CultCast #365: The 10% Apple store discount you shouldn't use, plus our favorite shows of 2018!

Apple store adds 10% discount for vets and military

• I think this may be one of the biggest stories of the year, but no one seems to be talking about it.
• Apple revealed this week that it has launched a new website that gives a 10% discount to vets and active military members that the company says is an expression of its gratitude for service.
• It's just like the education store, but it provides a flat discount of 10% across ALL products.
• This is the biggest, most broad discount, possibly ever.
• When I first heard about this, I didn't think much of it.  But then I found out that, just like the education store, the military and vets site doesn’t ask for verification so it’s all based on the honor system.  You just click into it, and poof, all prices drop 10%...
• Base iPhone 10s Max, usually $1100, is $989 (only sim-free iPhones are discounted)
• Base 11" iPad Pro, normally $799, is $719.  256GB is down to $854 from $949.

Updated AirPods will supposedly land in early 2019

• Upgraded AirPods are on the way in early 2019, with a total redesign scheduled for 2020. At least, that’s according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo
• Our boy big Ming claims that the big improvement for next year’s AirPods will be the addition of wireless charging support.
• He doesn’t, however, elaborate on what the major 2020 redesign is likely to mean for the AirPods.
• He did say that the AirPods are Apple’s most popular accessory of all time, and suggests that the number of units sold will likely rise from 16 million in 2017 to more than 100 million by 2021.

Tim Cook promises Apple to those that "push hate, division, or violence"

• During his acceptance speech for the Anti-Defamation League’s first ever “Courage Against Hate” award today, Apple CEO Tim Cook made it clear that his company won’t shy away from taking moral positions.
• “We only have one message for those who seek to push hate, division or violence: You have no place on our platforms,” Cook said.
• He went on to say “At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our values drive our curation decisions. And why should we be? Doing what’s right, creating experiences [free] from violence and hate, experiences that empower creativity and new ideas is what our customers want us to do,”
• Cook pointed out that Apple has always banned music that espouses white supremacy from iTunes and Apple Music “because it’s the right thing to do.”
• But what about all the other music that is filled with violence, hatred, and mysogyny.  It's not like Apple Music is full of only country music.