Sapna Maheshwari
@sapna.bsky.social
NYT (@nytimes.com) covering TikTok and emerging media. love consumer-y business news. former retail and advertising reporter. pun fan, Tar Heel, CT native, toddler mom - contact me at sapna@nytimes.com or Signal me directly @Sapna.87
i wrote about smart baby monitors and how an increasing number of products in the nursery are trying to dispense advice to millennial and Gen Z parents: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/b...
Nanit and Other Baby-Tracking Start-Ups Eye Collecting Even More Data
Nanit and other start-ups want to track your children through the night — and soon, for much longer than that.
nytimes.com
essential read for fellow toddler parents giving thousands of dollars a year to BIG BERRY: nytimes.com/2026/07/07/d... "Driscoll’s is now the second-highest-earning brand in American supermarkets, behind only Coca-Cola."
nytimes.com
Between this and the stellar WSJ story about Polymarket's fake bettors, it really feels like we have completely given up on requiring influencers to disclose paid partnerships. It only hurts consumers.
Mia Sato@miasato.bsky.social · last mo.This weekend DoorDash tweeted about the World Cup but repeatedly tagged T-Pain, as if they were mixing him up with NZ soccer player Tim Payne. T-Pain got in on it too, acting confused. Turns out it was all a "partnership." No ad disclosure on any of the posts. www.theverge.com/news/954145/...
I still get retail emails and the thirst from this one was REAL
wrote about the bidding war for Ina Garten's new podcast (which landed with Vox Media) and the continued blurring of the lines between talk shows + video podcasts! Ina says she can connect more deeply with guests on a pod than on the Food Network (more deets below) www.nytimes.com/2026/06/21/b...
In Her New Podcast, Ina Garten Is Hoping to Get Messy
nytimes.com
this piece on parenthood and how it has long been seen in America as "an individual act of extravagance" — and how that's perhaps now changing — is v good www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/m...
The American Family Is at a Breaking Point. Our Politics Have Finally Noticed.
nytimes.com
Gutted by this news, and that she was so young--even if I could do the math on her autobiographical story, Persepolis seems like the work of decades' more confidence and insight. And just a beautiful creation. Use your voice while you have a voice to use. RIP.
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2mo agoBreaking News: Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French author whose graphic novel series “Persepolis” illuminated the struggles of Iranians during the Islamic Revolution, died at 56.
It's not just measles: Doctors are seeing more of a number of vaccine-preventable illnesses. And it's not just childhood vaccines: They're seeing more adults refuse tetanus shots after injuries, and even blood transfusions bc the blood might come from a vaccinated donor. From me and Dani Blum:
Hospitals See Diseases Resurge as Vaccinations Decline (Gift Article)
Doctors nationwide are encountering more children with whooping cough, bacterial infections and other serious illnesses, as well as more adults refusing tetanus shots.
nytimes.com
I’ve been thinking a lot about the shifting baseline concept as applied to everyday life. People in their 20’s now have no memory of highly functional systems, products (from blenders to sweaters) that were so well made you could hand them down across generations, or even helpful customer service.
Glamour was a mighty women’s magazine for decades. After layoffs in April, it’s now essentially a destination for affiliate links. A look at how it got here, with comments from Anita Hill, Jane Pratt and Becky Malinsky: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/b...
At Glamour, a Once-Mighty Magazine, a Skeleton Crew Churns Out Shopping Links
nytimes.com
Everlane's founder Michael Preysman on the Shein sale: “Quite shocking, to be honest, and not a decision that I would ever make.” (and he's starting a new brand) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/28/b...
Everlane Co-Founder, Shocked by Shein Acquisition, Wants a Redo
nytimes.com
today in predictive markets being... not great for society abcnews.com/US/google-em...
