Grab your corded headphones — yes, the ones that tangle instantly. The iPod is trendy again.

• Demand for Apple's long-retired MP3 players is surging amid a wave of nostalgia and a quiet rebellion against smartphhones.

The big picture: The comeback — especially for younger generations — is part of a broader shift toward offline gadgets and analog hobbies, fueled by digital burnout.

By the numbers: Search interest for the original iPod and the iPod Nano spiked last year — even though Apple discontinued the product line in 2022, per Google Trends data.

• eBay searches jumped for the iPod Classic (+25%) and iPod Nano (+20%) between January and October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, per internal data shared with Axios.

Why now? Older tech does one thing and that's the point, Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author of "Digital Minimalism," told Axios.

• "All you can do with an iPod ... is listen to music," he said.
• That's a sharp contrast to smartphones, which cram in music, messages, social feeds, news and everything else — making it, as Newport puts it, "nearly impossible" to keep your usage in check.

Between the lines: The MP3 revival also ties into another trend some call "friction-maxxing" — choosing effort over automation, Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll, told Axios.

• That means manually loading a set number of songs onto an iPod instead of letting an algorithm decide.
• "We're moving away from total, seamless, convenience culture and back to finding meaning in friction," Rodney tells Axios.

💭 Shawna's thought bubble: My purple iPod Nano 5 was a beloved staple through my middle and high school years.

• I distinctly remember watching Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video on repeat on the tiny screen while dreaming of the day I'd meet my own Prince Charming (don't laugh, I was 12).
• The biggest draw though, was the Nano's video recording capabilities. Most of the footage from my childhood dog Mopsie's early years was captured on the device. While the quality is absolutely awful by today's standards, I'll forever be grateful to Apple for preserving those memories.

A night out around music no longer means snagging a spot at a sold-out concert. This year, more vinyl nights, pop-up choirs and music bingo are taking precedent.

Why it matters: Younger crowds are chasing experiences that feel "uncurated" and "unfiltered," per Eventbrite's latest trends report.

By the numbers: Nationwide, there were 36% more vinyl nights from August 2024 to July 2025 than the year before. Attendance jumped 95%.

• "One-day choirs" — temporary singing sessions that don't require auditions — also saw a surge (+87%) and increased turnout (+149%).

The big picture: Nearly 60% of Gen Z and millennial respondents across the U.S. and U.K. said they want events to feel one-of-a-kind, Eventbrite's survey finds.

• Around 80% say spontaneity is important.

Some 60% of respondents also said connecting with others is important, but don't want it to feel like the main event.

• Music bingo fits neatly into that lane. Attendance in the U.S. is up 149%, per Eventbrite. Instead of numbers, you're matching songs and artists.
• Meanwhile, Japanese-style listening bars are gaining more appeal than nightclubs.

A viral video of immigration agents arresting a woman at SFO over the weekend has sparked backlash and questions about potential violations of the state's sanctuary laws. (Mission Local)

• SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told Axios it was "an isolated incident," with no indication of wider enforcement or ICE deployment to support TSA during the partial government shutdown.
• DHS yesterday said the woman tried to flee agents and had been ordered to leave the country in 2019 by an immigration judge. (SF Chronicle)

📊 Starting next school year, Algebra 1 will be reinstated for all public school 8th graders. At most schools, it will be offered as an additional elective course. (SF Standard)

Even if you're not a Taylor Swift fan, this stunning fact is hard to ignore: "The Life of a Showgirl" sold 1.6 million vinyl records in the U.S. last year.

• That represented more than 3% of all vinyl sold nationwide, per industry data firm Luminate.

Why it matters: Vinyl sales have now risen for the 19th straight year.

• In 2025 alone, sales jumped 9% to nearly 48 million units, Luminate's Year-End Music Report shows.

State of play: Vinyl is going mainstream, especially with younger and more diverse listeners who are leaning into anything that isn't a screen.

• Black, Asian, Hispanic and other nonwhite consumers made up roughly half of all vinyl buyers, up 18 percentage points from the previous year.
• Millennials posted the biggest increase in vinyl purchases over the past year.

What's next: Record Store Day returns April 18. Here's where to hunt for your next vinyl find in San Francisco.

When Apple launched the iPod in 2001, its pitch was simple: "1,000 songs in your pocket."

• It cost $399 — roughly $725 today.

👀 Here's what Apple's homepage looked like that day.

🙋‍♀️ Nadia's thought bubble: Who else remembers downloading all their music from LimeWire and hoping it didn't wreck their computer with a virus?