Author: openjargon

• Elon Musk shared some of his favorite podcasts and audiobooks on a recent livestream.
• He said he's "a big history guy" and named several including "The Explorers" and "Hardcore History."
• Here's the full list of recommendations he shared.

Elon Musk recently shared some of his favorite podcasts, and —spoiler alert — they're mostly on the subject of history.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was asked for podcast recommendations on a stream on his platform X, formerly Twitter, last week.

"I like history podcasts in general," he said, according to one Tesla fan's recap of the 5-hour livestream. "I just generally love history. Any kind of narrative is just a story really, it's a story about reality or at least someone's perception of reality."

Musk named the "Explorers Podcast," which focuses on "the lives, explorations and discoveries of history's greatest explorers," according to its website. He's also a fan of "The Age of Napoleon Podcast," which is described as centering on "the life and career of Napoleon Bonaparte as well as the general context of Europe between the early eighteenth and early nineteenth century."

Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" podcast — known for its "unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists," according to its Apple Podcasts page — is "probably my top recommendation," Musk said.

Musk also shared some of his favorites in another medium: audiobooks. He likes "The Story of Civilization" by Will and Ariel Durant as well as the Penguin edition of "The Iliad."

Musk has recommended several other books over the years, including sci-fi novels and books on artificial intelligence.

• Many Americans are struggling, but make too much money to qualify for social assistance.
• That's because the US poverty line is outdated, leaving behind workers who could benefit from help.
• Experts suggest modernizing poverty measures to reflect real costs and provide better access to aid.

Jason Hopkins, 43, has never made over $35,000 a year.

"If I made $45,000 a year, I would feel wealthy," the Illinois-based custodian told Business Insider.

Hopkins said he's lived paycheck to paycheck for the last decade. He's unable to save money from his income and doesn't go out; he buys a new shirt once a year. Existing like that is "draining," he said.

But he makes too much money for most forms of social assistance. This is a common predicament among Americans who are ALICE — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. Many forms of help are tied to the federal poverty line, which is calculated using a formula that has largely not been updated since the 1960s.

"The way we measure poverty is incredibly outdated," said Beth Jarosz, senior program director at the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit organization that conducts demographic analyses.

BI has heard stories from parents forced to choose between putting food on the table and supporting their children's education, older adults worried they will never be able to retire, childfree couples unable to access social services, and individuals concerned they will never be able to pay down debt.

These households could use more access to social assistance — but the US' poverty threshold is leaving them behind. If America modernized its way of measuring economic needs, millions of low-income families could better make ends meet. The real question is whether the US ever will.

The poverty line is calculated in an outdated way

The current federal poverty line for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, is $15,060 a year for one person, $20,440 for a family of two, and $31,200 for a family of four. This does not vary by location or cost of living, but it's adjusted for inflation each year.

"Straight up, it is too low. It is not a sufficient way to measure how current families are doing," Kyle Ross, a policy analyst for inclusive economy at the Center for American Progress, told BI.

Per the most recent Census data, the official poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5%, or about 37.9 million Americans. In 2022, 42% of Americans were below the ALICE threshold, the amount households need to cover their essential costs, according to research organization United For ALICE.

Mollie Orshansky, a government worker, originally estimated the federal poverty line formula in the 1960s using USDA data, which showed people often spent around a third of their income on food.

But that doesn't account for how Americans actually live. Americans now spend just around 13% of their income on groceries, as food prices have fallen relative to incomes and housing costs have risen disproportionately. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people spent 33.3% of their income on housing last year.

"With the way that costs have changed, the poverty measure that's just based on how much you're spending on groceries really does not reflect what people are paying for their expenses today," Jarosz said.

Over 30 government programs use the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines — or higher percentages based on the federal poverty line — to determine eligibility criteria.

For instance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is capped at 130% of the federal poverty line — which would be $2,694 in gross monthly income for a family of three — while the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is 185% — $47,767 a year for a family of three. Head Start, the National School Lunch Program, and parts of Medicare and Medicaid are among other programs relying on federal poverty line eligibility.

Notably, some outlier programs like Supplemental Security Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Section 8 low-income housing assistance do not rely on the federal poverty line.

"So much of federal policy, state policy is focused around the poverty level," Stephanie Hoopes, national director at United For ALICE, told BI.

That's all leading to an ever-widening gap of Americans who are technically in poverty but still aren't getting by.

"These thresholds have a cliff problem where they often become a trap where you have someone who is at a very low-income level and work because oftentimes programs have work requirements," Jarosz said. "Maybe over the holidays, they get an additional shift that they've picked up, and that bumps their income up just enough that they lose their Medicaid coverage that month."

That financial cliff has left people like Melinda Binkley, 56, "less than $100" away from receiving SNAP or rental assistance but struggling to keep a roof over her family's head in Stillwater, Minnesota. Ryan Arbuckle, 36, also doesn't qualify for government help on his IT job salary. He's a single father to five children near St. Louis and can barely afford groceries and utility bills.

Oleg Parubin, a 45-year-old security guard in Manhattan, makes $45,000 a year but struggles to afford insulin for his Type 1 diabetes and worries about eviction. Once he started making more at his job, he became ineligible for various benefits such as SNAP or reduced-fare transportation, which he estimates amounted to over $10,000 a year in lost benefits.

"I wasn't able to find an answer to how people can make it today, " Parubin said. "I just decided it is a faulty system, something is broken and doesn't work properly. But I still don't know what can I do."

To survive, these Americans who fall outside financial safety nets have resorted to selling plasma for extra income, skipping meals, and risking the loss of their electricity or water supply because of delayed bill payments.

"It really creates a lot of additional stress and burden on families in a case where having consistent benefits available to everybody would be much more efficient for society as a whole," Jarosz said.

There are better ways to calculate poverty

Though many experts agree the poverty line is outdated, it's still used to determine cutoffs for a slew of federal assistance programs, leaving people like Melissa Hedden behind.

Hedden, 41, has spent most of this year moving between Airbnbs and hotels in southeastern North Carolina with her partner and 11-year-old daughter. Her family's landlord raised the rent and evicted them last fall, and she can't afford the fees necessary to lease a new apartment. Still, her $3,300 monthly household income is too high to qualify for a rental voucher.

"I'm not homeless enough to get certain help because I have a roof over my head," she previously told BI. "But I'm too homeless to get a job because I don't know where I'm going to live in three weeks. What do you do?"

Much of the resistance to changing the federal poverty line could stem from the government's desire not to inflate the number of people in poverty overnight.

"No one really wants to be the politician that is behind an increase in poverty," Ross said, adding: "Even if it may be a more accurate representation of how Americans are really doing financially, it looks pretty concerning on paper."

