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[PREVIEW] The 'Love Is Blind' Reunion Didn't Answer Enough Questions Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

No sooner had the “Love Is Blind” season 2 reunion episode begun than Shake started trolling. “How are y’all feeling?” Nick Lachey asked the group. “I’M NERVOUS ABOUT HOW WE GET EDITED,” blared Shake, who desperately wants everyone to know that he only appeared to be making cruel comments about his fiancée Deepti behind her back because of editing. And also, as he suggests later in the episode, because he’s the only one he’s keeping it real, being honest, and self-consciously playing a villain archetype. Shake packed up every excuse he had and brought it to this reunion.

Everyone onstage reacted with visceral repulsion every time Shake spoke. The groans were audible. “This is a joke,” Deepti whispered frequently. At one point, Vanessa told him that she thought he’d grown after his initial pod meetings, when he seemed to realize that his obsession with finding a tiny, fit blonde was shallow and rooted in his own damage. Shake responded that he was actually going to “double down” on the beginning, and went on to express that the only woman present that he was attracted to was Vanessa. Shake, no one asked.

It was cathartic to see everyone from Shayne to Danielle airing Shake out for his callous treatment of Deepti, and perversely satisfying to see Shake doing himself no favors. But Shake’s obsession with truth-telling — for example, explaining that love isn’t really blind because attraction is important, or pontificating about why Sal and Mallory’s relationship fell apart as if he were posting commentary on Twitter instead of talking directly to two people who understood their own relationship much better than he did — combined with the Lacheys’ lackluster moderating skills to create a reunion that was short on revelations and long on defending the concept of the show.

Shake is an asshole, and a particularly shallow, fatphobic, misogynistic, and status-obsessed guy; he should never have come on this show if appearance is so central to romantic attraction for him, and if he has such narrow criteria. Many people do have the capacity to fall in love primarily based on someone’s mind (ask a sapiosexual, or just stand near one for five minutes) or have a far more capacious range of people they’re attracted to. Shake’s focus on “animalistic attraction” also serves as a cover for his obsession with the status associated with dating an extremely thin, blonde woman. Despite the vulnerable conversations he had with Deepti about his own body insecurities in the pods, he’s not actually interested in unpacking the disgust with fat bodies and the craven desire he has to be seen as worth more because he has a high-status woman on his arm.

He’s also not wrong that physical attraction and chemistry are both important in romantic relationships and not entirely within our control. He’s not even alone; perfectly likable people in both seasons, like Kelly and Mallory, hinted at struggling with that side of the relationship after meeting their fiancés. They just handled it much more sensitively, with consideration for the emotions and dignity of their partners.

But everyone was so eager to shut Shake down, and to distance themselves from his repugnant superficiality, that the hosts and the rest of the cast seemed to align along a virtuous but fantastical premise: that for everyone else in the experiment, love really was completely blind, and that looks had nothing to do with how their engagements played out. It allowed Shake to look, at moments, like he was the only one willing to be honest and real, which only served to provide cover for his true misdeeds. Deepti was the only one to clearly put words to the truth: “It’s okay to not be physically attracted to somebody,” she said. “It’s how you do it and how you say it that’s extremely disrespectful. It’s degrading to women.” Thank you, Deepti!

There was a lot more to discover in this reunion — are Natalie and Shayne back together? why did things fall apart with Mallory and Sal? can Shaina defend calling Shaynatalie “fake”? how is Jarrette making Iyanna feel chosen and like the number one goddess of all time every day? has anything ever happened with Shayne and Shaina? are Kyle and Deepti dating? — and unfortunately, we don’t get clear answers on very much.

The cast either came to play the cartoon villain (Shake), apologize and make nice (Shaina, Mallory, Jarrette, Natalie), demand an apology for stuff we already knew happened (Sal, Kyle, Shayne), or just sit there and beam (Nick, Danielle, Iyanna). The Lacheys prefer not to prod for specifics, and they completely biffed a few VERY obvious follow-ups. At one point, Kyle said his only regret was not proposing to Deepti in the pods, and Nick and Vanessa keep it moving to a new topic rather than asking 1) uhhh, did you two have a romantic connection in the pods??? or 2) ARE YOU DATING HER NOW? We’re begging these people to ask even one useful question.

We taped a quick reaction pod this morning with some more of our thoughts on the reunion fiasco, Shake’s wild Instagram behavior since the finale dropped, and more. Hope you enjoy! xo

We are reading…

I just started an advanced reader copy of Jenny Mollen’s forthcoming novel, “City Of Likes.” I love fiction that comments on influencer culture, and Jenny is just such a sharp and funny and fun writer. So far, I’m very into it! -Emma

Still absolutely loving “The Season,” Kristen Richardson’s history of the debutante, which I think is the perfect preparation for watching the deranged-looking dating show “The Courtship.” -Claire

We are listening to…

Part 1 of “Maintenance Phase’s” two-part series on Jordan Peterson and the absolutely unhinged “carnivore diet” that he and his daughter popularized. -Emma

Deepti and Shaina on “The Viall Files,” where they disclose way more detailed behind-the-scenes info than we got on the reunion. -Claire

We are watching…

“The Dropout,” Hulu’s Elizabeth Holmes series based on the ABC News podcast of the same name. I got press screeners of the first 7 episodes, and so far I’m finding it gripping and sharp. And unlike another scammer show (cough, “Inventing Anna,” cough), “The Dropout” seems like it’s pretty successfully threading the needle of interrogating Holmes’ behavior and situating Theranos within a larger critique of Silicon Valley, while still holding her feet to the fire. -Emma

The third season of the French rom-com series “The Hook-Up Plan,” which finds Elsa and Julio trying to conceive, Charlotte and Max trying to launch his political career, and Antoine and Emilie struggling with both work and parenting. Oh, and everyone is fighting. I do struggle with sequels to rom-coms, because I hate to see my happy endings complicated (that’s not why I watch rom-coms!), so it didn’t give quite the same high as the first season, but the women’s friendships really take center stage and offer just as much pathos and humor. -Claire

We are buying…

I don’t know whether it’s my ongoing makeup renaissance or just weeks and weeks of staring at Rachel Recchia’s lightly laminated brows on “The Bachelor,” but after years of using Glossier’s Boy Brow, I decided to change things up. During a recent trip to Sephora, I was advised to try Benefit Cosmetic’s 24-Hour Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel and to brush my brows up. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, but I’ve been doing it for a few weeks now and I’ve been really enjoying the effect. I also love that the brush of this product has two sides, which allows you to go subtler or really get a faux lamination style, sans chemicals. -Emma

A weekly planner. I know…. I already missed 20 percent of the year. But hey, I got my 2022 planner at a steep discount. Organization is really a struggle for me, especially now that we’re no longer part of a newsroom with regular editorial meetings (and now that I have a toddler who is home from daycare maybe 30 percent of the time due to minor illnesses. He was home every day this week but Friday! Again! But I digress). Recently I read that you can make yourself better at personality traits like conscientiousness, maybe, sometimes, so my plan is to set out weekly chunks of time on my Google calendar to do things like handle emails, update social accounts, and planning what I want to write or pod about in the future. Will it work? Will a pretty notebook help? Let’s add a “check in on how becoming more organized is going” event to my calendar for next month, and please share your tips in the comments. -Claire

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[PREVIEW] The Most & Least Dysfunctional Couples On 'Love Is Blind' Season 2 Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

We all know it’s possible to develop to develop deep, passionate feelings about someone you only know through their voice. It’s called “listening to a podcast.” But would you agree to marry your favorite podcaster, sight unseen?

This is the conceit of “Love Is Blind,” a Netflix reality show about 28 hopeful singles who step into custom-built pods (coincidence? we think not) and speak to each other through an illuminated but completely opaque wall. After a dating period, some couples choose to get engaged, after which they’re able to meet face-to-face, enjoy a honeymoon together in Mexico, and then spend a few weeks living together in their hometown. The grand finale is a legally binding wedding; at the altar, each half of the couple responds “yes” or “no” to the wedding vows to reveal whether they wish to marry the person they met in the pods.

Season 2 of the series just dropped, with the finale — in which we learned which couples would say “I do” in front of all their nearest and dearest — hitting Netflix on Friday.

While season 1 brought us sweet angel babies Lauren and Cameron, as well as irritating but well-matched Barnett and Amber, season 2 had nothing for us but train wrecks. Of the six couples we see get engaged in the pods, at least three seem to actively dislike each other, and most of the ones who like each other aren’t attracted to each other. Their relationships range from “distant but friendly acquaintance” to “drunk hook-up turned chaotic two-month relationship that ends with a screaming match outside a Denny’s.” Nick and Vanessa Lachey, we beg of you: Do not make any of these people get married.

We’ve also gone from a season with essentially one villain — Jessica, aka “Messica,” who got engaged to Mark but couldn’t stop trying to pry Barnett away from Amber — to a season that is roughly half villains, several of whom seem like worse people, fundamentally, than a Jessica who was mostly drunk and spiraling.

Take Shake, who starts his pod experience by asking the women, through thinly disguised questions (“would I have trouble lifting you on my shoulders at a music festival?”), how much they weigh. He seems to have a breakthrough by connecting with Deepti, and through their conversations he processes how he dealt with his own body insecurities by seeking out thin and conventionally hot partners. But once he’s with Deepti in the real world, his superficiality takes over again; soon, he’s sharing his lack of sexual attraction to his fiancée with everyone but her, and in cruelly mocking terms.

Heading into the finale, we were morbidly curious about who would end up legally tying themselves to each other, but not exactly rooting for any of them to take the leap. In this episode, we talk through each couple, from most to least dysfunctional. We also decide whether each person is our enemy (Shake!!!) or our friend (Deeps wlu). Enjoy! xo

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We’ve been supporting…

This has been a rough news week. Between virulent anti-trans/anti-gay governing directives and legislation in Texas and Florida, and Putin launching the most significant war Europe has seen in 80 years by invading Ukraine, there has been a lot to feel depressed and scared about. In an effort to feel less useless, we’ve been donating.

Here are some organizations that you can support:

Transgender Education Network of Texas, which works to lift up the voices of Transgender Texans.
Allgo, a Texas organization which nurtures and celebrates queer people of color by building, educating, and mobilizing communities toward a just and equitable society.
Zebra Coalition, a Florida-based network of organizations which provide services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and all youth (LGBTQ+) ages 13 – 24.
Fiesta Youth, an organization supporting and empowering LGBTQ+ youth in San Antonio, Texas.
Nova Ukraine, a Ukraine-based nonprofit which provides citizens with food, household and clothing essentials.
People In Need, which is providing humanitarian aid to over 200,000 people on the ground in Ukraine. They provide food packages, emergency shelter, safe access to drinking water, hygiene items, and coal for heating.

We’ve been reading…

“The Season: A Social History of the Debutante” by Kristen Richardson. As a lover of Jane Austen novels, and Regency romance novels distantly inspired by her biting romantic comedies, I had always been vaguely aware of the shared DNA that linked them to “The Bachelor.” But never having paid much attention to the more recent incarnations of the debutante tradition, the connective tissue between them had been less obvious to me. As soon as I picked up Richardson’s history, however, the ongoing influence of the debutante in American society — its purpose, its form, the values it promoted, the rituals that shaped it — came into sharp focus. Highly recommend. -Claire

Shamefully, I had never read Eve Babitz’s “Sex and Rage.” After she died, I ordered it from Bookshop, and because it was backordered, I just received it. Hot take: Babitz, a great writer. -Emma

We’ve been watching…

“The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window,” a bizarre Netflix series starring Kristen Bell as Anna, a grieving mom who drowns her sorrows in giant glassfuls of red wine and preoccupies herself by watching her neighbors through her upscale suburban window. If you’ve read or seen “The Woman in the Window,” it’s basically that — but a spoof. The show mostly leans more into reproducing the genre elements rather than parodying them, though there are enough goofy moments to make clear, periodically, that it’s not a serious show. It’s almost as if the goal was to intentionally create something camp, a so-bad-it’s-good delight, which I’m leery of. But Bell and the cast are phenomenal, and there are a couple of genuine laughs each episode… plus, I somehow got sucked into caring about the ludicrous “mystery.” There are worse ways to spend a laundry-folding marathon. -Claire

“Love Is Blind: Japan,” because I simply needed more. Is this cause for concern? Probably. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“Chameleon,” the Campside Media podcast about the scammer who convinced countless Hollywood strivers that they had just gotten their big break. Typically posing as big-name female producers like Amy Pascal and Debbie Snyder, the scammer would offer up-and-comers in the industry a job on a blockbuster movie filming in Indonesia — but once they arrived, having fronted their own travel expenses with promises of reimbursement, the promised meetings with production would never happen. I remembered reading some news coverage about this years ago, but nothing that cracked the mystery, so when my brother mentioned this podcast, I was intrigued. The first season of the pod, created by Vanessa Grigoriadis and Josh Dean, dives into the details of the scam, and slowly unravels the identity and motivations of the person behind it. -Claire

“Twin Flames,” a new Wondery podcast about Jeff and Shaleia, a young couple who got big on YouTube because of their romantic coaching — specifically their quest to help the lovelorn find their “Twin Flame,” a divine love connection that followers were encouraged to pursue at any cost. The podcast interviews former members of the cult-like community that Jeff and Shaleia formed, and it’s chilling stuff, which exposes how our cultural obsession over the primacy of couples can be harnessed in really dangerous ways. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

My makeup journey continues. This week I dipped my toes further into Kosas and DIBS, and grabbed Kosas’ brand new foundation to try, as well as DIBS’ Lip Definer (I’ve been using their Lip Liner, which doubles as lipstick, and been loving it). -Emma

I’ve been making a number of purchases that didn’t work out lately — Everlane wide-leg jeans that just didn’t fit me right, moisturizer that broke me out, a dress that looked dreamy on the model and pioneer-frumpy on me. Currently I have a sack full of returns to make and a lingering sense of guilt for all the wasted deliveries, and I just want to go back to trying on jeans in store. Here’s something that has worked out, so far: the Mielle Honey & Ginger Styling Gel that my stylist used after my last haircut. It’s a lighter hold than I usually use, but it’s so slippery and moisturizing and smells like a spicy tea. -Claire

[PREVIEW] 'Inventing Anna' Is One Long Con Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

The slippery thing about scams, cults, pyramid schemes, grifts: As horrifying as it is to be caught up in one, it can be difficult to explain what makes them any different from the general rules of life under capitalism — especially America’s religiously inflected version, in which hierarchical structures are a given, charismatic personalities are venerated, and wealth is synonymous with moral worth. We all live by those rules. Many of us also rage against them, how living in this society means being exploited by predatory banks, for-profit schools, health insurance companies, venture capitalists — giant corporations that are enriched even as the people they supposedly serve are left sick, miserable, and in debt. The fake-it-until-you-make-it mantra of hustle culture. The obsession with brand-building, getting in on the ground floor, finding some way to claw yourself into an echelon where you’re doing more exploiting than being exploited.

In the pleasurable furor that tends to spring up around audacious scammers like fake German heiress Anna Delvey, one can find oneself chasing the slippery thing around in circles, never getting anywhere. If the scam is just a version of how we all live, then how can it be so wrong? On the other hand, if the way we live sucks, and scams are to blame, how can they be right? Is there a way out of this hell, paved by particularly delightful scammers? Or by valorizing them, are we just finding a new way to worship the fucked-up ethic of getting yours that has produced our shitty status quo?

