• Sydney Ferbrache, 24, travels full-time around America in a van with her dog Ella. 
• Ferbrache decided to pursue van life on her own after dumping her boyfriend and giving him the first van that they had bought together. 
• She saved up by working three jobs, plus side gigs, so that she could purchase and renovate her own van and hit the road.
• Ferbrache has now been to 20 states and hopes to inspire other women to find the joy in traveling solo.  
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

One day, while scrolling through her Instagram feed, Sydney Ferbrache saw a picture of a girl in a van. Maybe it was fate, or just the algorithm, but it completely changed her life. 

Now Ferbrache, 24, is the girl in the van, with 104,000 Instagram fans following her travels all across America with her dog Ella. 

And she's doing it all on her own. After dumping her boyfriend, Ferbrache realized that she wanted to prove there is nothing scary about being a solo woman on the road. 

Ferbrache talked to Insider about how her solo journey began, the incredible places she's seen on the road, and why she's tired of people telling her she's crazy for traveling alone. 

Ferbrache got the travel bug on her first big trip, when she went to Europe for three weeks after her freshman year of college.

Ferbrache, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, had never been out of the country before going on the adventure with a friend from college. 

"I had only seen the world of different TV shows," she told Insider. "It was absolutely incredible. I was totally hooked." 

A year-and-a-half later, Ferbrache decided to book a solo trip to South Africa.

"I said screw it, I'm doing it on my own," Ferbrache recalled. "I did a ton of research on safety and women in South Africa and I backpacked around Cape Town and Johannesburg for three-and-a-half weeks." 

"My parents were petrified the whole time I was there. Everyone was so apprehensive about it." 

"But I knew I would be okay," she added. "And when I got home I said, 'I'm totally capable of doing anything.' That was my first trip alone, and it really changed my life." 

But Ferbrache's first experience with van life wasn't solo. After seeing that Instagram picture of the girl in the van, she asked her boyfriend at the time to join her on an adventure.

"I said, 'This could be the way of us traveling,"' Ferbrache recalled. "He was a chef, I was an events manager for a restaurant, we were working 70 to 80 hours a week and were totally miserable." 

"I saw this picture and it took me down this black tunnel hole of van life. I was scrolling for hours a day on my laptop and in between homework and everything else, just looking at vans. We bought one, had it shipped to Indianapolis, and that was the start of how I discovered van life."

The couple purchased an $18,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and spent $10,000 renovating it for their journey, splitting all the costs right down the middle.

Ferbrache and her boyfriend, who had been together for a little over a year at the time, then set off on the road in September 2017.

While the couple had a "great relationship in the van," Ferbrache said she realized that her boyfriend wasn't the one. 

"I have always felt that I'm capable of going 100 mph and I was with someone only capable of going 50 mph," she added. "I felt I couldn't be doing everything I wanted, or shooting for the stars the way I wanted, because he had very different dreams." 

"He loved the van life stuff, but he thought of it as a temporary, 'I'm gonna let Sydney do what she wants and get it out of her system and then we'll get married and have kids and have a house,' and I didn't like that at all," she added. "I didn't have that mindset, this isn't going to be a short-term thing." 

Ferbrache ended the relationship in March 2018 and let her ex-boyfriend keep their van.

Ferbrache said she decided to give the van up "in the heat of the moment" during the breakup. 

"He said, 'I always knew you wanted this, I always knew you wanted to travel in the van by yourself,' and in my head I said 'screw you' and in the moment I said, 'No, you have the van, you take the van, I will prove to you that I can do it again,'" she recalled. 

"I didn't want him to think that I had used him in order to get the van. And, in all honesty, he thought we were going to get married and have kids and have this huge future together and I felt this tremendous sense of guilt," she added. "So I didn't want to take away the future he expected to have in the relationship, and the future that he thought he had in the van." 

"He ended up selling the van and never traveled in it again." 

After the breakup, Ferbrache said she felt "a huge sense of freedom" and immediately started looking for a new van.

"Immediately I was like okay, I can do this, I can go for it," she said. 

Ferbrache worked three jobs and a "ton of side gigs" for two months to save up for the van. She had launched her website about van life, did freelance web design, and was also nannying full-time. One day she spent eight hours stuffing envelopes to get a little extra cash. 

Ferbrache purchased a $24,000 Ford Transit van in May 2018 and immediately began renovating it.

She added a full kitchen with a fridge, stove, and sink. The bedroom has a king-size bed that can be turned into benches and a table, and there is also a toilet. 

The van doesn't have a shower, so Ferbrache uses local gyms. 

By September 2018, Ferbrache was ready to hit the road.

A week before she left, Ferbrache made one last purchase — a golden retriever puppy that she named Ella. 

Ferbrache describes her first couple of weeks on the road as the best of her life.

"It was the most freeing," she said. "I truly felt like such a bada--. I made this happen, I cannot believe I actually made this happen." 

She said she "was crying constantly" at first. "It was such a cool feeling of 'I'm driving my home around the country.'" 

Ferbrache and Ella first went to Yellowstone National Park.

"I sat there the first day, just staring out the windows at the mountains," she recalled. "I spent two to three days there just in awe — I couldn't believe my life." 

Ferbrache says she has since been to 20 states, traveling to the likes of Montana, Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Quebec in Canada.

Every four to six months, Ferbrache stops back in Indiana to see her family and spend some time with her 2-year-old nephew.

Ferbrache estimates that she spends around 300 days of the year total on the road.

She says she funds her travels through advertising and affiliate marketing on her website, and also helps people design their own blogs.

Ferbrache has since also started her own podcast.

Ferbrache gets asked all the time about how she could feel comfortable traveling in a van by herself. But she says she has never been scared.

"Honestly, to this day, I have never felt like I was in danger," she said. "I have a very Midwestern family, I was around a really protective father, and I have that sense of safety and security and mindfulness. It's been instilled in me." 

Ferbrache said she locks the doors on her van every night, carries a Taser, and also travels with "various weapons." 

"I only park where I know it's safe," she said. "I read reviews, making sure that where I'm going that night is safe. Because I take those precautions, I have never put myself in a situation where it's dangerous."

Ferbrache said she also loves being alone, and doesn't often feel lonely on the road.

"I love going to van gatherings and talking to people, but it takes everything out of me," she said. "I enjoy so much being alone, and if I'm ever lonely I go into a city where I can go to dog parks or talk to people on Instagram and meet up at their vans."

The only time Ferbrache said she truly felt lonely was when, a couple of months after she first hit the road, Ella needed surgery.

"Suddenly I was in California and I didn't have anyone to get advice from or my mom to take her to the vet with me or console me," she said. "I didn't have anyone to help me through." 

"It was one of those situations where I was like, 'Oh, wow, I'm an adult now and I have to do this on my own."'

Ferbrache said she has no plans to get off the road anytime soon.

She wants to make it to Alaska by spring 2020, and plans to hit up Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia along the way. 

What comes after has yet to be planned, but it will definitely be in the van.

"I always just say it's a three to five-year plan," Ferbrache said. "It's been one year, maybe two years from now I'll reevaluate and make sure I'm still happy and this is something I still want to do." 

"I've never woken up once in the last year and not felt like this isn't exactly what I should be doing. I don't foresee anywhere in the near future where I want to stop, but I also don't want to hold myself to this idea that I have to be on the road." 

Ferbrache said one of the best parts about being on the road is inspiring other women to become solo adventurers.

"I've grown this audience on social media, and the number of women who message me saying 'I never heard of van life before you,' or 'I never thought I could do it without a partner,' the number of people on the road who say it's specifically because of me, that's so powerful," she said. 

"I've gone to gatherings before where there's a few women and they're like, 'Oh my god, you're the reason I hit the road and get to travel and live this life.' I never anticipated having that kind of impact on anyone."

And Ferbrache hopes to keep inspiring women to find the joy in traveling alone.

"My biggest tip would be to always keep safety in mind and keep it a concern and priority, but to not allow it to rule your life and stop you from traveling simply because you're a solo woman," she said. 

"I really believe society has instilled in us that we should be fearful of the world and that we should have a man by our side to see things," Ferbrache added. "We are taught to be scared, we don't feel that way innately." 

"I like to prove in the way I do things that that's not how we have to live our lives." 

• Read more:
• A NYC family converted a Ford shuttle bus into a tiny home on wheels called 'Buster' to visit every National Park in North America
• A couple lives full-time in a 72-square-foot van with their two dogs so they can pay off debts and travel: 'We've been dreaming of this for many years'
• A man's 89-year-old grandmother had never traveled or seen the ocean, so he's taking her on a tour of all 61 national parks
• I've lived out of my car for 4 years — see the incredible photos from my life on the road

• A good winter coat will keep you warm and dry even when the snow is falling and the wind is howling. A great winter coat will keep you warm, dry, and looking good, too.
• The Patagonia Men's Topley Jacket is our top pick because it's well insulated, water-resistant, and imbued with an understated but undeniable style that will allow you to pass from the ski lodge to the boardroom undetected.
• If you're looking for women's styles, check out our guide to the best winter coats for women.

Yes, it's that time of year again when those of us in northern reaches need to prepare to primarily live indoors, and otherwise face the fact that every time we step outside, we require a shield from the cold.

But what makes a good winter coat all depends firstly on what you need from it, and secondly how you want to look in it. The first thing to consider is insulation. Wool and layering work to a point, but when it drops below freezing, insulation (synthetic or down) becomes a necessity.

It should go without saying that if you're working outside, a shearling coat or a fur-lined parka is excessive, and will probably get trashed before too long. But if you're wintering nearer to either polar region, it might be best to take it from those endemic to the region and sling on an age-old parka. 

Just the same, if you need to show up to work (or anywhere) looking a little sharper, no one can knock a classic trench coat.

Or maybe you're looking for something in the middle. It's not uncommon to see sportier winter coats in office lobbies nowadays, and we have faith you can pull it off if you so choose. 

Below, we've laid out all of our favorites in a handful of the most general and versatile styles, so whether it's an ultralight down, a fur-lined parka, a work coat built for use and abuse, or a prim and proper overcoat, we've got you covered.

• Best winter coat overall:Patagonia Topley Jacket
• Best waterproof winter jacket:Columbia OutDry Ex Gold Down Hooded Jacket
• Best for extreme cold:Mountain Hardware Absolute Zero Parka
• Best trench coat: London Fog Iconic Belted Trench Coat
• Best peacoat: Schott Slim Fit Wool Blend Peacoat

Updated on 12/20/2019 by Jen Gushue: Updated pricing, links, and formatting. Removed our pick for best versatile parka due to discontinuation. We're currently testing new picks for a future update.

The best men's winter coat overall

The Patagonia Men's Topley Jacket offers the warmth of a parka in a handsome, stylish jacket that looks right at home above a pair of jeans or dress slacks.

At a glance, the Patagonia Men's Topley Jacket looks like a casual and rather simple jacket. Its design would not have looked out of place in any decade since the 1940s and will likely remain fashionable many decades into the future. Although this jacket may be unassuming in appearance, it's actually quite capable in terms of performance.

The outer shell of this two-layer coat is made from 100% recycled polyester and is waterproof yet breathable. The inner layer is quilted and features 600-fill-power recycled down that provides excellent insulation. Thanks to a zipper secured with a buttoned storm flap, even a harsh, cutting wind will be kept at bay.

But frankly, lots of jackets look rather like this one and can keep you warm and dry, too. What sets this jacket apart from the pack are the details. Its exterior pockets are lined with brushed jersey to keep your fingers warm and cozy. Its removable hood is well insulated, adjustable, and features a laminated visor to keep precipitation off your face (and out of your eyes, most notably). The left chest pocket has a waterproof zipper and a port for headphones. The waist can be cinched shut with an adjustable drawcord that keeps out that biting wind.

Most professional apparel writers love the jacket, while a writer from WyomingFlyFishing.com loves the way the "urban-friendly" jacket "wraps you in compressible warmth." 

Pros: Stylish appearance, dual-layer design offers excellent insulation, clever design features

Cons: Rather expensive

Shop all men's jackets and coats at Patagonia

The best waterproof winter jacket

You could have a friend spray you with a hose and still stay dry in the Columbia OutDry Ex Gold Down Hooded Jacket, plus, you'd stay nice and warm. A waterproof jacket isn't always necessary in winter, but when temperatures hover at or above freezing, it's something you'll want to have on hand.

I own a Columbia Sportswear OutDry Ex Gold Down Hooded Jacket and I wear it dozens of times in the winter. When I'm doing any winter camping or hiking, I use it for the duration of the trip, day and night — balled up, the jacket makes a decent pillow for sleeping. By day, it keeps me warm and, as you've likely surmised, 100% dry. When you see Columbia's proprietary OutDry tag on one of its garments, you can count on it to be totally waterproof.

I've worn my Ex Gold Down jacket in heavy snow and in driving rain and on some very cold days, and frankly, when paired with a couple of layers of innerwear, the jacket kept me too warm once my heart rate was up. But that's a lot better than too cold. The jacket features multiple slender horizontal baffles that keep the 700-fill-power down in place and evenly distributed, and all seams are coated with an external tape, keeping out cold air and wetness.

Another thing you will love about this jacket is its remarkable compressibility. This thing can keep you warm in freezing temperatures, but then pack down small enough to tuck away into your pack or even into a glove compartment or a drawer.

The Columbia OutDry Ex Gold Down Hooded Jacket scores mainly five-star reviews online, with one customer saying he "highly recommend[s] it for anyone who goes backpacking in varying weather conditions." Another owner says it is "the best rain barrier I have owned."

A writer with Trailspace Outdoor Gear Reviews reported staying dry after a five-mile hike in the rain, and noted that the "nylon interior material is soft against the skin and comfortable." A gear tester with GearJunkie.com praised the coat for being waterproof and warm.

Pros: Exceptional waterproofing, compresses well for packing, lightweight

Cons: Limited breathability can cause sweating issues

Shop all men's jackets and coats at Columbia

The best winter coat for extreme conditions

The Mountain Hardware Absolute Zero Parka will keep you warm and dry whether you're hurrying down a snowy city street or clinging to the north face of a Himalayan mountain.

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way early: Yes, this coat is very expensive. But when said garment could be the difference between life and death during a mountaineering expedition, you really shouldn't worry over a few (hundred) dollars.

Suitable though the Mountain Hardware Absolute Zero Parka may be for high altitude winter hiking or climbing, it's also a fine choice for anyone who lives in areas prone to heavy snowfall and frigid winds, no alpine excursions required.

The parka provides its amazing insulation thanks to an abundance of large 800-fill down baffles. "Fill power" essentially refers to the quality and density of down. Higher fill power means higher quality down that insulates better, it doesn't simply refer to a larger volume of material.

Its seams are welded and the exterior of the jacket is fully waterproof. Inner water bottle pockets and a mesh stash pocket help you keep your water and snacks close at hand...and not frozen. Thanks to the mid-thigh length of the jacket, your entire core will be kept warm and dry.

In a post on Trailspace.com, a gear expert said he had worn the parka in -26-degree temperatures and found it so warm that he "never used the hood." In a video gear review from Doglotion.com, a tester who wore the parka in the Canadian Arctic said he was "the only one in the group who could comfortably just sit outside" despite the frigid temperatures.

Pros: Fantastically warm, durable construction, blocks out water and wind, thoughtful pocket layout

Cons: Overkill for most people

Shop all men's down and insulated jackets at Mountain Hardware

The best trench coat

A trench coat is your formalwear answer to a winter coat. It does almost everything you need it to, but without the fluff. You can't go wrong with London Fog.

There are few brands as emblematic of the classic overcoat than London Fog. Founded in 1923 as the Londontown company, London Fog became popular for making waterproof clothing, with such notable clients as the United States Navy, which the brand clothed during World War II.

Today, the brand still carries the styles that made it popular, the most recognizable of which being the "Iconic Belted Trench Raincoat," and you cannot make your way through midtown Manhattan without spotting one — for good reason, though. The entire coat is made of synthetic material, which might turn some noses up, but it's durable, well-tailored, and very easy to keep clean (and odor-free).