Expanding eligibility would also mean that, intuitively, more people would receive assistance — and that could cost a lot more money.

"It can definitely be a costly measure to do that," Ross said. "I personally think that would be worth it; already, these programs are not meeting the needs of families as they are."

Other barriers to updating the poverty line are political. Congress would need to pass legislation in order to officially change the way the US measures economic need, or the Biden administration would have to step in, which would both be unlikely in such a polarized political environment.

Bills that expand social services and tax credits are also expensive and historically difficult to pass — most recently, with the expanded child tax credit being stalled in the Senate, and plans to expand Medicaid being blocked in multiple states this year.

Experts differ on how to fix poverty measures, but there is already progress on solutions

While researchers differ on how the poverty line should be tweaked, many agree it needs an overhaul.

"We know the poverty level is too low to reflect the true number of people who are in need," Jarosz said. "Is there really a need to have a threshold? Is there really a need to have a cap?"

And Ross said that even if thresholds don't change, programs could still work to eliminate many barriers to entry, like burdensome application processes — making them more accessible to people who do qualify.

Rep. Kevin Mullin, a Democrat from California, has introduced legislation — called the Poverty Line Act— that would modernize the federal poverty line, taking into account actual costs of goods and how prices differ across regions.

"The current poverty line is woefully out of touch with the realities that Americans face today," Mullin told BI in a statement, noting that the line doesn't account for how costs vary across the country — especially for key essentials like childcare and home rentals.

"Unfortunately, many working families make too little to afford their basic needs, yet because the federal poverty line is so low, they are not eligible for safety net benefits," Mullin added.

The federal poverty line probably won't be changed for some time, Jarosz said, given how many benefits programs rely on it. Still, there is precedent for programs providing more widespread boosts or sidestepping stringent eligibility and spending requirements.

The universal or guaranteed basic income model, which typically gives participants between $100 and $1,000 a month with no strings attached, has been tried over 100 times since 2019 and has helped thousands of households find housing and food security.

Unlike traditional social services like SNAP or Medicaid, participants can spend the money wherever they need it most. Basic income gives households an income floor, said Michael Tubbs, the founder and chair of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and former mayor of Stockon, California, which launched the recent wave of GBI pilots.

"The top benefit is the choice and the ability to have agency and to figure out how to use your money because we know that no one's smart enough to think for everyone," Tubbs said.

Hopkins — the ALICE in Illinois — has benefited from government assistance before. When the pandemic hit, he received enhanced unemployment benefits and a stimulus check — two measures that, unlike many other forms of social assistance, were widely available and not constrained by the federal poverty line.

For him, that unprecedented support meant he could buy a house with his fiancé and live alongside two other roommates.

"The only way I could afford the down payment on this house is from the expanded unemployment during the pandemic and the stimulus," he said. "If we didn't have this house, I don't know how we would live."

Do you make above the poverty line but not enough to meet your daily needs? Reach out to these reporters at jkaplan@businessinsider.com, nsheidlower@businessinsider.com, and allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.

• Giraffes have the longest necks of any living animal but scientists can't agree on why. 
• Scientists largely agree that males drove the evolution of long necks to compete for mates.
• But a new study offers clues to the contrary, challenging the leading "necks for sex" theory.

Giraffes didn't always look like the elegant giants we recognize — ancient giraffes looked more like deer. But something happened over the past millennia that drove giraffes to evolve the longest necks of any living animal.

What that driver was, however, has been the subject of a 150-year-long debate among evolutionary biologists.

In the 19th century, Charles Darwin and Jean Baptiste Lamarck suggested that giraffes evolved long necks to help them snatch leaves on trees. A later theory usurped Darwin and Lamarck's, suggesting that male giraffes evolved long necks to fight and compete for female mates. This "necks for sex" idea has been the leading theory since the late '90s. But that may soon change.

A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Mammalian Biology offers new clues to the debate that could prove Darwin and Lamarck may have been at least partially right all along.

Size doesn't always matter

Male giraffes have longer necks than females. For that reason, biologists have speculated that males drove the evolution of this physical feature.

Lead author of the new study, Douglas Cavener, wasn't entirely convinced. Yes, males have longer necks, but everything else on them is larger too, Cavener, who is a professor of biology at Penn State, told BI.

"I realized that the important question was, 'Do males have proportionally longer necks compared to the rest of their body?'" Cavener said.

So he and his colleagues — including his wife and daughter, who are co-authors on the paper — started to investigate. They estimated neck length from photos of adult Masai giraffes, a species of giraffe native to Tanzania and southern Kenya in East Africa.

They counted pixels in each photo of both captive and wild giraffes to measure various body parts including the neck, legs, and body trunk. When they crunched the numbers, Cavener and his colleagues discovered that the males fell short.

"What we found was pretty surprising, which was that females have proportionately longer necks than males, just the opposite of the prediction," Cavener said, adding that "it turns out that females also have longer trunks proportionally."

"So that kind of turned things upside down," Cavener said.

Why giraffes have long necks

Female giraffes give birth about every two years. Gestation takes about 15 months. So, that means they're pregnant or lactating most of their reproductive lives, Cavener said.

That requires a lot of energy. But female giraffes are picky eaters, so "they'll telescope their neck into a bush to really get" the best leaves, Cavener said.

Cavener said she thinks that because females are consistently in need of more energy and nutrition, this is what drove ancient giraffes to develop such long necks over millennia.

"It sort of goes back to Darwin and Lamarck's theory that this was likely driven by competition for food rather than for mating success. But the important twist is it puts the emphasis on females rather than males," Cavener added.

Cavener said this may be the first study to suggest that females, not males, are the reason for giraffes' long necks. That's important not only for understanding giraffe evolution but how male and female giraffes behave differently, which could help with conservation efforts.

"This study, for me, highlights the importance of understanding the different behavioral strategies used by males and females in their skills for survival," and how those strategies can drive evolution in a species long-term, Zoe Raw — a behavioral biologist and giraffe expert who wasn't involved with the research — told Business Insider over e-mail.

Cavener's study is part of a larger effort to help preserve the species. In 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed Masai giraffes as endangered. Illegal poaching and other human interference have decimated the population. Hunting Masai giraffes is illegal in East Africa, but poachers still track them down for bushmeat and the purported health benefits in their bone marrow and brains.

While there's typically pushback anytime a new idea enters the conversation, Raw said the new study is convincing enough to challenge the leading "necks for sex" theory.

"Nothing can ever 'prove' what causes evolution, but as far as developing a robust and realistic, evidence-based theory, I think this paper has nailed it," Raw said.

• Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in September 2016.
• A judge officially ruled both stars legally single in 2019. 
• The former couple share six children: Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Pax, Knox, and Vivienne. 

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been embroiled in a messy legal battle since ending their relationship. 

Jolie first filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016, two years after the pair got married at their Chateau Miraval in France. A judge declared both actors legally single in 2019.   

The biggest stake in the divorce continues to be the custody arrangements for the couple's youngest children.

In 2021, Pitt was awarded joint custody of his six children with Jolie, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Business Insider. Page Six first reported the news.

"Pitt has always been seeking the opportunity to have more time with his children and prioritized their well being while the other side did everything to try and stop that," the source, whose identity is known to BI but is being withheld due to the nature of the information, said at the time.

Then, in a 2022 court filing, Jolie accused Pitt of choking one of their children and striking another on a September 2016 flight. 

Here's a primer on all of the Jolie-Pitt children.

Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 22

Maddox was adopted by Jolie in 2002 from Cambodia and originally changed his name from Rath Vibol to Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie when she was still married to Billy Bob Thornton.

The following year, Jolie opened a foundation in Cambodia (now the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation) which helps provide healthcare, education, and conservation projects. In 2006, a children's center was opened under his name in Cambodia's capital.

Maddox had a small part in Pitt's 2013 movie "World War Z," playing a zombie who was shot. Maddox also helped his mother with work on a Netflix original film based in his home country of Cambodia. Jolie directed and produced an adaptation of the Loung Ung memoir, "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers."

"The film will change Mad, but as much as he's discovering the horrors of the past, he'll also be discovering the culture before the war, the dignity of his country, how they held their heads up," Jolie told Vogue in 2015 of Maddox's role working on the film.

Pitt formally applied to adopt Maddox in 2005 at the same time he applied to adopt the couple's other adopted daughter, Zahara.

It has also been reported that an alleged fight between Pitt and Maddox on a plane trip may have played a role in Jolie's decision to file for divorce. In a statement released by Jolie's attorney at the time of the announcement, it was said the decision to divorce "was made for the health of the family."

The FBI cleared Pitt of child abuse allegations in November 2016.

Maddox studied at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. In a 2020 interview with Extra, Jolie said Maddox returned to the US to take his classes online during the pandemic.

In February 2021, Maddox showed off the large dragon tattoo he had inked on his right ribcage in a photo British Vogue published of Jolie cutting her son's hair. The photo was among several intimate at-home snapshots Jolie shared for the magazine's March cover story.

In April 2023, Maddox and Jolie attended a state dinner at the White House hosted by President Joe Biden in honor of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, 19

Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005, right after Independence Day.

Zahara also provided her voice in "Kung Fu Panda 3" and has a small uncredited role in "Maleficent."

In 2011, Jolie started work on an Ethiopian facility to be named after her daughter for children who have been diagnosed with HIV or tuberculosis.

Zahara appears to be pretty close with sister Shiloh. The two have been seen out on shopping excursions together and attended Nickelodeon's 28th annual Kids' Choice Awards in 2015 with Angelina Jolie.

In 2019, Zahara launched a jewelry line, Zahara Collection, in collaboration with jeweler Robert Procop.

Jolie revealed in a March 2020 Time essay for International Women's Day that she "spent the last two months in and out of surgeries with my eldest daughter," referring to Zahara, but did not disclose the "medical challenges" her daughter was facing. A source told ET that month that Pitt had skipped that year's BAFTAs to be with Zahara during her recovery.

In October 2021, Zahara wore her mother's 2014 Oscars dress to the world premiere of Marvel's "Eternals." At the time, Jolie told Entertainment Tonight that all five kids who attended the event upcycled some of the stars' old belongings.

In late 2021, Zahara joined Jolie in Washington, DC, as the actor headed to meetings to "modernize and strengthen" the Violence Against Women Act.

Zahara started classes at Spelman College in Atlanta in fall 2022. The following year, she joined Spelman's Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. In a video posted by Essence, she referred to herself as Zahara Marley Jolie, but it's unclear if she legally changed her name.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, 18

Pitt and Jolie's first biological daughter was born in May 2006. People paid a reported $4 million for the exclusive US rights to run the first photos of Shiloh.

When young, Shiloh preferred dressing in masculine clothes — fedoras and sometimes ties. In 2008, Pitt explained to Oprah how then-2-year-old Shiloh would ask to be called John.

Two years later, Jolie opened up to Vanity Fair about their daughter.

"She likes tracksuits, she likes [regular] suits," Jolie said. "She likes to dress like a boy. She wants to be a boy. So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys' everything. She thinks she's one of the brothers."

As she got older, Shiloh debuted a new look with longer hair, which she often wears up when attending events with her family.

Shiloh may have ditched suits for the time being, but often opts for fun and comfortable shoes over heels on red carpets.

Jolie wrote in the same March 2020 Time essay where she discussed Zahara's surgery that another of her daughters underwent hip surgery around the same time. The actor didn't specify whether she was talking about Shiloh or her youngest daughter, Vivienne, but People confirmed at the time that then-13-year-old Shiloh had been photographed walking on crutches. 

In 2022, Shiloh went viral after dancing to Doja Cat's song, "Vegas," which is featured in the movie "Elvis," in a video posted by choreographer Hamilton Evans. 

On her 18th birthday on May 27, Shiloh filed to legally change her name to Shiloh Jolie, TMZ and People reported. 

As for Pitt's response, a source told People: "He's aware and upset that Shiloh dropped his last name. He's never felt more joy than when she was born. He always wanted a daughter."

"The reminders that he's lost his children, is of course not easy for Brad. He loves his children and misses them. It's very sad," the source added.

Pax Jolie-Pitt, 20

Jolie's second oldest son, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, was adopted in 2007 from Vietnam when he was 3 years old. His name means peaceful sky in Latin and Vietnamese, respectively. Pitt adopted Pax a year later in 2008.

Pax, along with his brother Maddox, has shown off some cool hairstyles over the years ranging from mohawks to dyed looks. He celebrated his seventh birthday with the family in Paris, where they rode in a hot-air balloon and went on a party cruise. That same year, in 2011, Jolie took Pax back to Vietnam for a visit so he could learn more about his culture. 

A zip-up shark hoodie became a staple outfit of his to hide from the paparazzi. 

Like some of his siblings, he also had a small role in one of his parents' films. He had a small uncredited role in Jolie's "Maleficent." Pax also recorded some animal noises for pandas in "Kung Fu Panda 3" along with his siblings Zahara, Shiloh, and Knox. Pax was reportedly helping Jolie with her Netflix film by taking still photos on set.

