The Week In Recommendations 4.23.25

The pronatalist movement, two twisty TV shows, and some lift-your-mood spring dressing.

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 podcast was about “The Valley” S2. An episode about the final season of “You” is coming soon! Rich Text is a reader-supported project.

Over on Love To See It this week, we’re talking about “Farmer Wants A Wife,” “Got To Get Out.” An episode looking back at “Pretty Woman” is coming soon.

Civic challenge of the week:

Call your senators and reps about Donald Trump’s proposed gutting of Head Start!

Claire has been reading…

A New York Times piece about the pronatalist policy ideas being bandied about the White House, none of which appear to include free universal childcare. Instead, advisers and analysts are pushing policies like a one-time baby bonus of several thousand dollars (thanks for one month of daycare tuition, I guess!), or a national medal honoring mothers of large families (thanks for… literally nothing!). They’ve also suggested that 30% of Fulbright scholarships should be set aside for married people or parents, a quota that would most likely benefit married fathers, a group that already receives substantial advantages in the workforce. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is trying to gut Head Start, a lifeline for actual families with children. I’m exhausted. Just keep our kids safe from infectious diseases and poisoned food! Just ensure they have free childcare and strong public education! Just let us get pregnant without living in fear of bleeding out or going into sepsis!

Meanwhile, while the Trump administration is championing the creation of Quiverfull white Christian families, Mahmoud Khalil was refused a furlough to be present for his son’s birth and first days. The families that have been destroyed by this administration are innumerable. Reading about Khalil’s wife giving birth without him, and his uncertainty about when, if ever, he will meet his new son, is wrenching.

On a note that I hesitate to describe as “lighter,” though it definitely made me laugh, Business Insider founder Henry Blodget wrote a blog confessing to sexually harassing his AI “employee” mere moments after first seeing her ChatGPT-generated headshot. Don’t worry, though – apparently female AI workers don’t get offended. Plus, they’re available to work 24/7!

Emma has been reading… 📖

Antonia Hitchen’s look into the sycophantic, Dear Leader culture that has taken hold of D.C. in the wake of Trump 2.0 for the New Yorker. It is… sobering and chilling to say the least! Hitchens describes the rash of kiss-the-ring behavior we’ve seen from Republican politicians — “Congress…exists to do little else but flatter the man who lives at the other end of the Mall, and ratify his edicts,” she Hitchens — as well tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Hitchens describes Bezos’ rush to make “The Apprentice,” the reality show which laundered Trump’s image, available for streaming and to acquire the rights to a documentary on Melania Trump. There are dozens of anecdotes of powerful people debasing themselves at Trump’s feet, desperate for a piece of his exploitative pie or at least to avoid the wrath of his Very Online watchdogs.

Hitchens’ pieces paints a clear picture of what Trump 2.0 is about: the unfettered adulation of Donald Trump. Writes Hitchens: “At a recent executive-order-signing session in the Oval Office, Trump introduced ‘Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads’—‘I like to take a nice shower to take care of my beautiful hair,’ he said. ‘It comes out drip, drip, drip. It’s ridiculous’—then directed the Department of Justice to investigate an official who had denied that the 2020 election was stolen.”

Claire has been watching… 📺

I’ve been tearing through the final season of “You,” which drops on Netflix this week. It’s classic “You,” with all the pulpy melodrama, bloody murders, and psychological manipulation that entails. While last season took Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) into the twisty world of an English mystery novel, this season has a new genre to embody and deconstruct: the dark romance. It’s a clever capstone for a series that has been all about the romantic lies fed to women about male violence. Plus, we get Anna Camp playing twins (one of whom is, of course, evil). Can’t wait to unpack this one for Rich Text later this week!

Emma has been watching… 📺

I decided to try out the new Apple TV+ Jon Hamm show, “Your Friends & Neighbors,” and… I LOVE IT??? Jon Hamm really thrives in a dark dramedy, and YFAN delivers just that. The show follows Hamm as Coop, a hedge fund guy who loses his wife and his job, and is faced with both a cash flow shortage and existential crisis, which leads him to petty theft in his uber-wealthy suburban neighborhood. There’s a mystery element, a lot of conspicuous consumption porn and critique, and stellar performances from Hamm, as well as Amanda Peet (Mel, Coop’s ex-wife), Lena Hall (Coop’s sister Ali), and Olivia Munn (Sam, Mel’s friend and Coop’s sometimes fuck buddy).