I've been wearing a London Fog overcoat that I pinched from my father's closet, and he's had it for a good 30 years himself. There's not a loose seam, a tear, or even a stain that I've noticed, and that's after just as many decades spent battling through midtown Manhattan and Grand Central Station. 

Because both the shell and removable (quilted) inner lining are polyester/nylon and polyester, respectively, you don't have to dry clean these coats, either.

Dressed with a scarf and hat, this coat will keep you warm well below freezing. No, it won't get you across Arctic tundra, and for that you'll want a parka, without question. But it'll keep you from showing up at your office (and evenings) without looking like grizzly man, furs and all.

Pros: Timeless, easily styled with most anything

Cons: Maybe not the most covetable material, not warm enough for extreme temperatures

The best peacoat

Sturdy, timeless, and beautiful, Schott's peacoat is hard to beat at this price point.

How you choose and wear your wool coat is a highly personal affair, but it's hard to deny the heritage of Schott. Yes, the brand is known for its leather and being the first to put a zipper on a jacket (though the traditional peacoat does not bear a zipper), but that doesn't mean they can't put together a good wool coat. With more than 100 years of jacket-making behind them, you can have faith in Schott.

A lot of pea coats are unnecessarily wide, leaving their wearers looking broad. Schott's Slim Fit Peacoat solves for this with a trimmed-down, more modern cut, but still with the classic lines, welt pockets, and anchor-embossed buttons.

A peacoat can't quite be worn over a suit like an overcoat can, but it can handle a business casual outfit and anything below. With jeans, chinos, slacks, boots or loafers, and a flannel or an oxford, especially beneath a sweater, the peacoat is among the more versatile options, especially for the urban dweller. It's a good thing to have in rotation.

Like most, Schott's peacoat is an 80%/20% blend of wool and nylon, and it does need to be dry-cleaned. As with anything, order a darker color, and you'll probably have to dry clean it a little less.

Size up if you want to be able to fit a bulkier sweater underneath and wear it through winter.

Pros: Affordable, timeless, American-spun wool

Cons: Made overseas, a handful of customer reviews suggest sizing may be tricky and quality isn't what it used to be

Other great places to buy men's winter coats

Brands

• Canada Goose
• Caterpillar
• Cole Haan
• Columbia Sportswear
• Everlane
• Moose Knuckles
• L.L.Bean
• Nobis
• The North Face
• Patagonia
• Woolrich

Online retailers

• Backcountry
• Moosejaw
• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom
• REI

Check out our guides to the best parkas and best puffer jackets

The best men's parkas

If you don't have a parka and you live anywhere other than the tropics, it's probably about time you added one to your closet. A parka is something we hope to invest in for the long haul, and a parka that doesn't last more than a few seasons is, in my humble opinion, not a parka at all. Here are the best men's parkas you can buy.

The best men's puffer jackets

Puffer jackets provide warmth without weighing you down, making them perfect for layering in extreme cold or for use as your only jacket on milder days. These compressible, packable jackets can tuck away into a bag, or in some cases, even a pocket, so they're ideal for travel or trekking. Here are the best men's puffer jackets you can buy.

Check out more of the best winter gear on Insider Picks

The best beanies

The word "beanie" is a catch-all that encompasses a ton of different styles, from slouchy cuts to ultra-fitted ones with a variety of embellishments and fabric variations. The sheer number of options is overwhelming, so we did the work of narrowing it down. Here are the best beanies you can buy.

The best places to buy scarves online

Your choice of scarf can make or break your comfort level in the wintertime. Opt for one that's wooly and warm and you'll be toasty. Choose a too-thin fabric and you, well, won't. Scarves are also a great opportunity to infuse a bit of personality into your winter wardrobe. And when you get bored with your outerwear, you can always pick a new scarf to mix things up. Here are the best places to buy scarves online.

The best thermal gloves

A good pair of thermal gloves can make all the difference on a cold winter day. We did the research to find the best thermal gloves you can buy to keep your hands nice and toasty for the rest of this winter and for many more winters to come. Here are our picks for the best thermal gloves.

The best places to buy winter hats for men, women, and children

Your body loses a significant portion of its heat through your head, so keep yourself warm this winter with a great winter hat. The winter hat makers we're featuring offer hats in myriad styles, so once you've narrowed down the type of winter cap you need, you should be able to find several fine options from each brand. Here are the best places to buy winter hats.

The best mittens

Mittens keep your hands warmer than gloves, so if it's cold where you live, work, or play, slip a pair on and keep the chill out. Here are the best mittens to keep you warm.

• Business Insider analyzed recent Netflix job postings and interviewed former employees to find entry-level opportunities for talented job seekers who are starting their careers. 
• The entry-level openings include internships, some assistant and coordinator positions, and roles on certain teams.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Netflix prides itself on hiring "stunning" employees who are at the top in their fields. So there are usually few opportunities for people fresh out of college or those who have little work experience.

But there are some. Business Insider analyzed recent job listings and interviewed former Netflix employees to find opportunities for talented people who are starting their careers.

The entry-level openings included internships, some assistant and coordinator positions, and roles on certain teams, like production finance and IT.

One former employee told Business Insider that Netflix has overlooked prior work experience in rare cases when the person has relevant skills and is very clearly a fit for Netflix's culture.

"Netflix practice is to hire the rock stars," the source said. But "we hired almost entirely on culture fit" in one case, the source said. "It carries as much weight as being a professional in your trade."

Similarly, Netflix has overlooked having a college degree when the person is otherwise a good fit for the role, Amir Moini, Netflix's employer-branding lead, wrote in a November LinkedIn article.

There are upsides to hiring junior-level employees, another former employee said. In some fields, like engineering, candidate pools are more diverse when they include recent graduates or people with only a few years of work experience.

"If you're willing to hire junior, there's a much higher probability of building diverse engineering teams," that Netflix insider said.

Business Insider analyzed more than 450 Netflix job listings on LinkedIn, posted through December 17, and found about 40 jobs that were described as "entry-level" or required less than three years of work experience. Here are the highlights to guide your job search.

Netflix hires masters-level interns

Netflix hires summer interns.

It's taking applications for summer 2020. There are openings on its applied-research, ads-engineering, and content-business-services-engineering (which helps build internal tools) teams, all based out of its Los Gatos, California, headquarters.

Netflix is primarily looking for graduate students in STEM programs at accredited universities. But the job posting for the research internship suggests that Netflix may also consider undergraduate students who are involved in ongoing research projects at their universities.

Applications close on January 10, and interviews start that month.

Netflix also has select assistant openings that require less than 2 years of work experience

Some assistant positions at Netflix are also within reach with a college degree and a few years of work experience.

Netflix is considering candidates who have worked in entertainment for one to three years for an assistant opening on its international-originals team based in Paris. It's also hiring a second assistant production accountant for its Hollywood animation teams and considering people who understand production finance and know how to work a spreadsheet.

Many of the entry-level assistant jobs are in content and production fields.

Some other assistant positions, like an executive-assistant opening on the tax team, require more than five years of relevant experience and wouldn't be attainable for people early in their careers.

Associate and coordinator positions could also be within reach for recent college graduates

Netflix also has openings for candidates who have one to three years of work experience.

Many of them are for "associate" or "coordinator" level positions. Those are two terms to search for to help narrow your job hunt to entry-level openings on Netflix's careers website.

"Netflix is flush with people who have a little experience but not a ton," one former Netflix employee said.

A production-tax-coordinator position in Los Angeles that Netflix recently stopped accepting applications for required two to three years of experience in either tax, finance, or an accounting environment.

A still open talent-coordinator role in Amsterdam broadly requires two to three years of human-resources, recruiting, client-service, or other equivalent international experience. Netflix is also hiring in Los Angeles for a visual-effects coordinator who has two or more years of experience with motion-picture visual effects or animation production.

And the company has a few production-finance associate openings in Los Angeles for candidates with some studio experience. Two of the listings don't specify the number of years required, and one asks for two to three years.

Like the assistant openings, some associate and coordinator jobs require more significant work experience, however.

Current job listings suggest Netflix will overlook prior work experience in certain fields

Netflix's job listings show there are more entry-level opportunities on certain teams, like production finance and IT.

In addition to the three production-finance jobs above, Netflix is hiring for what it calls an entry-level coordinator position on its production-finance team in Tokyo. It's seeking someone with a bachelor's degree and three years of post-degree work experience, though it doesn't specific what kind. 

It has openings on its "Nerd" IT teams in Los Angeles and Los Gatos that don't specify a desired amount of work experience, either.

And three customer-service-insight-analyst openings in Amsterdam, Brazil, and the Philippines are for candidates with two or more years of work experience in the broad fields of research or analysis.

Netflix also doesn't seem to focus as much on prior work experience in emerging fields, such as machine learning.

One listing for a senior software-engineering role on Netflix's machine-learning-infrastructure team in Los Gatos says the company is more interested in skills and interest than prior work experience. It could be an opportunity for someone who recently graduated with a graduate-level degree in a relevant field.

"Machine learning in production is a relatively new field, so chances are, you won't have years and years of experience doing it,"the job listing said. "If you're passionate about combining your talents with ours to tame this frontier, we'd like to hear from you."

For more on how to get a job at Netflix, according to company insiders, check out these Business Insider Prime posts:

• How to get a job interview at Netflix with the help of employee referrals — and what to avoid doing, according to company insiders: Former employees shared tips on asking for and using employee referrals to land job interviews at Netflix.
• Netflix's 5 toughest job-interview questions, according to company insiders: These are some of the job interview questions prospective candidates should be prepared to answer at any stage of the hiring process.

Send your tips or questions about working at Netflix to this reporter at arodriguez@businessinsider.com. Email for Signal number.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 5 toughest job-interview questions, according to company insiders

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a letter posted to Twitter on Friday that Brendan Dassey, who was featured on the Netflix docu-series "Making a Murderer," will not be pardoned. 
• Evers said Dassey was ineligible for pardoning because he is a registered sex offender, and because he cannot apply to be pardoned until 5 years after completing his sentence.
• Evers said he would not consider commuting Dassey's sentence either. 
• Dassey has served more than 13 years in prison after being convicted in the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach alongside his uncle Steven Avery.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has announced that he will not pardon Brendan Dassey, who was featured on the Netflix docu-series "Making a Murderer."

In a letter shared on Twitter by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel journalist Patrick Marley on Friday, Evers said Dassey was ineligible for a pardon.

He said that Dassey, now 30, was ineligible because he is a registered sex offender, and because he cannot apply to be pardoned until 5 years after completing his sentence. Evers said he would not consider commuting Dassey's sentence either.

Dassey's legal team had issued a plea for clemency in October, a move that was backed by Kim Kardashian West, who is a major advocate for prison reform. At the time, Evers said Kardashian West's support would not sway him to give Dassey's case special treatment.

Dassey has served more than 13 years in prison after being convicted in the 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach alongside his uncle Steven Avery. Both Dassey and Avery have said they're innocent.

Dassey is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Avery is serving a life sentence without parole.

The case was first featured on "Making a Murderer" in 2016, which led to criticism over Dassey's confession that many argued was coerced.

Dassey was 16 at the time of Halbach's death, and his lawyers have argued that investigators used improper techniques during questioning over the murder.

His lawyers said investigators made Dassey false promises of being released if he spoke about Halbach's death.

• Read more:
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• The rudest city in America is New York City, according to a new Insider survey of 2,092 US adults.
• Just over a third of respondents said NYC was the rudest, followed by Los Angeles at 19.7%.
• The rankings are based on two online polls conducted in October and November 2019 — American adults were asked to choose the five rudest cities from a list of the 50 largest metro areas in the country.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Americans have a lot of opinions on where they think their rudest residents hail from.

Stereotypes — or sports rivalries — often color these assumptions.

In October and November, Insider conducted a survey of more than 2,000 American adults, asking them to choose the five rudest cities in the US from a list of the 50 biggest cities.

The rudest city in America, according to the survey, is New York City. It was rated rude by 34.3% of respondents, which was almost twice as much as the next highest city on the list.

As a Smithsonian essay pointed out, New Yorkers might not be rude, so much as overly familiar. With no space for privacy, what would be people's private lives in the city of nearly 9 million are viscerally public.

Here are the 50 rudest cities in America, ranked from least to most rude.

DON'T MISS: The 50 most miserable cities in America, based on census data

50. Raleigh, North Carolina

Percentage: 1.4% of respondents thought Raleigh had the rudest inhabitants.

In July, a local white woman was banned from Bonefish Grill after a video went viral showing her complaining about a group of black women and calling them a racial slur.

49. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Percentage: 1.5% of respondents thought Milwaukee had the rudest inhabitants.

Earlier this year in Milwaukee, a burglar was called polite for removing his shoes, locking up, and closing the garage door, after stealing a car and thousands of dollars worth of electronics.

48. Providence, Rhode Island

Percentage: 1.5% of respondents thought Providence had the rudest inhabitants.

In November, at a Rhode Island State Committee meeting in Providence, former Rhode Island Sen. Stephen Alves drew ire for a comment he made about women.

After a heated confrontation, he was caught on video saying, "If a pig grunts, you don't grunt back."

In response, he said he made the comment after being filmed non-stop and asking the woman who was filming him to stop.

47. Salt Lake City, Utah

Percentage: 1.6% of respondents thought Salt Lake City had the rudest inhabitants.

In 2018, Salt Lake City got called out for its rudeness by actor Joseph Morales, during the touring production of "Hamilton."

On Twitter, during the intermission, he posted, "SLC, you're killing me. Put your phones away. We can see you. This isn't a movie. What is up with you guys?"

One person responded and told Morales to "deal with it," because the Utah Jazz, the local NBA team, were in the NBA playoffs.

46. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Percentage: 1.6% of respondents thought Minneapolis-St. Paul had the rudest inhabitants.

In 2017, local outlet City Pages reported that a Twin Cities street artist who went by the name "Sluto," scrawled a rude message across the ground that residents were "all so f---ing boring."

45. Richmond, Virginia

Percentage: 1.6% of respondents thought Richmond had the rudest inhabitants.

Since 1860, it's been a crime to swear in public in Richmond, which could be a reason why the city is low on this list. If someone swears in public they face a $250 fine, according to the Washington Post.

In 2017, Delegate Michael Webert (R-Fauquier) wanted to change the law, because he thought it limited free speech.

"When I cursed, my mother told me not to and handed me a bar of soap. You shouldn't get hit with a Class 4 misdemeanor," he told the Post.

But he hasn't been successful in changing the law.

44. Denver, Colorado

Percentage: 1.7% of respondents thought Denver had the rudest inhabitants.

According to an opinion piece by local resident Patrick Mims published by Westword in May, one of the biggest problems in Denver is that its "chill spots" and concerts are filled by "rude douchebags." The "caliber" of people moving to the city was low, he said.

Other than that, he wrote, "The culture of Denver and Colorado, in general, is welcoming and carefree. We value a person's right to independence. We were the first state to legalize recreational weed, but we also have some of the loosest gun laws in the country."

43. Phoenix, Arizona

Percentage: 1.8% of respondents thought Phoenix had the rudest inhabitants.

In 2017, one Phoenix local got fed up with someone allowing a dog to poop on his lawn and then not picking it up, so he recorded a video of it and posted it online.

Another dog owner said she hoped the video embarrassed the person who was responsible.

42. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Percentage: 1.9% of respondents thought Virginia Beach had the rudest inhabitants.

In Virginia Beach, a lawyer was punished for being rude on multiple occasions in 2015.

John Crandley, the lawyer, referred to cases as "crap," and what another lawyer said as "nonsense" and "baloney." He was jailed twice for his sarcastic and rude courtroom behavior, and disciplined a third time.

41. Riverside, California

Percentage: 2.1% of respondents thought Riverside had the rudest inhabitants.