Jolie revealed during a 2016 appearance on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour that Pax has an interest in music and deejaying. 

In 2021, Pax graduated from a Los Angeles high school. According to The Sun, he skipped his graduation, not wanting to draw attention at the event.

Vivienne and Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt, 15

Fraternal twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline were born on July 12, 2008. Knox is the middle name of Pitt's grandfather and Leon is the name of Jolie's great-great-grandfather. Marcheline is the name of Jolie's mother. 

In 2011, Jolie described Vivienne, whom she refers to as Vivi, as a "girly girl" who likes to get her nails done and loves the color pink. Jolie used the words "elegant and delicate" to describe her youngest daughter to Marie Claire in 2011. Meanwhile, Knox is just the opposite, according to Jolie, who described him then as a tough little "dude" who likes dinos and swords.

Vivienne played a pint-sized version of Princess Aurora in "Maleficent" alongside her mom, a role for which she reportedly earned $3,000 per week. Knox, meanwhile, recorded animal noises for "Kung Fu Panda 3," in which Jolie voiced Tigress.

The twins modeled in Vogue alongside their siblings and parents for the magazine's November 2015 issue. Jolie told Vanity Fair that Vivienne wanted to learn Arabic while Knox was learning sign language.

And Knox may have a future in design. For Mother's Day in 2014, Knox had one of his Maleficent drawings turned into a gold ring. Vivienne, meanwhile, practices karate.

Knox and Vivienne spend a lot of time with their mom, accompanying her to the grocery store, heading to a musical, and going on a theme park outing. Five of the Jolie-Pitt clan joined their mother at the premieres of her 2021 Marvel movie, "Eternals."

Recently, Vivienne and Jolie attended the red carpet premiere of the Broadway show" The Outsiders: A New Musical," which the actor produced. Vivienne is listed as "Vivienne Jolie" in the Playbill, but it's unclear if she legally changed her name.

On Sunday, the mother-daughter duo wore color-coordinated outfits to the 2024 Tony Awards, where Jolie won her first Tony for producing "The Outsiders: A New Musical."

"Viv reminds me of my mother in that she isn't focused on being the center of attention but in being a support to other creatives," Jolie said in a statement obtained and shared by People in August. "She's very thoughtful and serious about theatre and working hard to best understand how to contribute."

• Accusations of sexual violence and cannibalism against Armie Hammer began surfacing in January 2021.
• After investigating Hammer, TMZ reported the LAPD closed the case without pressing charges.
• Hammer addressed the allegations and his downfall in a new interview on the "Painful Lessons" podcast.

Armie Hammer has been the subject of intense scrutiny since claims of a cannibalism fetish began spreading in January 2021, when an anonymous Instagram account posted unverified purported DMs with the actor. 

In his first interview since the scandal, Hammer told Air Mail in February 2023 that he was sexually abused by a pastor as a teenager and that he became suicidal after his downfall. He also denied any criminal wrongdoing, saying instead that he never pushed BDSM relationships or encounters on anyone. He echoed the same statements in an interview on the "Painful Lessons" podcast in June 2024.

A woman also accused him of a "violent" rape that took place in 2017 and spoke at a press conference in March 2021.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed to Insider the same month that it was investigating Hammer as the main suspect in a sexual assault allegation. An anonymous source told TMZ in December 2021 that the case had wrapped with the actor unlikely to face charges.

It all started when the Instagram account @houseofeffie posted dozens of screenshots of direct messages that it claimed Hammer had sent women between 2016 and 2020. The woman who shared the screenshots, who has since been identified as Efrosina Angelova, per The Hollywood Reporter, is the woman who accused Hammer of rape at the press conference in March 2021, according to Variety.

The messages in the screenshots, which are unverified, referred to fantasies involving domination and cannibalism, among other claims.

Hammer denied certain allegations against him, such as the allegation of rape, and simply avoided or refused to address others. He was dropped by two projects, including "The Offer," Paramount's series about the making of "The Godfather." He was also dropped by his agency and his publicist.

Hammer first began trending on social media in 2021 over alleged NSFW direct messages shared by the account @houseofeffie

In January 2021, an Instagram account called @houseofeffie began to share messages that the account claimed were from actor Armie Hammer. The messages, which remain unverified by media outlets including Insider, detailed fantasies including drinking blood, sexual domination, and even acts of cannibalism.

The messages began to go viral after being amplified by the Instagram gossip page @deuxmoi, which has 590,000 followers.

After @houseofeffie surfaced the claims, the account began to share other stories from women who it said had come forward with their own experiences and screenshots of their conversations with the 34-year-old "Call Me By Your Name" actor. While it is unconfirmed whether these messages are genuinely from Hammer, @houseofeffie insists they are and has tried to prove it by releasing what appear to be previously unseen photos of Hammer, which have since been deleted.

"Women approached me with their affair stories as we talked overwhelmed with grief for days and nights without sleeping or eating, with some ending up in the ER," the account admin wrote in an Instagram story, which was saved to the account's highlights reel.

"We collectively decided we have to speak out after how we were treated and seeing how the women in 2020 were being treated by him," the statement continued. "We cannot allow more women to endure what we are going through in the future."

Hammer stepped down from his next movie over what he called 'vicious and spurious online attacks' in mid-January

On January 13, 2021, days after the controversy had begun to unfold online, it was announced that Hammer had stepped down from a coming rom-com called "Shotgun Wedding," in which he was set to play the lead opposite the star and producer Jennifer Lopez.

"Given the imminent start date of 'Shotgun Wedding,' Armie has requested to step away from the film and we support him in his decision," a production representative confirmed to Insider. The role was recast with Josh Duhamel taking Hammer's place.

The actor and his team vigorously denied the allegations against him.

"I'm not responding to these bulls— claims, but in light of the vicious and spurious online attacks against me, I cannot in good conscience now leave my children for 4 months to shoot a film in the Dominican Republic. Lionsgate is supporting me in this and I'm grateful to them for that," Hammer said in a January 13 statement to People.

Hammer's ex-wife Elizabeth Chambers and other exes have since commented on the alleged messages 

During the timing of the alleged messages, Hammer was married to Elizabeth Chambers. Prior to the current scandal, Hammer and Chambers had decided to end their 10-year marriage. Chambers filed for divorce on July 10, 2020, citing irreconcilable differences, according to People, and asked for primary custody of their children.

According to an exposé written by  Vanity Fair's Julie Miller on March 11, 2021, "The Hammers had been in expensive family therapy, but, to Elizabeth, the indiscretions — and more notably his decision to flee the family during a global pandemic — were the final straw." The article went on to claim that Armie mistakenly sent raunchy text messages meant for someone else to Chambers, which helped initiate the divorce. 

At first, Chambers was tight-lipped as the controversy unfolded on social media. But on February 1, 2021, she posted a full statement on Instagram saying she was "shocked, heartbroken, and devastated." 

"Heartbreak aside, I am listening, and will continue to listen and educate myself on these delicate matters," she wrote. "I didn't realize how much I didn't know."

"I support any victim of assault or abuse and urge anyone who has experienced this pain to seek the help she or he needs to heal," she continued.

Chambers is not the only one of Hammer's exes to speak out publicly about the supposed messages or share their own experiences with the actor. Previously, another ex named Courtney Vucekovich, 30, told Page Six that Hammer once told her that he "wants to break my rib and barbecue and eat it" in addition to alleging emotional abuse.

And ex-girlfriend Paige Lorenze shared explicit messages she claimed are between herself and Hammer to Page Six as well as detailing instances she claims were abusive.

"These latest messages are just further evidence of the reality of his dangerous proclivities and his reaction shows his blatant disregard for the women he has traumatized," the 22-year-old student told the publication. "I want to offer my continued support to the other women who have been preyed on by men and have the courage to come forward."

"These assertions about Mr. Hammer are patently untrue," his lawyer Andrew Brettler said in a statement shared to outlets including Page Six and Fox News. "Any interactions with this person, or any partner of his, were completely consensual in that they were fully discussed, agreed upon, and mutually participatory. The stories being perpetuated in the media are a misguided attempt to present a one-sided narrative with the goal of tarnishing Mr. Hammer's reputation, and communications from the individuals involved prove that."

The Daily Mail also reported that one of Hammer's exes, the writer Jessica Ciencin Henriquez, whose Twitter account is private, had posted about her experience with Hammer.

"If you are still questioning whether or not those Armie Hammer DMs are real (and they are) maybe you should start questioning why we live in a culture willing to give abusers the benefit of the doubt instead of victims," Henriquez tweeted, according to the Daily Mail.

Hammer's past behavior and quotes are now being re-examined with new scrutiny

Given the nature of the supposed messages, fans are going back through old interviews to find any connection.

In a Netflix Brazil interview for "Rebecca" in November 2020, for example, Hammer said his dream dinner guest would be the Marquis de Sade, an 18th-century French philosopher and writer famous for his erotic work that heavily involved sexual violence. The words "sadism" and "sadist" derive from de Sade's name.

And in 2013, Hammer described himself in an interview with Playboy magazine as being a "dominant lover."

"Well, if you're married to a feminist as I am, then it's … I don't know how much we can put here without my parents being embarrassed, but I used to like to be a dominant lover," the actor said.

"I liked the grabbing of the neck and the hair and all that. But then you get married and your sexual appetites change," he continued. "And I mean that for the better — it's not like I'm suffering in any way. But you can't really pull your wife's hair. It gets to a point where you say, 'I respect you too much to do these things that I kind of want to do.'"

That same year, the actor told Elle magazine that a former girlfriend tried to stab him while they were having sex.

"She was like: 'True love leaves scars. You don't have any.' And then she tried to stab me with a butcher knife," he said. "Of course I promptly broke up with her. Seven months later."

Hammer was dropped by both his agency, WME, and his personal publicist, the Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on February 5, 2021.

The LAPD investigated a rape allegation against Hammer

The LAPD confirmed to Insider in March 2021 that they were investigating an allegation of rape against Hammer. 

It was not immediately clear whether the investigation was related to the accusation made by Angelova, who spoke about her alleged assault during a press conference Thursday alongside Gloria Allred, a high-profile women's rights attorney.

"On April 24, 2017, Armie Hammer violently raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles," she said at the conference, "during which he repeatedly slapped my head against a wall, bruising my face." She added that Hammer "also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent." 

Angelova said that she tried to get away from Hammer, "but he wouldn't let me."

Hammer's lawyer, Andrew Brettler, denied the allegations in a statement provided to Insider. "Effie's own correspondence with Mr. Hammer undermines and refutes her outrageous allegations," Brettler said in the statement. 

The statement continued, "It was never Mr. Hammer's intention to embarrass or expose [Effie's] fetishes or kinky sexual desires, but she has now escalated this matter to another level by hiring a civil lawyer to host a public press conference. With the truth on his side, Mr. Hammer welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight."

Allred, Angelova's lawyer, told Insider in a statement: "I challenge Armie Hammer to present all, not some, of his communications with Effie to the Los Angeles Police Department and answer all of their questions directly rather than through his lawyers."

An anonymous source with "direct knowledge" of the case told TMZ in December 2021 that the LAPD wrapped its investigation and passed on their findings to the district attorney. They added that the actor wasn't likely to face charges because the case "wasn't strong."

In June 2023, the LA district attorney's office announced it wouldn't file charges against him. 

Hammer addressed the scandal in an interview with Air Mail

The actor told Air Mail in February 2023 that he contemplated suicide while quarantining in the Cayman Islands in February 2021.

"I just walked out into the ocean and swam out as far as I could and hoped that either I drowned, or was hit by a boat, or eaten by a shark. Then I realized that my kids were still on shore, and that I couldn't do that to my kids," he said.

He also said his desire to engage in BDSM emerged after he was molested by a youth pastor at age 13, citing a need for "control."

"What that did for me was it introduced sexuality into my life in a way that it was completely out of my control," Hammer said. "I was powerless in the situation. I had no agency in the situation. My interests then went to: I want to have control in the situation, sexually."

Hammer denied Angelova's rape allegation. Instead, he told Air Mail that the two engaged in a "scene" that they planned together over Facebook Messenger. He called the encounter a "consensual non-consent scene."

While he admitted to being emotionally abusive to his partners, he denied any criminal wrongdoing.

"I'm here to own my mistakes, take accountability for the fact that I was an asshole, that I was selfish, that I used people to make me feel better, and when I was done, moved on. And treated people more poorly than they should have been treated," he said.

Hammer said he's sober during an interview on the "Painful Lessons" podcast

In June 2024, Hammer appeared on the "Painful Lessons" podcast hosted by his friend and self-described "longtime Armie pal" Tyler Ramsey to once again speak about addiction and how the previous allegations against him led to a "career death."

Hammer said he attempted a "half-assed suicide attempt" but didn't go through with it because he thought about his two children.

"I hit really dark low points," Hammer told Ramsey. "There was a time where I was standing on the shore, and I just looked out at the ocean, and I thought, 'Yep, this is it.' And I just swam out really fucking far, and I thought, 'You know what, like I'm — I'm done, like there's nothing back there for me,'" Hammer said.