“Inventing Anna,” a Shonda Rhimes production based on Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article, “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People,” as well as the life rights of several key players (most notably Anna’s), doesn’t even bother doing much chasing. Instead, it settles into a depiction of Anna (Julia Garner) as a girlboss, a brilliant woman clawing her way through a sexist, xenophobic New York finance milieu, trying to fake it until she made it just like any other startup founder with more vision than money. The show’s antiheroine drops trite lines about how men fail their way to the top, like a 2014 feminist blog; meanwhile, one of the most visible non-wealthy victims of Anna’s grifts is twisted into a pathetic user who got what was coming to her — worse, somehow, than Anna, who is a cool user who deserves Instagram celebrity.

Through the eyes of Anna’s friend, Neff Davis (Alexis Floyd), and the almost starstruck investigative journalist Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky), the fake heiress takes shape as a mysterious, charismatic genius, both fragile and admirably strong. Vivian becomes so enmeshed that she’s practically part of the defense team, in a shocking succession of lapses in journalistic ethics. Her colleagues cheer when Anna is found not guilty on several counts. In the end, Anna is seen as worthy because of the sheer nerve of her scams; her victims are seen as unworthy and craven because she deceived them.

Sure, the banks are hardly sympathetic victims. They also aren’t her only victims. But as intoxicating as it is to see a young woman outwitting massive financial institutions, interpretations like “Inventing Anna” only reinscribe the same scam ethos that has made our society such a broken place. She never aspired to siphon wealth and prestige and power away from the top 0.1 percent; she wanted in. She tried to defraud banks for millions of dollars so she could start a high-end, exclusive social club for the super wealthy, both catering to and permanently ensconcing herself in the upper echelons of American robber barons.

It’s not a very inspiring story, in the end. Maybe it is fair to call it girlboss-y. We just thought everyone had realized that was a bad thing.

Emma wrote a great piece on this for MSNBC this week — that and some other background reading are below. Hope you enjoy the pod! xo

Reading List:

How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People by Jessica Pressler

Netflix's 'Inventing Anna' and the 'girlboss-ification' of Anna Delvey by Emma Gray

False Profit by Chloe Wyma

‘Inventing Anna’ is about a scammer. So why does the show itself feel like a bait and switch? by Inkoo Kang

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache Williams

We’ve been reading…

All of Jezebel’s Horny Week content. This is the Valentine’s Day-related writing and analysis I crave. -Emma

My understanding is that all the hot girls are reading “Vladimir” by Julia May Jonas, so I’m reading “Vladimir” by Julia May Jonas. (Not sure where I got this impression, but I follow my gut.) Narrated by an older female professor at a small liberal arts college who develops a head-spinning infatuation with her new colleague, a hot younger novelist named Vladimir, while her husband faces a spate of allegations of sexual misconduct with his students, the novel delves into campus politics, generational resentment, and the erotic desires and ambitions of a woman who is no longer young enough to have either taken seriously by most people. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

You know I love a rom-com, so I was really excited about “I Want You Back.” Prime’s new romantic comedy stars Jenny Slate (who is always the most delightful and relatable) and Charlie Day as strangers who both get dumped by their long-term partners and then bond over scheming to break up their exes’s new relationships. It’s not a revelatory movie, but it’s a fun one, and it definitely scratched the itch. Jenny Slate forever! -Emma

“The Tinder Swindler,” to pair with “Inventing Anna.” The Netflix documentary, unlike the scripted series we discussed in the podcast, focuses on the perspective of the victims — especially two young women who were bilked for hundreds of thousands of dollars by the serial grifter Simon Leviev after he developed a romance with one and a close friendship with the other. Though Delvey’s grifts were less interpersonally sophisticated than those of Leviev, who essentially used the massive funds he secured from each woman to fund his shock-and-awe courtship of the next, the parallels are real. His victims were treated as money-grubbing and stupid by many who heard their stories, and meanwhile Leviev is free to build a business and brand on the back of his notoriety. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

Season 2 of “Under The Influence,” Jo Piazza’s podcast about the wild world of influencers. Season 1 focused on mom influencers, and this season they’re expanding the scope. -Emma

Music! The music kick continues. This week I joined the Spotify defection. A few newsletters ago, I wrote about how the app, which seemed like such a godsend at first, has slowly eroded my music listening habits (or at least enabled my drift away from deep, engaged listening). But the thought of not having access to music seemed anathema, so I signed up for Apple Music premium instead. (I know, I know. Akin to canceling Uber and signing up for Lyft.)

This time, though, I wanted to be more intentional about seeking out good music, not just the earworms I seek out after overhearing them on the radio. I went through and added some of my favorite indie albums — The National, Rilo Kiley, Vampire Weekend, The Weakerthans, Camera Obscura — and then clicked into a suggested album: “Jubilee,” by Japanese Breakfast. I’ve known about the band for years but somehow have never bothered to listen to a single song. I was hooked from the first track, shimmery and lilting and euphoric. I might not yet have a solid library of music I own, but when I’m listening to music I really love, down to my toes, I can envision a future me putting a good record on while I cook dinner, the most seductive dream of bougie pleasure I can conjure. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

Finally had to refill my 3-in-1 Blemish Camouflage from August and Monroe (been using it daily! I love this stuff!).

I also got it into my head that I really needed a pair of flare jeans, the 2022 updated version of the Limited Too jeans I coveted in middle school. Abercrombie has been having some great sales, so I bought these black Ultra High Rise Flare Jeans. -Emma

I am also having seasonal denim anxiety. Finding “mom jeans” that have a high enough rise to sit at my natural waist is proving impossible, but, like the follower I am, I’m getting tired of being in skinny jeans while the youth embrace a fresh new silhouette. This time I’m trying the Everlane Way High Jean and hoping they’re a winner.

The warmish weather late last week also inspired me to order a hydrangea blue version of the olive Jansport fanny pack I’ve been wearing slung across my chest all year. Clear, bright blue is really speaking to me for this spring/summer (or maybe I’m just sick of gray skies). -Claire

[PREVIEW] 'And Just Like That' Part 4: A Wedding, a They Mitzvah and a Funeral Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

In the finale of season 1 of “And Just Like That…”, our gals are in the full swing of their third acts — mid-widowhood, mid-divorce, and of course, mid-happy marriage and motherhood. Carrie, almost a year after Big’s death, needs to decide where to put his ashes to rest, possibly with the aid of Big’s eternal spirit speaking to her through a malfunctioning reading lamp. Miranda finds out, through a semipublic musical number, that Che is moving to L.A. to shoot a pilot (the studio thinks they’re “the new Roseanne”). Charlotte is throwing what she terms a “they mitzvah” for Rock, who could not be less interested, no matter how many hipster sourdough challahs and Dylan’s Candy Bar bars Charlotte buys.

By the end of the episode and the season, the gang has been set asail on their own solo journeys for a time: Carrie is the girl who goes to Paris, Charlotte is the girl who gets uninvited from Paris, and Miranda is the girl who goes to L.A. to spend the summer with her new boo instead of doing a super-cool internship. (And naturally, Carrie starts a solo podcast, and naturally, it’s awful.)

Our new central cast are also off on their own paths: in Nya’s case, mid-marital crisis over the Child Question; in Seema’s, mid-sexy fling with a French club owner; in Che’s, mid-pivot to Hollywood; in LTW’s, well, mid-happy marriage and motherhood.

This finale was (like most of the season) frustratingly disconnected from reality; refreshingly interested in exploring new directions for its old characters, while infuriatingly unwilling to engage with the depth of the conflict these changes would cause; at times cringe; and at times quite delightful. Hari Nef is a treat as Rabbi Jen, who steps in to handle Rock’s disastrous they mitzvah and Carrie’s tiff with Miranda over Paris vs. L.A. with equal aplomb, and the sherbet-hued ensemble Carrie dons to scatter Big’s ashes simply has to be seen to be appreciated.

We dig into all this, plus: What is Carrie’s worst breakup story, actually, and why is it definitely “I got broken up with by a Post-It”? Is the resolution of the Samantha plotline satisfying? When did Carrie get so rich? Is she qualified to give relationship advice via podcast? Would we take a second season? And if so, what do we want to see in it? Hope you enjoy! xo

We’ve been reading…

“My Friend Anna” by Rachel DeLoache Williams, the then-Vanity Fair photo editor who was invited on a lavish Moroccan vacation as a guest of Anna Delvey (née Sorokin) and then stuck with the catastrophically high bill. She’s also a character in the upcoming Netflix series, and the differences in perspective are fascinating, to put it lightly. -Claire

I’ve also been down an Anna Delvey/Sorokin supplementary reading hole ahead of the release of “Inventing Anna,” reading Sorokin’s recent Insider essay (which she wrote from ICE custody) and Williams’ latest piece for AirMail which has some choice criticism for Netflix. I also re-read Jia Tolentino’s 2018 New Yorker essay about our cultural obsession with grifters, and why Anna’s particularly brand of folk hero-like scam was so intoxicating to gawk at. -Emma

We’ve been watching…

“Inventing Anna,” the aforementioned Netflix series on the grifting folk hero Anna Delvey who infiltrated the most elite and moneyed New York circles by claiming to be a connected German heiress. It’s very ripped-from-the-headlines, and the angle is very girl-bossy, and the whole thing feels a bit dated — and surprisingly gray and dour for a show about such a juicy tabloid story. We’ll both have more to say on this soon! -Claire

Anyone who has been following our work and pods knows that I’m not the harshest critic and have a pretty strong stomach for soapy trash of all varietals. However, I have some… FEELINGS, not particularly positive ones, about “Inventing Anna.” Can’t wait to share them when we record next week’s Rich Text episode. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

The “You’re Wrong About” episode on Tom Cruise’s viral Oprah couch-jump, featuring Willa Paskin. The pod offers some light debunking (though I personally don’t see much difference between seeing someone jump up onto a couch and seeing them give an extra bounce or two once up there); more interesting to me is how it positions the episode as taking place at a moment when the context collapse of Internet virality was just becoming possible, but before the celebrity machine had really cottoned onto it. Paskin points out how safe and warm Oprah’s show and audience — including its very enthusiastic in-studio audience — would have seemed to Cruise, and how that context simply didn’t translate for viewers catching a clip of the weirdest moments later. It’s a really lovely conversation and left me with more knowledge of this watershed moment in Cruise’s career than I ever thought I needed. -Claire

I tore through “Sweet Bobby,” the Tortoise media podcast about a woman who was elaborately catfished for a decade by her distant cousin. It is a fascinating look into the world of online scams, the psychology behind them, the damage they leave in their wake, and why the shame that surrounds victims so often prevents scammers from being stopped. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

There was a Hill House nap dress drop this week, and I succumbed to the lure of black lace (for weddings??). -Claire

I did it. I got the beautiful lilac tulle Hill House dress (it’s now sold out, but her navy sister isn’t) and it’s simply too pretty to even contemplate returning. My other favorite — and far more practical — buy from the drop was the Samantha Dress in black poplin, which is not sold out! I suspect she will be in my heavy rotation for years to come. -Emma

[PREVIEW] 'And Just Like That' Part 3: Miranda In Love Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

In episodes 7 to 9 of HBO’s “Sex and the City” reboot “And Just Like That…”, the mid-life crisis season, the crises continue apace. Carrie writes her grief memoir and goes on a tragic date. Charlotte discovers her 15-year-old daughter knows about thirst traps. Miranda has an affair AND a divorce without ever having an on-screen conversation with her teenage son. These three episodes offer only slight attention to details like “plot continuity” and “the number of seasons that pass in three months,” but they’re distractingly action-packed and full of eye candy (hello, Carrie’s old Versace ballgown), as well as some classic scenes of the besties joking about their sex lives. As episode 9 wraps, Miranda and Carrie are in completely different places than they were when the series opened, and Charlotte — well, Charlotte, for now, is on top at last.

And with that, “And Just Like That…” has careened, like a glittering rollercoaster, into its home stretch. Only the season finale remains to tidy away an enormous amount of loose ends, most of them related to our messy queen Miranda (is Brady ever going to have feelings about his parents’ divorce — or, uh, learn about it at all? Has Miranda moved out? Is she still in recovery? What happened in Cleveland? Are she and Che ever going to actually talk about what kind of relationship they can have?) but also related to our other heroines (is Carrie ever going to get back on the merry-go-round, and will she do it with hirsute teacher Peter? Will there be any sort of detente with Samantha? Is Charlotte totally satisfied being a mom and charity board member, or does she want to rejoin the professional art world? Will Nya and André decide about trying for a baby once and for all? Will Seema fall in love? Will LTW ever get a real solo plot? Does Stanford just live in Tokyo forever now, no further questions?).

Next week, we’ll be discussing the finale and looking back at the season as a whole, but for this episode, we discussed the penultimate three episodes in alarming detail. Key topics include Carrie’s yearning for cool, the Che Diaz backlash cycle, doddering Steve, cynic Miranda vs. romantic Miranda, Kristin Davis’s acting, sex-positive parenting, appropriate outfits for house-painting, Nya’s baby ambivalence, how late is too late to be partying on a stoop in NYC, and more!

We’ve been watching…

I love a period piece, so I have been enjoying HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” Julian Fellowes’ new drama set in the 1800s among the elite in New York City. The costumes are sumptuous, Brooklyn is treated like another country, robber barons are building railroads, and everyone who’s anyone lives uptown by the park. (Also, it quite topically features Cynthia Nixon in a prominent role!) -Emma

“Too Hot to Handle” Season 3! I think this actually might be my favorite crew yet, from the Hot Topic fuckboy (has everyone talked about the Hot Topic fuckboy without me?) to the most beautiful friends-to-lovers romance of our time. -Claire

We’ve been reading…

“Miss Me With That” by Rachel Lindsay, of course! The iconic former Bachelorette’s memoir hit bookstores this week, and it’s a rollicking read — she covers her upbringing, her romantic history, the nitty-gritty of her casting experience on “The Bachelor,” and even some mansion gossip.

I’ve also been catching up on some lit world chatter, and most of it right now is about Sean Thor Conroe’s heralded debut “Fuccboi.” The book was given the seal of approval by legendary internet lit publisher Giancarlo DiTrapano of Tyrant Books, who died last April, and reviews have been split between the admiring and the horrified. (As Hanson O’Haver put it for Gawker, “More Like Suckboi.”) Every passage I see from it is mortifying to read; for example, Conroe’s struggling writer narrator reportedly refers to all women as “baes,” including “editor bae” and “ex bae.” Meanwhile, author Sam Pink posted a blog claiming “Fuccboi” is “a complete rip off of my style.” Does the book suck, or is it a faithful rip-off of an actual artist’s work? Can it somehow be both? Art… it’s complicated. -Claire

I have of course found time to read “Miss Me With That.” Rachel Lindsay says early on in her memoir that it’s not going to be your “typical Bachelor book.” She delivers on this promise, and it’s a real fun ride.

I’ve also been reading the second book in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, “The Viscount Who Loved Me,” to get myself excited for the second season which is coming out on Netflix in March. Swoon! -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“Where You Are” from “Moana,” which is my son’s current YouTube favorite. We still haven’t seen “Moana” (he doesn’t have a movie-level attention span yet) but he will demand this song on repeat, and now it is in my head on repeat and probably will be until I die. At least it’s a constant reminder to “find happiness right where I am” (in our small apartment with a high-energy two-year-old who has been in daycare for less than 10 days since the holidays). -Claire

I’ve been a bit under the weather this week — apparently illnesses other than Covid still exist, which is a real indignity — so I’ve been opting for calming music that won’t make my migraines worse. Lots of light jazz. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

Merit makeup, a clean beauty brand which has been advertised relentlessly to me on Instagram but also, recently, recommended on Instagram by writer Esmé Wang, who is so enviably glamorous that I immediately bought two of the products she posted about using for at-home beauty treatments.