One small etiquette issue in Riverside is parking.

Riverside Councilman Mike Soubirous told The Press Enterprise he had received many complaints from residents whose street space was taken up by people who lived nearby in apartment blocks, which didn't have any parking.

If it happened often, he suggested talking to neighbors and asking to keep the space clear. If that didn't work, he said to park out front and block other people from parking there.

40. Orlando, Florida

Percentage: 2.2% of respondents thought Orlando had the rudest inhabitants.

In Orlando, a negative restaurant review led to a house being shot at three times.

In November, Monica Walley took to social media to complain that a restaurant denied service to her disabled mother on her birthday. Walley said the restaurant's staff were "unnecessarily rude" and started a campaign against the restaurant.

The owner's son, Michael Johnson, was dismayed at the damage the campaign was doing to the restaurant. The Orange County Sheriff's Office said he drove over to the Walley's house and shot at it three times. He was arrested 10 days later.

39. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Percentage: 2.3% of respondents thought Oklahoma City had the rudest inhabitants. 

In Oklahoma City, the Fire Department's handling of emergency calls was called rude, or at least curt, in January.

However, Fire Department Public Information Officer Benny Fulkerson, who was a dispatcher for 14 years, said the tone was necessary to get information as soon as possible.

"At first ear shot it could sound like a dispatcher was being rude or too curt. There are times that it's not only acceptable but necessary and required to be curt because you have to move that 911 call along," he said.

38. San Antonio, Texas

Percentage: 2.3% of respondents thought San Antonio had the rudest inhabitants.

Last year, a couple was annoyed when the people in front of them kept standing up whenever the Spurs, the local team, scored, the San Antonio Current reported. The people in front filmed the couple making racist and homophobic remarks, and the Facebook post went viral.

The couple later apologized. One of the men they harassed shared: "This is bigger then exposing them for what they did it's about hoping that the generations to follow become equal."

37. Louisville, Kentucky

Percentage: 2.3% of respondents thought Louisville had the rudest inhabitants.

In September,  Louisville television reporter Sara Rivest was kissed on the cheek against her will while taping a live segment. She said it wasn't okay, and police charged the man with harassment.

One little girl who knew the reporter told her the man had stolen her first kiss, which was "so rude!"

36. Memphis, Tennessee

Percentage: 2.4% of respondents thought Memphis had the rudest inhabitants.

In 2017, a nail salon in Memphis was criticized for hanging a sign that said if a person was overweight they'd have to pay $45 for a pedicure, which were usually up to $30. The increase was due to "service fees."

When CBS visited the store, the owner denied the sign was from his business, although he had considered hanging one.

35. New Orleans, Louisiana

Percentage: 2.5% of respondents thought New Orleans had the rudest inhabitants.

Last year, State Rep. Neil Abramson took issue with "NCIS: New Orleans" filming in his neighborhood, saying the production crew yelled at a child, set up loud generators without notice, and banged into trees.

He called for rules to be changed around production planning, saying it was about "convenience and respect,"The Advocate reported.

34. Portland, Oregon

Percentage: 2.6% of respondents thought Portland had the rudest inhabitants.

Editor Robert Ham complained in an opinion piece for the Portland Mercury that the baristas and bartenders in the city are rude.

He wished for: "Some pleasantries. A reasonable amount of small talk. Or, at the very least, a facial expression that doesn't look like you'd just as soon kneecap me as make me a goddamn latte."

33. Nashville, Tennessee

Percentage: 2.7% of respondents thought Nashville had the rudest inhabitants. 

In July, Fox17 reported that land developers were cold-texting home owners, asking if they'd be willing to sell their properties.

One resident named said she was getting five texts a day. Another woman had a developer ask if her father was interested in selling. She responded by saying he had died two years ago. "Thanks for the reminder," she said.

32. Kansas City, Missouri

Percentage: 2.7% of respondents thought Kansas City had the rudest inhabitants.

Some locals in Kansas City were accused of being disrespectful in November after they silently entered the Paseo Baptist church and protested over the renaming of a road to honor Dr. Martin Luthor King earlier in the year.

The silent protesters wanted the name to be changed back, while those in the church wanted it to remain, according to the York Dispatch.

31. Columbus, Ohio

Percentage: 2.7% of respondents thought Columbus had the rudest inhabitants.

Last year, Columbus contractor Jeffrey Whitman called Charles Lovett, a local man, the N-word after the two got into a traffic disagreement on the road, ABC 6 reported.

Whitman followed Lovett home, and insulted him. Lovett recorded three minutes of it, and told him his behavior was unacceptable.

The video went viral, and Whitman issued a lengthy apology for his behavior and for using the word the next day.

30. St. Louis, Missouri

Percentage: 2.7% of respondents thought St. Louis had the rudest inhabitants.

Last year in St. Louis, retail chain Nordstrom's management apologized to three teens who said they were racially profiled by employees at one of its stores. Nordstrom employees called the police on the trio, but cops found they'd done nothing wrong.

After the apology, one of the teens said, "I want them to teach them and make this a teaching moment and everybody move forward and get better."

29. San Jose, California

Percentage: 2.9% of respondents thought San Jose had the rudest inhabitants.

In April, a gas station employee in San Jose rudely yelled at Grecya Moran, a woman who was with her 18-month-old son, for speaking Spanish to the other cashier.

After first apologizing, Moran then filmed the incident as the employee got more and more heated, swearing and cursing, and telling her, "This is America. You need to [speak] in English."

She also told Moran she wasn't an American citizen. Moran is an American citizen. The manager told ABC 7 the employee was fired after the incident.

28. Seattle, Washington

Percentage: 3.1% of respondents thought Seattle had the rudest inhabitants.

In April, after a video that showed Seattle city council members on their phones as an older man presented to them, they received vulgar emails condemning their behavior, Patch reported.

27. Indianapolis, Indiana

Percentage: 3.1% of respondents thought Indianapolis had the rudest inhabitants.

Earlier this year, a rude sign appeared in Indianapolis calling people out for littering in the area.

The sign said "we love litter," which Fox59 reported some thought was offensive. Local Andrew Chambers said people should have cared more about trash than a rude sign, but they didn't. "They do care more about the sign because the sign is sending an actual message to people and the trash can't speak," he said.

26. Hartford, Connecticut

Percentage: 3.2% of respondents thought Hartford had the rudest inhabitants.

In Hartford, ushers at Hartford Stage theater are polite but firm with patrons disrupting shows with their phones.

Patron services manager Margie Glick told the Hartford Courant, "I tell my ushers, be generous and inclusive. These people are in their own space."

She said people were nice. "They do what they're asked to do. I equate it to having to get dressed up, in the old days. You may not want to do it, but you understand."

25. Charlotte, North Carolina

Percentage: 3.3% of respondents thought Charlotte had the rudest inhabitants.

Earlier this year, there were two separate receipt incidents in Charlotte Smoothie Kings.

Customer Calvin Caldwell said it was "very rude" to read a racist expletive word on his receipt, while customer Tony Choi was furious when he found "Jackie Chan," on his receipt. Smoothie King fired the employees that were thought to be responsible, and said all of its staff would undergo sensitivity training.

24. Cincinnati, Ohio

Percentage: 3.5% of respondents thought Cincinnati had the rudest inhabitants.

In May, Cincinnati's federal appeals court upheld a rude gesture can be protected by the right to free speech.

In 2017, Debra Cruise-Gulyas was pulled over by a police officer. She pulled the finger at him as she drove away. He pulled her over again and increased the fine. In court, Cruise-Gulyas argued pulling her over for a second time was a violation of her constitutional rights.

The court agreed. Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton wrote, "Fits of rudeness or lack of gratitude may violate the Golden Rule. But that doesn't make them illegal or for that matter punishable or for that matter grounds for a seizure."

23. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Percentage: 3.5% of respondents thought Pittsburgh had the rudest inhabitants.

In Pittsburgh, it might be the visitors rather than the locals who are rude, according an article about TripAdvisor reviews by TribLive.

On the review website, the city's landmarks were called a variety of things, including "boring," and "ugly," while its inhabitants were called "miserable people."

22. San Diego, California

Percentage: 3.5% of respondents thought San Diego had the rudest inhabitants.

One local resident Stuart Cardwell found San Diego so rude, he wrote an opinion piece in 2016 for the San Diego Reader, titled "Y'All are rude."

Cardwell wrote that a local college professor told him rudeness in the city could be blamed on a variety of things, like the gold rush, the Dust Bowl migration, and idea of manifesting one's destiny.

"All you had to do was get here, stake a claim, and then protect your plot from anything that would wrench it out of the hands of the very one who made it valuable. This social construct is fertile soil for cultivating a passive-aggressive distrust of neighbors and new faces alike," he wrote.

21. Sacramento, California

Percentage: 3.8% of respondents thought Sacramento had the rudest inhabitants.

In December, The Sacramento Bee published an opinion piece by Marcos Breton, which outlined how someone could tell if they're from Sacramento, and it wasn't because they were polite.

He wrote one sure sign is "when everything – food, bike lanes, public art – is political." Locals are also known "to rat out our neighbors for watering their sidewalks in a drought."

20. Tampa, Florida

Percentage: 4% of respondents thought Tampa had the rudest inhabitants.

In September, Tampa resident Jenn Bethune called out other people for being rude. While visiting Disney World with her service dog, she heard people questioning whether the dog was necessary, since she "looked fine."

In a post she wrote about the incident, which was shared over 100,000 times, she reminded readers that not all disabilities are visible.

The reason she had the dog was because she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after her six-year-old son died in a car accident.

19. Cleveland, Ohio

Percentage: 5% of respondents thought Cleveland had the rudest inhabitants.

In Cleveland, a man was wrongly accused of rude behavior by the Cleveland Browns, which led to a defamation lawsuit in October, WKYC Studios reported.

Eric Smith was banned from FirstEnergy Staum for throwing beer on a basketball player. The only problem was he wasn't at the stadium during the game. He had been DJing at a wedding.

Smith alleged he was called a liar when he tried to explain it wasn't him.

The Browns communications team later admitted they hadn't done "enough homework," but Smith said that wasn't a proper acknowledgement and called for a public apology and financial damages.

18. Houston, Texas

Percentage: 5.3% of respondents thought Houston had the rudest inhabitants.

Residents of a manicured Houston neighborhood erected signs banning photo shoots in 2017. The signs said: "Welcome to Broadacres; NO photo shoots."

Cece Fowler, who was president of the Broadacres Homeowners Association, said they were posted after the area was inundated with up to 50 photo shoots a week — for weddings, quinceañera celebrations, and graduation photos. She said some photoshoots brought props like bookcases, or couches, and others had vehicles tear up the grass.

Jill Brown, who lived nearby, didn't agree with the ban, and told the Houston Chronicle. "You think about diversity in the city, and there it is. It's all races, and you have people dressed up for quinceañeras and weddings and Indian dress, and it's joyous."

17. Jacksonville, Florida

Percentage: 6.2% of respondents thought Jacksonville had the rudest inhabitants.

In Jacksonville, one non-profit called The American Civility Association has been working with school children to stop bullying and violence for the last five years, Jacksonville.com reported.

Its mission is to promote kindness and civility, and its founder, Amy Barnett, hopes to make a difference.

"We don't get up in the morning thinking who can we be rude to. People for the most part want to be kind. I've seen that over and over again," she said.

16. Austin, Texas

Percentage: 6.6% of respondents thought Austin had the rudest inhabitants.

Last year, an Austin-based company released a three minute video using footage from dashboard cameras to show rude, dangerous driving in the city.

The video showed a montage of reckless driving, including cars turning into traffic, cutting off other vehicles, driving through busy intersections, and even a head-on crash.

15. Miami, Florida

Percentage: 6.8% of respondents thought Miami had the rudest inhabitants.

An opinion piece in the Miami Herald declared the city has the world's rudest audiences for plays, films, or concerts. Columnist Linda Robertson wrote that punctuality in the coastal city is optional, and movie theaters are like sports bars.

She wrote the reason that people are always late for shows was because of the "Miami Time rationale": "Everybody is late and nothing starts on time. It's humid and we move at a languid pace here."

14. Dallas, Texas

Percentage: 6.9% of respondents thought Dallas had the rudest inhabitants.

At least one person is fighting rude behavior in Dallas, and he's seven years old.

The young rapper named Michael Smith, who goes by "Lil' Money Mike," is fighting bullying and rudeness through song, CBS-DFW reported.

In September, he released "Bully Proof," on YouTube. He hoped it would help people to "stop talking mean to people, and stop saying rude things to people."

As of December 20, the video had more than 18,000 views.

13. Las Vegas, Nevada

Percentage: 7.8% of respondents thought Las Vegas had the rudest inhabitants.

One fan was so rude in Las Vegas in March 2018, it prompted Elton John to walk offstage. According to a statement John released, the fan was putting his hands on the piano as he tried to play even after he asked him to stop, and then tried to take photos, interrupting his performance.

"This guy was rude, disruptive and had no care or respect for our show and so I let him know how I felt, then left the stage until they had removed him," John said.

12. Atlanta, Georgia

Percentage: 9.1% of respondents thought Atlanta had the rudest inhabitants.

A rude exchange in an Atlanta grocery store garnered national attention in July 2019.

State Rep. Erica Thomas was checking out in the express lane, when a man named Erik Sparkes told she shouldn't have been, because she had too many items.

Things escalated from there, although their accounts of what was said are different. Thomas said he told her to "go back" to where she came from. She posted a viral video about the incident on Twitter, where she said she was verbally abused by a white man.

Sparkes denied he told her to go back anywhere, but he did admit to swearing at her and calling her lazy. No charges were filed.

11. Birmingham, Alabama

Percentage: 9.4% of respondents thought Birmingham had the rudest inhabitants.

In 2015, the behavior of several teenagers at a Birmingham cinema garnered national attention when their mother reached out on Facebook to apologize.

Kyesha Wood was horrified when she learned her children had been obnoxious during a film and when a woman asked them to be quiet, they ignored the plea, the local ABC affiliate reported. Afterwards, the woman told them it was the last film her family would be seeing for a while because her husband had been laid off.

Wood posted her apology on Facebook and after it was shared around, Rebecca Boyd responded, and said on Facebook that Wood's note brought her to tears and showed her there were still good people in the world.

10. San Francisco, California

Percentage: 9.8% of respondents thought San Francisco had the rudest inhabitants.

According to an opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, cyclists in the Sausalito area are one rude demographic in the city.

"At breakneck speeds, they careen down Alexander Avenue and enter the Hurricane Gulch neighborhood like an invading army," Mike Kirner wrote.

He said cyclists hurl obscenities at tourists who drive slowly, they cycle faster than the speed limit, and they endanger children, coffee drinkers, and dogs.

9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Percentage: 9.9% of respondents thought Philadelphia had the rudest inhabitants.

One thing Philadelphia is known for is its intense Eagles fans. Over the years they've done some arguably rude things, which Philadelphia Magazine compiled in 2018.

These included throwing snowballs at a stand-in Santa in 1968, 60 separate fistfights at a single game in 1997, crowds cheering over a career-ending neck injury to Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin in 1999, and, most recently, a drunk fan punching a police horse in 2018.

8. Baltimore, Maryland

Percentage: 11.2% of respondents thought Baltimore had the rudest inhabitants.

Baltimore had one rude local trying to prank strangers for several months at the start of 2019.

The 20-year-old man was trying to be a comedian, "roasting" people. He pointed a camera at strangers' faces and made comments about them, often about their race or the way they looked, according to BBC.

He said his goal was "to get reactions out of people." He was arrested in February, and charged with five counts of harassment and 16 counts of trespassing.

7. Buffalo, New York

Percentage: 11.3% of respondents thought Buffalo had the rudest inhabitants.

The Buffalo News published an opinion piece condemning the rude reception conservative and anti-Muslim speaker Robert Spencer got on the University of Buffalo campus in 2017.

The News Editorial Board argued that it was rude to drown him out as he tried to talk. He was also told to shut up and called a Nazi.