Hammer denied rumors that he is a cannibal, calling them "bizarre," and said he's now sober after doing an extended stint in rehab.

"I'm now at a place in my life where I'm really grateful for every single bit of it," Hammer said, looking back on the past few years, "because where I was in my life before all of that stuff happened to me I didn't feel good."

Moises Mendez II and Gabi Stevenson contributed to previous versions of this post.

• Personalized skincare brands are booming in popularity.
• Musely specializes in antiaging skincare and customized formulas with prescription ingredients.
• This article is part of "Trends in Healthcare," a series about the innovations and industry leaders shaping patient care.

For 20 years after getting pregnant, Cherry Jia tried everything to fade the dark patches on her face. After giving birth to her son, she had melasma, a fairly common skin discoloration caused by hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy.

Since the late '90s, she'd tried over-the-counter products, topical prescriptions, and in-office procedures like laser treatments, with little to no improvement. Even her husband's products didn't work for her. Jack Jia founded Musely Marketplace, an online beauty company that recruited over 3,000 brands and used influencers (or "muses") to promote the products through the platform. The treatments they sold for dark spots had no effect on her skin.

The site launched to much fanfare, but based on feedback from Cherry, some customers, and the influencers who worked for Musely at the time, "that's where we also start to realize a lot of these products that actually don't work," Jack Jia told Business Insider.

It struck him that hundreds of the products sold on his marketplace used the same few corporate manufacturers with "nearly identical creams and formulas," he said, making them about as effective as "scented water."

Jia asked Dr. Marie Jhin, a dermatologist he'd hired to help curate the products, to give him the inside scoop: Is there anything you can buy over the counter that's broadly effective for most people? No, Jhin said. "If you want something that works, you have to go prescription." He heard the same thing from Musely's other advisors, Lori Bush, the former president and CEO of the skincare company Rodan and Fields, and Kimber Maderazzo, the former executive vice president and general manager of Proactiv.

But, they told him, dermatologists are able to create their own prescription-grade, personalized formulas through a pharmaceutical practice known as "compounding." As long as you're working with dermatologists, you can produce some really creative and effective products, they said. Jia was sold.

With Jhin's help, he decided to relaunch the company as Musely and sell only its own products — ones with stronger concentrations of active ingredients than those found in drugstores.

Though she was reluctant to try yet another treatment after so many failed attempts, Cherry became "patient zero" and was prescribed an early iteration of the company's Spot Cream, formulated by Jhin.

Cherry's drastic improvement within 30 days solidified Jack Jia's confidence in his new teledermatology brand.

"We realized 90 to 95% of our melasma patients were very similar to her," he said. "They tried everything in the past." The trickiest part would be convincing them that this time would be different.

Using an old-school pharmaceutical practice to disrupt the skincare market

If you're looking for drastic antiaging results, most dermatologists recommend getting a prescription retinoid like tretinoin, a vitamin A derivative that stimulates new cell growth in your skin. That requires a visit to the dermatologist and the pharmacist.

Musely is able to sell tretinoin-based products online through two methods. It employs 25 board-certified dermatologists who virtually assess clients by looking at photos of their skin. Then, the dermatologists create their own formulas, a process called "compounding."

Compounding is a common practice in pharmacies that exists in a legal gray area. It's a way to create prescription medications that fit an individual patient's needs by altering the dose of specific ingredients. By definition, each unique formula is entirely new and, therefore, does not fit into any regulatory framework.

This is the core of Musely's business model. It has a range of products, and its consulting dermatologists can tinker with the ingredients to fit a consumer's needs. For example, Musely's Anti-Aging Cream, which comes in three variations from "gentle" to "veteran," contains different levels of tretinoin depending on a customer's skin sensitivity.

Musely also looks at what its clients are buying and asking for to develop new lines of original products. Jia said Musely's top-selling products treat aging concerns like dark spots, rosacea, and hair thinning. It recently devised an Aging Repair Cream, which incorporates 0.3% estriol, a mild form of bioidentical estrogen that promotes hydration and firmness.

Jia said the cream has been "extremely popular" among women over 40 looking to restore elasticity to their skin. While estriol isn't FDA-approved, can cause side effects like nausea and weight gain, and has been linked to an increased risk of breast or uterine cancer, Jia said Musely's chief science officer combs through existing studies before incorporating new ingredients. Musely also conducts "consumer efficacy studies," recruiting 60 to 200 volunteers to test "major new products" for 60 days. Jia said they've completed this process six times so far.

Another result of consumer polling was the Private Cream, designed to lighten dark spots on the genitals, anus, and underarms after customers mentioned it as a concern. This, too, can be personalized to fit a consumer's unique needs, such as swapping hydroquinone, a depigmentation ingredient, with tranexamic acid, a milder alternative.

Cheaper and faster

Musely isn't the only teledermatology brand to employ compounding: Brands like Curology, Dermatica, Dear Brightly, and Apostrophe are among some of the competitors who have in-house dermatology teams and deliver customized subscription products.

Part of the boom comes from the desire for products that target specific skin concerns, like dark spots or wrinkles. Even nonprescription skincare brands like Proven, which only requires completing an AI-powered quiz, can curate products based on a customer's skin type, age, and existing habits. Startups are now competing to offer personalized products, from hair care to weight-loss drugs.

Another appealing factor is the price: A 2017 research paper found the average dermatologist visit costs $221, and a tube of tretinoin can cost anywhere from $59 to $300, depending on your insurance (or lack thereof).

Musely charges $20 for an online consultation, and anywhere from $27 to $99 a month, depending on the treatment. It also includes 60 days of access to a dermatologist for "an unlimited number of questions you may have," Jia said. If the dermatologist isn't available, the company uses AI-powered chatbots to help customers learn how to use their new prescriptions.

Beyond the cost, it's also much easier to snap a quick selfie than it is to schlep to a dermatologist's waiting room. "In about three minutes you can finish your visit — that makes the process so much simpler and so much quicker," Jia said.

The ease of access poses some risks. Last year, The New York Times reported that some teledermatology companies had created compounds that don't make sense, such as mixing tretinoin with benzoyl peroxide, which deactivates it, or using too much niacinamide, which can irritate the skin.

Adapting in real time

Jack Jia said Musely continues to create new formulas. Because its dermatologists see a higher volume of patients than they would in an office, Jia said one doctor might see more melasma patients on the Musely platform in one week than in 10 years of their office practice.

"We started out with just two treatments with maybe eight different formulas," he said. "Today, we have 16 different treatments and 100-plus formulas."

