Welcome back to Insider Weekly! I'm Matt Turner, co-EIC of business at Insider.
A couple of years back, Tim Cook made a bold statement.
Talking to CNBC as he previewed a host of new services, the Apple CEO pointed to health as the area where the world's largest company would make its greatest contribution to mankind.
The potential was clear. Millions of us wear Apple Watches, giving us access to its array of health-related features. But, as Blake Dodge reported this week, delivering on Apple's ambitious vision to reinvent healthcare has proven challenging.
Her story describes organizational problems in Apple's health division. The situation has gotten so serious that some employees have lodged complaints with Cook himself. Read on for more on this story and to hear from Blake and her editor Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer.
Also in this week's newsletter:
- From ad agency pros to healthcare and production professionals, Madison Avenue has a new generation of rising stars.
- Gopuff's astronomical growth led to chaos, unsold inventory, and throwing out thousands of dollars worth of food daily.
- Former Young Life members have come out with stories of sexual misconduct within the group that markets itself as a young, cool Christian organization.
Let me know what you think of all our stories at [email protected].
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Inside the turmoil at Apple Health
Samantha Lee/Insider
Senior reporter Blake Dodge and editor Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer take us behind the scenes of the reporting process on our investigation into Apple's healthcare arm.
What prompted you to start looking into Apple Health?
Blake: I started to get the sense from talking to people in the healthcare industry that turbulence at Apple Health was kind of an open secret. When I started asking around about its leadership, a handful of people immediately wanted to talk, and their accounts of the organization were all really intense. That was a sign for me that this was worth pursuing.
How did you approach working on this story together?
Lydia: Blake is our go-to reporter for covering all the healthcare developments happening at big tech companies, of which there are many. Most of what I did was make sure Blake knew she had the space to go out and do the kind of reporting it'd take to land a story like this. Every week, I'd hear more and more about what she'd uncovered until finally it felt like a good time to get drafting.
What detail really stuck out to you?
Blake: Hearing about specific employees' experiences in this org was really striking to me. People felt they were asked to do the wrong things and many resigned in protest of the punitive culture. The list of complaints is extensive. These are real people who have been through something difficult and I felt a responsibility to explain that.
What do you hope readers take away from this?
Lydia: Blake's reporting demonstrates why we see so many headlines about the culture at particular companies: that it can play a role in what the company is able to achieve, in healthcare, or any big venture, really. I hope readers are able to get a sense of why it matters that we're reading so many headlines about workers speaking out about the pressure they're under.
Read the full report here:
Plus, read correspondent Becky Peterson's in-depth look at Laurene Powell Jobs' rise as a power player in media and politics:
Advertising has a new batch of rising stars
Publicis Media; Razorfish; TBWAChiatDay; RPA; Marianne Ayala/Insider
Madison Avenue has a diverse group ready to take the advertising sector by storm. Many work at traditional ad agencies, though others have taken non-traditional roles at places like consulting firms.
These early- and mid-career pros leverage data and outside-the-box thinking in their creative campaigns, change business practices, and challenge industry norms. This is Insider's fourth year of recognizing top nominees.
Meet the 50 rising stars revolutionizing advertising in 2021.
Gopuff's rapid growth created 'a downward spiral into chaos'
Hannah Yoon
Former and current Gopuff staffers told Insider that the company routinely throws away pallets and pallets worth of food. Food waste has become so rampant across the company that warehouses have to toss products arriving from an unending string of delivery trucks.
One manager said he discarded at least $10,000 worth of food per week, sometimes even two or three times that. The company's rapid expansion led to storage problems, issues with warehouse operation, and "chaos."
See the inside story on Gopuff.
Former Young Life members speak out about sexual misconduct
Zerb Mellish for Insider
About 400,000 students attend Young Life meetings each week, exposing themselves to a culture that discourages drinking, premarital sex, and homosexuality. But according to some within the organization, cases of sexual harassment and assault have transpired, Rachel Premack reports in a new investigation.
Ten women said, during Young Life activities, they experienced misconduct including sexual assault, unwanted touching, and unwanted sexual attention. According to the women, the organization ignored or mishandled their complaints when they were brought to attention.
Read more into allegations against the mega-ministry.
More of this week's top reads:
- Work from home isn't always rosy. It could be the reason you might feel burned out - here's how we can fix it.
- Dara Khosrowshahi's leadership has left Uber insiders divided. Some think the company has lost direction and become 'boring.'
- Former Bernie Sanders 2020 staffers have landed in various political roles, advocate groups, and even a comic-book store. Here's where you can find 44 of them.
- There's a shortage of infinity pools. Find out why luxury-pool builders are setting minimum prices as high as $500,000.
- The Supreme Court has 37 new millennial clerks that are set to be the most powerful lawyers, judges and politicians in the US - meet them here.
- Uber, Google, Stripe, Coinbase, and other tech firms are radically changing the way they pay employees in stock. It could mean the end of Silicon Valley's 'rest and vest.'
- Leaked strategy deck reveals NBCUniversal's relaunch plans for Peacock streaming service and says it's 'passionate' but 'isn't a cult!'
- In our Hollywood Salary Diaries, we reveal how four entertainment industry workers are paid and how they budget.
Compiled with help from Phil Rosen.