phones are rewiring our personalities

+ a cool/weird MAHA community

Good morning everyone.

This past weekend I spent the afternoon with my new favorite Buttercup family, the Liljas.

We swam, ran, talked MAHA, and ate a meal of salmon, coconut rice, mango-peach salsa, and a salad with goat cheese, nectarines, blackberries, and hazelnuts. Clearly I found my people.

They were, understandably, awestruck by my presence. Mr. and Mrs. Lilja told me that Running On Butter is named in their estate plan. “It’s a mission, you see—what you’re doing with Running On Butter” they told me. “We want our legacy to have meaning, and to continue that mission.”

My attorney is in contact with theirs.

Zach Lilja (23) explained that his online dating profile links to Running On Butter with the caption: “If this lifestyle excites you, tap the ❤️.” New one for me, but I love that Running On Butter is acting as a conduit—or screener—for Zach’s wife prospects.

Okay but seriously.

The Lilja family is basically the ideal image of a Running On Butter Family™. Not only are they fit and healthy, they’re life-giving. The kind of people who leave your soul refreshed and mind sharpened.

That’s the real goal here at Running On Butter. Not just to get y’all to ditch your godless dietary habits, but to live with an infectious joy and love for life.

Thanks for being such great ambassadors, Liljas. You make the brand look good.

Today’s letter is on the shorter end because it’s 10:28pm, and while I love you guys, my body needs rest. Plus, getting to sleep before 11:00pm is critical for maintaining good testosterone levels.

• Smartphones and the digital world are rewiring personalities, says a new report. Conscientiousness, agreeableness, focus, and self-control are all trending downward in people glued to their screens. What a promising trajectory for humanity. Can’t wait to see how this plays out for civilization.

• The singer Jelly Roll lost 200 pounds. Does this he has to get a new stage name?

• Speaking of singers, Taylor’s giving us another record. Hoping for 2014 Taylor.

• The NYT ran a profile of a sorta weird, sorta cool MAHA farming community in Ohio called Aberlin Springs. From the report: “When she moved to Aberlin Springs in 2020, Ms. Pitman immediately felt like she was joining an extended family. The community rallied around her in 2023, she said, organizing a meal train while her husband served 45 days in jail, after pleading guilty to several counts of fraud and theft that involved a medical marijuana business.” I know where I’m heading when the feds come after me for pawning “medical-grade butter.”

• The FBI just added former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding to its most wanted list. “Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” the FBI said. Whoever wrote that press release deserves a raise.

• I keep seeing potato chips served at fancy dinner parties. Classless.

• RFK Jr. says HHS is cutting ties with mRNA vaccine makers. So you’re telling me my ninth booster wasn’t necessary? I want my money—and my pre-abnormal heartbeat—back.

• In similar news, FDA’s chief vaccine officer, Dr. Vinay Prasad, is back at the agency after a brief ousting. The drama? Big Pharma allegedly leaned on its political connections to pressure Trump to fire him after he halted approval of a $3.2 million-per-patient gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The pause came after two teenage boys died within a week of receiving the treatment. Prasad said, “Let’s take another look,” and the drugmaker wasn’t thrilled. I’m glad to see him return to the FDA. He was a sharp, fearless voice during the Covid era, committed to speaking truth, following the science, and holding medicine to a high standard of safety.

• Newly graduated software engineers are now working at Chipotle, despite being told a computer programming degree was their golden ticket to a six-figure job. The NYT basically ran a eulogy for them, urging us to feel bad because they graduated without jobs lined up.They should meet the English majors. Like me. When I graduated, my summa cum laude in Shakespeare and technical writing didn’t exactly scream “hirable asset.” But I had heart. Passion. And a vision. And… okay, maybe I should’ve gone into finance.