Photo Credit: Apple TV+ / Canva

Also, I’ve been rewatching “Pretty Woman” ahead of our podcast episode looking back at the 1990 rom-com. (Cannot wait to discuss!!!)

Claire has been listening to… 🎧

“Bad Therapist,” a newish podcast from New Yorker writer Rachel Monroe and psychotherapist Ash Compton, which delves into mental health fads and grifts to show the distorted theories or straight-up malpractice underneath. Given the therapy-speak and therapy-adjacent “courses” that spread like wildfire on social media, stripped of any historical context or expert guidance, this podcast is a badly needed corrective. I learned a lot from the early episode on shadow work, which is a concept I only tenuously understood before, and I’m excited to get into episodes on life coaching and conversion therapy.

Emma has been listening to… 🎧

Music that feels like spring to me. A lot of Sixpence None The Richer, Kacey Musgraves, “folklore”-era Taylor Swift and The Cranberries. After weeks of dreary, cold rain, the recent change of weather has truly reenergized my whole entire being. Turns out that a little bit of sun can give you back your will to live!

Claire has been buying… 🛍️

The Sézane Ron top in ecru and black diamonds, which I found during my bi-monthly panic over not having enough tops that I actually like. For some reason I find dresses and pants relatively simple to find, but the right top – just cropped enough, not too tight or boxy or drapey, easy to layer under a cardigan – mostly eludes me. I love that the black and beige pattern of this crocheted vest is neutral without being basic.

Also, thanks to our recent partnership with Revolve, I was able to try the Agolde Palmer jacket, a full-sleeved cropped denim jacket. When I first tried it on, I was disappointed – it just seemed so wide and overwhelming on me. But somehow, I ended up wearing it twice in two days, and now it’s my favorite spring jacket. The cropped length makes it ideal to pair with a dress or high-waisted pants, and the looser fit keeps the look casual and relaxed.

Emma has been buying… 🛍️

The Nelle Atelier Sara shorts, the one and only pair of jean shorts that I actually like and want to wear. The temperatures hit almost 80 degrees over the weekend, which was the perfect opportunity to take my new jorts for a ride around town. My husband hated them, but I dress for the girls, gays and theys, so I was undeterred. I already have big plans to dress them up with a hyper-femme top and heels for a night out. The A-line shape combined with a slightly loose waistband makes them *extremely* comfortable. I took my true size in these. (Also, though they are made for petites I saw some 5’8” gals rocking these and they looked amazing.)

Nelle shorts paired with a Ripley Rader tee and old Zara heels. Reformation skirt styled with an old Veronica Beard blazer, Claudie Pierlot belt and Shashi earrings.

Also, after staring at it in my cart for month, I bought the Reformation petites Bella Satin skirt (also comes in non-petite sizes). I’m going to the opening of a play while I’m in London, and I thought that the skirt would be perfect to wear with a structured blazer over top, cinched at the waist with a belt. Elegant? Here’s hoping!

Claire has been making… 🧶

Easter baskets for the kids, though “making” is a generous term. I bought two rope baskets, stuffed them with shredded green paper, and topped it off with some Reese’s peanut butter eggs and little gifts from the local bookstore. As basic as this Easter offering was, it was more than I’ve ever done in the past. When I became a parent, I was a bit shocked by the holiday goodie bag arms race – boo baskets at Halloween, heart-covered goodie bags at Valentine’s Day. I wanted to resist. Last year, the big kid received entire Easter baskets from both his pre-k teacher and our downstairs neighbor. From us? Nothing. But I’ve decided to moderate. After all, I loved celebrating Easter with my family growing up. And seeing the faces of two kids who got to tear through a basket of treats and eat peanut butter with chocolate before breakfast convinced me it was the right move.

Emma has been making… 🧶

A very hearty salad! Inspired by a meal my friend Jess made for me recently, I chopped up some mini cucumbers and cherry tomatoes, pan-fried chickpeas with olive oil, garlic and salt, air-fried some extra firm tofu, and grilled some deliciously salty pieces of halloumi cheese. If you plop all of that onto a bed of lettuce and top it with a homemade vinaigrette, you truly have a perfect meal!

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