Episode 020: Spending, Schooling & Screens
Thu Feb 05 2026
🎙️Episode 020:Spending, Schooling & Screens
🎓 Even a few missed school days can hurt long-term learning.
💸 U.S. consumer confidence drops to its lowest in over a decade.
🤖 AI may save execs time ⏳, but most employees see little benefit.
📧 Don’t click sketchy unsubscribe links—stay safe and spam-free 🚫.
📺 Apple TV needs a sports tab ⚽🏀, Shrinking Season 3 returns 🌱, and Xbox fans get Forza Horizon 6, Kiln, and Fable news 🎮.
😂 Not a sponsor, but imagine LifeOptimizer 9000™ handling school, work, inboxes, and gaming—life made “easy” (if it existed).
🏀⚾🏈 NBA, MLB, and NFL updates round out the episode.
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Sources:
Education
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/absenteeism-may-hurt-academics-long-before-it-becomes-chronic/2026/01
Economics
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-consumer-confidence-slumps-january-level-last-seen-2014-2026-01-27/
Productivity
https://mashable.com/article/ai-report-time-saved-workplace-executives-workers
Technology
https://www.fastcompany.com/91472824/dont-click-email-unsubscribe-link-do-this-instead-subscription-cancel-opt-out
Entertainment
https://thestreamable.com/feature-apple-tv-needs-to-add-sports-tab
https://www.ign.com/articles/shrinking-season-3-review
https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/everything-announced-during-the-xbox-developer-direct-2026-forza-horizon-6-fable-beast-of-reincarnation-and-more
Sports
https://www.nba.com/allstar/2026
https://apnews.com/article/costas-nbc-baseball-nba-556ff7a0562fbd70c75c585e3f13a00f
https://arizonasports.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/jonathan-gannon-packers/3609658/
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If you would like to support my work, please consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/brian8944
You & I both get a free month of Setapp with a paid subscription: https://go.setapp.com/invite/f12ydwun
If you liked what you heard today, please be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss any episodes. If you want to find me between episodes, I am often on MacVoices Live, which records on Tuesday evenings 8PM eastern, 5PM pacific.
Macstock 9’s Digital Pass is now available! https://macstockconferenceandexpo.com/product/macstock-ix-digital-pass/
Please visit my website, brian8944.com so you can keep up with all my ongoing and upcoming projects. You can also contact me there with any feedback you may have.
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🎙️Episode 020:Spending, Schooling & Screens 🎓 Even a few missed school days can hurt long-term learning. 💸 U.S. consumer confidence drops to its lowest in over a decade. 🤖 AI may save execs time ⏳, but most employees see little benefit. 📧 Don’t click sketchy unsubscribe links—stay safe and spam-free 🚫. 📺 Apple TV needs a sports tab ⚽🏀, Shrinking Season 3 returns 🌱, and Xbox fans get Forza Horizon 6, Kiln, and Fable news 🎮. 😂 Not a sponsor, but imagine LifeOptimizer 9000™ handling school, work, inboxes, and gaming—life made “easy” (if it existed). 🏀⚾🏈 NBA, MLB, and NFL updates round out the episode. ---------------------------- Sources: Education https://www.edweek.org/leadership/absenteeism-may-hurt-academics-long-before-it-becomes-chronic/2026/01 Economics https://www.reuters.com/business/us-consumer-confidence-slumps-january-level-last-seen-2014-2026-01-27/ Productivity https://mashable.com/article/ai-report-time-saved-workplace-executives-workers Technology https://www.fastcompany.com/91472824/dont-click-email-unsubscribe-link-do-this-instead-subscription-cancel-opt-out Entertainment https://thestreamable.com/feature-apple-tv-needs-to-add-sports-tab https://www.ign.com/articles/shrinking-season-3-review https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/everything-announced-during-the-xbox-developer-direct-2026-forza-horizon-6-fable-beast-of-reincarnation-and-more Sports https://www.nba.com/allstar/2026 https://apnews.com/article/costas-nbc-baseball-nba-556ff7a0562fbd70c75c585e3f13a00f https://arizonasports.com/nfl/arizona-cardinals/jonathan-gannon-packers/3609658/ ---------------------------- If you would like to support my work, please consider becoming a patron on patreon.com/brian8944 You & I both get a free month of Setapp with a paid subscription: https://go.setapp.com/invite/f12ydwun If you liked what you heard today, please be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss any episodes. If you want to find me between episodes, I am often on MacVoices Live, which records on Tuesday evenings 8PM eastern, 5PM pacific. Macstock 9’s Digital Pass is now available! https://macstockconferenceandexpo.com/product/macstock-ix-digital-pass/ Please visit my website, brian8944.com so you can keep up with all my ongoing and upcoming projects. You can also contact me there with any feedback you may have.