The Week In Recommendations 3.13.24

Kate Middleton chaos, a pod about '70s swingers, a cute knit top and French sunscreen.

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 the “Love Is Blind” 6 finale. (Our episode about the LIB reunion and “Traitors” finale will be coming Friday!) Rich Text is a completely reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

Claire has been reading… 📖

Flaming Hydra, a new publication from the indie co-op Brick House, starting with our brilliant former editor Tommy Craggs’ short essay on self-immolation as political protest in South Korea – which he strikingly juxtaposes with the muted, uncomfortable public response to the death of Aaron Bushnell in protest of the brutal assault on Gaza. “[A] self-immolation in South Korea immediately enters into an infrastructure of meaningful death,” he writes. “Self-immolations… are stitched into the larger fabric of resistance alongside other deaths occurring under political duress.” It’s hard to imagine an American society in which this could be the case. I immediately subscribed to the magazine – which uses an interesting model in which subscription revenue is split equally among the writers, each of whom is committed to writing a piece each month. The masthead includes many of my long-time favorite bloggers, essayists and reporters: Anna Merlan, Brandy Jensen, David Roth, Osita Nwanevu, Tom Scocca, and more.

Emma has been reading… 📖

Charlie Warzel’s piece in The Atlantic about “Kate Middleton and the End of Shared Reality.” The many conspiracy theories that have been floating around about the Princess of Wales’ health/marital status/whereabouts, didn’t interest me until the palace attempted to respond and made things SO MUCH WORSE. Now I’m fully down the rabbit hole, and it’s a twisty place to be. It has also raised so many questions for me about the point in history we are at, and what it means to trust an image. As Warzel put it, “People now feel a pervasive, low-grade disorientation, suspicion, and distrust. And as the royal-photo fiasco shows, the deepfake age doesn’t need to be powered by generative AI—a hasty Photoshop will do.”

Claire has been watching… 📺

“The Regime,” a new HBO black comedy starring Kate Winslet as the iron-fisted, wavy-haired leader of a small central European state (primary exports: sugar beets and cobalt). We meet Chancellor Elena Vernham alongside her new aide, Herbert Zubak, a corporal notorious for his role in a recent massacre of striking miners. Vernham, impressed by his ruthless instincts, has tapped him for an important role: continually testing the moisture levels around her person. The chancellor is a bundle of paranoia (about mold, ambitious advisors, and NATO) and vanity (about her hair and dress, her singing voice, and her geopolitical significance), but she’s solidified her position not only through family connections but through her educational attainment, her sheer animal cunning, and her seductive charisma. In public television addresses, she addresses her people as “my loves” and wistfully claims she longs to be nearer to them. Meanwhile, she has out-of-favor ministers arrested and terrorizes the palace. Winslet’s performance — Vernham’s mouth-twisting lisp and brutality veiled with canned glamor — is riveting, as is Matthias Schoenaerts as Zubak. It’s visually stunning, hilarious, and grim. Created by Will Tracy, a “Succession” writer, it works in a similar register, mining dry humor from the cruelty and fecklessness of the powerful and the almost-powerful.

Emma has been watching… 📺

I finally caught up on “The Traitors” finale and reunion, and they did NOT disappoint. Very excited to discuss it on the Rich Text pod later this week. I was especially tickled by my two faves, Pilot Pete and Phaedra, making nice at the reunion. Has this show turned me into a gamer gal? Not quite. But will I be tuning into season 3 of “The Traitors”? Probably. As long as they cast some fun Bravolebrities and at least one Bachelor alum. (Also… justice for Peppermint!! Bring her back next season!)

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

“Time Capsule: The Silver Chain,” a new documentary podcast about a lost and found cache of newsletters that reveals the existence of a swingers’ social club in 1970s Minnesota. Host Paul Ditty initially tried to make this titillating material into a TV show, then landed on an investigative podcast. Just one problem: Most of the members he manages to track down are dead, suffering from cognitive decline, or simply uninterested in talking about it. (Fair!) In one affecting conversation, he even learns that one woman’s participation in the club was forced on her by her philandering husband — which hardly fits the utopian vision of sexually liberated Midwestern couples he’d expected to find. Three episodes into

Time Capsule

, there are narrative dead ends and obstacles aplenty. Sometimes it’s frustrating as a listener, but overall it’s rewarding to be brought along on the stop-and-start quest for a story. Our friend and former colleague

Jordan Turgeon

worked on the show, which is how I discovered it (thanks Jordan!) and I’m impressed with what a gripping show they’ve made with all the roadblocks encountered along the way.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

Our bud

Kate Kennedy

’s interview with Olivia Plath, the unquestionable star of TLC’s “Welcome To Plathville.” I’ve been watching Plathville since it premiered in 2019 year, and have been completely fascinated by Olivia’s journey out of fundamentalism, and ultimately out of an uhealthy marriage. Loved listening to Kate’s smart, candid conversation with Olivia, and hearing Olivia reflect on her fundamentalist upbringing, the challenges of deconstruction, and — of course — some tea on her in-laws.

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

I really have been trying to stick to our new budget, so I have not been buying much the last few weeks (please clap!). Naturally, as soon as I paid my credit card, my self-control crumbled and I ordered some summery tops… and three Reformation dresses to try on for my friend’s wedding next month. If any of my purchases end up being worth keeping, I will share. 

One thing I did spend money on this month was my favorite item from my last Nuuly box: a Rolla’s ‘70s-inspired knit crop top that goes perfectly with high-waisted jeans.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

French sunscreen! European and Asian sunscreens are superior to American sunscreens, because the FDA has not approved a new UV filter since 1996. (An abject failure.) This means that we simply don’t have the full range of UVB and UVA filters that are widely available in other countries. I obviously had to hit up some French pharmacies in Paris and get a handful of products to try out. My #1 purchase was La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid Fragrance-Free SPF50+. It’s so light, goes on smoothly, and has UVA protection you simply can’t get in American products. You can get the French sunscreen shipped to the States (don’t buy the US La Roche-Posay products!) on sites like Stylevana.

Claire has been making… 🧶

These strawberry oat bars I saw on Instagram! They’re just four ingredients, with mashed banana to provide both moisture and cohesion. I’ve been trying to find easy ways to make more daily staples at home, for both financial and health reasons. I’ve started to realize how much we spend on packaged snacks (especially granola bars). I’ve also realized how much sugar is in most packaged snacks, and while I don’t want our kids to have a complex about food, I also don’t want every single thing I feed them to be processed and full of sugar. This recipe caught my eye because it looked super simple and easy, and it was! Plus, my preschooler and I both devoured them. But this recipe is really designed to be baby-friendly, without even any salt added, so they’re pretty bland. The second time, I searched out a slightly different recipe with more peanut butter and a dash of salt – and I mixed in chopped walnuts and leftover berries instead of the chocolate chips the recipe calls for. I love how easy and adaptable this recipe is, and I love that it gives me that “starting the day with a pastry” feeling with a “starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal” ingredient list

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Emma has been making… 🧶

“Girl dinner” Paris-style during my final days abroad: A block of camembert from the local fromagerie, some prosciutto from the market, and fresh berries. Honestly, a perfect meal that I plan to recreate. (Yes, I’m finally home in Brooklyn and while I am happy to be back in my apartment with my partner, I am desperately missing Paris.)

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