How 'Squid Game' Became a Megahit

Delsia Bare and her mother, Ida Huddleston, rejected $26 million dollars for their Kentucky farmland from the builder of an AI data center. Their stance has made them folk heroes across the country but has also divided their town. WSJ’s Erich Schwartzel spent a few days with the mother and daughter to better understand their resistance. Further Listening: - The Vanishing of an Anti-AI Activist - A Data Center Revolt in Missouri Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Something strange has been happening in the world of used books. Sales are up, but booksellers were initially confused about who was behind the purchases. We talked to one bookseller who decided to solve this mystery herself. WSJ’s Melissa Korn explains why at least some of the books are being bought, and then destroyed, by AI companies. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - AI Loves Reddit, but Redditors Aren’t So Sure - Readers Can’t Get Enough of BookTok. Publishers Are Cashing In. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor Lee Pace has made a name for himself playing bad guys and mythical beings, like a vampire in “Twilight” to an elvenking in “The Hobbit.” He’s starring in the new “Practical Magic 2” alongside Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. In My Monday Morning, a new Journal video series inspired by the longstanding column of the same name, Lane Florsheim sits down with Lee to talk about his intense coffee habit, his belief in witches and his farm upstate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yields on U.S. Treasuries continued to rise this week, climbing near a 20-year high. There are many reasons why this is happening but the main driver of this run-up is inflation. As the cost of government borrowing keeps creeping up, it will trickle down to everyday Americans, impacting all kinds of consumer debt. WSJ's Jack Pitcher breaks down what's behind the bond market volatility. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Let’s Talk Bonds. Treasury Bonds. - The Economy Is Booming. Why Does It Feel Like a Bust? Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is using less cardboard, which is bad news for the farmers who grow the pulpwood trees that get turned into paper products. WSJ’s Ryan Dezember explains how the cheapest, smallest trees in the forest hold up a much larger timber industry. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - The Bean at the Center of the Trade War - Is Jane Goodall Fighting a Losing Battle? Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, food companies have relied on a proven playbook: cater to shoppers with sugar, salt and flavor. This approach has been so successful that some critics have accused the food industry of fueling an obesity epidemic. But with weight-loss drugs and health-conscious shopping on the rise, food companies have a whole new challenge. WSJ’s Amira McKee explores the new ways food makers are meeting the moment. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Trillion Dollar Shot - Weight-Loss Drugs Are Gobbling Up Small Town Budgets Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump called it “the biggest oil deal in world history.” After months of secretive negotiations there was a surprise announcement that the U.S. government was getting a direct stake in a private oil company in Venezuela. WSJ’s Vera Bergengruen reports on how the deal came together and the challenges facing what’s being billed as a big foreign policy win. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Oil Companies Aren't Sold on Venezuela - Was Maduro’s Capture About Oil? Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, Reddit has attracted a lot of attention from brands hoping to use the platform to influence chatbot results. That’s because Reddit, after big deals with AI companies, is often the most-cited website in AI answers. But as the WSJ Leadership Institute’s Katie Deighton reports, moderators on Reddit are pushing back against marketers’ growing interest in the website. Ryan Knutson hosts.   Further Listening: - Can Reddit’s IPO Survive Its Own Users?- ‘To the Moon’ - An Oral History of WallStreetBets  Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.\ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suze Orman is one of the most famous financial advisors in America and she wakes up at 5 a.m. every single day. In the first episode of My Monday Morning, a new Journal video series inspired by the longstanding column of the same name, Lane Florsheim sits down with Suze to talk about the right age to retire, why eating out is still one of the biggest wastes of money, and why she doesn't trust AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years, Moderna was a one-hit wonder, a company that bet everything on mRNA, struck gold with a COVID vaccine and then watched its stock crater as the pandemic faded. Now, the company may have found a way to fight skin cancer. An experimental mRNA-based vaccine succeeded in preventing melanoma from returning in high-risk patients, sending drug industry stocks soaring. WSJ’s Xavier Martinez traces Moderna’s wild ride from scrappy startup to the frontier of cancer treatment. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - The FDA Commissioner on Vaccines and Public Trust - The Creator of the Record-Setting Covid Vaccine Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices