To start off the year, we are welcoming Rebecca Szkutak as a returning host who will be joining us while Alex is out on paternity leave. We're lucky to have her for a few months, so give her a warm welcome!

With that, Natasha, Mary Ann and Becca returned to the mic to unpack the latest and greatest on this first week back. 2022 was a dreary, relentless storm at times, but it also surprised us with how much innovation continues to brighten up this downturn. The start of 2023 has been no different.

Here's what we got into:

• Some early standouts from CES, the annual consumer electronics show that is taking over Las Vegas right now. Yep, we're talking comfort pillows that are even more comfortable than you think, a smarter smart laundry machine and a security dash-cam for ride-sharing drivers. 
• Then we jumped into deals of the week, which included Doorstead and USV's $200 million climate fund.
• Our first theme got into the latest development in the FTX and SBF saga. If you're like us, there's been so much happening that it's hard to keep track of all the twists and turns. But it's also evermore important to, as Becca gives us a Real Housewives angle to consider.
• We end with a conversation about layoffs, which rolled in this week to impact employees at Stitch Fix, Amazon, Salesforce and others. We dug into Natasha's latest feature story, in which she explores how laid off talent is rethinking risk for their next jobs. 

Equity drops at 10:00 a.m. PT every Monday and at 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesdays and Fridays, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders, one that details how our stories come together, and more!

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.