Its consumer base has expanded, too. Jia said Musely started out by targeting the same age ranges as competitors like Hers, Apostrophe, and Curology, with a huge focus on acne products.

"We didn't market to anyone over 60," he said. But after investing in products like an estrogen cream for menopause and a body cream for dark spots, it saw its clientele's median age rise to 45, with its oldest clients in their 90s.

"There's a lot of flexibility," Jia said of Musely's product-development process. "If you're seeing an issue, then you can address it very quickly."

• I tried making Martha Stewart's and Ina Garten's signature BLT sandwiches.
• Martha Stewart's was more time-consuming to make due to the addition of homemade mayonnaise.
• I preferred Ina Garten's easy "California BLT" with avocado and smoked bacon.

Martha Stewart and Ina Garten both have a large repertoire of recipes, including recipes for BLT sandwiches.

I decided to try both of the celebrity chefs' recipes in order to determine which one I preferred. Unsurprisingly, both recipes called for similar ingredients, but there were a few differences between Garten's and Stewart's methods for making a BLT.

Martha Stewart opts for homemade mayonnaise to make her "perfect" BLT, while Garten uses avocado in her California-inspired sandwich. I made them both to find which one would be my new go-to lunch.

Ina Garten's California BLT recipe calls for smoked bacon, tomato, large lettuce leaves, an avocado, a lemon, white bread, and "good mayonnaise."

In her recipe, Garten recommends using Hellmann's, which is the brand I already buy and can be found in practically every grocery store.

I usually fry my bacon, but the recipe said to bake it, and I really liked this method.

The recipe calls for enough smoked bacon to make two sandwiches, but I cut the recipe in half to make just enough for myself.

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I placed five strips of bacon on a baking wire rack on a sheet pan and put it in the heated oven. After 20 minutes in the oven, the bacon turned out perfectly crispy.

The strips of bacon were a little on the thinner side, but I didn't mind that. Cooking the bacon on the wire rack was easier than frying it, in my opinion. There was no flipping required and each side turned out perfectly crisp. 

I toasted the bread in the preheated oven for about five minutes, flipped them, and toasted them for another minute.

I then smeared about a tablespoon of Hellmann's regular mayonnaise onto each slice.

I then added washed and dried butter lettuce leaves to each side of the sandwich.

I ended up using about five lettuce leaves.

I then peeled and sliced the avocado before adding it to a small bowl.

I sliced a lemon in half and squeezed the juice on the avocado slices, lightly tossing them. You don't want to mash or mix the avocado slices too vigorously — just enough to coat them in the lemon juice.

I added the avocado slices and bacon on top of the sandwich. There was a perfect amount of bacon to ensure I would get an even bite.

Before adding the bacon to the sandwich, I soaked up some of the excess oil with a paper towel.

I then added four slices of tomato and seasoned it liberally with salt and pepper.

Other than the bacon, the other ingredients took no time at all to prepare.

The sandwich was really easy to make and required minimal effort and cleanup.

It tasted fresh and was perfect for a spring or summer lunch. The avocado added a creamy element to the sandwich, and the seasoned tomato slices also perfectly complemented the crispy bacon, which had a slightly sweet flavor.

While the simple recipe initially seemed like a no-brainer, the addition of lemon juice took it over the top. I also loved the method of baking the bacon — while it took longer to make, I didn't have to stand around flipping the bacon to ensure it was getting crispy on both sides.

I was excited to see how Martha Stewart's BLT recipe would measure up.

Martha Stewart's recipe for a "perfect" BLT uses thick-cut bacon, tomato, and lettuce. I opted for romaine, but you can use any kind you prefer.

For Martha Stewart's "perfect BLT" sandwich, you'll need white sandwich bread, a vine-ripe tomato, two lettuce leaves, a slice of thick-cut bacon, basil, butter, salt, pepper, and homemade mayonnaise.

The first thing I noticed about Stewart's BLT recipe was that it calls for homemade mayonnaise, which I've never made before.

For Stewart's homemade mayo, you'll need one large egg yolk, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, one teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, coarse salt, white pepper — I substituted it with black pepper, as that's what I had — and a cup of lightly flavored oil.

Stewart's recipe called for grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower oil, but I used vegetable oil — which is also mild in flavor — because I already had it in my kitchen.

The first step in making homemade mayo is mixing the egg yolk, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

My finished mayonnaise didn't exactly look like the store-bought Hellman's mayo I usually buy, but at least it was spreadable.

The key to making the homemade mayonnaise was slowly adding in the oil.

You really need to add the oil drop by drop, or else your mayonnaise won't thicken. Then, when you're halfway through your oil, gently pour the rest of it into your bowl in a slow, steady stream while mixing. 

I tried a little on a spoon and found that while it didn't exactly taste like the mayo I was used to, it had a nice citrusy flavor from the lemon juice.

I was proud that I was able to make something remotely close to mayonnaise on my own. I also made more than I expected to use in the sandwich.

I fried up some thick-cut maple brown sugar bacon in a pan on the stove.

I found that this slightly sweeter cut caramelizes nicely in the pan and adds a delicious element to savory dishes. The recipe only calls for one slice of bacon, compared to Garten's, which calls for three slices per sandwich. However, you could add more if you want a more filling lunch.

I fried the bacon, which took far less time than baking it. However, I preferred the crispy texture and result I got with Garten's method.

Martha Stewart's recipe is interesting in that it calls for both butter and homemade mayonnaise.

I've never added butter to a BLT sandwich before, so I was interested to see how it would taste.

Next, I topped the buttered side of my sandwich with lettuce and tomato.

I followed Stewart's instructions exactly, placing the lettuce down first and then the slices of juicy tomato. Having the lettuce act as a base can prevent your bread from getting soggy from the tomatoes, which have a high water content.

Next, I added the basil. I've also never heard of basil being used in a BLT.

I wondered if this would add an Italian flavor to the BLT — as it turns out, I was spot on. I then sprinkled a pinch of pepper and salt over the top.

Lastly, I added my bacon right on top and closed her up.

I already anticipated that the sandwich could have used at least one more slice of bacon in order for the ingredients to be evenly distributed in each bite.

Martha Stewart's BLT didn't taste like any other BLT I've ever had, largely due to the homemade mayonnaise and basil.

The ingredients tasted really fresh and light, despite it being a bacon-based sandwich. The basil cut through the savory flavors perfectly, while the mayonnaise added a citrus flavor to the sandwich.

The vine-ripe tomatoes were sweet, juicy, and flavorful. Altogether, the sandwich tasted similar to an Italian Caprese salad, plus bacon.

However, I definitely preferred the butter lettuce I used in Garten's sandwich over the romaine, and I even preferred the store-bought mayonnaise over my first attempt at a homemade version.