6. Detroit, Michigan

Percentage: 11.6% of respondents thought Detroit had the rudest inhabitants. 

A McDonalds' employee in Detroit was almost Tasered over an incident in June.

A woman in a wheelchair ordered a meal, then fired her Taser at an employee, because she said her order was taking too long and alleged that staff were being rude.

But the staff member, who was not injured, said she had been polite. The police confiscated the woman's Taser.

5. Boston, Massachusetts

Percentage: 14.9% of respondents thought Boston had the rudest inhabitants.

Boston's reputation for being rude might have something to do with its line-cutters, according to one local.

In a Boston Herald column by Grace Curley, published earlier this year, she wrote that many locals are perpetrators of the "chat and cut." This is when someone pretends to be familiar with someone else who is already in line for the singular purpose of cutting into that line.

But Curley said things had deteriorated and people were now doing it in groups. The columnist asked, "Is there no honor among yuppies?"

4. Chicago, Illinois

Percentage: 18.6% of respondents thought Chicago had the rudest inhabitants.

According to the hometown newspaper, Chicago has been a rude city for decades.  A 1985 Chicago Tribune editorial said rudeness was "chronic, thoughtless, and utterly pervasive."

Chicago was also home to Ed Debevic's Diner for 31 years, which was known for its "rude" staff whose attitudes were part of the experience. In 2015, a video of one of the waitresses being snarky to diners went viral.

"If you want good service, you go somewhere else. I know Hooters is probably more your speed, but you came here on purpose," waitress Kryssie Ridolfi said to diners on the video.

The rude diner closed down in late 2015, but it plans to make a comeback.

3. Washington, D.C.

Percentage: 18.9% of respondents thought Washington had the rudest inhabitants.

In America's capital, politics can often lead to rude outbursts on the floors of Congress, and sometimes spills over into social life, too.

In 2018, members of the Trump administration were heckled in Washington various D.C.-area restaurants. Protesters yelled at former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, called White House adviser Stephen Miller a fascist, and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a rural Virginia restaurant.

2. Los Angeles, California

Percentage: 19.7% of respondents thought Los Angeles had the rudest inhabitants.

Parents of students attending Paradise Canyon Elementary School were so rude that PTA members wouldn't work a car line, and crossing guards quit, the Los Angeles Times reported in November.

Principal Carrie Hetzel told the newspaper: "We can't even keep crossing guards at our school anymore. They quit because parents are so rude and yell at them every day."

Local Richard Hing suggested one solution was to reeducate parents on their behavior.

1. New York, New York

Percentage: 34.3% of respondents thought New York had the rudest inhabitants.

New York is rated the rudest city by a large majority. But it's nothing new. Manhattan borough historian Michael Miscione told The New York Times in 2011 that New Yorkers have been considered rude since the 1700s.

He provided the newspaper with one quote about the city from former President John Adams, who said in 1774, "I have not seen one real gentleman, one well-bred man, since I came to town. At their entertainments there is no conversation that is agreeable; there is no modesty, no attention to one another."

"They talk very loud, very fast and altogether. If they ask you a question, before you can utter three words of your answer they will break out upon you again and talk away."

But, like all of the cities on this list, the rudeness of any one place is based mostly on perception.

• British vloggers Alfie Deyes and Zoe Sugg apologized for a since-removed video that viewers criticized for "insensitivity" about domestic violence.
• In the video, Sugg said it's one of her "favorite games" to pretend to yell for help out their open bedroom window and that she's done it "like three times."
• In her apology on her Instagram story, Sugg said there was "no intention of trivialising a serious issue, we were just being silly," and Deyes took down the YouTube video that included the clip, which is still circulating on Reddit.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

British vlogger Alfie Deyes took down a video with his girlfriend Zoe Sugg —known online as Zoella — after viewers criticized Sugg for saying she enjoys screaming for help from her bedroom.

The video was criticized as making light of domestic violence, as well as contributing to a larger culture of not taking victims of partner abuse seriously.

In the since-removed video, titled "COUPLES THERAPY STYLE Q&A" and which is still circulating on Reddit, Deyes jokingly pretended to sit on Sugg's chest. After saying "Ow!" Suggs yelled out for help. 

"That's not even funny, the neighbors are going to think something weird is going on," Deyes said.

Sugg called again for help, toward the window, and said it's one of her "favorite games" to "play with Alfie."

"The bedroom window is open because it's ridiculously hot in our bedroom and then Zoe will just like shout 'Help, stop it Alfie, help' and I'm like 'That's not funny, someone's gonna think I'm attacking you,'" Deyes replied.

In the video, Sugg said she has yelled for help out the window "like three times" to see the "panic" on his face when neighbors look in.

Sugg is one of the most popular lifestyle vloggers on YouTube, with more than 16 million subscribers across her channels. She and Deyes have been dating since 2012.

The popular subreddit "r/BeautyGuruChatter" circulated the clip. At least one of Sugg's fans told the Daily Mail that she commented on the video with the concern that the interaction "speaks to a wider danger on social media and how 'influencers' both negate and exploit their influence."

The fan said her comment was deleted before the video was taken down, which Deyes said on Twitter was because he "received a couple of tweets this afternoon from people letting me know that a part in my newest video was insensitive." The two are continuing to upload daily holiday-themed content.

In an apology posted to her Instagram story, Sugg clarifies that there was "no intention of trivialising a serious issue, we were just being silly, but can totally see in hindsight how that might come across."

Representatives for Sugg and Deyes didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

• Read more:
• Zoella filmed her smear test for a YouTube video to encourage women to attend their cervical screenings
• 16 celebrities on Instagram promised to be more honest about sponsored content, after a UK probe that could have landed them in jail
• Vlogger Alfie Deyes earns an estimated $1.4 million a year from YouTube — now he wants to get into startups
• 3 influencers were secretly filmed agreeing to promote a made-up weight loss drink that contained fatal hydrogen cyanide

Join the conversation about this story »

• Business Insider is polling experts around Wall Street to learn what different areas of finance will look like in 2030. 
• The home-buying industry transformed over the past decade, as it recovered from its disastrous role in the global financial collapse.
• We asked execs at companies innovating in the home-lending industry about what changes they see coming in the next decade. 
• Experts expect the industry, which is still bogged down in byzantine, paper-heavy steps, to rapidly evolve in the coming years as the Amazon effect hits mortgage providers.  
• In the not-too-distant future, tech advancements and continued partnerships between banks and fintechs could mean home-closings happen in days instead of dragging on for weeks. 
• Visit BI Prime for more stories.

Home ownership is intrinsic to the American dream. But at the start of this decade, the notion had taken on the spectre of nightmare — a white-picket fence charred and mangled by excess, neglect, and complacency.

The mortgage industry took center stage in the global financial collapse in 2008 and 2009, revealing an antiquated, deeply flawed process that, instead of serving as a beacon of prosperity and wealth, rained financial destruction upon millions of Americans. 

But destruction often affords the opportunity for rebirth.

The ensuing years have been spent clearing the detritus and installing safeguards to prevent such calamity in the future.

They've also seen leaders in the home-lending industry — from tech startups propelled by a flood of VC cash to old-school stalwarts looking to keep pace or make amends for prior sins — use the disaster from the aughts as a chance to rethink and reimagine a cumbersome, inefficient system.

We've traded robo-signing scandals — when thousands of lending employees, tasked with processing a glut of foreclosures, robotically and fraudulently signed off on piles of paperwork without verifying or vetting it, leading to billions in settlements against the largest financial institutions— for algorithmic underwriting and digital documentation that streamlined lending and, in some cases, reduced discrimination. 

Instead of filling out reams of paper in a stuffy bank office, today people can apply for a mortgage from the comfort of a smartphone.

"The mortgage-application process has been revolutionized by technology, allowing homebuyers to complete online what used to be a heavy load of paperwork," Steve Boland, head of consumer lending at Bank of America, told Business Insider. 

It hasn't been perfect though. Some argue lending standards ratcheted up too much in reaction to the freewheeling pre-crisis era. 

"The financial crisis at the start of the decade really set the stage and has had widespread ramifications on the housing market," Jason Bateman, head of Redfin Mortgage, said. "While credit standards were far too loose in 2006-2007, it's clear the pendulum swung way too far in the other direction."

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has railed against the perils of mortgage overregulation in public appearances as well, blaming it for preventing multitudes of would-be first-time homebuyers from claiming a piece of the American dream.

And even with with all the technological improvements, the system often remains bogged down in enormous loads of paper, with mortgage application files still frequently running hundreds of pages long.  

But the next 10 years offer another opportunity to push the industry forward. We polled a handful of executives from innovative home-lending firms about what kind of changes would reshape the industry by 2030. 

From closings in five days, to "everything stores" for homebuying, to a massive generational shift between boomers and millennials, here's how mortgage experts say the industry could change over the next decade.  

The Amazon effect hits homebuying

When we asked executives about the most significant changes they expected in the coming years, there was harmony in the belief there was a lot of fat still to trim in the system.

"While owning a home has long been the cornerstone of the American dream, it's head-scratching that in today's on-demand Amazon and Venmo digital world, the mortgage industry — with $15 trillion in assets — has remained painfully analog and plagued with inefficiencies," said Vishal Garg, cofounder and CEO of mortgage-tech startup Better.com, a rapidly growing digital lending startup that has attracted more than $200 million in funding from backers.

That sentiment was echoed by Nima Ghamsari, cofounder and CEO of Blend, another mortgage-tech startup that has raised nearly $300 million in funding and has more than 170 lending clients.

"We will see a major shift in how the homebuying process happens. Right now, despite all the progress we've made as an industry, buying a home involves dozens of steps," Nima Ghamsari, cofounder and CEO of Blend, said."All of them are manual and require a lot of effort from the homebuyer."

Garg said he expected the "Amazon effect" to hit the mortgage industry, eventually allowing customers to deal with the process in one place — realtor, financing, title insurance, homeowners insurance, appraisals.

Part of the inefficiency of the current system comes from customers having to jump through hoops and coordinate with a different service providers, which "puts a lot of pressure on the buyer and often her agent to quarterback the transaction and keep everyone informed and on track," said Bateman, whose firm started out as a digital brokerage but has added mortgage and title capabilities. 

"The holy grail that we're all working toward is the end-to-end buying experience," Bateman added.

"The holy grail that we're all working toward is the end-to-end buying experience," Bateman added.

Fintechs that started out focused on simplifying and automating mortgage applications and platforms have been using the large sums of investment capital they've attracted to build out their capabilities, adding services like title and homeowners insurance, home-equity loans, realtor and appraisal networks. 

"In the next decade, we'll eliminate paper and friction from the homebuying journey and give consumers a one-stop shop where they can access all the tasks to get into a new home," Ghamsari said. 

Banks and tech startups will continue to join forces 

In recent years, incumbents like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally have been handing off key components of their mortgage businesses to scrappy tech startups like Better, Blend, and Roostify.

With margins thinning and competition intensifying from nonbank lenders like Quicken Loans and LoanDepot, a topflight digital-mortgage offering is becoming a standard requirement for banks. 

But the relationship is symbiotic. Part of the reason banking giants are investing in digital lending startups — Ally, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Santander, and Wells Fargo have each put up capital — in addition to partnering or buying their services off the shelf is they recognize the value of these startups can grow dramatically with the scale and brand recognition that banks provide. 

"Whereas incumbents value startups for their speed and the opportunity to stay on top of potentially disruptive innovations, startups benefit from the scale and resources offered by larger established firms," Garg said. 

Bank of America has been an exception to the trend, electing to dedicate a large chunk of its $10 billion annual tech spend to upgrading its internal and consumer-facing mortgage platforms, rather than outsourcing.

The Charlotte-based giant, which launched its digital mortgage app in April 2018, has been having a banner year in home lending.

Even with the tech ramp up in the industry, the firm believes the human touch and in-person service will remain vital to successful home lending operations. 

 "We've invested substantially both in digital technologies to make lending easier and more holistic, and staff to support key financial milestones in our clients' lives such as home ownership," Bank of America's Boland said. 

He added: "After a swing toward rapid technological innovations, it feels as though we're moving back toward a balance of technology and in-person interactions."

By 2030, you may be able to get a house in under a week. 

The average time it takes to close on home is still upward of 45 days— a month and a half. 

But that figure has been falling as the influence of startups proliferates. A 2018 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found fintech mortgage challengers processed applications 20% quicker than traditional lenders without engaging in riskier underwriting. 

Home closings for digital customers at places like Better and Bank of America happen in roughly 20 days — half the industry average. Redfin offers a 25-day closing guarantee, and the average will continue to drive lower as more parts of the process are streamlined.

"We'll see the time from application to closing shrink considerably as we're able to automate more of the pre-approval, underwriting, appraisal, and the close," Bateman said. "We're within striking distance of being able to consistently close a sale within 12 days of an accepted offer." 

By 2030, closing on a home in under a week will become the norm, Garg predicted.

"The continued advancement in technological innovation around the mortgage process will soon allow us to see five-day closings in the coming years," Garg said.

A massive, generational shift is about to unfold

The baby boomers were the largest generation. But then along came the millennials, a generation of more than 70 million now in their 20s and 30s who have persistently zagged where boomers zigged, often delaying cultural milestones — including homeownership.

Not that they've had much of a choice in many cases. Stiffer lending standards and more onerous financial obligations, including albatross-like student loans as well as rising rent and healthcare costs, have led to an uneven housing recovery that has left many out in the cold— with millennials feeling the brunt of this phenomenon.

But boomers, now hitting retirement and beyond, are expected to flood the market with homes as they downsize, fly south to more hospitable locales, or die. Roughly 9 million residences — or 13% of all owner-occupied homes — will be vacated between 2017 and 2027 amid this generational shift, The Wall Street Journal reported, with the dynamic intensifying as time goes on. 

Will millennials step in and snatch up homes from their parents' generation?

"As with most everything else millennials do, they will likely buy homes when they are somewhat older than those in earlier generations," said Tim Mayopoulos, who joined Blend as president this year after six years as CEO of Fannie Mae. "If that is true, future demand for housing will continue to be very strong. The question is whether millennials will be able to successfully act on their expressed desire to own homes given affordability challenges."

The question is whether millennials will be able to successfully act on their expressed desire to own homes given affordability challenges."

If the younger generation remains financially unstable, that could have several knock-on effects in housing, Mayopoulos said: continued high demand for rentals, an increased preference for smaller homes versus the McMansions boomers favored, and new innovations.

"There will be a need for less expensive methods of constructing homes; and there will be new innovations in lending to facilitate down payments, to reduce upfront transaction costs, and to keep monthly payments as low as possible," Mayopoulos said. 

Some say the boomer flight may be less pronounced than anticipated, with owners opting to tap home equity and remodel their existing abode instead of moving. 

"We've seen many boomers decide to remain in their family homes and instead make the necessary renovations to update their space, whether that's modernizing it or expanding to accommodate extended family," Boland said. 

"A significant number of boomers are expected to age in place versus selling homes; affordability and inventory will continue to be a major housing industry pain point," Rajesh Bhat, cofounder and CEO of Roostify, said. 

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• There are quite a few Chinese fast-food or fast-casual restaurant options across the US.
• Many of these restaurants serve Americanized versions of Chinese food, like pork lo mein and fried rice.
• Pick Up Stix is a chain in California.
• Pei Wei Asian Diner was founded by P.F. Chang's owners.
• Panda Express is a staple at food courts and shopping malls.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

While the US versions of Chinese food don't always resemble the real deal, people still love Americanized dishes like fried rice or pork lo mein. 

In addition to the many independently owned Chinese restaurants, there are also quite a few Chinese chain restaurants that are beloved throughout the country.

From fast food to expensive fare, here's a look at just some of the Chinese food chains across the US to try.

Panda Express is one of the best-known American-Chinese food chains.

