Oak & Lever

Coming soon · iPhoneMonday, October 26No account · No ads

Daily Small Talk

One good thing to say, every day.

A conversation starter each morning, drawn from the day’s news and from what happened on this date. You get the story, enough context to hold your end, a line you can actually say out loud, and an answer ready if they ask.

Today’s lineScienceSafe

This year’s Ig Nobel prizes honored research on wealthy people taking kids’ candy.

The annual Ig Nobel awards celebrate quirky scientific studies that make people laugh and think. Winners received defunct ten-trillion-dollar bills from Zimbabwe.

Say this

Apparently an Ig Nobel prize went to a study showing wealthy people are more likely to steal kids’ sweets. People study the strangest things.

Tap to copy

Learn more · The Guardian ☆ Save

A sample card from the app. The real ones are written fresh each morning.

An opening, not a briefing

You aren’t arriving as the expert. You’re raising something lightly and handing over, so the other person gets to talk. Every card has five parts:

  1. The hook. The story in one sentence.
  2. Context. Enough not to be stranded, short enough to read in the lift.
  3. Say this. Written to be said, not read. Tap to copy.
  4. If they ask. The likeliest follow-up and an honest answer, including “I only read the headline” when that’s the truth.
  5. Learn more. The original article, so you can stand behind what you said.

From the morning’s news, picked on your phone

Early each morning a small set of cards is written from public headlines and Wikipedia’s On this day. Everyone gets the same set. Each card is tagged with a topic and a spice level, and the app matches the set to your topics and spice level on the device. Your preferences never leave it.

On the wire

  • NPR
  • BBC
  • The Guardian
  • Ars Technica
  • Hacker News
  • ESPN
  • Atlas Obscura
  • Smithsonian
  • Wikipedia’s On this day

Before you leave the house

Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets show the line itself, cut to about ten words, because at a glance you need the thing to say, not the headline. Tap it to open that card.

A daily reminder at the time you pick, scheduled on your iPhone. We never send a push.

Save the good ones for the dinner you’re dreading on Friday.

Turn the dial

Every card is labelled before you say it. The dial sets a ceiling, not an exact level: choose Spicy and you still get the safe ones, it just stops holding anything back. Colour on a card only ever means this.

Spice

Arts & cultureSafe

A New York exhibition is celebrating Snoopy’s influence on fashion and art.

Say thisNot sure if you saw, but there’s a new exhibition in New York all about Snoopy’s impact on fashion. He really is an icon.

Smithsonian

ScienceBalanced

New research indicates farmed salmon contains fewer omega-3 fatty acids than before.

Say thisTurns out farmed salmon doesn’t have nearly as many omega-3s as it used to. Seems like dietary advice needs an update.

Ars Technica

ScienceSpicy

Scientists presented edible cookies made from recycled plastic at a chemistry conference.

Say thisDid you see that scientists figured out how to turn recycled plastic into edible cookies? I’m not sure I could bite into one.

NPR

Free, or unlocked once

Free

One line a day, chosen for you. One thing to remember, not a list to pick from.

Unlocked

  • Up to five cards a day, so you have somewhere to go when today’s doesn’t suit the room
  • Your spice level: safe, up to spicy, or one of each
  • Your topics: turn off politics, sport, whatever you never want to bring up
  • Difficult news, if you want it, labelled Heavy

One in-app purchase. Nothing renews and nothing expires.

Notice

No account, no analytics, no ads. Topics, spice level, saved cards and what you’ve already seen live on your iPhone. Read the privacy policy.

Questions

When can I get it?

Daily Small Talk is finished and on its way to the App Store for iPhone. There is no download link yet; this page will have one the day it’s live.

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up and no login. Open it and today’s line is there.

Where do the cards come from?

From public headlines and Wikipedia’s “On this day”, read once each morning. Each card is written with an AI model and then checked by plain rules before it’s published: the line you say stays short, a heavy story can’t be framed breezily, and the Learn more link has to be the real article it came from.

What about sad or difficult news?

Deaths, disasters and court cases are real things people talk about, so they aren’t silently dropped. They carry a Heavy label, are written plainly, and you decide whether you see them. A short list of subjects never appears at all.

What does it cost?

The app is free and gives you one line a day, chosen for you. A single in-app purchase unlocks the rest. It’s one payment, not a subscription.

Does it know what I like?

Your phone does; we don’t. Everyone downloads the same day’s cards, and the app picks yours on the device. See the privacy policy.

Does it work offline?

Yes, once the day’s cards are on your phone. Only the Learn more links need a connection.

Something else? Email support@oakandlever.com.

Walk in with something to say.

Daily Small Talk is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone.