The Week In Recommendations 3.8.23

Fun spring basics, an extremely deranged Netflix show, and the "Scandoval."

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. Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

We’ve been reading…

Finally finished Jana Casale’s “How To Fall Out Of Love Madly,” because I now take month-long breaks in the middle of my reading because I have no attention span? But it was great and hit me right in the tender part of myself that spent 10 years dating in New York and I’m so glad I finished it. Also… I have been consuming every single post, tweet, TikTok, Instagram and DeuxMoi blind item about “Scandoval,” the Ariana-Tom-Raquel of “Vanderpump Rules” cheating scandal, which has been rocking the Bravo community. Sadly for me, Claire doesn’t watch. -Emma

I am still reading Catherine Lacey’s “Biography of X” — more on that when I finish one day — as well as enormous amounts of relationship queries on r/AmITheAsshole and r/Relationships. Reddit is my current phone time-waster, my latest attempt to wean off another phone addiction that had become debilitating. Once it was Twitter; I weaned off of Twitter by spending too much time window-shopping, and then actual-shopping, online; then back to Twitter; now Reddit. It turns out I cannot find a way to relax on my smartphone without going fully down a compulsive spiral that ends with me losing hours of each day to an activity that I find less and less rewarding and more and more soul-sucking. Possibly I just need to throw the whole phone away? All this is to say: What would you do if your husband tried to charge you for the full hospital bill after you gave birth to your first baby because you “insisted” on “luxuries” like an epidural and other medical care? -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

I’ve been catching up on the “Infamous” podcast’s three-parter about former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, whose work contributed to the public perception that there were “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq, which justified the Bush administration’s calls for war. I’ve also been very appreciative of Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes’ takes on the new AAP guidelines on “childhood obesity,” which includes some of Gordon’s thoughts on the wave of discussion around Ozempic and other semaglutides. “Maintenance Phase” is *always* worth a listen. -Emma

Another week in which I found shockingly few opportunities to listen to podcasts! Check back next week for more updates on my failure to carve out time for listening. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

Season 2 of “Sex/Life,” which I can confidently say is one of the most unhinged pieces of media to ever be created. I truly cannot wait to podcast about this one, even though the entire thing felt like it was written by AI that stopped machine learning around the time that girlboss memoirs peaked. Also… the lighting continues to defy reason. What a glorious mess. -Emma

“Sex/Life,” baby! Oh my God. I’ve only watched a couple of the new episodes (there are six, both far too many and far too few), and I’ve already seen things no human should see. Every episode I come closer to agreeing with the nuclear puriteen take that sex scenes violate the viewers’ consent. And we once blogged about how “Bridgerton” needed to be hornier! -Claire

We’ve been buying…

I did it. I finally decided that I wanted to try the midi/maxi denim skirt trend, a style I affectionally refer to as “Ultra-Orthodox Chic.” (IYKYK.) In general I have been trying to invest in good basics, and then look for cheaper options when I want to play around with a trend that may or may not work longterm for me. I found this denim skirt from Stradivarius which fits the bill on price point and style. Mango also has some great options, like this one, and this one, and this one. -Emma

Apologies if you saw the cute rainbow striped sweater in the graphic and thought “I want that, for me”; it is for babies. The gender-neutral children’s clothing purveyor Primary has been having a 25% off sale, so I did a little stocking up for the warmer months, including this sweatshirt. I am not always obsessed with their clothes, which are, by design, very basic in style and very bright in color. But they’re incredibly soft and comfy, and while I may not want to dress my toddler in violent orange and aqua every day, their rainbow color range is a huge improvement on the muddy, dark colors most brands seem to think toddler boys should wear. -Claire

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