I wrote last week that my skin has been abysmal, and my Glossier routine — which looked so lovely with my fresh summer skin — was not cutting it. I needed something with more coverage that I could do in five minutes (in other words, not a full face of foundation). I got the Minimalist complexion perfecting stick in Dune and use it on my undereyes, around my nose and chin, and over blemishes. It is a bit dry, so it does cling to flaky patches on the face. But if I make sure my skin is fully prepped and very moisturized, it’s a dream: goes on quick, lasts all day and doesn’t make my skin oily whatsoever — it really does look and feel like clean skin once it’s buffed in. I’ve also been loving the Merit mascara, which gives me natural-looking, fluttery length and has quelled my longing to try a lash lift, and the brow pomade, which never smears on application like my Boy Brow. -Claire

Somehow Claire and I seem to consistently be on the same wavelength with our purchases. I don’t know if it’s the winter season or just two years of Pandemic-land, but I’ve been wanting to upgrade my makeup routine. I’ve recently started using creamier products with setting spray, rather than relying so much on the bareMinerals powders and Glossier finishers I’ve been using forever. This is a somewhat shameful confession, but I found myself on Rachael Kirkconnell’s daily makeup tutorial video on my IG Explore page, and decided to check out some of the makeup brands she used. I ended up purchasing a few products from DIBS Beauty, including their Desert Island Duo (a blush/bronzer stick) in Shade 2 — I like that you can use it as blush, bronzer, eyeshadow and lip color! — the No Pressure Lip Liner in Shade 1, and the No Pressure Lip Gloss Topper in pink, which really feels like an upgraded versions of the lip glosses I used to buy at CVS right next to the Wet n’ Wild. -Emma

[PREVIEW] 'Yellowjackets' & Scary Beautiful Girls Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

If there’s anything more horrifying than being a teenage girl stuck in a hormonal body and a socially treacherous high school, it’s being a teenage girl stuck in a hormonal body and the Canadian wilderness as winter approaches, food dwindles, and your fellow teenage girl companions are growing increasingly hungry and restless.

That’s the topline selling point of “Yellowjackets,” a Showtime drama about a New Jersey state champion girls’ soccer team who have to survive 19 months in the Ontario forest after their plane crashes en route to nationals. The show, which opens with a nightmarish sequence in which a girl is killed, butchered, and eaten by people draped in animal skins, became an unexpected smash hit this winter. But, as Emma argued in a fantastic MSNBC essay, “Yellowjackets” used teen girl cannibalism as a hook for a show that, in its first season, offered very little cannibalism — and much more meat.

The show unfolds as two parallel narratives: in 1996, the girls win the state championship, crash in the Ontario wild on the way to nationals, and struggle to survive a summer and autumn filled with danger, deprivation, and death. In 2021, four of the survivors — Nat (Juliette Lewis), who has been in and out of rehab for years; Shauna (Melanie Lynskey), a miserable and repressed housewife who married the high school boyfriend of her best friend Jackie, who died in the woods; Taissa (Tawny Cypress), a successful lawyer with a wife and son who is putting it all on the line to run for state Senate; and Misty (Christina Ricci), the former team equipment manager and now a hospice nurse by day, citizen detective by night, with a cruel streak fueled by her yearning for acceptance and connection — are brought back together by shocking events, including the suspicious death of Travis, who survived the wilderness with them, and ominous messages threatening to expose the truth about what they did to survive.

For two squeamish gals, watching this show was something of a challenge. It’s heavy on the gore, from compound fractures to plane crash close-ups to straight-up butchery, and the show also creates a lingering sense of unease throughout, with the frequent use of a droning hum in the background and ominous music cues to remind us that danger always lurks nearby.

But we watched it, and it was worth it. The show offered so much red, bloody meat for discussion, it’s little wonder that it’s fueled endless fan theorizing and critical conversation. We could have talked for hours. Here’s what we did talk about: the show’s dual structure and genre interplay, Christina Ricci’s wig, the ‘90s fixation on beautiful teen killers, the identity-obliterating intensity of adolescent female friendships, Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome, the depiction of Lottie’s mental illness and/or supernatural powers, the trauma plot and trauma bonding. And more!

We’ve included a list of some of the great criticism and interviews we read before taping this below. Hope you enjoy! xo

A “Yellowjackets” syllabus:

“Horror And Hormones, Grief And Gore, In ‘Yellowjackets’,” Doreen St. Felix, New Yorker

“The Rival Shows of ‘Yellowjackets,’” Andrea Long Chu, New Yorker

“Christina Ricci Knew The Spiky Roles Were Coming,” Rachel Syme, New Yorker

“Melanie Lynskey Is Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take It Anymore. Maybe.,” EJ Dickson, Rolling Stone

Juliette Lewis, an ‘Imagination Freak Fairy,’ Knows Her Worth,” Melena Ryzik, NYTimes

“Now and then: How ‘Yellowjackets’ purposefully reminds Gen Xers of who we thought we'd be,” Melanie McFarland, Salon

“‘Yellowjackets’ Season Finale Teases Cannibalism — But Delivers On Much More,” Emma Gray, MSNBC

We’ve been reading…

Lots of “Yellowjackets” coverage (see above), and continuing to read Danielle J. Lindemann’s “True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us.” -Claire

I too have been devouring any and all “Yellowjackets” content, but have also been re-reading an adolescent favorite of mine: Francesca Lia Block’s magical “I Was A Teenage Fairy.” It’s such a joy to go back and revisit material that meant so much to you when you were young and see what lands when you read it again as a full adult. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“I Could Cry Right Now If You Wanted Me To,” the first LP from Brooklyn-based indie rock band Razor Braids. It’s been a few years since I made any real effort to find new artists, or even listened much to anything but the handful of breakout pop albums of each year, so I might not have come across this group except for a fortuitous coincidence: One of the four musicians is also my sister-in-law’s sister! She described their sound in an interview as combining “indie rock vulnerability with a punk rock energy tied up in a little 90s DIY package,” and the riot grrrl vibe is really giving me the “Yellowjackets” energy that I’ve reluctantly become hooked on. -Claire

I loved hearing Jacqueline Trumbull and Paul Seli’s Love Fest episode on Dear Shandy. It was like getting to hang out with a bunch of my friends and their love soothed my soul. -Emma

We’ve been watching…

We finally finished the second season of “The Great” this week — which hit a bit of a lull halfway through, but then picked dramatically back up with the introduction of Gillian Anderson as Joanna, Empress Catherine’s undermining mother, who rapidly reduces her headstrong daughter to a puddle of indecision soup. We’re still trying to decide on our next show, since we’re watching “Station Eleven” separately (he got impatient while we were finishing “The Great”). -Claire

Season 3 of “To Hot To Handle.” So much underboob! So many new iterations on the cutout swimsuit! So many hot people from the UK talking about the importance of ban-tuh! I have few critical thoughts about it, but I devoured the third season extremely quickly, so clearly I’m still into it. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

This fall, my skin took a severe turn for the worse — it’s been rough, flaky, oily, uneven, with ever-expanding pores and a stubborn cheek cyst that has been refusing to heal for months — so I started prescription tretinoin from Apostrophe, which has been slowly working but also drying my skin out. Add in the winter freeze, and my face has been as flaky as a croissant. I had to go against my decades-long practice of avoiding face creams and add more intense hydration. Recently I’ve been using the Summer Fridays Cloud Dew Oil-Free Gel Cream at night and mixing a smidge of Glossier FutureDew serum into my morning moisturizer. I’ve been shocked at how soft and even my skin seems after using the Cloud Dew cream in particular — and as a lifelong oily gal, there’s something kind of thrilling about giving dehydrated winter skin something to drink up, getting silky soft and bouncy in the process. -Claire

I’ve been obsessed with stretchy pants that elevate one’s look more than leggings — hence my constant search for great vegan leather pants. I bought these Split Hem Vegan Leather Pants in both black and tan, and now Abercrombie released a Curve Love version, which I am tempted to jump on as I think it would fit me even better. They’re comfy, flattering and make me feel fancy even if I’m just throwing a casual, oversized sweater or sweatshirt on top. -Emma

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[PREVIEW] Everyone's Having Fun In 'The Sex Lives of College Girls' Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

We both have a lot in common with famous comedy multi-hyphenate Mindy Kaling. We often wonder if everyone is hanging out without us, and we adore romantic comedies. Most importantly, we graduated from college over a decade ago, and some part of us can’t help but wonder: Are young women on campus these days having more fun than we did, personally? (Or would they be, you know, Covid aside.)

To be fair, we have no reason to believe this niggling question was the exact inspiration for Kaling’s delightful (if sometimes a bit didactic) comedy “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” However, watching the show did make us surprisingly wistful for the world of college dating and hookups — an experience that seems much more pleasurable, sex-positive, and thrilling for the central characters than we recall it being for us in the late aughts. It’s a sweetly funny vision of undergrad life, populated by women who might not have everything figured out, but who are at least having very satisfying sex at least some of the time.

Our main foursome — Bela Malhotra (Amrit Kaur), Kimberly Finkle (Pauline Chalamet), Whitney Chase (Alyah Chanelle Scott), and Leighton Murray (Renée Rapp) — are freshwomen who have been thrown together by the housing gods at Essex College, a fictional Ivy-ish school in Vermont. Bela is a gregarious aspiring comedy writer and abs enthusiast eager to climb the ranks of the legendary campus comedy mag and enjoy a sexual Rumspringa after years as a pimply nerd. Awkward Kimberly, a sheltered girl from a small town in Arizona, just wants to study hard and wow her French professor — at least until she develops a major crush on Leighton’s hot older brother Nico. WASPy Leighton is a tortured snob in Cher Horowitz-esque designer skirt suits who winds up in their suite after her two prep school besties ask not to be roomed with her; she’s also deeply in the closet, and holds everyone at arm’s length to avoid being found out. Whitney, the clean-cut daughter of a well-known progressive senator, is a rising star on the Essex women’s soccer team — oh, and she’s having a secret affair with the hot assistant coach.

As these four very different women become friends and explore the college experience, they encounter many frat parties with elaborate themes, hot guys, and triumphant successes on math assessment quizzes. But it’s not all fun and naked parties. Leighton’s journey to self-acceptance is an emotionally painful one. Kimberly, who comes from a working-class background, struggles to acclimate to the socioeconomically privileged space she’s worked so hard to reach. Whitney wants to escape the burden of her mom’s high-profile, all-consuming career. And Bela finds that the path to comedy glory at Essex is littered with leering men and overt sexism. But again and again, they find supportive allies and communities to lift them up and set them on the right path.

In this episode, we talk about the way “Sex Lives” portrays the sex lives of young women, how the show explores class and race, which characters we identify with, and whether the show’s cozy vision of women’s lives on campus — even in the aftermath of sexual harassment — is perfectly comforting or at times a bit too perfect to resonate. We hope you enjoy! xo

We’ve been watching…

“Abbott Elementary”!!! It’s been a minute since I’ve been wowed by a network sitcom, but I saw a fair amount of buzz for this new single-cam mockumentary created by and starring Quinta Brunson, so I checked it out. And… wow. It’s a workplace comedy very much in the vein of “The Office” — the conceit of a documentary team following an ordinary group of workers, the incompetent and narcissistic boss, the smart but downtrodden lead, the characters always punctuating awkward moments with a glance at the camera — which happens to be a vein I really love. It’s super funny, full of heart (especially for public school teachers and kids), and is setting up a classic will-they-won’t-they for Brunson’s character and the handsome new sub, which I am prepared to ship.

Also, I’ve been watching “Yellowjackets” for a future pod, which is wigging me out to the point that on Friday night I couldn’t go to sleep because I kept thinking someone had broken into our apartment and was standing behind our bedroom door. I love art. -Claire

The final season of “The Hookup Plan,” a criminally underrated French Netflix show which centers of the romantic and professional and personal travails of three Parisian women in their early 30s. Whereas the first season focused in on the absurdity (and ultimately romance) of Elsa’s two best friends, Charlotte and Emilie, setting her up with a very sexy sex worker, Jules, season three is quieter and less bombastic in nature. The three main characters have gotten a bit older, settled into careers and relationships and are looking ahead at what the next stage of their lives might be. Elsa and Jules are desperate to have a child but are encountering fertility issues. Emilie and husband Antoine wonder if they were meant to be parents to just one child after a surprise second pregnancy. Charlotte, who has never wanted kids, starts to lose herself in a relationship and wonder what it looks like to really take care of herself. I loved this short and sweet season because it mirrored — in a lighthearted way — many of the questions my peers are currently asking ourselves, and it provides some reassurance that friendships can persist even when best friends don’t answer these questions in the same way. -Emma

We’ve been reading…

Danielle J. Lindemann’s upcoming sociological survey of American reality TV, “True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us”! We’ve always talked a lot about how “The Bachelor” both reflects us and shapes us, holds up a funhouse mirror to society and also helps perpetuate the aspects of society that it captures. But Lindemann’s book dives deep on this, examining shows from “The Real World” to “Survivor” to “Real Housewives” and drawing upon decades of scholarship on this genre and mass media generally. Much like another recent reality read, “How to Win ‘The Bachelor’” by Lizzy Pace and Chad Kultgen (whom we interviewed about their book on “Love to See It” last week), “True Story” takes a rigorous, critical look at reality TV. While “How to Win ‘The Bachelor’” focuses on deconstructing how players experience the form, “True Story” deconstructs how it represents and works in our society. Both books have been really thought-provoking and clarifying, and just a wonderful way to begin a new year of “Bachelor” coverage with renewed vigor and perspective. -Claire

I (appropriately) literarily-binged my way through “How To Win ‘The Bachelor’” before our podcast last week, and I finally finished Lauren Oyler’s wonderful “Fake Accounts,” a book I had gotten halfway through last year when it came out, loved what I read and yet just never finished. Sometimes, it’s nice to go back to the things that your brain couldn’t concentrate on for whatever reason. The latter half was just as satisfying as the first. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“Normal Gossip,” the new Defector podcast hosted by our bud Kelsey McKinney! Just a little something she cooked up when she wasn’t publishing a brilliant novel, cofounding a worker-owned media company, reporting, and writing scorching essays. Each episode features an anonymized but real piece of gossip from the lives of normal people. I’m not the kind of person who receives a lot of gossip, probably because I have a relatively small social network, don’t like to pry and am not charming enough to do it tactfully, and can be kind of judgmental (friends, please feel free to let me know other reasons why you don’t want to tell me gossip). This is unfortunate, because I LOVE GOSSIP. This pod fills a real hole in my life and I’m grateful. -Claire

I find Claire’s recommendation rude because I was ALSO planning to recommend “Normal Gossip” this week. (JK Claire, I guess we can share this one!!!) As someone who has a completely insatiable thirst for delicious gossip, Kelsey’s new pod washes over me like a balm — a balm that I immediately want more of the minute it’s soaked in. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

Long underwear on sale from 32 Degrees. Jeans aren’t enough to keep my legs from going numb on playground trips this time of year (I used to be able to just choose to stay inside in the winter, but no more). A previous purchase from Land’s End proved to have a ridiculously thick, wide, loose waistband, but these seem to fit and have a much more normal amount of elastic. Stay warm out there, kids! -Claire

I’ve already raved about August + Monroe’s 3-in-1 Blemish Camouflage stick, which I’m about to place a refill order for, but I recently tried their Calm Cream, a beautifully-packaged, lightweight moisturizer (my boyfriend even loved using it when we were traveling), which can be easily turned into an effective tinted moisturizer when mixed with the blemish camo! I’ve been wearing it daily and it makes me feel like I don’t need to put on foundation most of the time.

