The Week In Recommendations 2.21.24
An underrated rom-com, that viral scammer story, perfect Tradlands pants and a cute cord organizer. Plus, one great thing from Joanna Goddard!
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 “Love Is Blind” 6, Episodes 1-6. (Eps. 7-9 coming later this week!) Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!
Claire has been reading… 📖
The Cut was on a real heater this week, as they say. As Emma mentions below, the viral essay about being scammed — penned by their financial advice columnist — was a must-read, if only for the ensuing discourse. But my favorite Cut essay about a woman making bad decisions was actually writer Emily Gould’s long reflection on almost divorcing her husband, Keith Gessen. I almost bruised my finger clicking on her piece, “The Lure of Divorce,” because I vividly remembered — and had intermittently wondered about — the moment last year when she sent out a newsletter asking for help funding her divorce. They were a high-profile literary couple, and the news of their separation, right as he was publishing a book about parenting their elder son, was shocking. Then it quietly went away; Page Six noted in October that the divorce had been called off. In this essay, Gould draws the curtain back on what happened before and after that abrupt divorce announcement: domestic resentments, career frustrations, a mental breakdown culminating in a bipolar diagnosis and inpatient treatment, and a long road to recovery and reconciliation. The online discourse that stemmed from this essay was mostly infuriating; many commentators rushed to condemn Gould for her envy of her husband’s more successful career, her destructive choices, and her refusal to take on enough blame. But what I loved most about this essay was its artfully constructed rawness, her willingness to let us see the most incriminating truths about her part in the marital drama, and her honesty about needing things that dutiful wives are not supposed to need. As a temperamental writer wife myself, I recognized my own darkest parts in her resentments and blame-casting; I also recognized the allure of divorce narratives (like Leslie Jamison’s “Splinters,” which we both read and were pulled in by) when you’re in the child-raising trenches with your partner, and resentments are around every corner. Sometimes, of course, divorce is the right answer. But sometimes, an abundance of grace and open communication are enough.
I’ve also been reading The New Inquiry’s big feature on the “anti woke” UATX summer courses, where the intellectual dark webbers have begun to construct a university by and for the cancelled. Noah Rawlings embedded himself in last summer’s course (by successfully applying for admission), and the piece is a thrillingly written, funny, and at times jaw-dropping insider’s look at the faculty, student body, campus, and concept of the institution. It’s packed with colorful details and dryly devastating riffs (“There was James, who studied computer science. Then there was Cameron, who also studied computer science. David and Peter studied computer science, while Luke and Albert studied computer science,” Rawlings writes of his fellow students). Gonzo journalism is back, baby!
Emma has been reading… 📖
Like everyone else on the internet, I’ve been reading the massively viral NYMag essay by financial advice columnist Charlotte Cowles. In said essay, Cowles details how she got roped into an alarmingly elaborate phone scheme, which started with a call from “Amazon,” moved onto “the FTC” and “the CIA” (all in quotes because none of these entities were actually involved), and ended with her handing over 50k in cash in a shoe box to a scammer on the streets of Brooklyn. I’m less interested in the story itself than in the myriad conversations it has spawned: about media’s invoke-rage-to-viral pipeline, about the fact that Cowles is a financial advice columnist for the common folk who allegedly comes from generational wealth, about how we think about who “normally” gets scammed and who “deserves” to, about schadenfreude, about why she subjected herself to inevitable ridicule and wrote this piece in the first place.
I also loved
’s essay on Reddit’s web of influencer snark pages. I’ve long been scared to even look at this genre of pages, because the few times I’ve seen (very limited!) mean comments about myself on a Bachelor Reddit page, I was filled with such shame that I basically swore off the platform. But I’ve also been fascinated with them — what draws so many of us to seek them out, to join their ranks, to sense the inherent unfairness that is reflected back at us on the internet and also feel powerless to change it. McLamb does a lovely job of digging into all of this. As she writes, “I care less about people being mean to influencers than I do about the fact that nothing useful is produced when this happens.”
Claire has been watching… 📺
“Bluey,” a favorite of small kids and – even more so – their parents. Usually Greg is the one doing screen time with the preschooler while I’m feeding or otherwise tending to the baby, but this weekend I found myself getting sucked into a mini marathon of the show as I gave him his daily inhaler doses. For those unfamiliar with “Bluey,” it follows the mundane adventures of Bluey, her little sister Bingo, and her parents Bandit and Chili, a family of Australian heeler dogs. The kids are always eager to play make believe and rough house with their parents, who are trying to balance engaged parenting with other priorities – going to work, cleaning the house, or even taking a little time to themselves. The show does a particularly good job catering to each of those perspectives, creating a silly and inviting space for kids who want to play pretend with Bluey and Bingo while also making adults feel seen and understood through the parents’ storylines. It’s perfect for watching together with your kids – but be careful, the episode about Bingo’s bedtime is a bona fide tearjerker.
