The Week In Recommendations 11.27.24

Thanksgiving week edition!

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 subscriber post was about our Black Friday picks! Rich Text is a reader-supported project.

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Claire has been reading… 📖

First, apologies for my absence from the newsletter last week! I was so ill that Greg checked my breathing at one point as I lay immobile, sweating through my sheets. Winter sick season has begun with a bang. I did, at least, get to do a little bit of reading in between the worst of my sickness and when my kids got sick and needed 24/7 nursing:

“Doppelganger” by Naomi Klein (again). I had gotten sidetracked at some point and never finished it the first time, and post-election I needed to have what she terms “Mirror World” explained to me some more. In the later chapters, Klein delves further into the crunchy-to-MAGA pipeline, anti-vaxxers, and how perilously easy it is to flip from utopia to dystopia (the emergence of socialist Red Vienna and the ensuing rise of fascism in Austra is her anchoring example). She concludes with an eye-opening examination of Israel’s history and recent past through the doppelganger frame. Whenever I read this book, I am briefly a wild-eyed radical, pacing through the apartment ranting to Greg about how we can never take an airplane again or we need to quit our jobs to become full-time activists. Constitutionally, I don’t think I’m capable of sustaining this approach, but it has inspired me to intentionally make more time to read other books that will prepare me to be a more fully engaged citizen and then to do something with all that energy. 

I also read that completely bananas Vanity Fair profile of Augusta Britt, a woman who has stepped forward as the late Cormac McCarthy’s “muse.” She met the author at a motel pool, she told Vanity Fair, when she was a 16-year-old runaway and abuse survivor; McCarthy was 42. They soon became close, and he took her to Mexico, where he initiated a sexual relationship with her before she turned 18. The lengthy profile, written by Vincenzo Barney, drew ridicule on social media for its purple prose (“When she blinks, her large blue eyes seem to tinkle in crystal delicacy”) and was also defended for taking stylistic risks (sorry, still matters that it wasn’t good). But the debate over the quality of the writing, while admittedly very funny, overshadowed the fact that Barney’s piece romanticized an account of a beloved author grooming a vulnerable girl and transporting her out of the country, seemingly to avoid legal ramifications – along with other violations that Britt claims bothered her more, like McCarthy continuing to draw from her life for his characters. Guess the post-Me-Too era of mainstream media institutions pretending to have standards around that sort of thing has officially ended!

Emma has been reading… 📖

I finished my re-read of “Fourth Wing,” and I’ve moved on to “Iron Flame.” I love the way that these incredibly long novels weave back and forth between observations about the subjectiveness of historical narrative and full-on erotica.

Laura Bassett

’s

Nightcap

has kept me informed without making me lose my mind:

You'll miss the free press when it's gone

And

Bess Kalb

’s

The Grudge Report

has allowed me to laugh amidst the horrors:

How to please men

Claire has been watching… 📺

Season 2 of “Based on a True Story,” a Peacock true crime send-up starring Kaley Cuoco as Ava, a podcast-addicted realtor, and Chris Messina as Nathan, her washed-up tennis star husband. They’ve been together for years, but are personally and professionally frustrated and sliding into midlife crisis right as they’re about to welcome their first child. Hoping to shore up their nest egg – and perhaps reintroduce some excitement to their lives – they end up making an anonymized tell-all podcast in partnership with a currently active serial killer. I enjoyed season 1, though its satirical angle on true-crime wasn’t particularly original. I had sort of forgotten about it when the second season popped up on Peacock. And it’s not bad! Cuoco’s trademark frantic comedy anchors the show, and Messina is always a pleasure to watch. A lot of the twists in season 2 are easy to guess, so you have to enjoy the ride without expecting too much sophistication. But with that out of the way, season 2 takes its critique of how male perpetrators are valorized, examined, and even empathized with to new levels. Ava and Nathan have sent their killer friend to a crunchy wellness retreat to recover from his urge to murder, only to learn that Ava’s younger sister Tori has followed him and is romantically involved with him. “He has a past, but who doesn’t?” she shrugs when they confront her. Oh, honey. Overall, it’s the right amount of competent, well-executed, mostly brainless action comedy for a binge.

Plus, “No Good Deed,” a new Netflix series from Liz Feldman, the creator of “Dead to Me.” It  has a lot to recommend it, especially for those of us who miss the Christina Applegate vehicle: Linda Cardellini in a scene-stealing villain turn, an amateur murder investigation that threatens to reopen painful wounds and rip apart families and friendships, a tone that hovers between antic comedy and melodrama. It stars Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano as grieving parents who are reluctantly selling the home where they raised their children – including their son, who died during a home invasion several years before. The cast is rounded out by interested buyers, all eager to lock down their own dream family home, such as their former soap star neighbor (Luke Wilson) and his philandering trophy wife (Cardellini), as well as a nosy prosecutor (Abbi Jacobson) and her OB/GYN wife (Poppy Liu). Despite its promise, and several fun performances, this show was a miss for me; the crime and investigation felt half-baked, and the conceit of the home sale didn’t drive enough emotional intimacy to hold the show together for me. Just kind of a meh.