Google information security engineer charged with using inside information to make $1M on Polymarket
A Google staffer fraudulently made more than $1 million by using inside information to place Polymarket bets on what users were searching for on Google, authorities say.
abcnews.com
"The author of a nonfiction book about the effects of artificial intelligence on truth acknowledged on Monday that he had included numerous made-up or misattributed quotes concocted by A.I." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/19/b... via @benmullin.bsky.social
Book on Truth in the Age of A.I. Contains Quotes Made Up by A.I.
nytimes.com
At first I felt a little dorky admitting how hard I prepared for a game show but you know what, guys? STUDYING WORKS.
Viewer Discretion Podcast@viewerpod.bsky.social · 3mo ago🚨Bonus episode alert🚨 @minakimes.bsky.social breaks down how she prepared for her Celebrity Jeopardy! victory, including a practice buzzer and a stack of books for kids: 🎧: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v... 📺: youtu.be/WPuA_rumwrA?...
👀 to this list of Spencer Pratt's financial backers in DealBook this morning... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/b...
U.S. to Drop Charges Against Indian Billionaire Accused of Fraud Gautam Adani hired a legal team led by one of Trump’s lawyers Then his lawyer offered a sweetener: If prosecutors dropped the charges, Adani would invest $10B in the US economy and create 15,000 jobs www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/n...
U.S. Set to Drop Charges Against Indian Billionaire Accused of Fraud
nytimes.com
can you really call it a peasant blouse if it costs $250 :(
Deloitte and Zoom are *shortening* (!) paid parental leave for their employees, saying things like, it's for the "long-term health and sustainability of our business." Fascinating decision at a time when there's handwringing over the birth rate... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/u...
Why Two Big Companies Just Cut Paid Family Leave
nytimes.com
also hello world! i'm back from maternity leave after having my second gal in September :) send me story ideas! sapna@nytimes.com or sapna.87 on Signal
NEW: The New York Times found in an investigation that some Labubus, the viral collectible dolls from China, contain cotton from Xinjiang, which is banned in the U.S. because of concerns over forced labor: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/b... with @anaswanson.bsky.social & Meaghan Tobin
Some Labubu Dolls Contain Cotton Banned By Forced Labor Law, Testing Shows
nytimes.com
Selling one's likeness for a mere $500 and having it talk about its sexual preferences while hawking fiber supplements is like a sad plot device that I would expect from a good science fiction novel. But it's real, via @sapna.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.
nytimes.com
I wrote about people who sold their likenesses to TikTok for AI-fueled advertisements. Marketers have been able to use their “avatars” to promote all sorts of products - and several regret the work. The folks I spoke with were paid as little as $500 for it www.nytimes.com/2025/08/17/b...
He Sold His Likeness. Now His Avatar Is Shilling Supplements on TikTok.
nytimes.com
“When it’s time again to pick up that phone and incinerate a few more seconds of my one life on earth, more often than not, I shovel them into Reddit.” @jwherrman.bsky.social spot on as usual! nymag.com/intelligence...
Why You Are Reading Reddit a Lot More These Days
“The front page of the web” is turning into the last refuge of the human internet. But can it survive AI?
nymag.com
will be covering the Cannes ad/tech/media confab this year in June... plz DM / email me if there are things i shouldn't miss while there!
one of my fav stories i wrote from this spring — how agencies are trying to train college athletes as the next big group of influencers on TikTok and Instagram: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/27/b...
They’re on the Varsity Influencer Team
nytimes.com
scoop from my colleague Michael Grynbaum: the exec producer of 60 Minutes said he would resign from the program because he had lost his journalistic independence www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/b...
Top Producer of ‘60 Minutes’ Quits, Saying He Lost Independence
The news program has faced mounting pressure from both President Trump and its corporate ownership at Paramount, the parent company of CBS News.
nytimes.com
loved this wild / unexpected dispatch from a Natal Conference from @emmagoldberg.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/s...
The Women Who Think the World Needs More Babies
At a convention of the pronatalist movement, the relatively few women in attendance agreed: Motherhood needs a rebrand.
nytimes.com