Other than that, I’ve just been trying to keep up with “The Traitors” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” finish “The Curse,” and of course put in my weekly “Bachelor” and “Love Is Blind” time. Did I mention that the baby was home sick for over half of last week, public school had a snow day, and then it was a three-day weekend? I’ll start a new show when I have a second to breathe!
Emma has been watching… 📺
Rewatching “Plus One,” easily the best — and most underrated — rom-com of the modern era. I have been shouting about “Plus One” since it came out in 2019, and I feel like the masses might actually watch it now that it’s landed on Netflix! Let us all rejoice.
“Plus One” is an absolutely delightful film about two college friends who are now in their late 20s, played by Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid, who decide to be each other’s plus ones at all the weddings they’ve been invited to for the year. It starts out platonically, and over time… develops into something more. Erskine and Quaid have real chemistry, the screenplay is genuinely funny AND genuinely romantic, and it feels like a rom-com that is of its moment without trying too hard to be of the moment. (For example, there’s no hand-wringing over how to deal with social media in the movie.) I’m hoping that this gem will finally get its due now that everyone is talking about Erskine post-“Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” This movie is also why I was irrationally enraged by the subhead of a recent Vulture profile of Erskine, which claimed that “‘PEN15’ introduced Maya Erskine as a gonzo comedic talent. ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ makes a convincing case for her as a rom-com lead.” BABE, SHE’S ALREADY BEEN A ROM-COM LEAD. (To be clear, this is not the fault of the writer, who does acknowledge “Plus One” in the body of the piece.) All this is to say… if you haven’t seen “Plus One,” go watch it immediately.
Joanna Goddard runs Cup of Jo, the women’s lifestyle site, and , the weekly newsletter featuring fun finds, life advice, and dating gossip. She lives in Brooklyn with her two funny kids.
Claire has been listening to… 🎧
Nothing new this week, as we were talking so much I couldn’t find any time to listen. (Always a good sign when a person says that!) In addition to “Love Is Blind” here on Rich Text, we had two “Bachelor” recaps and a bonus episode about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce over on Love to See It, so please check that out if you haven’t!
Emma has been listening to… 🎧
Decoder Ring’s episode about why so many coffee shops around the world look… eerily similar. Another great interview with Kyle Chayka that I really enjoyed, which probably means I should just buy his book, “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture.”
Claire has been buying… 🛍️
I have been on a pretty decent run of not buying myself anything over the top — the kind of run that leads to me congratulating myself with a nonessential purchase. Fight it, Claire!
Some things I did buy: A restock of the good KN95 masks from Bona Fide Masks, a deeply discounted pair of my favorite Tradlands Paloma pants in coffee (they have a big sale going right now, plus I had loyalty program points to cash in!), and some new outfits for the baby to wear to daycare. I rely a lot on H&M and Carter’s for sets that balance affordability with adorability.
Emma has been buying… 🛍️
A cute travel case for all of my chargers. My boyfriend made fun of me for buying this cord organizer, but I fucking love it and it was only $12.99. It keeps all of my various cords and adapters and chargers accessible and in one place, which is excellent for dealing with in-flight entertainment, and also good for naturally disorganized people like myself who will absolutely leave chargers in whatever destination I arrive. You better believe I packed that baby up to the brim for my flight to Paris.
Claire has been making… 🧶
This week I made the Smitten Kitchen veggie bowls again, because I wanted to make some tweaks: I added roasted carrots and red cabbage to the mix, and I was happy with the result. I felt like the more vegetables, the more luxuriously complex the flavor profile. Plus, I roasted some chickpeas with garlic and olive oil, and they made the bowl filling enough to stand without the addition of a piece of meat or fish.
We also made something we haven’t had for months: time for a date night. My wonderful in-laws came over for an afternoon with the kids, and then took the reins at bedtime so we could whisk out for drinks and dinner. The baby has been fighting a cold, so his bedtimes have been even more choppy – lately he has been waking up every hour after he goes down, and often waking to demand his dream feed (lol, hardly a dream feed at this point) earlier and earlier. But he blessed us with a solid evening of sleep, so we were able to fully relax, enjoy some very complicated tequila-forward cocktails and small plates at a neighborhood bar, and even talk a little bit about something other than our kids.
Emma has been making… 🧶
Yewande Komolafe’s Baked Tofu With Peanut Sauce and Coconut-Lime Rice. This one wasn’t as much of a banger as the tofu recipe I wrote about in last week’s recommendations, but it was tasty, filling and gave me some A+ lunch leftovers. (Plus, I love a side of quickly-pickled peppers.)
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I love the addition of the “we’ve been making” section! Im always looking for new recipes and ideas
As an early Plus One adopter on Hulu, I’m so glad it’s streaming again! And hopefully to a broader audience. I love that movie!