I also have continued my Abercrombie obsession, and have found that their seamless bodysuits, like this crewneck one and this mock turtleneck one (which is currently on sale!) are the perfect layering pieces for freezing NYC winter weather if you want to both be warm and feel chic. -Emma

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[PREVIEW] 'And Just Like That' Part 2: There's Something About Miranda Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Over the last four episodes of “And Just Like That…”, our awesome threesome has really gone through it.

SPOILER ALERT: We will now talk about what they’ve gone through. Proceed with caution.

Carrie begins to suspect Big carried a torch for, or had an affair with, Natasha. Then she needs to get major hip surgery due to a congenital defect, and face the possibility of never walking in heels EVER AGAIN.
Miranda spirals deeper into her alcoholism, finally hitting rock bottom and deciding to quit — oh, and she realizes she’s into Carrie’s boss, Che, and has sex with them in Carrie’s kitchen while her post-op friend lies helplessly nearby.
Charlotte… has a wonderful child who is exploring their identity. Okay, so Charlotte is not super going through it, but hey, they can’t all be in crisis at the same time!

In this middle batch of “AJLT” episodes, the show also tries — only somewhat successfully — to make space for its four new central castmembers. Nya, Miranda’s professor, gets a mini-arc about her ambivalence about continuing IVF; Seema, Carrie’s glamorous realtor, gets one about the family pressure she’s under to find love. Lisa (or LTW), Charlotte’s PTA buddy, wants acceptance from her mother-in-law, and Che, podcaster and comedy concert performer, wants… to fuck Miranda and perform comedy, presumably.

But their screentime is minimal compared to the original three, and the show still seems to be grappling with how to integrate so many new perspectives — and with how to bring Miranda, Charlotte, and Carrie into 2021. Both Miranda and Charlotte are shown spectacularly fucking up in their attempts to come off as anti-racist and with it (in one episode, Charlotte tries to strong-arm her Black neighbor into coming to dinner so that LTW and her husband won’t be the only Black friends there), and while there’s an honesty to showing the kind of missteps they make, it’s also jarring how few consequences they face, other than some momentary awkwardness quickly smoothed over by their Black acquaintances.

There’s so much more to explore in these four episodes — so much that we went SUPER LONG on this pod, learning that we simply can’t do four episodes in under 2 hours next time. We discuss plotlines about aging and plastic surgery, extramarital affairs, parenting trans children, ultra-modern apartments and mystery beeping, Stanford’s necessary but inglorious exit, problematic dolls, and the rise of Anthony.

We hope you enjoy this very long episode! xo

We’ve been watching…

I just got the press screener for the “Yellowjackets” finale and I am very relieved to report that this brilliant show about trauma, girlhood, and the viciousness of the latter, sticks the motherfucking landing. Buzz buzz, bitches. -Emma

“Starstruck” on HBO Max. It feels like every week I report to the teacher (all of you) that I couldn’t finish my homework (reading/TV watching/podcast listening/newsletter writing) because my son has been home sick from daycare, but: he’s been home sick from daycare. Since CHRISTMAS. So we needed a light half-hour comedy to watch in the evenings while we shoved frozen pizza in our mouths before falling into bed. “Starstruck,” a sweet romcom series from the U.K., turns “Notting Hill” upside-down as it follows a snarky nanny/cinema usher through her unexpected hookup-turned-romance with a famous actor. It’s a very pleasant way to pass a few hours. -Claire

We’ve been reading…

I really needed to dive into a story that would make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and Alison Rose Greenberg’s debut novel, “Bad Luck Bridesmaid,” did just that. It follows Zoey Marks, a woman in her early 30s who is uninterested in (and bordering on terrified of) marriage as she navigates the end of a relationship with a man who desperately wanted marital bliss, and the impending nuptials of her best friend. The novel is light and funny and well-written, and wraps up in a way that defies your cookie cutter happy ending. -Emma

I decided to read Colson Whitehead’s “Harlem Shuffle” over the break. My son even helped me out by shouting “MOMMY BOOK!” whenever he spotted it lying around the apartment and running to bring it over to me. Unfortunately I’m stalled halfway because I had to start doing work during naptime again after the holidays, but the first half conjures such a rich world, and creates a compelling protagonist in Carney, a somewhat shady furniture salesman from a family of crooks, who’s trying to keep his family afloat and climbing the social ladder — an almost impossible task to achieve honestly. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

“Harsh Reality: The Story of Miriam Rivera.” This 7-part podcast looks back at the life of Miriam Rivera, the trans woman who was at the center of “There’s Something About Miriam,” a horrifyingly misguided and transphobic 2003 reality show in which a group of British men vied for Miriam’s affections. The twist? At the end, Miriam would “reveal her secret” — aka her identity as a non-cisgender woman. Rivera died in 2019, and this podcast, hosted by Trace Lysette pays beautiful tribute to her and forces many of the players involved in “There’s Something About Miriam” to reflect on its uncomfortable legacy. -Emma

The ongoing “You’re Wrong About” series on “The Amityville Horror,” the book by Jay Anson that launched the true-haunting media empire. Sarah Marshall and Jamie Loftus walk us through the book, the backstory, and all the weird cultural norms baked into the narrative — like how it’s treated as completely normal that the new husband and stepfather in the family isn’t honest with his wife about anything and constantly shouts at his stepchildren. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

This sweater vest dress from Abercrombie. I am legitimately obsessed with the A&F rebrand and I can’t stop buying their eminently wearable, classic-feeling basics. -Emma

My skin has been, like, terrible lately?? And while Instagram moms always seem to have a full face of makeup on, it feels a bit pointless to me — my toddler literally ground a handful of snow in my face the other day ten minutes after I applied concealer and mascara. But Glossier hasn’t been cutting it, and I was starting to just feel down about my ~whole look~.

So I was in a very vulnerable place for impulse cosmetic shopping, and ended up ordering some Merit products after resisting the Instagram ads for months. The idea is that they allow you to do a quick easy routine, but do offer some coverage — rather than a totally sheer skin tint like Glossier’s, the Minimalist foundation/concealer stick is meant to be applied to targeted areas (like undereye circles and blemishes) and then blended out. They also sell a very popular tinted lip oil, and even with nightly applications of my beloved Laneige lip mask, I could use some more daily lip moisture. So I caved! I will update when I see how they work on my face. -Claire

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Happy New Year! And A Thank You. Jan 01, 2022

Show notes

This is the free edition of Rich Text, a newsletter about cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. If you like what you see and hear, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

We soft launched Rich Text one year ago. It was supposed to be a hobby, an experiment, an attempt to rediscover joy in writing after a demoralizing year of Covid scares, lockdowns, and (for Claire) new motherhood. Instead, in the 12 months since our inaugural newsletter — thanks to an unexpected layoff — it became one of our primary projects and sources of income.

We rapidly ramped up our newsletter capacity, and, in an attempt to keep up with our Bachelor coverage as Matt James’s season wound to a chaotic close, we began publishing our recap podcasts here as well. Our Bachelor podcast, Here to Make Friends, eventually found a new home with Stitcher as Love to See It with Emma and Claire, but we immediately realized that we had an opportunity with Rich Text to podcast about everything else: scripted TV, books, weird Twitter storms like Bad Art Friend and broader cultural topics like motherhood. We kept writing essays, if less frequently than we should have. In the year since we launched this newsletter, it’s grown from a tiny side gig to the center of our work life.

