Technology

&Insatiable,& the Netflix comedy about an overweight high school girl who suddenly becomes slim and beautiful thanks to having her jaw wired shut for a summer, has beendrawing controversy ever since its first trailer went online.

The reviews for the show were almost uniformly negative, yet they didn&t quite prepare me for the terribleness of the initial episodes, which alternate between feeble attempts to mine humor from hot-button issues like sexual assault and suicide, and even feebler attempts to treat those issues seriously.

To help me figure out just what makes this show so bad, I was joined by Original Content‘s original co-host, Darrell Etherington. Our ultimate question: Is this the worst thing we&ve watched for the podcast (Yes.)

We also discuss the fact that Henry Cavill has been cast as the lead in Netflixadaptation of the &Witcher& video game franchise.

This episode was actually recorded more than a week ago, but I didn&t get time to edit it until after Disrupt SF. So much has happened since then — like &The Witcher&‘s showrunner leaving Twitter and Cavill apparently departing the role of Superman. (Plus, somehow, &Insatiable& has been renewed for a second season.)Still, the initial news gave us an opportunity to weigh the relative merits of the &Mission Impossible& movies, and to discuss my favorite subject, Supermaninvisible mustache in &Justice League&.

You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcastsor find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You also can send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)

Editornote: This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutterindependently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and TechCrunch may earn affiliate commissions.

If you only have one smart home device, itlikely something simple and fun like a voice-controlled speaker or color-changing LED light bulb. As you expand your smart home setup, you can begin to swap out gear that isn&t as flashy but you still use everyday.

Switching to connected locks, power outlets and smoke alarms are all simple installs that can improve your safety and comfort in your own home. We&ve pulled together some of our favorite essentials made smart for anyone looking to upgrade.

Smart lock: Kwikset Kevo Smart Lock 2nd Gen

The Kwikset Kevo Smart Lock 2nd Gen is the most versatile smart lock that we&ve tested. Whether you prefer to use a wireless fob, smartphone app or key, you&ll be able to control the lock with all of them. When we compared it to similar models, the KevoBluetooth-activated tap-to-unlock mechanism was the easiest to use.

The second generation of the Kevo improved on security and has all-metal internal components for better protection against forced break-in attempts. With the optional Kevo Plus upgrade, you&ll add the ability to control the lock remotely and receive status-monitoring updates.

Photo: Liam McCabe

Robot Vacuum: iRobot Roomba 960

If cleaning is neither your forte or preferred pastime, a robot vacuum will come in handy. Our upgrade pick, the iRobot Roomba 960, is one of the most powerful models that we tested. It can be controlled through the iRobot Home app and uses a bump-and-track navigation system that helps vacuum an entire floor without missing spots.

If its battery is running low during a session, it&ll return to its dock to power up before finishing the job. Iteasy to disassemble for maintenance and is equipped with repairable parts that make it worth its price over some of our less serviceable picks.

Photo: Rachel Cericola

Plug-in Smart Outlet: Belkin Wemo Mini

We tested 26 smart outlet models over more than 45 hours and chose the Belkin Wemo Mini Wi-Fi plug as our top pick. If you&ve ever thought it&d be nice to remotely turn on or off home essentials such as lamps, air conditionersand fans from your smartphone, plugging them into a smart outlet makes it possible.

The Wemo Mini has proven to be reliable throughout long-term testing, it doesn&t block other outlets on the same wall plate and itcompatible with iOS and Android devices and assistants, including HomeKit/Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. The interface of the Wemo app is intuitive and easy to use. You can view all of your connected devices on one screen, set powering timers and from anywhere power on or off a device plugged into the Wemo outlet.

Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Smart Thermostat: Nest Thermostat E

For a smart thermostat thataffordable and doesn&t require extensive programming, we recommend the Nest Thermostat E. After about a week, it creates a schedule after learning cooling and heating preferences that you&ve set. It isn&t compatible with as many HVAC systems as similar Nest models, but iteasy to install and doesn&t lack any features we expect.

It does come with Eco Mode — an energy-saving geofencing feature that detects when your home is empty (or when your smartphone is nowhere near your house). The Nest app uses the same technology to set the thermostat to a preferred temperature when it senses you&re on your way home. If you don&t have your smartphone on hand, you can still operate the Thermostat E by turning its outer ring and pressing selections on its touchscreen.

Photo: Michael Hession

Smart Smoke Alarm: Nest Protect

A smoke alarm is one of the most relied-upon safety devices in every home. Nonetheless, iteasy to forget to do routine checks to ensure itin tip-top shape and functioning properly. With a smart smoke alarm like the Nest Protect, we found that its simple app, self-tests, monthly sound checks and consistent alerts are enough to keep fire safety worries at bay.

It isn&t difficult to install, has a sleek design and integrates with other smart home devices like the Nest Cam (which can record video of a fire) and the Nest Learning Thermostat (which shuts down HVAC systems that may be the cause of a fire). Itsensitive to fast- and slow-burning fires, plus it monitors homes for both smoke and carbon monoxide.

These picks may have been updated by Wirecutter.When readers choose to buy Wirecutterindependently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and TechCrunch may earn affiliate commissions.

In venture capital, a variant on the Glengarry Glen Ross mandate is most fund managers& modus operandi: Always. Be. Raising.

And it seems like VCs have picked up on that. In the last few months, even casual readers of the tech press would notice many, many stories about VCs raising big new funds. So are venture investors spinning up new funds as often as they did in the past

VCs are certainly raising tons of money, and Crunchbase News reported earlier this week that these huge funds arebending the shape of the VC fundraising curveupward. But is that the full story Even though 2018 has been a banner year so far for venture fund origination on the highest end of the assets-under-management spectrum, what about the market as a whole

Aggregatedventure capital and micro VC fundraising datafrom Crunchbase suggests that U.S.-based firms are spinning up fewer new funds than they did just a couple of years ago. In other words, the peak might be in.

Lettake a look at the numbers, which we&ve segmented by U.S. Census region.

There are a few trends to glean from the chart above, and it comes down to pace and scale.

We&re able to see how the pace of venture fund creation varies by region. In the highly unlikely event you didn&t already know that the East and West coasts are responsible for the bulk of venture fund creation, the above chart makes that fact plainly obvious.

And at least when it comes to investors from Western and Eastern states, the difference is one of scale rather than direction. As the count of funds raised rises in the East, so it goes in the West.

Our data suggest that, in aggregate, new fund creation hit a local maximum in 2016. With more than 260 new funds announced that year, ita record that stretches back at least to the time of the first dot-com collapse — if itnot an all-time record on its own.