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The Big Story: What 1927 Taught Me About 2025

You’ve probably had this conversation with your friends sometime in the last few years: Are things just getting crazier and crazier, or is our perception of them changing?

Whenever this comes up, I think about a book I read several years back called One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. It’s a lovely nonfiction read that outlines a list of absolutely ridiculous things that all happened within a few months during, you guessed it, the summer of 1927:

• Charles Lindbergh completing the first solo transatlantic flight and becoming an overnight global icon

• The Mississippi River experiencing the worst flood in U.S. history, displacing more than 700,000 people

• Babe Ruth hitting 60 home runs in a single season, as part of the most famous Yankees lineup in history

• The beginning of Al Capone’s downfall

• The execution of Sacco and Vanzetti after a widely disputed trial that drew international protests and riots

• The debut of The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length movie with sound, kicking off the era of talkies

• And many more headlines about crime, celebrity scandal, aviation crashes, and political unrest

Chaos isn’t exactly new. Wild, overlapping, headline-grabbing events have been happening forever. So is it the case that historical events are happening more frequently now, or that our experiences with them are more close-range and intimate, or is it a little of both? I looked into it!

The answer, like most of the random questions that come to me at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday, is complicated. So, let’s start with some raw data.

In 2023, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 59 armed conflicts globally, which marked the highest number since World War II. But at the same time, the number of people dying in wars has dropped dramatically since the mid-20th century. More conflicts, fewer deaths.

The same goes for natural disasters. According to the World Meteorological Organization, weather-related disasters have increased fivefold since 1970, due to both climate change and better reporting. But thanks to modern forecasting and global aid systems, deaths from those disasters have fallen by about two-thirds over the same period.

Generally speaking, so-called historical events tend to be more frequent but are less intense from a mortality standpoint. What’s fundamentally changed is the way we experience it all.

A historical turning point came in 1968, when CBS anchor Walter Cronkite returned from Vietnam and told viewers that the war was headed toward a “stalemate.” His shift in tone and the videos coming back from the region had a heavy influence on public sentiment. According to Gallup data, public approval of the Vietnam War dropped significantly following these reports, with President Lyndon Johnson allegedly saying, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.” He was right.

In the 1970s, media scholar George Gerbner coined the term “mean world syndrome.” His research showed that heavy TV watchers — especially those consuming a lot of crime and fear-based content — were more likely to believe the world was dangerous, even when it wasn’t. Later studies confirmed that these viewers were also more likely to feel lonely, anxious, and distrustful.

That dynamic only intensified with the rise of cable news. Channels with a 24/7 news cycle often lean heavily into emotionally provocative content. Research from Pew has shown that viewers of highly partisan cable networks (on both the left and the right) tend to overestimate threats like crime and terrorism, in part because they’re exposed to them more often.

Today, the influence of media is more immersive than ever. Social media platforms don’t just surface bad news, they reward it. Outrage, fear, and emotional extremes tend to get the most engagement and, therefore, rise to the top of our feeds. In fact, the proportion of headlines conveying emotions such as anger, disgust, and sadness has increased notably in the U.S. over the past two decades.

But get this: the more perpetually pissed off we get, the more desensitized we get.

Yup. Yet another study found that people who were repeatedly exposed to stories about unethical behavior showed lower outrage over time. The researchers dubbed this the “moral repetition effect.” According to Dr. Daniel Effron, the lead author, the more often people read about a particular bad act, the more morally acceptable they perceive it to be. Sound familiar?

While it may seem like the world is spiraling, here’s what’s really happening: our access to information has gone into hyperdrive, but our emotional bandwidth hasn’t evolved to keep up.

We’re constantly exposed to global chaos, which keeps us in a heightened state of alarm or, paradoxically, makes us so jaded that we need even bigger shocks to feel anything. So, now what?

Sometimes, the options feel binary. Bury your head in the sand, “focus on you!” and remain willfully ignorant of the horrors that surround us. Or, drown in the deluge of content, sacrificing your mental health and inner peace in a valiant, yet fruitless, effort to be a responsible global citizen.

I was curious about what experts had to say, specifically psychologists and media ethicists who tend to know some things about the way humans interact with the world. Some of the advice they offer is to prioritize a “balanced media diet” — curating and diversifying your sources but also knowing when to look away. Of course, the ability to simply look away implies the immense and obvious privilege of not being in a position where this is simply not an option.

