi Sokpo.

Editing by: Sara "Reading between the lines" Friedman.

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The Sunday Morning Wrap-Up

Joyce Vance

May 3

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Here’s the highlight reel of last week’s posts and events. It was a week and then some—the Supreme Court gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director Jim Comey for a second time, and more. And we covered all of it. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to catch up on anything you missed.

The Week Ahead: Headlines as we started the week focused on the fallout from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner assassination attempt, including Trump’s efforts to use it to justify building his ballroom.
What You Need to Know About the Charges Against the Correspondents’ Dinner Attacker: DOJ wasted no time charging the man who tried to launch an attack at dinner. The charges against him are explained here.
Big Tuesday: DOJ filed an odd motion, asking a judge for an advisory opinion about dissolving the injunction halting construction of the White House ballroom, which is currently on appeal. The motion is remarkable for its rhetoric and the distinctly Trumpian note of its writing. Later in the day, we learned about the Comey indictment, which is discussed here as well.
Pop Up Substack Live: Preet Bharara & I Discuss the Comey Indictment: My former U.S. Attorney Colleague from the Southern District of New York, and current podcast cohost, Preet Bharara, and I got together to discuss the merits—or lack thereof—of the Comey indictment. Listen in if you missed us live.
Live with Robert Reich: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Louisiana v. Callais: I’m a big member of the Robert Reich fan club, so this conversation was a special treat for me. We processed the Court’s decision in Callais, and discussed a film made about Reich’s role as an educator, The Last Class. Big reminder here that the future of democracy is up to us, and we have far more power than Trump wants us to think we have.
Law Day: Near the end of my book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual For Keeping A Democracy, I wrote about a national holiday you may have never heard of, Law Day. I share more here about this holiday and how I’d like to see it become a springboard for revitalized civics education in America.
Live with Norman Eisen and April Ryan: I joined Norman Eisen and April Ryan for Coffee with The Contrarians. If you missed us live, watch the video to hear our conversation about Callais and some straight talk about race in America.
What the Court Did in Callais—and Why It Matters: This is our deep dive into the legal nitty-gritty of the 6–3 decision from SCOTUS in Louisiana v. Callais. This decision effectively dismantles the remaining protections of the Voting Rights Act, leading to immediate political fallout in Louisiana and across the South. My analysis works directly from the Court’s own language, drawing from both the majority and the dissent and linking you to the full decision so you can read it for yourself.
Live with Alex Wagner: Legal News du Jour: Alex and I looked back on the news of the week with the perspective of a few days behind us, which is about as much as any of us gets these days. If you missed us live, you can watch it on video now.
Five Questions with Katie Phang: My friend Katie Phang sued acting Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this week. She contends that the failure of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act interferes with her role as a journalist and her ability to report. Katie explains what to expect next and, most importantly, how exposing the truth through journalism benefits Epstein survivors.
Doug Jones joins me to discuss Callais, the rest of the mess, & what he’s hopeful about: Doug Jones on what the Democrats’ response to Callais should look like.

These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake, or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past. You can subscribe to Civil Discourse for free and get clear analysis that helps you see the whole picture, delivered straight to your inbox. If you’re in a position to, your paid subscription helps me devote the time and resources it takes to write the newsletter. That means everyone has access to information they can share with friends and family—a constructive act we can all participate in right now, helping more Americans understand how critical this moment is.

We’re in this together,

Joyce