LEGO 2.0

PRESENTED BY PETIVITY

Happy Tuesday, Future Party. Looks like we’ve already hit the peak of prediction markets — platforms that let you bet on literally anything. After an unknown trader reportedly made $400,000 on Polymarket by wagering that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be ousted, a new bill was introduced to ban federal elected officials, political appointees, and other bureaucrats from placing bets on prediction sites — a move meant to curb insider trading.

But considering they can still trade stocks, don’t hold your breath on this passing… so for now, keep your eyes on those markets to see which big headlines might come next.

The LEGO Group unveiled SMART Bricks that bring sets to life and revolutionize how they’re played with.

The Big Play: How kids play has evolved tremendously over the past 30 years. But for all that technological innovation, people’s appetite for Denmark’s joyfully analog LEGO bricks hasn’t waned. Still, with AI poised to take playtime to the next level — whether parents are comfortable with it or not — LEGO decided now was the time to imagine its future… just without AI (or even a camera).

Between The Builds: LEGO may be mostly geared toward kids… but here at TFP, we’re itching to get our hands on these.

Final Piece: The LEGO Group called the SMART Bricks, Minifigures, and Play tech “the most significant evolution in the LEGO System-in-Play since the introduction of the LEGO Minifigure in 1978.” In other words, expect 60-year-olds to be just as excited as six-year-olds.

The first sets featuring the tech will ship on March 1st… and they’ll all be Star Wars-related. So, brace yourself for a wave of Disney tie-ins and cross-marketing over the next year.

Next Set: Don’t be surprised if LEGO sets with the SMART tech become the most in-demand gifts this holiday season. Prepare accordingly.

Everyone knows that sinking feeling when insert dog’s name gets out the backdoor or garage and becomes “lost.”

At a minimum, it’s inconvenient. But sometimes it can be downright dangerous (especially if you live near busy roads).

That’s why all dog lovers need the Petivity Smart GPS + Activity Tracker for Dogs. This smart collar tracks your dog’s whereabouts at all times:

Don’t regret not getting this for your pooch!

Save 15% on your Petivity tracker with code: TFP15.

Sales of audiobooks are now starting to outpace print bestsellers.

Why It Hits: Although bookstores have been regaining popularity, overall print book sales are sliding — down 1% last year to 679 million copies — and trending to keep falling. But that’s not to say books are any less popular. It may be how we consume them that’s changing. 

Between The Pages: There’s nothing quite like having a story read to you, per The WSJ.

Last Chapter: While audiobooks have been around for decades, having authors routinely read their own stories — and layering in sound effects — is a relatively new experience. Maybe reading a book is taking cues from listening to a favorite podcast: we want closeness to a person’s actual voice.

It’s also a gift to publishers in the digital age. To market Brimstone, digital publisher Podium Entertainment released excerpts of the audiobook across social media… ultimately propelling the title to No. 1 on the December New York Times fiction audio bestseller list.

Next Read Listen: With the advent of AI voice-cloning, expect every book to come with an audio component… which may prompt some savvy readers (listeners?) to seek out titles that still have a human voice behind them.

The acceleration of content production has left media teams in a bind — flush with valuable content, yet struggling to find and monetize it. This upcoming webinar aims to change that.

Industry experts from Forrester Research, ESPN, Reuters, and more will unveil their playbook on video and image AI — and why it’s critical to monetizing content in 2026 and beyond.

Don’t miss it. In just one hour, you’ll gain actionable content workflow insights from leaders with decades of media and entertainment experience.

Register for the webinar on January 14th at 10am PST / 1pm EST.

56.5% of you voted Yes, within the past week in yesterday’s poll: Have you intentionally taken time to do absolutely nothing lately?

“It’s so refreshing! Our culture has started to worship productivity, making us feel guilty for not being productive every second. Doing ‘nothing’ is actually doing something we’ve forgotten how to do: relax.”

“I need a half day every week to reset myself.”

“Ten minutes in the morning, just my coffee and me sitting on the couch. No tech, no music, no noise. Just me and coffee. Once it gets warmer, I’ll move this ritual outside.”

“Dolce far niente!” (Italian) — “’Tis sweet to do nothing!”

“With two jobs and being a full-time student, sleeping is my downtime.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🍿 If Netflix buys Warner Bros, it may institute a shortened 17-day theatrical window.

🏈 Amazon reported that last season’s Thursday Night Football was the most-watched ever, with an average of 15.3 million viewers per game.

📺 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down after 58 years following Congress’ vote to cut its funding last year.

🦿 Hyundai announced that it’ll build 30,000 humanoid robots a year to deploy at its factories.

🤖 Amazon’s AI assistant, Alexa+, is now available on the web.

🤧 Researchers at Melbourne’s Peter Doherty Institute are working on a Crispr-powered therapy that could cure the flu.

🤳 The most-subscribed-to streamer on Twitch is an AI chatbot named Neuro-sama.

💸 The Rockefeller Foundation is partnering with MrBeast’s Beast Philanthropy to reach younger donors.

🥜 Why are dudes obsessed with a VTuber peanut on Twitch?