My thanks to Rec League for sponsoring last week at DF. Rec League is a new app/social network for sharing what you’re into. (Get it? The “rec” in “Rec League” is for recommendations. It’s a damn clever name, and sometimes a clever name is half the battle.) It’s really well done, with a great simple brand aesthetic and obvious navigation and mechanics. You can easily use Rec League just to catalog your own collections: restaurants, books, movies, gadgets, whatever. The social aspects are totally low key. You find people whose taste you dig and you follow them. When you see something you like you can favorite or just save it. That’s it. It’s an old-school social network where the point is just fun and surprise and sharing.

Rec League was featured as the “Best New App” in the App Store, and one of their users called it “the only social media I feel better after using”, which feels like a perfect description. It’s just cool people recommending things they think are cool. I’ve already bought some stuff and added some movies to my watch list from using it, and I’ve started a little list of restaurants I recommend in Philadelphia. Download Rec League and check it out. I, uh, recommend it.

Lauren Thomas / Wall Street Journal:
Letter: Starboard has taken a significant stake in observability company Dynatrace and is pushing for changes to boost the stock; DT jumps 7%+ after hours  —  Dynatrace shares have underperformed its peers and Starboard is pushing for changes to turn things around

Google is trying out an AI Mode-like search experience for YouTube. The company is now testing "a new way to search on YouTube that feels more like a conversation," with results pulling in things like longform videos, YouTube Shorts, and text about what you're searching for. The "experiment" is now available if you're a YouTube […]

Scott Younker / Tom's Guide:
FTC: Americans reported losing $2.1B to social media scams in 2025, including $794M to scams that started on Facebook, more than on any other platform  —  Love, investments, and shopping scams were the most common  —  Social media scams caused Americans to lose $2.1 billion in 2025 …

Weekly “sponsor the whole week at DF” spots are sold out until August 24. That’s a great sign that sponsorships here work. But it’s not so great if you have a product or service that you’d like to promote now, or soon, to the DF audience — savvy listeners and readers obsessed with high quality and good design.

The good news on that front is that the sponsorship schedule for The Talk Show has openings, including for the next few episodes, starting this week and into next month. The general rule of thumb is that sponsorship spots on The Talk Show cost one-third the rate for the weekly spots on DF. I’m happy to work out deals a little lower than that for first-time sponsors. If you’ve got a product or service you’d like to hear pitched on America’s favorite three-star podcast, get in touch.