Panda Express has been around since 1983 when the first location opened in Glendale, California. Since the early days, the chain has always been known for its signature dish, the Original Orange Chicken, which has crispy chicken in a sweet and spicy orange sauce. It's incredibly popular: since 2016, they have served over 80 million pounds of it, according to the company.

If you're looking for traditional American-Chinese food anywhere in the US, Panda Express is perhaps the best-known place to go. The menu also includes chow mein and beef and broccoli, and also some of the company's special dishes, like Honey Walnut Shrimp.

The company also has locations in other countries, including Mexico, Guam, South Korea, and Dubai.

P.F. Chang's has more of an Asian fusion menu than just Chinese food.

There's a lot more history behind P.F. Chang's than you might imagine. The restaurant was first opened in 1993 by Philip Chiang and Paul Flemings, but Chiang was inspired by his mother's Beverly Hills Chinese restaurant from the '60s, which served celebrities like John Lennon and Yoko Ono. P.F. Chang's also became the first chain restaurant in the US to focus on wok cooking. 

P.F. Chang's offers a wide variety of menu items, from American-Chinese classics like wonton soup and kung pao chicken to Asian fusion options like Korean bibimbap to more American foods like cauliflower tempura and Asian mac and cheese.

Pei Wei Asian Diner is a fast-casual spot that was once part of the P.F. Chang's empire.

The success of P.F. Chang's inspired another Chinese hot spot: Pei Wei Asian Diner. Created by P.F. Chang's owners, Pei Wei was meant to be more of a fast-casual spot, while P.F. Chang's would continue to be more of a restaurant. The first Pei Wei opened in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2000, and in 2019, it was sold to the owner of Leanne Chin.

At Pei Wei, the menu varies slightly based on your location, but you can expect to find everything from classic American-Chinese dishes to lower-calorie options with a more Americanized spin, like their cauliflower rice bowls. There's also sushi, salads, and gluten-free options.

Leeann Chin is a Midwest staple that was named after the Chinese immigrant who founded it.

If you grew up in the Midwest, you're likely familiar with Leeann Chin, a fast-casual American-Chinese restaurant. The Minnesota-based company was founded by its eponymous owner, Leeann Chinn, who was a Chinese immigrant who moved to Minnesota in the '50s.

Since opening its first restaurant in the 1980s, Leeann Chin has expanded its menu and locations. It has beef, chicken, and shrimp dishes that range from mild to spicy, and is best known for its combination plates. 

Manchu WOK is American-Chinese fast food.

Mostly found in shopping malls and airports, Manchu WOK is a fast-food restaurant with classic American-Chinese menu options. It actually began in Ontario in Canada back in 1980, where the first location was opened. It was so successful that it spread across North America and eventually made its way into the United States. In 2004, Manchu WOK locations opened in Guam and Japan. 

The menu is full of the American-Chinese food options, including sesame chicken, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork, and lo mein noodles. 

If you're located in Southern California, you're probably a big fan of Pick Up Stix.

You'll have to travel to Southern California to get a taste of Pick Up Stix, but it might be worth it: with over 70 locations in that area alone, it's incredibly popular. 

The first spot was opened in 1989 by Charlie Zhang, a Chinese immigrant.

One thing that stands out about Pick Up Stix is that the food is cooked in an open-style kitchen, so you can watch your meal get made right in front of you. They're known for their House Special Chicken, which is made with white wine, garlic, and soy sauce, as well as the Cream Cheese Wontons appetizer. 

Mr. Chow is ideal for anyone looking for a more upscale restaurant experience.

While many of the options on this list are great for fast, casual options (whether you're ordering takeout or sitting down for a quick meal), Mr. Chow is a little different. Created by Michael Chow, Mr. Chow is a more upscale restaurant that first opened in London and now has locations in New York City, Beverly Hills, Miami, Malibu, and Las Vegas. 

Meals at Mr. Chow are typically served family-style and many of the dishes are Beijing-inspired, like their Beijing duck. Still, some are more original to the restaurant, like the chicken satay. 

Chinese Gourmet Express sells dishes inspired by multiple parts of China.

In 1990, the first Chinese Gourmet Express opened at the Sherman Oaks Galleria mall in southern California. The owners, Sam and Monica Sim, wanted their new restaurant to stand out among the competition, so they added dishes inspired by multiple parts of China.

The concept did so well that they were able to expand to other parts of the country, opening restaurants in the Northwest, Texas, the Midwest, and the Northeast. And in 2002, the owners opened another similar restaurant called Sansei Japanese Cuisine as well.

• You can add flight information to your Google Calendar by adjusting your calendar's settings so that flight information sent to your Gmail account will automatically populate in your Google Calendar.
• You can also easily add flight information manually to your Google Calendar by going into your calendar and typing in the details as an event. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As it is with most other functions available on Google, it is very simple to add flight details to your Google Calendar. 

Your Google account settings may already have been set to create a calendar event any time a flight booking comes through your Gmail inbox, though you can quickly adjust your settings if they aren't already set to do it. 

You can also add flight information to your Google Calendar manually by creating an event for the flight.

Here is how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article: 

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How to add flights to your Google Calendar automatically 

1. Log into your Google Calendar at https://calendar.google.com on your Mac or PC and click on the gear icon located in the top right, then click "Settings" from the dropdown menu.

2. Now scroll down until you see "Events from Gmail" in the toolbar on the left-hand side of the page.  

3. Check the box next to  "Automatically add events from Gmail to my calendar." Now your flights and other event details will start appearing on your Google Calendar automatically. 

How to add a flight to your Google Calendar manually 

You can also manually add a flight to your Google Calendar.

Simply navigate to the date and time of the flight in your Google Calendar and tap on the time slot in question. Then you can copy and paste or type in the details of the flight as you would with any other event and then save the details.

To delete a flight detail, simply click on the time slot in your Google Calendar, and either hit the trash can logo on the top right corner of the window that pops up, or right click and select "Delete."

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to unshare your Google Calendar in 5 simple steps

• How to export your Google Calendar in 2 different ways, and download it on your computer

• How to delete events from a Google Calendar on your computer or mobile device

• How to add reminders to your Google Calendar on desktop or mobile

• How to send a Google Calendar invite to anyone using the desktop site or a mobile device

SEE ALSO: The best Apple MacBook laptops

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• Tumblr banned the posting of "adult content," including nudity and pornography, one year ago on December 17, 2018.
• In the year since the "porn ban," traffic to Tumblr and app downloads have dropped drastically. To top it all off, Tumblr was bought this year for less than $3 million, compared with its once-$1.1 billion price tag.
• For many, Tumblr was once considered a home for NSFW content not allowed on other social platforms, and a place for non-judgmental exploration of sexuality. In its wake, users are still struggling to find alternatives with the same sense of community.
• Further, Tumblr's algorithm for identifying NSFW content is having issues, and has flagged everything from Pokémon, to dinosaur art, to TV show screengrabs.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Earlier this year, a freelance artist named Vitrove took to the blogging website Tumblr to try out an experiment. He posted a photo of a spool of thread to Tumblr. Later, he posted it again. Then again. 

All four of Vitrove's posts were flagged by Tumblr as "sensitive" content, meaning the platform's algorithm had decided his posts were in violation of its "porn ban"enacted one year ago, on December 17, 2018, days after the app was removed from the App Store after child porn was discovered.

Under Tumblr's new policy, users are not allowed to post any not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content: that includes nudity, pornography, and media showing "real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples." In each subsequent re-post of the photo, Vitrove included the notification from Tumblr alerting him to the NSFW policy violation.

The flagging of Vitrove's posts is only one of the many examples that demonstrate the state of Tumblr's controversial porn ban a year after its implementation. Pictures of breakfast, anime, and memes have been flagged under the new policy. Even Tumblr's announcement about the porn ban was marked as NSFW.

But Tumblr's imperfect machine-learning algorithm only poses a problem for those still active on the platform. Since the ban, Tumblr has been bleeding users. According to data provided to The Atlantic, Tumblr's number of unique monthly visitors decreased by more than 20% in 2019. The number of users visiting the site, and the amount of time they spend on it, also declined from 2018 to 2019.

Several users who were active in some of Tumblr's largest communities told Business Insider their once-beloved platform has since become irrelevant, and has faded from their lives in the last year. Freelance artist Robin Harper, once a frequent Tumblr user, said the porn ban led to Tumblr's "almost immediate fade into obscurity."

"I'd spent so much time and energy accumulating my own fun little community of a few thousand people. I was frustrated and sad," Harper told Business Insider. "The only time you ever hear about Tumblr anymore is when people talk about the day it 'died' due to the NSFW ban. Very few people I know still use it the way we all used to."

It's no coincidence that Tumblr acted as a haven to marginalized group whose content wasn't accepted in the mainstream sections of the internet: sex workers needing to make a sustainable income; erotica writers and artists looking for their work to be appreciated; LGBTQ+ people searching for others like them; people into BDSM and kink wanting an open place to talk about their desires. Tumblr was one of the few mainstream social networks where porn and NSFW content was allowed, and so those communities found shelter there.

"This sharing was so desperately vital for women and other marginalized people whose sexualities are often overlooked or infantilised in media about sex in preference for the tastes of the traditional porn consumer — the straight white guy," porn actress Vex Ashley wrote in a blog post on Medium last year. "[Tumblr] allowed you to become a collector of your own desires, displaying them and celebrating them proudly, rather than having them spoon fed by a tube site algorithm."

But because Tumblr doesn't exist on separate private servers on Discord, these communities intersect and interconnect. Even Tumblr users not part of these NSFW-centric communities, like those participating in fandoms or selling their art and graphics, told Business Insider their own sects of Tumblr were heavily impacted by the porn ban. 

When the porn disappeared, so did Tumblr's sense of community, a German student named Sophia told Business Insider. The art community she found on Tumblr has packed up fully and left for greener pastures: sites like DeviantArt, where there are still strict limits on NSFW art, and Twitter, where NSFW content is still allowed (for now).

However, that's not to say that the "porn ban" was the only impetus for Tumblr's fall from grace. Yahoo purchased Tumblr back in 2013 for $1.1 billion when the blogging site's userbase was already starting to shrink. Yet Yahoo's attempt to revitalize the platform failed spectacularly, with the addition of ads and a lack on innovation driving away even more users. In 2017, Verizon acquired Yahoo — including Tumblr — and Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp left the company. 

"Tumblr had many problems with being considered a 'broken website' for years, and for months had been in the ownership of a company that I think everyone knew we couldn't trust," Harper, the freelance artist, said. 

Following the 2018 porn ban, Tumblr fielded offers from those ardent to keep NSFW content alive there, including PornHub and the singer Halsey.

But nothing represented just how hard Tumblr had fallen than the announcement in August 2019 that Verizon had sold Tumblr to Automattic, the parent company of website builder WordPress, for a price reported to be under $3 million. That's less than an empty lot in San Francisco, and many celebrity engagement rings.

While some Tumblr users hoped that perhaps the site's new owner would bring back NSFW content, Automattic's CEO quickly dispelled those rumors.

"Adult content is not our forte either, and it creates a huge number of potential issues with app stores, payment providers, trust and safety," CEO Matt Mullenweg wrote online shortly after the purchase. "It's a problem area best suited for companies fully dedicated to creating a great experience there."

What Mullenweg is hinting at are the tricky policies around what content Apple and Android allow on apps in their app stores. Right around the time the porn ban was enacted, Tumblr briefly disappeared from the iOS App Store because of a failure to police child porn on its site. The porn ban was likely a direct response to that incident.

But not only is Tumblr having issues retaining users, but it's also having trouble getting new people to its site. The Atlantic's data showed that traffic to Tumblr's login page page in the US has been cut nearly in half sine 2018. In the year since the porn ban, first-time downloads of the Tumblr app declined 32%, according to data provided to mobile analytics service Sensor Tower to Business Insider.

Nevertheless, Tumblr published its annual year-in-review in December, highlighting the most popular fandoms and trending topics in categories ranging from K-pop, to Pokémon, to the best "ships" (fictionalized relationships that Tumblr users love to speculate about).

"Nowadays, I see only a handful of people I used to follow post on Tumblr, and it's just funny or political reblogs," Tumblr user Matthew Marquez told Business Insider. "Many of my friends and followers have completely abandoned it."

SEE ALSO: The incredible story of YouTube's early days and how it rose to become the world's most popular place to watch video

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Welcome to Cultivated, our weekly newsletter where we're bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global cannabis boom. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every week. If you want a discount to BI Prime to read my stories, sign up here!

Happy Friday,

Welcome to an extra special year-end edition of Cultivated! This is the last one you'll get to read before the next decade starts. I'll be off skiing some deep powder (hopefully) in Utah next week.

It's been fun putting this newsletter together every Friday since we started in July, and I hope you all enjoy reading it.

With that, let's get to it.

I had a whirlwind week at the MJBizCon in Las Vegas last week — I think I did something like 35 meetings over three days, wearing out the soles of my shoes in the process — but I found it to be a fruitful reporting trip.

It was my first time at the conference, and I heard the mood was a little more... dour... than in years past for obvious reasons. That being said, most investors and execs I spoke with laid out an optimistic case for the future of cannabis, though all acknowledged that the industry is going through its first painful correction.

You can read my story on the burst cannabis bubble, and where things are going to go, right here.

We also took a look at where cannabis investors are placing their bets in 2020. You guessed it: distressed assets are on everyone's radar. 

And of course, we're still keeping track of layoffs around the industry, and we're bringing you scoops. In the latest one, we broke the news of Green Bits' new CEO, Barry Saik, and got the first interview with him.

Until next year. 

-Jeremy 

Here's what we've been writing about:

Capital raises, M&A activity, partnerships, and launches

• Curaleaf announced a $275 million secured loan facility, at a 13% interest rate. Cowen analyst Vivien Azer called it "exceedingly helpful in addressing near-term cash commitments" and maintained her outperform rating on the stock.
• iAnthus raised $36 million of senior convertible notes from cannabis investment firm Gotham Green Partners. The raise is part of a planned $100 million financing. 
• NASDAQ-listed Akerna is acquiring Canadian cannabis company Ample Organics in a $45 million deal. 
• Boston-based Ascend Wellness Holdings raised $28.2 million from a number of investors, including Salveo Capital and JM10. The company plans to deploy capital to go after the newly opened Michigan and the soon-to-open Illinois recreational cannabis markets.
• Holistic Industries is spending $20 million on a new headquarters in Michigan, which will include a cultivation facility and a flagship retail store. Holistic Industries is also partnering with the estate of Grateful Dead legend Jerry Garcia to release the Jerry Garcia 2020 cannabis collection. 
• Canopy Growth released First & Free, a line of hemp-derived CBD products in the US. The products are available to purchase online. 
• Canadian medical cannabis company FSD Pharma has received approval to list its shares on the NASDAQ. They'll begin trading soon under the ticker HUGE. 
• Green Growth Brands terminated its planned $50 million acquisition of MXY Holdings, or Moxie, as "the market adjusts to the changing macro environment." For more information on that changing macro environment, see my story from October. 
• Tilray has completed its merger with Privateer Holdings. 

Executive moves

• Harvest Health & Recreation is beefing up its advisory team. Daniel Reiner joins as a special advisor to the board, and Scott Atkinson will join as co-executive chairman.
• Medical Marijuana Inc (MJNA), an OTC-listed cannabis company, promoted Brooke Beers to CFO from VP of corporate finance.
• David Kelman is joining the investment bank Stifel as a managing director in the consumer & retail group, where he'll oversee US cannabis investment banking from Stifel's New York office. Kelman was previously a managing director at Viridian Capital Advisors, a cannabis-focused advisory.
• ManifestSeven (M7) has appointed Hélène Blanchette, formerly a VP at Xerox, as president of MyJane, M7's retail subsidiary targeted towards women. MyJane president cofounder Kim Kovacs is leaving the company. 
• Jeanette VanderMarel has resigned from her position as COO of Beleave Cannabis after less than two months on the job. 

