Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This week, Natasha was joined by TC+ reporter Rebecca Szkutak to wade through the news of the week. It was frantic, it was full, and forgettable it was not!

Here's what we got into:

• Quick note from Becca on Neumann's return and if follow-on funding will be a possibility for Flow -- given some investors reactions. 
• Our two deals of the week include an innovative step for hearing aid startups and a new take on international money transfer.
• For hearing loss tech, a new FDA ruling allows hearing aids to be sold over the counter. We dove in to how this regulatory change helps open the door for startups to innovate in the category.
• Speaking of regulatory pains, we spoke about how employee-benefits startups might escape cost cuts as companies seek to retain talent. Don't know about you but I'd prefer to lose free food over mental health support.
• We ended with notes on two geographies.
• Looking at the Midwest, we talked about how LPs aren't backing funds in the region this year despite many VCs considering it to be one of the safer areas to invest right now.
• Comparing the Southeast and Midwest, we spoke about how lower valuations are helping fuel both regions to have a good year.

And that's all for now. We'll catch you next week, and in the meantime if you're feeling up to it, consider leaving us a great rating on Apple Podcasts. It goes a long way.

Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PDT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PDT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.

Credits: Equity is hosted by TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm and Mary Ann Azevedo. We are 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.