This is Ann-Marie Alcántara and Katie Deighton filling in for Nat.

Welcome back. Audio-only chat platforms are trying to bring back office banter. Messaging on services like Slack is causing strife between co-workers. And some experts say the simplicity of trading stocks on Robinhood poses a risk to users.

As people grow weary of video chats and video streaming, some see an opening for audio-only messaging platforms, Ann-Marie Alcántara reports.

Platforms like Chalk, Watercooler, Space and Voiceroom aim to bring people together for casual conversations that are less structured than video chats. Others, like Yac, look to add a human touch to work communications by letting users send each other voice messages.

These new experiences differ from phone calls as they let users drop in and out of conversations, or keep a chat running in the background while they do other things.

The new tools face challenges. How can they keep users engaged without merely burdening them with a new source of mental clutter? And how can they moderate live conversations to keep offensive speech and harassment out? But don’t expect them to go away any time soon.

“People are tired of looking at screens,” said Gabriel Cheung, group creative director at R/GA, a digital agency owned by Interpublic Group of Cos. “They are looking for different ways of experiencing things.”

To continue on the theme of workplace communications, here's one challenge facing text-based messaging platforms: Nuances can get lost in the clutter of text. Slack and other chat apps have become indispensable for many organizations, but the casual nature of many interactions sometimes leads people to let their guard down, trash talk and act unprofessionally, some executives say.

Now companies have started to advise employees to meet over video and mind their manners.

Some are implementing additional tools to track bullying, while others want chat platforms to remain a space for where employees communicate freely.

“It’s a slippery slope because it’s so informal,” said Alexandra Buechner, an attorney at Hackler Flynn & Associates who works on employment-law cases.

The Robinhood brokerage app turns the complex process of trading stocks into a simple swipe across a screen, but some behavioral researchers say that that simplicity is nudging inexperienced investors to take bigger risks, the Journal reports.

Marshini Chetty, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Chicago, said Robinhood’s interface shares characteristics of what the software industry calls “dark patterns,” a design choice that steers users down a desired path.

Once you start a trade on Robinhood, for example, it is easier to move forward than to back out.

Robinhood Chief Operating Officer Gretchen Howard said the app doesn’t gamify trading or encourage risky behavior. “Those who dismiss retail investors as gamblers or gamers perpetuate the myth that investing is only for the wealthy and highly educated,” she said.

A foundation in Japan commissioned designs for high-style public bathrooms from well-known architects and designers. [Fast Company]  

World Wrestling Entertainment debuted the ThunderDome Arena this past weekend, welcoming virtual fans to matches. [Sports Illustrated]

Apple is rolling out a new store that floats on the water in Singapore. [The Verge]

Tiffany & Co. revamped its Fifth Avenue flagship to be a “gathering place.” [Architectural Digest]

A university in India awarded degrees to students virtually—complete with avatars and applause. [East Mojo]