The Week In Recommendations 1.24.24

Naomi Klein's "Doppelganger," a classic whodunnit on Hulu, Hill House's spring drop, perfect trousers, and two winter recipes.

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Jan 24, 2024

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 RHOSLC’s incredible 4th season. Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

“Doppelganger” by Naomi Klein, a book by one of the famous Naomis about frequently being mistaken for the famous Naomi (Wolf) who went down the rabbithole and became an anti-vax Covid truther and conspiracy theorist in recent years. So far I’ve read the introduction, in which Klein grapples with her own sense of the project’s embarrassing flimsiness or minor subject, which is part of what drew me in — it’s such a specific and personal and frankly odd thing to write a whole book about, meaning (in my mind) that the subject must have contained unexpected depths of revelation for it to have ever been written at all. By the end of the introduction, in which she dips into Freudian ideas of the uncanny and the swirl of fake news and misinformation that we’re all bathed in today, I felt more convinced than ever that I need to read this book. Now to find time to get to the first actual chapter!

Emma has been reading… 📖

Since 2024 began, I’ve been in a constant state of low-grade panic about the fact that this is an election year. I often feel pretty bleakly about the state of our nation/world, and right now, things feel… especially rough. I feel less depressed though when I look to people I admire, who are out in the world actively trying to make things better. One person I feel that way about is

Jessica Valenti

, who writes the

Abortion, Every Day

newsletter. I finally got a chance to read the remarks she prepared for Senate Democrats this week, and they are deeply sobering. They’re also a reminder to us — and progressive elected officials — that we need to hammer home a reminder to every voter that, as Valenti wrote, “when Republicans feign surprise or compassion over post-Roe horror stories, they are lying.” That “they planned for women’s deaths in the same way they strategize over a talking point or a poll.”

Abortion, Every Day

My Prepared Remarks to Senate Dems

a year ago · 730 likes · 231 comments · Jessica Valenti

Claire has been watching… 📺

“Get on Your Knees” on Netflix (previously recommended by Emma), Jacqueline Novak’s one-woman show about blowjobs, had been on my must-see list for years. I seemed to hear about it everywhere. Celebs were seeing it. Emma was seeing it. I was listening to Novak discuss the behind-the-scenes of putting on a live show on her podcast, “Poog.” I read glowing reviews and endorsements. She frequently performed it in the very city where I have spent my adult life. However, I have not gone to the theater since my first child was born, and I was never quite able to make it happen. And so the comedy special had to come to my living room. Now that it’s on Netflix, I was eager to watch it — and while watching it left me rather wistful for the missed opportunity to see it live, which does seem like the ideal way to experience her energetic performance, I was glad to finally be part of the audience. We’re going to discuss it soon for the pod, and I can’t wait.

Emma has been watching… 📺

I have loved mystery stories since I was a child. I was the kid that went deep on series like Encyclopedia Brown, Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and Cam Jansen, and was absolutely obsessed with “Ghostwriter” on PBS. In adulthood, my love of mysteries has stuck — give me a (responsible) true crime podcast, a whodunnit limited series, a twisty turny novel.

All this is to say that when “Death and Other Details” came up on my Hulu homepage, it was an immediate watch for me. The stars Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya forever) as a renowned detective who has fallen from grace, who is thrust into a murder investigation that connects back to a case from his past. It’s a classic locked room murder mystery — except the room is a luxury yacht, and the suspect are rich power brokers and the staffers that see every move they make. My review is somewhat incomplete since only a couple episodes are out thus far, but I’m hooked and ready to see this ship to shore.

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

I learned about Griff the way you learn about music in this day and age: I was listening to a “Who Weekly” episode, and they mentioned that Taylor Swift had boosted her single “Vertigo.” They played a clip of the song, and I immediately became obsessed. But the last time I went to her Apple Music page to play my favorite Griff bops (“Vertigo,” “Black Hole,” “Head on Fire”) I found that “Vertigo” had been usurped by a new single called “Astronaut.” Which is beautiful! It’s a yearning ballad about a lover who asks for space. Her voice oscillates between piercing and whispery, and though some of the lyrics are a little silly in their literalness (“you can go put on a super-white suit”), the playful interpretation of “needing space” also allows some killer lines (“go on then, astronaut / when you come back down to earth / bet I’ll be the one you call”).

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

Late to the party, but I finally listened to former Bachelor Clayton Echard’s extensive interview with Nick Viall on “The Viall Files,” in which Echard goes into the alleged paternity scandal he has been dragged into over the last eight months. It’s an in-depth interview, and Viall gets Echard a lot of space to express what he has experienced in all of this. I don’t want to get into it deeply here, but suffice to say, the whole thing sounds pretty traumatic. If you’re interested in Bachelor-related news and gossip, this is a must-listen.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

I’ll admit it: I got got by the new Hill House spring drop. The Norah in blue pansy was so cute I couldn’t resist trying it on, and now that it’s in my house I might not have the resolve to return it. Short dresses are not my friend in this season of life — I do too much bending over and crouching, as I am always complaining — but maybe I can make it work with some bike shorts, or just a determined air of confidence.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

I had been thinking about these Reformation Stevie trousers in Mushroom for about a year before I decided to pull the trigger. They’re super comfy and super chic — two things that I think apply in general to trousers, which are my preferred alternative to jeans and their more fitted waistbands. (I am also truly obsessed with the faux folded-over waistband on these particular trousers.) When I realized that I had some Reformation credits just sitting in my Ref account waiting to expire — and saw my friend Miriam wear the black versions to a VPR Season 11 premiere party — I decided these trousers were worth it.

Claire has been making… 🧶

A lovely reader recommended Ali Slagle’s sheetpan gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach the other week. I’m back to say that I made it, and it is indeed excellent – ridiculously quick and easy (especially because I bought precut mushrooms, shhhh), hearty but not heavy, and delicious. I also added crumbled (uncooked) sweet Italian sausage with about 20 minutes left in the oven time, and It Worked. If anything, I might try to take it out of the oven sooner next time, as the mushrooms, scallions and spinach got a little more charred than I prefer.

Emma has been making… 🧶

Apparently all I feel like making and eating these days are soups and stews. (The coziness! The fact that it’s easy to make enough that you have a bunch of leftovers!) My latest is Melissa Clark’s Coconut Curry Chickpeas With Pumpkin and Lime. It’s super hearty, and even my boyfriend who isn’t super into pumpkin things loved it. The only thing I didn’t love is the severe burning in my fingertips for 24 hours I ended up with after thinly slicing two jalapeños. This novice chef was unaware that you’re supposed to avoid touching the oils that much. Woops!