Other experts remind us to cut ourselves some slack, especially when it comes to feelings of guilt that come with enjoying life. They argue that people who allow themselves pleasure, connection, and creativity are better equipped to face the world’s problems with energy and perspective.

So, the answer isn’t tuning out, nor is it obsessing over every Apple News alert. It’s more about learning how to navigate the firehouse of information with a little more awareness and a lot more intention.

Daily Rip Live Recap: These Reciprocal Tariffs are HUGE, Man! Plus, Tesla Investors Finally Have Something to Celebrate

Every weekday, Shay Boloor and I run down the biggest market news and events LIVE on Stocktwits’ morning show, The Daily Rip Live. Here’s what we recently covered:

• HAPPY LIBERATION DAY — I GUESS? We finally got the reality show ending tariff announcement we’d been promised, and sheesh. Things got real bloody, real fast. Here’s the rundown of some of the most severe reciprocal tariffs that you can browse while you’re definitely NOT looking at your 401K:

  • 49% on Cambodia

  • 46% on Vietnam

  • 36% on Thailand

  • 34% on China

  • 32% on Taiwan

  • 32% on Indonesia

  • 31% on Switzerland

  • 26% on India

  • 25% on South Korea

  • 24% on Japan

  • 20% on EU

• Tesla deliveries fell short, but the stock rallied on news that Elon Musk could be high-tailing it out of Washington soon. Politico reports that Trump told his Cabinet that Musk’s engagement with the White House would be wrapping in the imminent future. Tesla investors — many of whom have raised concerns about Musk being distracted in DC — loved the news, and the stock rallied. Tesla closed up 5% despite starting the day with news that deliveries are down more than 30% on the quarter. $TSLA ( ▲ 9.8% )  

• The ADP jobs report came in better than expected. This report measures jobs added to the private sector, and surprisingly, we exceeded expectations of 120K in March, adding 155K jobs. $ADP ( ▼ 0.95% )  

• On Tuesday, Ben Cahn of the Ben and Emil Show joined the show and talked to us about Tesla, tariffs, and … his eczema? It was a great crossover chat! Be sure to watch Ben and Emil on The Weekend Rip every Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Hear Shay and I yap about the markets every weekday at 9 a.m. ET on X (@stocktwits), YouTube, LinkedIn, or in your Stocktwits app. Follow me there — I’m @stocktwitsKP!

Now Here’s a Chart

Inflection point! The top 1% of U.S. earners just surpassed the entire middle class in terms of aggregate wealth, according to data from the Federal Reserve. In related news, Forbes’ annual billionaires list just dropped and there are more of ‘em than ever — a whopping 3,028.

Reading List

• TikTok bidders pile up as deadline looms with Amazon, OnlyFans founder in mix (Reuters) $AMZN ( ▲ 1.31% )  

  • As of late Wednesday, the White House may want a piece of it, too? (NPR)

• Newsmax Plunges 77% After $29 Billion Surge Loses Momentum (Bloomberg) $NMAX ( ▲ 0.97% )  

• Why CoreWeave’s stock is taking off after a lackluster IPO (Marketwatch)

• Trump tariffs would hit lower-income Americans hardest (Axios)

• Media Advertisers look for flexibility as uncertainty around tariffs swirls (CNBC)

• Stablecoin issuer Circle takes another stab at a public listing (TechCrunch)

• The overall cost of raising a child is now nearly $300,000 (Fast Company)

• Liquid Death and MSG Deal Embeds the Brand in Iconic American Venues (Adweek)

🎧 Now playing: “Comeback Story (Live at Lollapalooza)” - Kings of Leon

Tuesday Thursday Saturday is written by Katie Perry, owner of Ursa Major Media, which provides fractional marketing services and strategy in software, tech, consumer products, professional services, and other industries. She is also the co-host of Stocktwits’ Daily Rip Live show.

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Disclaimer: The contents here reflect recaps and summaries of pre-reported or published data, news, and trends. I have cited sources and context for the information provided to the best of my ability. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform and educate on larger trends shaping business and culture — this is NOT investment advice. As an investor, you should always do your own research before making any decisions about your money or your portfolio.