Chart of the week

With all of the doom-and-gloom around cannabis capital markets, I think it's important to keep this in mind: 

What I'm reading

Cannabis' largest trade show is pretty ordinary, and that's what the industry wants (CNN Business)

Leafly investigation: Inside the billion-dollar race to patent cannabis (Leafly) 

From Canada's legal high, a business letdown (New York Times) 

Pot firms' grim reality: cash crunch, no U.S. bankruptcy access (Bloomberg News)

The budtender will see you now (Politico)

A company is sending cannabis and coffee to space to see if they mutate (Vice)

Traders betting against pot stocks made almost $1 billion in 2019. Here are the 8 stocks most responsible for those gains. (Markets Insider)

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• Jennifer Garner had the best response to an Instagram user who commented on one of her recent posts and said: "What do you call a movie star who makes no movies?" 
• In response, the actress reminded the person that she's also a mother of three.
• Garner, who has kids with ex-husband Ben Affleck, has starred in movies like "13 Going on 30,""Dallas Buyers Club," and "Peppermint."
• She's currently filming a Netflix movie called "Yes Day" and is the cofounder of a company called Once Upon a Farm, which creates kid-friendly food using organic ingredients.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jennifer Garner masterfully shut down an Instagram user who insulted her acting career.

On Tuesday, the 47-year-old actress shared a holiday video that showed her assisting in a local theater production by working with dancers, applying makeup to people, and decorating rooms with paper snowflakes. 

"For an instant jolt of [Christmas spirit] — there is still time to hunt down your local Nutcracker! (Hey Southern California—@abtofficial has 7 shows left at the @segerstromarts) #repostingmyself #numberonefan #TutuTuesday," she captioned the post. 

After a person with the username @pnkrawkchef commented and said, "What do you call a movie star who makes no movies?" Garner reminded the user that she's a parent, in addition to being an actor. 

"A mom!" she commented in response to the person's question. 

Garner has three children with ex-husband Ben Affleck: daughters Violet (born in 2005) and Seraphina (born in 2009) and son Samuel (born in 2012). When she's not working, the actress rushes to get her kids to school on time (while still keeping things classy) and shares humorous photos or videos on social media.

In addition, she's the cofounder of the company Once Upon a Farm, which creates kid-friendly food using organic ingredients.

Garner, who grew up in West Virginia, rose to fame with her role as Sydney Bristow on the show "Alias." The role earned her a total of four Golden Globe nominations and one win in 2002. She also got a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for her part on "Alias."

She went on to portray Marvel badass Elektra alongside Affleck in 2003, and starred in a standalone movie titled "Elektra" two years later. 

The actress is also known for her endearing role as Jenna Rink in the 2004 movie "13 Going On 30," a now-classic romantic comedy that served as inspiration for Ariana Grande's 2018 music video for "Thank U, Next." 

Although critics weren't fans of her dozens of films over the years, she's starred in hit movies like Oscar-winner "Dallas Buyers Club,""Juno," and "Love, Simon." Garner also starred in the 2018 action film "Peppermint" and the HBO series "Camping."

In 2019, she voiced a character in the animated movie "Wonder Park." She's currently filming a Netflix movie called "Yes Day," based on a children's book, with Edgar Ramirez. 

• Read more:
• Jennifer Garner shared a relatable mom moment after taking her daughter to the bus in a robe and slippers
• THEN AND NOW: The cast of '13 Going on 30' 15 years later
• How America's sweetheart Jennifer Garner went from small-town girl to Hollywood badass

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• The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the most popular credit cards available — despite an increasingly competitive credit card rewards space.
• It's easy to see why: Thanks to a high sign-up bonus, generous rewards, and a reasonable annual fee, the card offers significant ongoing value.
• The sign-up bonus gives the Preferred an edge over the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve, at least for the first year.
• See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards you can get »

Even though it's been around for more than a decade, the Chase Sapphire Preferred remains one of the all-around best travel rewards cards available.  When you take everything into account — annual fee, sign-up bonus, rewards earning, ways to redeem rewards, travel perks, and protections — the value you can get from this card is hard to beat.

The Sapphire Preferred was the singular must-have card before the Chase Sapphire Reserve launched in 2016, and it's still a powerful contender for those who don't want to front the $450 annual fee for the "CSR."

The credit card rewards space has gotten more and more competitive over the past few years, but here's why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is still a powerhouse.

Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back. 

1. You can get 60,000 points when you sign up

In early 2019, Chase increased the sign-up bonus on the Sapphire Preferred— the first time it's raised the card's bonus since 2015. Now, when you open a new card, you can earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months. 

The value of the sign-up bonus depends on how you choose to use those points, but based on subjective valuations by travel website The Points Guy (a Business Insider e-commerce partner), 60,000 points is worth about $1,200. While the points can be redeemed for $600 of cash or $750 of travel booked through Chase, you can get a significantly higher value when you transfer them to an airline frequent flyer partner — hence The Points Guy's higher valuation.

This bonus is actually higher than the Chase Sapphire Reserve's, which only offers 50,000 points for the same spending requirement.

Because of that, a smart move for someone just getting into credit card rewards would be to open the Sapphire Preferred, and then, if they decide the Sapphire Reserve would be a better fit, convert the card after the first year.

Converting, or product-changing, is easy: a simple call to the number on the back of the card should be all you need.

2. You'll earn double points on every travel and dining purchase

The Sapphire Preferred offers 2x points on all travel and all dining, and both categories are defined incredibly broadly. "Travel" includes everything from subways, taxis, parking, and tolls to hotels and airfare, and dining including bars, restaurants, delivery services like Seamless and Grubhub, and more.

The card has no foreign transaction fees, and the card offers the travel and dining bonus on purchases made outside of the US, too.

You'll earn even more points with the Sapphire Reserve, which offers 3x points in the same categories, which brings us to the next benefit...

3. It has a low annual fee for such a high-earning rewards card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee of $95. That puts it right in the "mid-tier" range, despite its high-earning rewards structure. While it has an annual fee, it's under $100, and the card still offers lucrative rewards and premium benefits.

For comparison, the Sapphire Reserve's fee is $450. Although the rewards and benefits more than make up for that, you'd still need to have the liquid cash available to pay the fee up front, then get the value back later.

4. There are a ton of redemption options when it's time to use your points

Chase offers a few valuable ways to use your points — you can read our full guide here.

One option is to redeem them for cash or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. That means that your 60,000-point sign-up bonus would be worth $600.

The next option is to use points to book travel through Chase. When you do that, you'll get a 25% bonus in value — points will be worth 1.25 cents each, so that 60,000 points would be worth $750.

The best option — the one that gets the most value— is to transfer them to one of Chase's 13 frequent flyer and hotel loyalty partners.

While that last method can get complicated, it can easily be worth it; that's how I've booked flights in international first class for as few as 62,500 points.

5. The card comes with a suite of useful travel benefits and protections.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a handful of excellent travel benefits, including primary rental car insurance, trip and baggage delay insurance, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, and more. These benefits can save you hundreds of dollars when something goes wrong on a trip — or every time you rent a car, since you can decline the rental company's collision damage waiver.

The bottom line

Combine normal points earning with a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first three months, and you'll be able to build a hefty balance of points quickly — especially if you and a partner use "two-player mode."

For example, to earn the points we needed for our first-classJapan flights, I opened a Sapphire Preferred. Between the sign-up bonus, our normal spending, and a few reimbursable travel expenses for work trips — plus a handful of frequent flyer miles we already had — we had enough miles for the flights. We even saw our credit scores increase, since the new accounts added to our credit history.

There are a few different ways to use your Chase points— and tricks to get the most value— but no matter how you plan to redeem them, there's no doubt that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers a great value.

Click here to learn more about the Sapphire Preferred »

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We rounded up the 13 best sales and deals happening online today, with savings on bedding at Boll & Branch, clothes and accessories at J.Crew, TIDAL streaming subscription plans, Cole Haan shoes, the Nintendo Switch, and more. 

Deals in this story are subject to change throughout the day. The prices listed reflect the deal at the time of publication. For even more deals and savings across the web, check out Business Insider Coupons.

The best sales and deals happening today at a glance:

• Save 20% on everything at Boll & Branch
• Save 30% on full-price styles at J.Crew
• Get five months of any TIDAL plan for $5*
• Save up to 65% on sale styles at Cole Haan
• Save big on stocking stuffer gifts at Best Buy
• Save up to 70% on toys and collectibles at eBay
• Save $60 on a CLEAR membership and get a $10 Amazon gift card
• Get a $30 gift card when you buy a Nintendo Switch at Target

Additional Business Insider-exclusive deals and longer-term sales going on now:

• Get $750 worth of travel points when you sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and spend $4,000 in the first three months
• Buy a Dyson Supersonic hairdryer and get three free accessories
• Save 25% on Gravity Blankets and more
• Save up to $250 on Bear Mattresses and get two free pillows
• Save 15% on your order at Framebridge

Find the details of each sale below:

SEE ALSO: The best mattresses you can buy

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1. Save 20% on everything at Boll & Branch

Shop the Boll & Branch sale now. 

The window to get gifts delivered in time for Christmas is slowly closing, but popular bedding startup Boll & Branch is still guaranteeing on-time delivery if your order today — and everything is on sale. Right now, you can automatically save 20% sitewide, so if you're looking for home and bedding gifts, you know where to go.

2. Save 30% on full-price styles at J.Crew

Shop the J.Crew sale now. 

Christmas is less than a week away, so it's crunch time as far as getting your gifts goes. Fortunately, J.Crew is having a big sale with options for everyone on your list. Right now, you can save 30% on full-price styles by using the promo code "SNOW" at checkout. You have until December 22 at 11:59 p.m. EST to get $10 overnight delivery in time for Christmas. 

3. Get 5 months of any TIDAL plan for $5

Get five months of TIDAL for $5 now. 

If you thought that all streaming services were more or less the same, TIDAL recently launched a new series of playlists called "Now Playing" that will separate it from the bunch. Now Playing consists of over 500 playlists that have been personally curated by your favorite artists — and now is the best time to take a listen. Until December 30, you can get five months of any TIDAL streaming plan for $5. After the 150-day period, your subscription will automatically renew for the full amount of the plan you choose (for reference, the individual plan is $9.99 per month). 

*This deal features Sponsored Products that have been suggested by TIDAL and that also meet our editorial criteria in terms of quality and value.

4. Save up to 65% on sale styles at Cole Haan

Shop the Cole Haan sale now. 

Cole Haan is ending the holiday shopping rush with a huge sale. Right now, you can get up to 65% off sale items for men and women. The sale includes popular styles from the ZERØGRAND line, dress shoes, boots, and much more. Depending on where you live, it may not arrive in time for Christmas, but if you're going to give a late gift, at least make it a good one — and save some money on it. 

5. Save on last-minute gifts at Best Buy

Shop the 12 days of deals sale at Best Buy now. 

At this point, you should (hopefully) have the bulk of your holiday shopping done, but if you're a last-minute shopper, Best Buy's "12 days of deals" sale is a good place to look. Some of the best deals today include $90 off the Phillips Hue White & Color Ambiance LED Starter Kit, a $140 ECOVACS robot vacuum, and up to $300 off gaming laptops. Select items ship fast and free in time for Christmas, but you can choose in-store pickup to get them even faster.

6. Save up to 70% on toys and collectibles at eBay

Shop the eBay Toytopia sale now. 

Tech items like video game consoles and tablets are always safe bets as gifts for kids, but there's nothing like unwrapping a new toy during the holiday season. Right now, eBay is offering a new shopping experience called Toytopia. It includes a truly massive selection of toys — from the latest and most popular to vintage collectibles that you won't find anywhere else — at great prices. Right now, you can save up to 70% on select toys. 

7. Save $60 on a CLEAR membership and get a $10 Amazon gift card

Sign up for CLEAR now. 

CLEAR lets you skip the security line at the airport, making travel just a little less stressful. If you're traveling for the holidays or you have lots of travel plans for 2020, now is the best time to sign up for an annual membership. Until December 22, you can save $60 on a one-year membership and get a $10 Amazon gift card with the promo code "INSIDER60" or you can save $50 on one-year membership and get a $20 Amazon gift card with the promo code "INSIDER50". Originally priced at $179, either discount is a great deal. 

8. Get a $30 gift card when you buy a Nintendo Switch at Target

Nintendo Switch and $30 gift card, $299.99

With the ability to be played at home or on the go, the Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular and versatile gaming consoles out there. While you won't find it on sale anywhere, Target is offering a $30 gift card when you buy the Nintendo Switch. The gift card can be used towards games, accessories, or anything else available at Target during your next purchase.

9. Get $750 worth of travel points when you sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred

Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred from our partner The Points Guy.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a great option if you're new to earning points and miles, as it has a reasonable $95 annual fee. You'll earn 2 points per dollar on all travel and dining purchases and 1 point on everything else, and the card includes some valuable benefits like trip delay coverage and primary car rental insurance.

You can earn 60,000 Chase points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred when you spend $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. That's worth at least $750 toward travel. Read our review to learn more about the card's benefits.

Business Insider may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network if you apply for a credit card, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

10. Buy a Dyson Supersonic hairdryer and get three free accessories

Shop the Dyson sale now. 

The Dyson Supersonic is a state-of-the-art hair dyer designed to protect all hair types from heat damage. At $400, it's expensive, but Dyson is holding a limited-time offer that makes it a better value for the cost. In addition to the standard attachments that are included, Dyson is offering three additional accessories with the purchase of the Supersonic hairdryer. You can choose from the presentation case, Supersonic stand, storage bag, detangling comb, 1.4-inch round brush, or 1.8-inch round brush. The three accessories will add up to well over $100.

This is a great deal because you'll never really find the Supersonic at a discounted price unless you buy it refurbished.

11. Save 25% on Gravity Blankets and more

Shop the Gravity Blanket sale now. 

Weighted blankets are becoming an increasingly popular method for reducing stress and getting a good night's sleep — and the popular Gravity Blanket is on sale now. For a limited time, you can save 25% sitewide with the promo code "HOLIDAY2019" at checkout. In addition to the original Gravity Blanket, the sale also includes travel blankets, weighted sleep masks, aromatherapy pillows, and more. 

12. Save 25% on a Bear mattress, plus get two free pillows

Shop the Bear Mattress sale now. 

Named the best mattress for hot sleepers in our buying guide, Bear Mattresses are designed to keep you cool and comfortable at night. Additionally, the mattresses feature Celliant, a material that converts heat from the body into far infrared — a type of energy that's been proven to help rebuild cells. The technology can help you wake up feeling well-rested and free of aches and pains, plus you won't break a sweat in your sleep. You can get $150 off when you spend $700+ (code "WS150"), $200 off orders of $1,000+ (code "WS200"), $250 off orders of $1,300+ (code "WS250") along with two free pillows.

13. Save 15% on your order at Framebridge

Shop the Framebridge sale now. 

In addition to offering customizable framing options for your prints and original paintings, Framebridge will turn your favorite digital images and smartphone pictures into beautifully framed artwork that's suitable for display. Simply pick a frame, upload or send in your image, and Framebridge will it back ready to be shown off. For a limited time, new customers can save 15% sitewide by using the promo code "INSIDER15" at checkout. 

• Darren Marlar launched his podcast "Weird Darkness" over four years ago, but until recently he was hardly earning any money from it.
• "Weird Darkness" is downloaded more than half a million times per month, but since Marlar doesn't work with a major podcast network, he had no easy way to conduct ad sales. 
• Three months ago, he started using Spreaker Prime, a podcast ad service that sells ads programmatically as opposed to person-to-person, and has since earned almost $20,000 in ad revenue, he said.
• Click here for more BI Prime articles.

Podcast advertising is taking off, with the industry expected to bring in more than $1 billion in ad revenue by 2021, but it's often hard for independent creators to land ad deals. 

Darren Marlar, who hosts the paranormal storytelling podcast "Weird Darkness," had been podcasting with various shows for about a decade before he was able to start earning substantial revenue from ad sales.

