Good morning. This week, X creator and app developer Nikita Bier launched Explode, an app that lets users send disappearing photos via iMessage. Only senders need the app for it to work. 

In what sounds like a futuristic Seinfeld episode, Bier said Explode is a “spite app” to get back at Snap for kicking his previous company off of its platform. What goes around comes around…or in this case, explodes.

— Hannah Doyle 

Nick DiGiovanni Launches Recipe Channel

Cooking creator Nick DiGiovanni earns more than 200 million views per month making entertaining food videos on his YouTube channel. Think: making the world’s largest beef wellington with Gordon Ramsay or testing one-star kitchen gadgets.

Now, he’s going back to basics with a new channel, Nick’s Kitchen, where he demonstrates how to make classic dishes like mac n’ cheese and roast chicken. 

Two episodes and 2 million subscribers in, the channel is different from DiGiovanni’s typical work—the pace is slower, the lighting is softer, and the food is front and center.

Here’s why DiGiovanni is taking on a new tone →

Audience appetite. “There were more views with the entertainment-based videos, but we saw comments all the time asking for recipes, so this is our way to honor both parts of our audience,” Nick DiGiovanni’s Head of Content, Zach Blank, told us. 

Wider viewing potential. Blank told us the new channel’s videos are shot to look more like Food Network than YouTube for TV viewers, but with dialogue helpful enough to play on an iPad or phone while cooking. “We’re not doing any retention hacking or loud intros, it’s a back-to-basics show where the focus is to teach people how to cook,” Blank said.

Focus on food. DiGiovanni was a MasterChef and worked at Michelin-starred restaurants before becoming a creator, and he wanted to highlight his cooking skills. “If you do a careful watch you’ll notice there’s not much that show’s Nick’s face from a wide angle, and that was very intentional—we want to keep the visuals focused on the food,” Blank said.

Going forward: Nick’s Kitchen will continue in tandem with DiGiovanni’s typical content. In addition to DiGiovanni’s premium salt brand, merch brand, and cookbook, Nick’s Recipes will be a hub for recipe content on the internet, Blank noted. “This is really about building an audience that trusts us and knows us as the home for amazing recipes, great visuals, and instructional videos,” he said.

Is This The Last Weekend for TikTok?

As we approach Sunday’s deadline for TikTok’s divestiture or forced ban in the US, a few headlines suggest there’s a lot to watch heading into the 11th hour.

The Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold the TikTok ban, citing a concern for national security. It’s up to President-elect Donald Trump on whether or not to enforce the law once he takes office on Monday.

Trump is reportedly considering an executive order that would suspend the enforcement of the TikTok ban for 60 to 90 days, giving the new administration time to renegotiate a sale or another solution. 

The Biden administration will defer implementation of the law to the Trump administration. That means Biden won’t fine US companies that allow access to TikTok past Sunday’s deadline.

Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein obtained government documents that revealed a loophole in the TikTok divest-or-ban law that exempts select US State Department employees responsible for “public diplomacy” from the ban.

With this much happening at the last minute, odds of a TikTok ban going through on betting platform Polymarket shot up to 81% this morning. We want to know →

🔥 Press Worthy

• MrBeast's Beast Games is now Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched unscripted show. It reached 50 million viewers in 25 days.

• VC funding for creator startups increased for the first time in two years, according to The Information. Funding rose by 51% to more than $1.5 billion over the last year.

• JiDion receives an “ambassador of peace” award from the mayor of a town he had previously claimed was “the most racist town in America.”

• Reality show recap creator Queen E is launching a recap podcast with the Unwell Network. 

• GamersNexus files a new lawsuit against PayPal over Honey’s alleged advertising malpractice. The suit advocates for better consumer protection.

• YouTube and Google are contributing $15 million to LA fire relief. YouTube will also open up its production facilities to affected creators when its offices reopen.

• Bob Dylan joins TikTok…three days before it’s banned.

📚️ Thank You For Pressing Publish

The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

• Read: For The Verge, contributor Barbara Krasnoff tests the best tools to backup TikTok videos on your phone. What videos are you saving for a rainy day if TikTok disappears?

• Watch: In a video that blends music video production with education content, content strategist Eric Villa shares his secret to identifying content gaps on YouTube.

• Listen: Ben Stiller and Adam Scott’s Severance podcast is here to help you catch up on the show ahead of season two, which debuted last night on AppleTV almost three years after season one.