Emma has been watching… 📺

It was a big week for me, a former musical theater kid!!! I went to see the Broadway revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” and wow did it live up to the hype. Nicole Scherzinger — yes, the one from The Pussycat Dolls — plays forgotten, aging, former Hollywood film star Norma Desmond, and she is absolutely spectacular. She plays Norma in a very raw, vulnerable way, and her voice… my god, her voice! (And before you @ me… Yes, I’ve read about the Russell Brand hat thing.) I had never seen “Sunset Boulevard” before, so I had nothing to compare it to, but I found British director Jamie Lloyd’s minimalist set, costuming and staging choices to be bold and effective — though at times I found myself wistful for a proper set and some time-period-accurate costumes. But that was all forgiven when the second act begun and the show’s title song was performed FULLY OUTSIDE OF THE THEATER by Tom Francis, who plays jaded young writer Joe Gillis. Francis basically has to sing the song a capella while security guards move people out of the way on the street. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen on Broadway, and they do it even when it’s raining.

Photo Credit: My photo / Universal Pictures

I also saw “Wicked.” And despite knowing that splitting the movie into two parts is a blatant cash grab, I loved every god damn minute of it. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande forever. I had avoided listening to the soundtrack and watching clips of scenes online, because I wanted to be properly awed. I laughed, I cried, I ate queso. Plus, it’s a hauntingly relevant story about a grifter who whips up an entire society into rage and violence by creating a false collective enemy based on misinformation!!!!

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

The new “Search Engine” episode about jawmaxxing, a very weird element of red-pill conspiracy world. I originally learned about it from a 2020 profile of John and Mike Mew, a father-son team of orthodontists who have pioneered a scientifically dubious branch of orthodontia they call orthotropics. Their contention is that crooked teeth and weak jawlines are caused by eating soft food and failing to maintain correct mouth posture, arguing that genetics can’t account for how widely jaw and tooth alignment has deteriorated among modern humans. I’m really intrigued by jawmaxxing because, to my chagrin, I have to admit that it’s a window for me into how quackery and alternative health theories catch on. Throughout the episode, P.J. Vogt and his guest, Ryan Broderick, seem sure that their listeners will find the theory absurd on its face… but somehow I don’t! It offers answers to a question that I find compelling (especially as an erstwhile orthodontia patient), and those answers seem sort of sensible. This is what it must feel like to fall down the rabbit hole! I found myself wishing the episode did more to debunk jawmaxxing aside from vague statements that science hasn’t proven their theory. Tell me why it’s dumb! I want to know why I shouldn’t go full Rogan and get a Jawzrsize, or make my children eat only well-done steak and raw carrots (I know, I know, I won’t).

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

The “Sunset Boulevard” and “Wicked” cast albums!!!! Every haunting moment of Tom Francis’ rendition of “Sunset Boulevard” has imprinted itself on my brain. I found myself singing it to myself during barre class on Monday night in a looping ear worm.

Claire and Emma have been buying… 🛍️

Check out our subscriber-only Black Friday shopping recommendations newsletter:

Claire has been making… 🧶

Ahh, what a concept. Making things? In the week of the plague? I don’t think so! We reheated a lot of dino nuggets, pizza, and steamed baby carrots to get the kids through the week, while Greg and I mostly did not feel like consuming anything but Gatorade. Though technically I made… the bed twice in one night because the preschooler puked on the sheets?

Emma has been making… 🧶

Very little in the last week because of illness — I basically subsisted on ice chips, sleeves of Saltines and ginger ale for a couple days — and the fact that I didn’t want to do a major grocery shop before traveling for a week. Better luck to me and my home-cooked dinner dreams next time!!!!

However, later this week I will be making the three dishes I make every Thanksgiving: buttermilk biscuits, creamed spinach (swapping heavy cream for a vegan version), and bourbon pecan pie.

Claire has been thankful for… 🫶

Mostly people – the people who make everything worthwhile, even when things seem bleak and desperate on a national and global scale:

The sweetest, silliest kids who test my patience every day but who are also more and more fun to hang out with every day. My big boy, who will ask me to retell him the story of “Frankenstein” over and over again until he knows it inside out, and who climbed in bed next to me when I was sick so he could stroke my hair and say “poor Mommy.” My little boy, who will sit quietly until he figures out how to stack a precariously tall tower or deconstruct a complicated toy, and who always has a hug and a big smile for us. 

A partner who is always ready to step up at home – to cook more, to tidy more, to fold more laundry, to handle sleep training, to plan a birthday party – to make sure that we’re all taken care of and no one is drowning. 

A family and in-laws who are supportive and normal enough that I have to assume we are the weird ones everyone talks about after holiday gatherings.

Friends who haven’t forgotten me even though I’ve been sucked into a mom vortex for five years and counting.

And of course, all of you! Thanks for supporting us in the work we do. It’s incredibly motivating and fulfilling to know that our work is made possible not by a corporation, but by people who read and listen to it. We’re so grateful you’re here.

Emma has been thankful for… 🫶

Television and movies and theater that capture the joy and pain and messiness of humanity. (And some that just provide me with the escape I need sometimes.)

A partner I share core values with, and who makes it innumerably easier for me to function in this fucked-up world.

Friends who are unwaveringly supportive, funny, brilliant, and always game to go to a long dinner and gossip.

A wedding to look forward to. Even when it gets stressful and stupid, it’s nice to feel like something joyful will come out of 2025, even if it’s just for a night.

A family that I actually want to hang out with. A real gift!

Cozy things: my couch, my slippers, soft pajamas, luxurious loungewear, a chunky knit blanket, a cup of hot tea.

And, like Claire, all of you. We feel lucky every single day to have the privilege of doing this work, which is only possible because of all of you. It’s a very cool thing to build a community full of like-minded, sharp-witted, deeply kind humans. <3

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