The Week In Recommendations 10.2.24

Catching up on "Industry" and "RHOSLC," one-sheet dinner, white-ish sneakers, and stylish slouchy bags!

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. Our latest podcast was about “Nobody Wants This.” A podcast about the first episode drop of “Love Is Blind” DC is coming soon! Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

“Intermezzo,” of course. It’s Sally Rooney’s latest and, by a noticeable margin, her longest, so I’m only about a third of the way through. Reviews and cultural criticism tied to the novel have been bookmarked for after I’m done.

I also finally read Ryu Spaeth’s cover profile of Ta-Nehisi Coates in New York Magazine, which gets into Coates’s marked retreat from the journalistic sphere in the last few years — and, more saliently, into his relatively new and ardent interest in the Palestinian cause, which he explores in depth in his new book “The Message.” Spurred by a protester at an event for “The Case for Reparations,” who brought up an apparent blind spot around the Palestinian issue in his seminal piece, Coates returned to the question and ultimately visited East Jerusalem and the West Bank. What he saw changed him overnight. What he saw looked to him like another version of Jim Crow: two unequal systems, with one group subjected to oppressive surveillance and granted fewer rights. While Spaeth caveats and adds context about the history of the region, Coates’s moral clarity about the issue takes center stage. “The point he is trying to make is that anybody can see the moral injustice of the occupation,” writes Spaeth. ‘“What is the experience that justifies total rule over a group of people since 1967?’ he asked me. ‘My mother knows that’s wrong.’”

Emma has been reading… 📖

I’m also reading “Intermezzo” and thus far am really enjoying it — Rooney’s prose will always get me. We’ve had so much ~content~ to watch for the podcast(s) that it’s unfortunately taking me longer than normal to get through the novel! But I can’t wait to devour all of the Rooney media when I finish.

Also been reading every report that comes out about journalist Olivia Nuzzi’s alleged, text-based involvement with RFK Jr. Is this gossipy? Yes. Is it riveting? Also yes.

Claire has been watching… 📺

Season three of “Industry”! I know the finale just aired, but Greg and I are in catch-up mode, so no spoilers please. We binged the first two seasons of this soapy, sexy, cocaine-fueled finance drama a few months ago, and I vaguely thought the show had been canceled, so I was delighted to realize it was actually in the midst of a new season. We’re about three episodes in, and something unhinged is happening about every six frames — I often find myself actually laughing in sheer bewilderment when another catastrophic event takes place. In other words, it’s really hitting its stride. The finale is rumored to be earthshaking even by “Industry” standards, and I’m buckled in.

Photo Credit: Max

Emma has been watching… 📺

I’m finally getting into the new season of “RHOSLC,” and bless these kooky, out-of-touch ladies who grace our TV screens. Mary is offended that poor people exist, Meredith thinks that she deserves a monopoly on bath products, Heather is talking about Ozempic, Angie is trying to people please, Lisa is Lisa-ing, and everyone is yelling at Whitney. Plus, Nick Viall’s podcast plays a pivotal role in the drama! This show is true art.

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

MJ Lenderman’s “Manning Fireworks.” After Amanda Petrusich’s New Yorker profile of the singer-songwriter came out in August, I started to see his name being mentioned here and there, and I finally decided to listen. My first reaction was, basically, “Is everyone sure this isn’t Ben Kweller? Have they ever been spotted in the same room together? Is anyone on this?” Lenderman’s “She’s Leaving You” catapulted me right back to 2004, listening to “Sha Sha” and “On My Way” in my dorm room — the same raw, unaffected vocals, irreverent lyrics and indie rock melodies. But my second reaction was that I’m not a music critic and in fact don’t listen to music much these days (to the horror of my younger self, I did eventually cross over to the talk radio of today, podcasts). So this is likely a real “getting a lot of ‘Boss Baby’ vibes from this” assessment. Upon further listening, I still hear the resemblance, but Lenderman’s voice has a deeper timbre and his sound sharper edges. Regardless, this investigation has gotten me to listen to more Ben Kweller (still an icon) and Lenderman, whose music I do very much recommend.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

Ezra Klein’s latest podcast episode, about the divides within the MAGA movement. In it, Klein chats with conservative journalist Emily Jashinsky about the tension between the “Old Right” and the “New Right,” and how Project 2025 has exposed some of the more fundamental differences that exist within the right-wing coalition. I found the conversation quite measured and insightful.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

New Kiziks — the Prague in creme brulee. I’m relying more on sneakers during the transitional, coolish weather we’ve been having, and I didn’t have any white (or white-ish) step-in sneakers. They’re even more comfortable than my Irvines, and I love how they look with dresses or wide-leg pants.

But mostly I’ve been making returns! I succumbed to the seasonal urge to buy new clothes for the new weather, and I don’t like most of the things I purchased as much as I like the clothes I already own. I’m hoping that schlepping around printing labels and dropping off returns for a precious hour will remind me that succumbing to the online shopping impulse always carries a cost!

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

I’ve been lusting after this oversized Coach Brooklyn bag and the suede Medium Vittoria Tote Bag from Reformation for months now. I don’t have a work bag that can double as a stylish purse, but have been trying to cut down on extravagant purchases, and at $500, these two bags definitely qualify. So when I saw a similar-ish Italian Suede Slouchy Shoulder Bag from Quince for a fraction of the price, I decided to try it. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m crossing my fingers that it works! I’ve had really good luck with the quality of Quince’s stuff in the past, specifically their bags — my absolute fave Dagne Dover dupe travel bag is Quince — so I have high hopes. The Whiskey color that I ordered is sold out, but the Emerald and Midnight are still in stock.

Claire has been making… 🧶

Pumpkin oatmeal muffins so wholesome that my four-year-old, despite helping me make them, won’t eat them. (Whoops!) As an adult, I appreciate that the whole wheat and light touch with sweetener makes them a healthy snack rather than an indulgence, because I eat a LOT of pastries, and a woman can’t live on refined sugar alone. Plus, the baby thinks any muffin is a good muffin, so I’m one for two. Despite the recipe instructions, I did use my stand mixer for this recipe, choosing my child’s delight at toggling it on and off over any potential benefits. I used the lowest stir setting until the batter was just combined, and they still came out fairly light.

Emma has been making… 🧶

Sheet pan chicken thighs with shaved brussel sprouts, eggplant, tomatoes and lemon, inspired by a dinner that my friend Britt made for the two of us recently! I marinated the chicken in Omsom’s Yuzu Miso Glaze, roasted it alongside the tomatoes and eggplant slices at 425 for a bit, and then added the brussell sprouts and lemon slices for the last ~25 minutes. I’ve been making a real effort to cook more, both for health and budgetary reasons, and the ease of this dinner was such a godsend. Looking for more one sheet / one pan / one pot meal ideas if anyone has good ones!

---

If you liked reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack!

Give us feedback or suggest a topic for the pod • Subscribe • Request a free subscription