Musk and Kardashian remind us to stop crying for the wealthy

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Before we get into this week’s show notes, some programming notes:

First up, use code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount for Disrupt tickets. We’re mere weeks away, and you should come hang out with us when we record on opening day!We also have a special for those impacted by layoffs. If you were laid off, go here to get a free ticket to TechCrunch Disrupt’s Expo!

Alright, throat clearing aside, here's what we got into this week: 

$700M water? Yeah, the Liquid Death round was a big deal in the news this week because everyone had an opinion on the matter. Us included. While there's good reason to doubt the DTC model today -- cough cough, public markets -- Alex was on hand to stand up for the, er, near unicorn.How much should you pay your staff? From there it was time to chat about fair compensation, and how a startup called Comprehensive wants to take a crack at the question. It just raised $6 million.Duolingo goes shopping! Yes, we've covered this company before. And, yes, it is now public. But Duolingo snapping up another company gave us the chance to yammer a bit about edtech more generally, and we're always going to take that chance.Naver, Poshmark, and Depop: Naver's move to swoop up Poshmark is the story of two major companies finding union. But since the Poshmark deal was similar to the 2021-era Depop deal, it fit into our remit. After all, Poshmark and Depop were both venture darlings once upon a time.Twitter, Elon, round 472: Since we recorded this podcast, there's been even more Elon-Twitter news. God we're tired of it.Kim Kardashian's crypto issue: Far be it from us to give advice, but if you are going to take $250,000 to shill a shitcoin, do disclose the payment!

And that is our show. We're on a regular schedule next week, and then live the week after!

Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, a show that details how our stories come together and more!

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.