😵‍💫📚 Why is Gen Z collecting ... junk?

🍹We’ve been stirring up a brand new event. Tickets are LIVE for B-Side’s first-ever cocktail making class, hosted by Trillium on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. in the brewery’s vibey Headroom space. You’ll be met with a cocktail, which you can sip on while you make your own (yup, that’s two drinks for $20). B-Side Members get $5 off!

🎂 Also: Free cake alert! To celebrate its 25th b-day, Flour Cafe + Bakery’s South End location is serving up complimentary cake today only. Sounds like breakfast to us.

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Gen Z’s favorite new hobby? Collecting trash. No, seriously! Junk journaling, a.k.a. gathering and collaging the day-to-day “junk” you might otherwise throw away, is proving to be wildly popular among young people.

Here’s what to know:

📚 Think of it as scrapbooking’s unhinged sibling. Let’s just say, if you had a well-worn “Wreck This Journal” back in 2007, you already know the vibe. While scrapbookers generally use pre-bought materials to make each page and memory look picture-perfect, junk journaling is the opposite. From the materials (often, literal garbage) to the execution, junk journaling is meant to be a lower-stakes, more in-the-moment process. See: This completed junk journal full of receipts, food labels, and pamphlets. 

🖍️ It’s a way to record memories without the pressure of perfection. “You [don’t] necessarily have to write a whole page about your experience, but it still fulfills [the practice of] holding onto [a] special memory,” Lauren Clark, owner of journal supply shop Found and Flowered, told Boston.com. Which can be great for the folks who might find writing pages upon pages about their thoughts — let alone turning them into something aesthetically pleasing — to be the opposite of relaxing. 

😵‍💫 Which makes it a great hobby for burned out girlbosses. We already know that analog, “granny” hobbies can do wonders for young people’s mental health. But sometimes, these hobbies require more time, energy, and frankly, cash, than most young people have. The beauty of junk journaling is that it has a low point of entry, and it can be as meticulous or as mindless as you need it to be. Plus, slowing down and finding the beauty in everyday objects = a recipe for more gratitude.

✨ That said, if you *want* to make your journal look pretty, no one’s stopping you. While some “purist” junk journalers insist it only “counts” if you use items you’d naturally find in your day-to-day life, others supplement their junk with pre-bought stickers and photos. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter, Clark said. The first rule of junk journaling? There are no rules.

✂️ All you need to start is a journal, a glue stick, and some junk! Some popular items for junk journaling include food labels and wrappers, junk mail, greeting cards, business cards, and ticket stubs. From there, just whip out your glue stick and get started. Found and Flowered holds monthly free junk journaling workshops, including one on Sept. 25!

🧾 Intrigued? You can read Boston.com’s full story about junk journaling here.

💛 🖤 Trends come and go, but nothing stays timeless like the Spoked-B. The Boston Bruins’ new home and away jerseys are now on sale, bringing back the iconic throwback look from ’48–’85 with a fresh twist: a bold gold “B” at home, a crisp black “B” on the road, plus vintage stripes, and a new bear patch detail. Consider it the ultimate Boston uniform — on and off the ice. Shop now online or at the ProShop powered by ’47.

🚇 President Trump’s latest local target: The MBTA. The Trump admin is back in Boston’s business, this time threatening to withhold the MBTA’s federal funding over apparent safety concerns. Per a letter from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Boston is “on notice” to crack down on the system’s alleged “crime, vagrancy, and fare evasion,” particularly in South Station (though it doesn’t cite any actual data). The agency has two weeks to send over a breakdown of its safety strategy or face potential federal funding cuts. Though, FWIW, the MBTA doesn’t rely on federal funding for day-to-day operations. 

💬 Boston’s universities got an “F” in free speech. At least, according to a new report from free speech advocacy group FIRE. Northeastern, BU, Wellesley, and Harvard were among the report’s 166 schools to earn a failing grade (of 257 total), based on student surveys, schools’ written policies, and their IRL handling of free speech controversies. Among its other findings: Nationwide, students feel more comfortable than ever shutting down a campus speech (34% even said it’s OK to use violence). However, some experts are skeptical of FIRE’s methodology, so don’t take the data as gospel.

❤️‍🩹 This nonprofit offers local college students therapy *on wheels*. Northeastern and Harvard students have access to free therapy with licensed clinical social workers … so long as they’re cool doing it inside a parked van. No joke: The Ruderman Family Foundation, a local Jewish philanthropic org, is running a new mobile wellness initiative (essentially, Zoom therapy in a parked van) to help students access mental health resources in our era of political chaos. It’s aimed at Jewish students, but open to all, and more locations are in the works.

🌴 Boston, your tribe has spoken. And they said: The Survivor Ultimate Fan Cafe is officially open for biz! It’s an all-new, immersive fan experience operating out of the West End’s The Greatest Bar. Think: Survivor-themed decor, a Polynesian-fusion menu curated by a “Chopped” champion, puzzles and challenges from the show, and, of course, weekly watch parties (the new season premieres tomorrow!) where you *might* just see some iconic alums. Tickets are ~$30 for a 90-minute slot, with a $10 food and beverage included. Survivors ready? GO!

There’s a new kind of ATM coming to Boston this fall. An ATM … for dogs. 

Introducing: TD Bank’s new Automated Treat Machine (or ATM, for short), a small machine that resembles a standard ATM with one twist: It dispenses free treats instead of cash. 

The fancy machines are apparently fitted with paw-print mats and motion sensors to drop a treat when your pup walks up, with the goal of making branches more welcoming for customers who bring their fur babies. Here’s how it works in action. 

TD opened its first doggie ATMs in Philly and Toronto last year, but now, they’re bringing it across the country to 14 locations, including Boston. It’ll debut at the 535 Boylston Street location Oct. 4. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Claire Nicholas

🐶 Thanks for reading! Just throwing this out there for all of our bank exec readers: An ATM that dispenses free treats … for humans.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor,  The Boston Bruins, for supporting local journalism and the fans who bleed black and gold. 

🥶 The results are in: 62% of B-Siders say they cover their own heating bills, and are bracing for impact this winter. One reader said: “Which landlords are covering heat? And where do I find them?!”

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