Martha Stewart's "perfect BLT" took a little extra effort with the homemade mayonnaise, and I'm not sure if it was completely worth it in the end.

The cooking and preparing process was a little longer than I would usually go for. After all, I wanted to get it exactly right. If I hadn't also tried Ina Garten's sandwich, I might have agreed that this sandwich really was "perfect."

However, between the extra dishes, energy, and the small serving of bacon, I didn't think that I would actually make this sandwich again over Garten's. 

• Rep. Tom Cole's office has been a place for GOP lawmakers to smoke cigars and bond.
• But the Oklahoma Republican recently switched offices — depriving Republicans of their usual spot.
• "We desperately need a place to smoke cigars," said Cole. 

House Republicans are facing yet another crisis — but it's only tangentially related to the business of crafting and passing laws.

They need a place to smoke cigars near the House floor.

Until recently, they had one: Rep. Tom Cole, a long-serving Oklahoma Republican known for his own cigar penchant, had provided space for such activities as chairman of the House Rules Committee, which meets on the second floor of the Capitol.

"The Rules office was a great place," Cole told Axios. "But I'm not Rules chairman anymore."

But Cole recently got a new job. He took over as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a panel that oversees government funding, after Rep. Kay Granger of Texas opted to step down. Cole opted to let Granger keep her existing office space in a show of respect, leaving him without a space in the Capitol for cigar-puffing.

"We desperately need a place to smoke cigars," said Cole.

Several House Republicans backed Cole up, saying that having a space for cigar smoking in the Capitol was important for mentoring newer colleagues and building relationships, especially in a place with as much GOP infighting as the House of Representatives.

"There's no better time to build a relationship than over a cigar," Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania told Axios. "You can actually have a long conversation with somebody, and it really leads to building bridges."

In general, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to be smokers at the Capitol. Rep. Troy Nehls, a Republican former sheriff from Texas, can often be seen lighting up a cigar at the top of the House steps after votes.

And the smoking trend extends to some younger staffers as well.

"My Senate office probably has the highest ratio of smokers of anybody in the US Senate," Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio told Business Insider in January. "So there's probably something to be said there."

• The average American household spends at least $475 a month on groceries.
• 40 million Americans are food insecure and SNAP benefits often don't provide enough financial help.
• With only $23 a month from SNAP,  Mary Dacus is often reliant on food pantries. 

Mary Dacus, 69, fills her basket at Ruler Foods with the essentials.

Three cans of SpaghettiOs for $1 each, a dozen eggs for $2.99, a half gallon of milk for $2.59. She adds bread, soup, potatoes, chili mix, graham crackers, cereal bars, clementines, toilet paper, some frozen vegetables, and canned chicken — the fresh stuff is expensive.

It comes to $83.02.

Dacus goes shopping near her home in Robinson, Illinois — a city 200 miles south of Chicago — on the fourth Wednesday of every month after her husband Stephen cashes his Social Security check. She hopes the food will last them a full 30 days, but she inevitably has to stop at Walmart a few times to fill in the gaps.

Granola for $5.34, bell peppers for $2.88, two bottles of butter pecan coffee creamer for $7.94, and a new vacuum bag for $8.77. That's an additional $53.39.

Dacus and her husband have to stick to a tight budget: their household only receives $23 a month from SNAP. They must rely on their combined $2,140 Social Security income for the rest and any other expenses they have since they're both retired. The average American household spends $475 a month on groceries plus $303 on restaurants and takeout, according to the latest available US Bureau of Labor Statistics report on consumer expenditures in 2022.

There are over 40 million Americans experiencing food insecurity. SNAP provides relief for many households living paycheck to paycheck. But some struggling families, like Dacus', don't receive enough help, or their income is considered too high to receive any help at all. ALICEs — people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, employed — feel especially left behind by food assistance programs.

According to the Pew Research Center, about 13% of Americans, or 22 million households, are enrolled in government food benefits.

Anything helps, Dacus said, but her SNAP allocation "barely covers one meal."

"The man called me and told me, 'Oh, we're going to get you $23 a month.' And I laughed," she said. "That's pitiful. That's really pitiful."

With limited SNAP dollars, Dacus relies on food pantries

Dacus is a good cook — she used to love making pot roast when she could afford it — and can usually make a meal out of whatever miscellaneous ingredients she and Stephen have in their cupboard. She typically makes crockpot meals, casseroles, or other dishes that she can stretch for more than one meal. But $23 a month in food benefits isn't even close to affording what they need to eat.

Often, Dacus said a full month of food and household products can run them about $200, plus an additional $30 to $50 a week when they run out of things. They struggle with their other household bills, are in nearly $10,000 in credit card debt, and have drained their savings in order to pay for food and healthcare.

"We've used our credit cards within the last three and a half years to buy groceries and things that we needed," she said, adding that she and Stephen's low credit score has now made it difficult to qualify for housing and car payments.

To avoid going hungry, Dacus said she has to rely on local food pantries. They pick up canned goods and packaged food. But there aren't many food pantries near her house, and the ones in driving distance are open for limited hours. Even when they can go to the pantry, Dacus said the food is unhealthy and sometimes spoiled.

SNAP benefits don't always align with household needs

America's SNAP program provides low-income households with money to grocery shop, and the qualifying criteria is based on the federal poverty line. The allocation can also be affected by earned-income taxes, and the number of children or older adults in a household. What's more, the costs of groceries can vary widely based on a person's location.

An individual with a monthly gross income lower than $1,580 can receive a maximum of $291 monthly from SNAP, and a couple with a monthly income lower than $2,137 can receive a maximum of $535, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Yet, many households like Dacus' don't receive the maximum because their income isn't low enough.

There are also limitations on how SNAP dollars can be used. The money covers basic food products like milk and bread, but it cannot be used to purchase dish soap, toilet paper, laundry detergent, vitamins, feminine products, over-the-counter medicine, or pet food.

Groceries are just part of the $38,268 the average couple in Robinson, Illinois needs to survive every year, which includes the cost of housing, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and unexpected expenses, according to United Way. For a family with two school-age children, that number becomes $61,632. This budget doesn't leave any room to build savings or prepare for retirement.

It's also more difficult for childfree adults, or adults whose children are no longer minors, to qualify for food assistance. Dacus said she and her husband have to rely on SNAP and food pantries because she can't access other programs like WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), the child tax credit, and parts of the earned-income tax credit.

"We don't get ahead at all," Dacus said. "We take two steps forward and three back."

Are you experiencing food insecurity? Are you open to sharing your experience with SNAP or grocery shopping? If so, reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.