Too Expensive to Be Funny

Good values. Bad bureaucracy.

📡 On my Radar

Conan O’Brien knows why film production is leaving Los Angeles.

While hosting the Oscars this year, he had an idea for a quick visual gag. During a commercial break, the camera would catch him backstage, rolling around on the floor with nine golden retrievers. Pure joy. Then the music would cue him to the stage. Handlers would rush in with huge lint brushes, mussing his hair and face, and he’d walk out as if nothing happened and start his monologue.

Then he found out those nine seconds would cost $30,000 to film.

Turns out the rules around filming with animals have gotten complicated. The dogs would need to be acclimated to each other for weeks. They’d need to live together. Their handlers would need to live with them. And someone would have to pay for the time, the housing, the meals.

Conan scrapped the bit. What he wanted wasn’t possible or affordable … at least not in LA.

This small story points to a much bigger problem: Like many other states, California has become too expensive for most Americans.

The state now has the highest cost-of-living-adjusted poverty rate in the country. An ER visit here costs $3,238. In Maryland it costs $682. 42,000 film jobs have disappeared from L.A. County in two years. Productions aren’t leaving for the weather.

Here’s what bothers me: California’s values are the right ones. It’s a good thing we care about worker protections, animal welfare, accessibility, and the environment. But when good intentions get so layered in process that a 9 second comedy bit costs 50% of a teacher’s annual salary, something has broken.

The values haven’t failed. The implementation has.

📈 By the Numbers

👊🏽 Make a Difference

9 jobs | 2 opportunities | 1 fellowship

FELLOWSHIP | The Difference Engine at ASU has two open spots for its Distinguished Innovation Fellows program. Join a cohort of leaders working at the intersection of social impact and innovation.

JOB | Team Rubicon is hiring a Director of Business Development and a Business Development Officer for mission-driven professionals ready to serve communities in crisis.

JOB | Francesco Galtieri shares that UNFPA is seeking a Chief (D-1) in New York to lead the Programme Liaison Branch in its Programme Division.

JOB | WildCard Creative is hiring an Associate Creative Editor.

OPPORTUNITY | Roshan Paul shares a fully-funded hiring strategy support program for US-based climate nonprofits, offered through Onboard Climate and Action Appointments NGO Recruitment.

JOB | Jeff Ziarnik at the International Law Institute in Washington DC is hiring a Project and Growth Administrator.

JOB (3) | The California Civil Rights Department is hiring investigators to resolve civil rights complaints, conducting interviews, research, and analysis of state law.

OPPORTUNITY | Judy Belk shares the 2026 Georgetown University Executive Certificate in Philanthropic Leadership is open for applications, sponsored by the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership. Scholarships available.

JOB | The City of Long Beach is recruiting a Business Engagement Officer to lead workforce and economic development strategies and strengthen employer partnerships across the city.

🤓 This is Your Next

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, by Adam Grant.

🙌🏽 FairNation

The Onion takes over InfoWars. Timeline goes from “darkest” to just “dark”