And that, to be honest, is about all of you. We were, and are, profoundly grateful for everyone who subscribed to the newsletter in the wake of our involuntary departure from HuffPost, and we are grateful for everyone who subscribes now. We appreciate everyone who reads and/or listens to Rich Text, everyone who shares it, and everyone who lets it pile up in their inbox because it really can be pretty hard to keep up with all your subscriptions (Claire says, eyeing her stack of unopened NYRBs in the corner). And, of course, we appreciate those readers and listeners who pay for premium subscriptions. Everyone who pays to subscribe to Rich Text makes it possible for us to keep doing what we love, which is writing and talking about culture.

Subscribe now

Starting a newsletter was a sort of optimistic, clean-slate New Year’s gesture in 2021, when we wanted it to signify our renewed commitment to blogging it out and keeping our synapses firing. Now it’s another new year, and another moment to take stock. Much like 2020, 2021 didn’t go much like we expected (globally, politically, professionally, or personally). Professionally, it’s been a terrifying and yet exhilarating new world for us. In this week’s pod, we talk about how this year of Rich Text went, what we’re proud of, and what we want to work on in 2022.

This week, in lieu of recommendations, we’re digging into the Rich Text archives. Here are our favorite podcast episodes and essays of 2021.

Claire

Photos From The Moment Before

On 'Superstore' And The Ties That Bind

Seeing Other People

Sally Rooney's Glittering Surfaces

Emma

The Endless Pit Of Desire

Did The Pandemic Steal Our Youth?

Rage Against The (Diet) Machine

All My Group Texts Are Filled With Despair

Podcast Episodes

Bonus Chat: We Rewatched 'The Nanny'

Audio Chat: Bridging The Motherhood Divide

The Lord Is The Ultimate Upline: 'LuLaRich' With Ali Barthwell

'Sex/Life' Doesn't Elucidate Much About Sex Or Life

'Sex And The City' Revisited: Season 1

Please let us know in the comments what you’d love to see more of in 2022! And again, thank you for being here. Happy New Year!

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[PREVIEW] 'Emily In Paris' Returns Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

The perennial question faced by protagonists in fiction — especially, let’s be honest, female protagonists — is whether they are “likable.” It’s both an understandable question (to convince an audience to spend any significant amount of time in their company, one would think it should be pleasant to be around them) and a limiting one (“likable” characters are not the only ones who are interesting and rewarding to engage with).

Emily Cooper, the heroine of “Emily in Paris,” has been widely deemed unlikable, despite her immaculate brunette waves, kooky couture ensembles (courtesy of Patricia Field), and sunny disposition. Lily Collins, who plays Emily, has even felt compelled to defend her character’s “beautiful qualities” in interviews. “To have someone be optimistic, bright, and bubbly — it's sad to think that people would look and go, ‘That’s a lot,’” she told Nylon.

And we have to admit, we’re among those people. Since Emily first stepped a stiletto on the cobblestones of Paris, we’ve found her a bit grating, a bit hard to relate to. Which leaves us with the question: so what? Does it matter that we don’t particularly like Emily, and if so, why can’t we like her? In this episode, we dig into the spunky Chicagoan as a character — her seemingly limited emotional range, her purported work addiction, her truly mind-boggling fashion — and her Parisian hijinks, particularly her slowly imploding love triangle with Gabriel and Camille.

Happy holidays! We’ll see you in 2022.

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We’ve been watching…

“The Sex Lives of College Girls”! Once again I’m a week behind Emma. After everyone from David Plotz of Slate’s Political Gabfest to my brother-in-law recommended it, I had to take Emma’s tip. The first episode feels like it could have been like four episodes, and maybe provided some more backstory, but the central foursome have already charmed me, and so has Leighton’s hot brother. -Claire

“Yellowjackets”!!!!!!! Holy fuck, I cannot believe that my terror of all things horror/gore-adjacent kept me from starting this brilliant show. But since I was stuck in Omicron quarantine — I am triple vaxxed so my symptoms were mild! Get boosted, everyone! — I have had time to catch up on all of the TV I’ve been meaning to watch, including Showtime’s fantastic new drama. “Yellowjackets” follows a high school girls soccer team who are in a plane crash en route to nationals, and end up stuck in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months in the mid-’90s. The show toggles back and forth between the past and present, and it has it all: Gen X icons like Christina Ricca and Juliette Lewis! Exploration of trauma and female rage! A soundtrack that features Hole and Liz Phair and The Cranberries! I bit the bullet and paid for Showtime streaming for this, and I do not regret it. -Emma

We’ve been reading…

“The Days of Afrekete” by Asali Solomon, in which our frazzled hostess is now struggling through a painful dinner party freighted with microaggressions and social gaffes while recalling her college years and her 20s, when she dated women and dreamed of becoming a writer or a DJ. The “Dalloway” resonances are profound. I’ve also started “Zami” by Audre Lorde, a biomythography, to which the title of Solomon’s book is a reference. -Claire

To be perfectly honest, I’ve had some fatigue and brain fog from Covid, so I haven’t read much of substance that’s new. However, I have been reading a lot of good tweets and memes. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

Random music from my Apple Music library! When I hit play on my iPhone, intending to restart Spotify or Overcast, it often has dropped the last app I was listening to from the queue and instead starts playing something from my Apple Music tracks.

Currently, this library contains only purchases I made from Apple, and because most of my music pre-streaming was purchased on CD and then uploaded, my Apple Music consists of the most random shit: three songs from “Red,” one from “Speak Now,” and all of “1989”; “Paper Planes” by M.I.A.; “Wavin’ Flag” by K’naan; the Glee cast recording of “Valerie”; songs by Alexz Johnson from the Canadian teen soap “Instant Star”; Anaïs Mitchell and A Fine Frenzy and Eve 6 and Florence + the Machine and Jack’s Mannequin. It’s a hot mess of music I didn’t bother to buy CD albums of from 2004 to 2012, and no matter what song comes up, I’m still into it. It’s an instant time capsule. I listened to Hey Monday and Savage Garden the other night while making beans.

Then I thought about how I was seduced by the streaming era into listening to music in such an unconsidered, frictionless way that I am now 33 and can never remember what music I like. I have no library of records or CDs to browse, just a search bar waiting for me to tap in a request. It sucks! This is why everyone is into vinyl now, right? -Claire

I’ve been catching up on the latest season of “Heavyweight,” Jonathan Goldstein’s beautiful storytelling podcast in which he delves into one person’s past — a trauma, a lingering question, something that’s stuck with them since childhood — in each episode. He’s just so very good. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

More huggie hoops — this time from Ana Luisa, which has a nice selection of plain and detailed choices. I wear these fuller-bodied hoops every day now, and I also love the slightly more interesting look of these beaded ones.

Plus, searching for some tighter tops to pair with mom jeans (the changing of a denim silhouette is murder on the entire wardrobe), I found this mockneck sweater at Urban Outfitters. The chocolate shade I bought is no longer available, but I’m jealous of anyone who can pull off the red and bright yellow ones that remain. It’s such a cute basic, and the huge back cut-out makes it, well, a little less basic. -Claire

I also bought some gold hoops recently, though they’re bigger than huggies. I’ve shouted out Second Wind before for their beautiful masks and mask chains, but they also have gorgeous jewelry! I got their smallest 14k gold-plated hoops, the Alexandra Hoops, and they are perfect.

I’ve also continued to be on an Abercrombie kick, which my 13-year-old self would find incredibly bizarre. They’re still having a pretty big holiday sale, and I got these great Tailored Menswear Dad Pants in off-white, and this Vegan Leather Mini Puffer in white to complete my winter white ~lewk~. Basically I’m stuck at home trying to channel the vibes of a rich lady hanging at the fancy ski lodge. -Emma

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