"Weird Darkness" airs five new episodes per week to rack up more than 500,000 downloads per month, Marlar told Business Insider. That's significant for an independent producer, but pales in comparison to the listener traffic generated by major podcast networks like iHeartMedia.

This imbalance makes it hard for independent podcasters to sell ads the traditional way, as sales representatives often won't take on clients with fewer downloads.

"Weird Darkness" first launched in 2015 as a YouTube series and became a podcast in 2017, Marlar said. He found more success with audio than with video, but for the next couple of years, he only earned about $100 maximum in ad revenue per month — sometimes as little as $12.

But when Marlar started using a programmatic ad sales platform this year, he found a way to generate about $7,000 in ad revenue per month.

"After the first month, I realized I was making more there than I was at my full-time radio job," Marlar said.

In only about three months, he's been able to earn almost $20,000 from the podcast, he said. 

Programmatic ads can generate revenue for independent podcasters without sales reps

Over the summer, Marlar began to get emails from a podcast hosting platform called Spreaker about Spreaker Prime, the company's programmatic ad sales service. Francesco Baschieri, president of Spreaker's parent company Voxnest, described it as "Google AdSense for podcasts."

Programmatic typically refers to online ads sold automatically as opposed to by a human sales representative, and the automated process also works for podcasts. The ads are dynamically inserted into podcast shows, allowing podcasters to update the ads in their audio files with new ones if they sell additional ads into their back catalogs, which Marlar does.

If a podcast has less than about 50,000 to 35,000 downloads per episode, Baschieri said that show will have a hard time attracting salespeople and advertisers.

"The only shows making money are the very popular shows," Baschieri said. "No sales rep will agree to do these manual operations if your show is small."

Spreaker Prime allows podcasts with as few as 5,000 downloads per month to have ads sold automatically, eliminating the need for a sales rep.

Spreaker keeps 40% of the revenue, and 60% goes to the podcaster, Baschieri said. Three months after launching, the program has generated more than $1 million in ad revenue between about 200 podcasts. 

Many in the podcast industry favor host-read ads— sold without automation — because they're more engaging and cost more per impression. But Baschieri thinks programmatic ads will make big inroads in podcasting as they have done in other digital mediums.

"Selling over the phone and going back and forth with the host works great, but it's not the way digital media is traded," Baschieri said. "Every digital medium has been going programmatic over the past few years."

'I was floored': Marlar now earns more in podcast ad sales than from his full-time radio job

Marlar first tested out Spreaker Prime by using the company's introductory-level sales platform Dynamo, which doesn't require podcasters to use Spreaker to build and edit their shows, and is open to those with fewer than 5,000 downloads per month. After one month of using Dynamo, Marlar earned $600.

"That's more than I had made in all my years podcasting combined," Marlar said. "The first month I was floored."

The next month, he switched to Spreaker Prime and brought in about $4,000 in programmatic ad sales. The second month he used Spreaker Prime, his check was up to about $7,000.

After three months, Marlar has now earned a total of almost $20,000 from dynamic ads, including the occasional payment from a more expensive host-read ad (sold non-programmatically), and additional income from Spreaker Prime's revenue-share policy.

When Marlar realized he was making more money from podcasting than from his full-time job, he handed in his resignation. But the radio station he works at convinced him to stay on. Still, Marlar's new income from podcast ads has given him financial stability and allowed him to spend money on promoting "Weird Darkness" for the first time.

Because Spreaker Prime sells ads into Marlar's archived episodes — which he replays on the weekends when he doesn't produce new content — he's also been able to take time off for the holidays while still earning money.

"I knew I was just throwing money down the drain in the past," Marlar said. "For the very first time in my life, if the radio service were to let me go, I would still be fine."

SEE ALSO: How the women of 'LadyGang' turned their hit podcast into a sprawling media brand

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• There has been a resurgence of interest in flare jeans as of late, and retailers have taken notice and responded accordingly with new styles to feed the trend. 
• The combination of fitted and flared elements makes them universally flattering, plus the open leg tends to be really comfortable. After all, we could use a break from skinny jeans every now and then. 
• We rounded up some great pairs of flare jeans that work for just about every style, budget, and flare preference.
• Some of our favorites include the Free People Just Float On Flare Jeans, the Universal Standard Sava High Rise Flare, and the Levi's Ribcage Full Length Flare Women's Jeans. 

I don't know what it is about denim, but I've always felt most comfortable in a pair of jeans. Unless I'm on a road trip or an airplane, you'll probably find me in a pair. Luckily for me (and everyone else who loves denim), it's a great big world of style out there. With a plethora of fits, flares, washes, inseam lengths, and waist options, you'll never get bored of denim.

If you're looking to get in on the latest denim trend, you need a pair of flare jeans. Yep, the retro style is back. Whether it's a more modest cut or full-out flare, there are plenty of good pairs of flared jeans out there. Some pairs offer a more casual look, while others can be slightly more sophisticated. Keep reading for some of our favorite pairs, plus tips on how to style them. 

Here are the best flare jeans you can buy:

• Best size-inclusive flares: Universal Standard Sava High Rise Flare
• Best stretch flares: Free People Know Me Better Flare Jeans
• Best classic flares: Levi's Ribcage Full Length Flare Women's Jeans
• Best luxury flares: Agolde Vintage High Rise Flare
• Best budget flares: Free People Just Float On Flare Jeans
• Best high-rise flares: Citizens of Humanity Chloe High Waist Flare Jeans
• Best cuffed flares: Good American Good Flare Trouser Jeans
• Best black flares: Rag & Bone Jane Super High-Rise Flare

The best size-inclusive flares

Sava High Rise Flare Jeans, available at Universal Standard, $90

If you'd like a pair of flare jeans that you can stand, sit, and maybe even lunge in, you need Universal Standard's Sava Jeans. This is all to say that these jeans are exceptionally soft and stretchy, and they won't bag out on you like a pair of jeggings. If you're a skinny jean loyalist, this pair is a nice, unintimidating foray into flares. 

A few women on the Insider Picks team tried the Savas and loved them. With sizes ranging from 00 to 40, you can be sure you'll find a pair that fits you just right. Most shoppers do find the jeans run a tad big. If you want a slimmer fit, Universal Standard recommends going a size down. Additionally, many reviewers (myself included) find them to be on the longer side. 

The best stretch flares

We The Free Know Me Better Flare Jeans, available at Free People, $98

These exaggerated flares from Free People are accentuated with exposed seams for a cool and flattering look. The high-rise jeans are easy to slip on thanks to some really stretchy denim. There's no zipper or button, just a lot of stretch. If you like that clean look and a super soft feel, you'll probably love these. 

The best classic flares

Levi's Ribcage Full Length Flare Women's Jeans, available at Levi's, $98

We'd be remiss not to include a pair of Levi's on this list. The brand has been making high-quality denim for over 160 years, so it's safe to say they know a thing or two about what makes a great pair of jeans. A high-rise, roomy fit through the leg and semi-wide flare give these a cool, utilitarian look that's flattering and not too exaggerated.

The best luxury flares

Agolde Vintage High Rise Flare, available at Revolve, $188

Since launching a few years ago, Agolde has quickly become a need-to-know denim label. From celebrities to fashion editors and everyone in between, people are obsessed with the brand's premium, vintage-inspired denim. This pair of high-rise flares is made of 100% organic cotton for a durable jean that won't stretch. The pants fit slim through the thigh, then flare out to a modest 17 inches. The fading wash and distressed details make for a vintage, worn-in look that still feels fresh. Pair these with pointed-toe booties for a leg-lengthening, '70s inspired look that's still on-trend. 

The best budget flares

We The Free Just Float On Flare Jeans, available at Free People, $78

Free People is one of our favorite places to find flares, as they offer a wide variety of styles at affordable prices. This pair comes in over 15 washes, ranging from neutrals to fun colors, with a drastic flare for a retro look. Some styles also come in long and short inseams. 

The best high-waist flares

Citizens of Humanity Chloe High Waist Flare Jeans, available at Nordstrom, $238

High-rise, dramatic flare, and light wash that's faded in all the right places, this pair of jeans looks like it's straight from the '70s. If you want a fit that's casual and comfortable, this will do the trick — the denim has some stretch and a little extra room in the thigh. Pair this with slip-on sneakers and a T-shirt for a simple, everyday outfit or go retro with a pair of platform booties and a blousy top.

They're definitely a pricey pair, but Insider Picks editor Sally Kaplan has said that the brand's pairs are more than worth the money for how long they last.

The best cuffed flares

Good Flare Trouser Jeans, available at Nordstrom, $169

Good American makes size-inclusive denim with smart features to make you look and feel your best. A clean trouser hem on the flare makes these jeans feel a little more formal than other options. Reinforced belt loops let you tug on the pants without having to worry about being too aggressive, because sometimes you just have to squeeze in. The high rise is accompanied by a gap-proof waistband, so the pants will sit smoothly along your stomach. The jeans are offered in sizes 00 to 24, as well as a few more washes, on the Good American site. 

The best black flares

Jane Super High-Rise Flare, available at Rag & Bone, $255

A deep black wash that won't fade gives these jeans a more elevated look. The pair boasts Rag & Bone's highest rise yet and a wide flare. Fitted through the hip and leg, this pair creates a leg-lengthening look that flatters any height. While pricey, I think Rag & Bone jeans are worth it for the durable quality and timeless style that'll last a lifetime in your wardrobe. 

How to style flare jeans

To preface, I'm not a stylist, but here's my unsolicited advice. Flares are thought of by many as difficult to style, but as with anything fashion, you should just wear something you love and feel great in. With a combination of figure-hugging and wider, looser elements flare jeans are actually super flattering. A high-waist flare can make your legs look miles long, especially when paired with a heeled boot. For low or mid-rise flares, go for a cool sneaker or flat sandal for a casual, bohemian vibe. Because flares offer a lot of volume at the bottom, wearing a more fitted shirt on the top is always a safe bet. I love pairing flares with a long-sleeve bodysuit, a cropped sweater, or a blouse tucked into the waist to balance out the proportions. You really can't go wrong with this flattering style. So, for the unintimidated, just go for it. 

• When my husband returned from deployment in Iraq, we decided to buy a house where we lived in Fairbanks, Alaska.
• But we made quite a few mistakes along the way, including not vetting our realtor, and putting zero down on our VA loan.
• We ended up having to give the house back to the bank in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to avoid bankruptcy. I now know exactly what I'll do differently the next time we buy a home.
• Read more personal finance coverage.

Buying a home is the American dream — or at least, that was the idea that was sold to me my whole life. 

It had worked out fabulously for everyone else I knew. That's why when my husband, a service member, returned from Iraq to our home in Fairbanks, Alaska, we thought it was high time we put down some roots, too. 

Instead, it turned into our worst nightmare. We eventually had to return the home to the bank in a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, and the purchase nearly drove us into bankruptcy. 

It also sent me into a yearslong depression, and it ruined my husband's credit score, our finances, and meant we were forced back into renting. 

Below, I'll get into the mistakes we made the first time around, and what we'll be doing differently when it comes time to buy our next home.

Research, research, research

When we went to buy our home, I wasn't the least bit interested in finances. I thought I was bad at math (false), that it was the man's job (also false), and that I didn't have the chops to manage our money (yet again, false).

So, rather than do my own research in an area I didn't understand anyway, we relied on a cadre of real estate and lending professionals to guide us through the process. 

Looking back, our failure to research was a big mistake. You don't rely on a car salesman to tell you what kind of car you need and how to buy it, after all. 

If we had done our research ahead of time — knowing how much to set aside for home maintenance and repairs, how to find a good home inspector and realtor, how much of a down payment to put down, how to choose how much home to buy, etc. — then we would have done almost everything differently and wouldn't have made the made the mistakes we did.  

I've spent countless hours researching how to buy a home the right way since then. And you can bet that when it comes time for us to buy another home, I'll be double-checking all that research again. 

Vet the realtor

Since we're a military family, we simply googled "military realtors in Fairbanks" and went with the first result. 

We've since worked with several realtors when we were trying to sell our home, and not one of them had anything positive to say about our original realtor. 

All of them were familiar with this realtor's shady tactics — something we did indeed end up experiencing. For example, he steered us towards a zero down payment VA loan and a less-than-honest home inspector.

This is something we could have easily avoided by asking for references, checking review websites, and shopping around and interviewing multiple realtors to decide which one was the best fit ahead of time. 

Vet the home inspector

We thought our realtor was saving us money when he suggested an old buddy of his to inspect the home we were interested in for a cheaper price. 

Even though the pipes in the septic field were sticking out of the ground at a 45-degree angle and there was standing water everywhere on the property, the home inspector said that wasn't a problem. Homes built on permafrost (permanently frozen ground; common in interior Alaska) often have shifting ground, the inspector said, and it's not a problem. 

That information was patently false. If we had hired a proper inspector, they would have flagged the obvious problems with this house and we could have avoided a world of hurt. 

Because we spent so much on home repairs due to issues that should have been flagged, we ultimately ended up having to do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. 

Next time, we won't rely on an "old buddy" to inspect the home. Just like with the realtor, we'll do our due diligence and find a reputable inspector. 

Not setting aside a home-maintenance fund

We thought we'd just be able to float any home repair expenses with our monthly cash flow. At worst, we'd be able to take out a loan to cover any larger repairs. Boy, were we in for a surprise.  

We ended up spending $30,000 just in the last two years we owned the house (we owned it for a total of six years) due to septic tanks that failed, needed replacing, and failed yet again due to the shifting ground. There were also problems with frozen water lines, leaking water tanks, and other miscellaneous snags.

The final breaking point that made us give up the house was when the septic repair people refused to come out anymore unless we installed a new, custom $35,000 septic tank. It was  something we absolutely didn't have the money for after exhausting our ability to take on any more debt. 

Next time, you can bet that we'll have a very liberal home-repair fund built before we buy property. 

Not making a down payment

Our loan officer (also referred to use by our con-man realtor) conveniently brought it to our attention that since my husband was in the Army, we could get a VA loan with no down payment. 

Sure, we'd saved up $14,000 from his combat pay. But instead of using that for a down payment — or keeping it for home-repair costs — we instead went on a wild shopping spree and bought a whole new suite of furniture. This came back to bite us later when it came time to sell the house. 

We didn't have any equity built up in the house by the time we decided to move to Colorado a few years later, so we weren't able to drop the price of the home low enough to entice buyers to overlook the obvious problems with it, or use our home equity to help fund repairs. 

Next time we buy a home, you can bet we'll be putting 20% down. 

Not budgeting

The biggest factor of all that hurt us was not budgeting. 

We didn't know how expensive a home we could buy, so we ended up house-poor, meaning most of our income went to the mortgage and repairs, so we had little money for other things, like saving or paying off debt. We overspent on other things, too, like restaurants and entertainment. 

The biggest thing we took away from this whole experience is the importance of budgeting. Since we got rid of the house, it's what has allowed us to pay down our other debt, save for retirement, and save for emergencies. And you can bet that when we are ready to buy a home again we'll be totally prepared, thanks to our budget.

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• Christmas celebrations at the White House date back to 1800, but Hanukkah wasn't acknowledged until much later.
• President Jimmy Carter was the first president to recognize Hanukkah with a menorah lighting in 1979.
• The first official White House Hanukkah party took place in 2001, hosted by President George W. Bush.
• There are now two official Hanukkah receptions, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, plus a National Menorah Lighting outside the White House.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The White House hasn't always marked the Festival of Lights with menorah lightings and musical performances.

Celebrating Hanukkah at the White House is a fairly recent development in US history. President Jimmy Carter was the first president to light a menorah in 1979, and the first official White House Hanukkah party didn't take place until 2001.

US presidents now host two Hanukkah receptions every year, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. There's also an annual National Menorah Lighting on the lawn of the White House.

Here's how Hanukkah celebrations at the White House came to be.

Christmas celebrations at the White House date back to 1800, but Hanukkah wasn't acknowledged until much later.

