Buy Now, Pay Later services like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm have changed the way we shop—and the way we think about affordability. In this episode, we explore the rise of installment payment plans, from festival tickets and flights to takeout and groceries. Plus, some personal confessions: the purchases I’ll finance guilt-free, and the ones I refuse to put on a payment plan (looking at you, iPad). Let’s talk money detoxes, social pressure, and the power of drawing the line—even when it comes to matching cruise shirts.

How Does Gen Z Travel So Much? Payment Plans (Kelsey Allen, Thrillist, Jun 4, 2025)

The Rise of ‘Cute Debt’ (Annie Joy Williams, The Atlantic, Aug 16, 2025)

Americans Are Turning to Short-Term Loans to Afford Their Groceries (Derin Yilmaz, Food & Wine, May 13, 2025)

How to Turn Down a Friends Trip if You Can’t Afford it (Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, Self, Mar 21, 2023)

Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast

condensedsoup@proton.me

What if butter didn’t come from cows, or even plants? Meet Savor, a biotech startup in Illinois that’s making rich, creamy butter entirely from air and water. Using carbon dioxide and hydrogen as their building blocks, they’ve engineered fat molecules identical to dairy—all without a single animal or crop. It's futuristic food tech with a delicious goal: reducing the environmental footprint of butter by nearly 1,000 times. Chocolates made with this planet-friendly fat could hit shelves by the holidays, with full butter rolls out by 2027.

Bill Gates backs lab-made carbon butter than tastes like real butter; here’s how it is made and what makes it special (Times of India, Aug 15, 2025)

Homemade Butter (Justine Doiron, Jan 29, 2022)

How to Make Butter — The Victorian Way (English Heritage, May 24, 2019)

Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast

condensedsoup@proton.me

Is your web browsing flying through the air? What about your Instagram location? In this episode, we dive into Instagram’s new real-time location sharing map—a feature that may sound helpful, but could be giving away way more than you bargained for.

Basically, your privacy settings need a refresh in 2025.

Whether you're a tech-savvy listener, an online privacy advocate, or someone just trying to make Instagram feel safer, this episode has your back. We’ll keep it light but make sure you leave smarter.

This New Instagram Feature Is An Absolute Privacy Nightmare (Monica Torres, Huffpost, Aug 8, 2025)

Instagram Privacy Settings You Should Change Right Now (Thomas Germain, Consumer Reports, Jan 28, 2025)

Instagram: @condensedsouppodcast

condensedsoup@proton.me