President John Adams hosted the first White House Christmas party in December 1800, and President Calvin Coolidge held the first National Christmas Tree lighting in 1923. Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of choosing a theme for the White House Christmas decorations in 1961.

President Jimmy Carter was the first president to recognize Hanukkah with a menorah lighting in 1979.

The menorah lighting was held on the Ellipse, a lawn south of the White House.

The secretary of the interior under Carter initially refused to issue a permit for a menorah on the White House lawn, citing the First Amendment, according to the Washington Post. But Stu Eizenstat, one of Carter's advisers, argued that the National Christmas Tree's permit should also be denied on the same grounds, and the event was allowed to proceed.

Since then, every US president has marked Hanukkah in one way or another.

A delegation of rabbis brought President Ronald Reagan a menorah during a Hanukkah visit in 1984.

Reagan kept in touch with Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement, throughout his presidency, even declaring his 80th birthday a National Day of Reflection.

President George Bush and first lady Barbara Bush learned to play dreidel at the White House in 1990.

The president invited children to light Hanukkah candles and play dreidel at the Old Executive Building, which sits adjacent to the White House.

President Bill Clinton also celebrated Hanukkah by hosting groups of children in the Oval Office.

Children from local schools and synagogues were welcomed into the Oval Office to light the menorah and play dreidel with Clinton.

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush hosted the first White House Hanukkah party in 2001. It was the first time a menorah lighting was held in the White House residence.

The Bushes invited members of their staff and their children to participate in the ceremony. The menorah was lit in the Booksellers room on the ground floor, and a kosher buffet was served upstairs, the New York Times reported.

"Tonight, for the first time in American history, the Hanukkah menorah will be lit at the White House residence," Bush said at the ceremony. "It's a symbol that this house may be a temporary home for Laura and me, but it's the people's house, and it belongs to people of all faiths."

The White House kitchen was made kosher for the occasion starting in 2005.

Making the White House kitchen kosher involves Saran wrap, tin foil, and vats of boiling water to cover and purify non-kosher surfaces. The chefs use only certified kosher ingredients.

Matt Nosanchuk served as the White House's associate director of public engagement and liaison to the American Jewish community during Obama's second term. He told Insider that there used to be separate tables for kosher and non-kosher food at Bush's Hanukkah parties, but one year the labels were accidentally switched.

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, a Chabad rabbi in Washington, DC, who works closely with the White House staff to prepare kosher food, suggested making the entire reception kosher to avoid confusion in the future.

"Apparently President Bush said, 'Do whatever you need to do, it's fine,' and Rabbi Shemtov was like, 'Well, you're going to have to stay out of the kitchen for 24 hours before the party,'" Nosanchuk said. 

Bush also began inviting different Jewish choirs and a cappella groups to perform at the event.

The Kol Zimra a cappella choir performed at a menorah lighting ceremony before the White House Hanukkah reception in 2004.

President Barack Obama continued hosting the White House Hanukkah party every year. In 2013, the party was split into two receptions — one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.

"Given how crowded the previous parties had become, they decided to have two," Nosanchuk said.

The two identical receptions are hosted on the same day so that the White House kitchen only has to be made kosher once.

That was also the year Thanksgiving coincided with Hanukkah. Obama was presented with a turkey-shaped menorah known as a "menurkey."

In 2013, then-10-year-old Asher Weintraub invented a "menurkey," a menorah in the shape of a turkey. He raised over $48,000 on Kickstarter to produce and sell them.

"Of course, I said we gotta invite this kid to the White House Hanukkah party," Nosanchuk said. "We didn't use the menurkey onstage, but we made sure the kid was up front on the rope line so that he could say hello to President Obama and present him with a menurkey. And President Obama loved the menurkey."

Obama continued the tradition of inviting college and professional a cappella groups to sing at the event.

Mike Boxer performed with Jewish a cappella group Six13 at the White House Hanukkah reception in 2016. He told Insider the performers usually sing in the foyer outside the party for about an hour, welcoming guests as they enter, and then have a private audience with the president and first lady.

Before meeting the Obamas, Boxer and his group were told to prepare 45 seconds of a song to perform for them. They chose a snippet from "A Hamilton Chanukah," a remix of songs from the Broadway musical "Hamilton" rewritten with Hanukkah-themed lyrics.

Boxer said that their private concert featured some unexpected guests.

"We look over, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomayor are peering through the door," he said. "Barack Obama goes, 'Come in, come in.' One of them said, 'I love this stuff.'"

Notable American Jewish leaders and rabbis were also invited to deliver remarks at the two ceremonies.

In his public engagement role at the White House, Nosanchuk was in charge of the Hanukkah reception guest list. Every year, the list was built from scratch to include as many new people as possible.

"I went out of my way to invite people who had never been before, who had done interesting and important and valuable work in the Jewish community or in their broader community," he said. "There were a wide array of constituencies and groups and individuals who we wanted to engage with and touch during these holiday receptions. The Hanukkah receptions were a subset of that larger group."

Mordechai Levovitz attended the White House Hanukkah party twice during Obama's presidency, and was impressed with the event's broad representation of the Jewish community.

Levovitz is the founder of Jewish Queer Youth, an nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ youth from Orthodox, Hasidic, and Sephardic homes. He was invited as a representative of the Jewish LGBTQ+ community, along with other leaders of Jewish LGBTQ+ organizations.

"It was really nice to see great LGBTQ representation there," he said of the Hanukkah parties he attended. "I felt seen. I saw leaders of every Jewish LGBTQ organization there, and they saw me."

He told Insider that the White House knows how to throw a good Hanukkah party.

"Any Orthodox Jew knows that kosher food can really go either way, especially kosher catering. This caterer does an amazing job," he said. "There's a room with a huge smorgasbord of food, and then there's a cutting board on the side giving out the lamb chops, and that's where the line is. They are delicious."

President Donald Trump has continued hosting Hanukkah receptions at the White House.

Arabella Kushner, the president's granddaughter, lit the menorah in 2017 with her parents, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Ivanka Trump converted to Orthodox Judaism before marrying Kushner in 2009.

Outside the White House, menorah lightings are still held on the Ellipse, and the event has continued to grow in scale.

The National Menorah is now a 30-foot-tall structure that requires a lift from a cherry picker to light, and the event is broadcast on C-SPAN.

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• Fashion designer Michael Costello was a fan favorite on "Project Runway" and has dressed stars including Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, Bebe Rexha, and more.
• Costello recently designed two custom dresses as a meaningful birthday gift for one of his fans, Adalia Rose, a 13-year-old activist and YouTuber with progeria, a rare genetic condition.
• Costello shared an Instagram video of the moment Adalia Rose received her garments in the mail, writing: "You've inspired me to create and reminded me of the reason why I got started in the first place."
• The designer had met Adalia several months prior to surprising her with her own Costello gowns, where the teenager told Costello that J. Lo was among her style icons, according to People.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Fashion designer and former "Project Runway" competitor Michael Costello dresses a long list of celebrities — from Jennifer Lopez to Ariana Grande.

Recently, the designer surprised a fan with a meaningful gift: a package containing two custom-made gowns.

Costello made the dresses for a fan of his named Adalia, who is known by more than two million subscribers on YouTube as Adalia Rose. The 13-year-old has a rare genetic condition known as progeria, which is characterized by "dramatic, rapid aging beginning in childhood," according to the National Institutes of Health.

Costello shared a video on Instagram on December 9, which showed Adalia Rose's reaction to the surprise.

In the video, Adalia holds up a sparkly turquoise dress and tells her mom, who is behind the camera: "This is Michael Costello."

In the first video, Adalia shows a two-piece gown — reminiscent of the iconic outfit Princess Jasmine wore in "Aladdin." Adalia then models another dress Costello included in the package: a floor-length, fuchsia frock with a one-shouldered detail.

In his post, Costello wrote: "People always ask me who my favorite celebrity is to dress, and I always struggle thinking of a name. For me, the most rewarding part of it all is how my dress makes them FEEL. When someone wears Michael Costello, I want them to feel beautiful, confident, and absolutely fearless!"

The designer continued, expressing his gratitude for his fan Adalia Rose, and for the opportunity to create for her two custom gowns.

"When I first met you, your bright smile and warm heart brought so much joy," Costello wrote. "You've inspired me to create and reminded me of the reason why I got started in the first place. Thank you for just being you wishing you a very happy birthday."

Adalia Rose shared an Instagram post thanking the designer for her one-of-a-kind garments.

"@michaelcostello you did such an amazing job making everything I wish you can make all my clothes! " she wrote. "I love you so so so much and i send you a million hugs."

Adalia Rose had previously shared with Costello her fashion preferences, including that she 'loves flowy fabrics and sparkles'

Costello told People reporter Rachel DeSantis that he and Adalia met up at a dinner in Austin, Texas, several months prior to him surprising the teenager with the custom dress. During their meetup, Adalia spoke with Costello about her personal style and how much she adores J. Lo.

"She said she loves J. Lo, and anything that J. Lo wears she likes to wear, and she loves flowy fabrics and sparkles," Costello told People. "And I said, 'Okay, you're my ideal client. You are the Michael Costello girl.'"

Lopez wore a custom Michael Costello gown while on a faux-red carpet during the filming of "Marry Me" in October. The actress also wore a voluminous pink dress designed by Costello in People's 2019 "Person of the Year" issue.

Costello told People that dressing stars like J. Lo has marked an amazing accomplishment in his career, but that he hopes to continue meeting more people like Adalia.

"What's it to me?" Costello told People. "A couple of days on the sewing machine? A few hundred dollars' worth of fabric and time, just to make someone else's dream come true."

The family of Adalia Rose and representatives for Michael Costello did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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• Insider has been polling the 2020 Democratic primary field.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar do particularly well among women.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang do best among young people, while Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden do well among Democrats aged 60 and up.
• We also know where candidates do best in the US which lets us look forward to the primaries.
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren does well among Caucasian respondents. Biden does best among Black respondents, and Sanders and Yang do best among Asian Democrats. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Since late 2018, Insider has been conducting a recurring national survey through SurveyMonkey Audience to determine the state of the Democratic field. While the main thing pollsters are interested in is who's winning at any given time, or the percentage of voters who would vote today for a given candidate, Insider approached the 2020 Democrats from another angle. 

Given that so much of this election is a large number of candidates competing for different — and often overlapping — constituencies or lanes within the party, we've asked whether a given respondent has heard of the candidate and then whether that person would be satisfied or unsatisfied in the event a given contender became the nominee. 

You can download every poll here, down to the individual respondent data, and see the sample size and margin of error for the 12 polls we cite here, which ran between August 30 to December 7.  (Read more about how the Insider 2020 Democratic primary tracker works.)

This lets us figure out who's competing with whom, which candidates are targeting different wings of the party altogether, and who voters are specifically deciding between. 

In just over six weeks, Iowans will hold the first caucus of the Democratic primary. Given how close we are to the actual contests, Insider analyzed the various accumulated supporters amassed by each of the candidates running for president. Mainly, we hope to find out what kind of voters they perform well among and what kind they don't. 

Here's where the race stands, just weeks to go before votes are cast. 

Men and women view the race differently: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren do better among women, while Andrew Yang, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Sen. Bernie Sanders do better among men.

The Democratic primary will be decided by women, who make up a majority of the party. Based on our polling, 57% of the people who said they'd participate in their state's Democratic primary said were women, and the path to nomination must entail doing well among women. 

Some candidates are pretty underwater with women. We've only got a few polls for him, but former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg does nearly 8 percentage points better among men than he does among women, and technology businessman Andrew Yang is also staring down a similar disadvantage. 

On the other hand, Sen. Amy Klobuchar does much better among women than men, performing 8 percentage points better among women.

Age is one of the most polarizing factors in the race. Just a few candidates — Sen. Elizabeth Warren foremost among them — do about as well as usual among all age brackets in the set.

Age is one of the most remarkable splits in this primary. 

In one corner, there are candidates that excel among younger people: Sen. Bernie Sanders is satisfactory as nominee for 70% of voters aged 18 to 29, which is over 15 percentage points better than his performance overall. On the other hand, he's at 39% among those 60 and up, which is 16 percentage points less than usual. Andrew Yang has a considerable younger skew as well. 

In the other corner, you've got candidates that do poorly among young people but very well among older Democratic primary voters. Former Vice President Joe Biden's numbers are functionally the inverse of Sanders' — underperforming among young people by 16 percentage points and over-performing among those 60 and up by 15 points.

He's not alone: Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a remarkable older skew, despite being the youngest contender in the field, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Cory Booker haven't resonated with young people. 

Among the frontrunners, Sen. Elizabeth Warren does basically as well among young people as older people, among Gen X and Gen Z. Make no mistake, that's an advantage: respondents 18 to 29 were about a quarter of our Democratic respondents, and those 60 and up were about a fifth, so it's going to take a broader coalition to pull off a win.

In 2016, exit polls showed that 45 percent of Clinton voters were not white, and the winner of the Democratic primary will have to build a coalition of White, Black, Latino and Asian Americans.

Much of the conversation about the race has meandered around this chart: African Americans were about a fifth of Clinton's voters, but just two candidates — Joe Biden and Sen. Cory Booker — do better among Black respondents than the typical Democratic primary voter.

Some candidates, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in particular, significantly underperform among respondents of color, not just Black Americans but Asian and Latino respondents as well. 

There are other compelling features in this chart, such as Sanders' and Yang's performance among Latinos, who do skew younger than the general population. Indeed, Sanders does worst among Caucasian respondents, a fascinating statistic given that he's the senator from Vermont, where 94% of people are white.

This chart is linked heavily to the next one, which is how they do region by region. 

The four regions that allocate the bulk of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention are the South Atlantic (16%), Pacific (16%), Mid-Atlantic (16%) and Eastern Midwest (15%).

Most of the delegates that go to the DNC are from the coasts and the Great Lakes region, but the early states are in the Western Midwest, New England, the South Atlantic, and Mountain regions. 

Everyone's got their base of support. Biden does best in the Mid-Atlantic and South, where African Americans make up a large percentage of the primary electorate. Warren's a coastal candidate, doing well in her New England home base but also the West Coast. Sanders does best out West, in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Mayor Pete is really interesting: he does merely okay in the eastern Midwest, where South Bend is. But he does really well in New England, where he went to college in Boston. Well, not in Boston, but nearby. (No, not Tufts.)

Other candidates have their bases of support: Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a force to be reckoned with in the Western Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic is Bloomberg country and Yang is a West Coast candidate. 

Candidates come from different wings of the party, and that's also going to be a major factor in this election.

We ask respondents what best describes their political views, asking them to choose between "Very liberal,""Moderately liberal,""Slightly liberal,""Neither liberal nor conservative,""Slightly conservative,""Moderately conservative" and "Very conservative."

Naturally, most of the people who said they were going to participate in the Democratic primary identified as some degree of liberal: 22% said very, 34% said moderately, and 14% said slightly liberal. Another 15% said they weren't liberal or conservative.

Some candidates like Biden, Yang, and Bloomberg appeal more the the slightly liberal contingent in the party. Others like Warren, Sanders, and Castroare most appealing to the very liberal wing. In the middle are candidates like Booker, Klobuchar, and Buttigieg, who thrive among the part of the party that self-described as moderately liberal. 

(Altogether, 11% of respondents who said they'd participate in the Democratic primary identified as some degree of conservative, which is fairly normal — Trump is a unique opponent to say the least, and there are lots of reasons why a generally liberal or conservative worldview does not define an individuals vote — but those were left off this chart for sample size purposes. Worth highlighting is that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard does remarkably well among this group of people.)

This chart is instructive, because it's simply not possible to assemble a winning coalition of Democrats without being a little appealing to people across the party.

•  
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• POWER RANKING: Here's who has the best chance of becoming the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee

• The Bernie Bro is over. Introducing the Yang Bro, the Bloomberg Bro, and the Gabbard Bro.