Rich Text

Another week, another Netflix holiday movie with two dead moms, a daughter who desperately longs for her hot dad to find her a new mom, a privileged princess who learns to be domestic stepmother goddess material… and a former teen idol playing a starring role.

In “Falling for Christmas,” Lindsay Lohan swept us off our feet, reminding us why she was a star to begin with. In “Christmas With You,” ex-heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. steps into the crimson glow of the Netflix spotlight. And it’s… fine. It’s really fine. But he’s not really the star. Instead, it’s Aimee Garcia, playing the glamorous (but lonely) pop icon Angelina Costa, who grabs the eye whenever she’s onscreen.

Angelina, a J.Lo-esque diva who hasn’t had a hit — or much inspiration — in a few years, is stunned when her label director Barry insists that she produce a Christmas single in a matter of days. At a creative standstill and humiliated by her rapid fall from grace at the label, Angelina decides she needs to connect with her fans. So she and her manager spontaneously visit a young fan, Christina, who made a video tribute to Angelina and her own late mother. And, believe it or not, they get snowed in! Forced to spend the night with Christina and her adorable music teacher father Miguel (Freddie Prinze Jr.), she quickly connects with Miguel over songwriting and asks him to collaborate on her Christmas track. And maybe… fall in love? Only her PR fauxmance with a hot telenovela star and the demands of her fast-paced entertainment career could possibly stand in the way!

In this episode, we recap every beat of this holiday flick, assess Freddie Prinze Jr.’s hot dad energy (final ruling: let him be dapper before the big gala scene! you’re leaving way too much dapperness on the shelf here!), review Angelina’s music, contemplate how hard it would be to write a pop hit ourselves, and rate the movie out of 10 original holiday bops. Hope you enjoy!

Stay tuned: Next week we will be watching and recapping the Hulu flick “Menorah in the Middle.”

We’ve been reading…

It has been a truly fallow period in my reading life. I have to admit the thing I’ve spent the most time reading lately is the Sister Wives subreddit, because Kody (the most prominent polygamist follower of the Curly Girl Method) is such a consummate reality TV villain this season that I have succumbed to the troubling urge to read endless threads of people ripping him a new one. Also, the holidays are not a calm time when you have a toddler who was born in December and who celebrates both Hanukkah AND Christmas. Please send me enough focus to read literally five pages of a book this week. -Claire

I just started my bud Kase Wickman’s new book about the history and cultural impact of “Bring It On,” and it is truly so much fun! The title gives you a hint at the upbeat, cheeky and sharp tone of the book: “Bring It On: The Complete Story of the Cheerleading Movie That Changed, Like, Everything (No, Seriously).” -Emma

We’ve been watching…

Now that the election is (mostly) over, my husband and I are occasionally able to squeeze in some TV over dinner. We’ve been alternating “White Lotus” and “Fleishman Is In Trouble,” one of which I feel has grown almost alarmingly lurid (and very impressed with its own freshman-seminar-level insights on gender) and the other of which I find weirdly boring, and yet both of which I absolutely love devouring with a sleeve of cookies. -Claire

It will come as a surprise likely to no one that my boyfriend and I are also watching these same two shows. I am thoroughly enjoying both. I also watched Hallmark’s “Ghosts of Christmas Always,” at the suggestion of Davita in our Substack subscriber chat. It was, as she said it would be, “bewilderingly delightful.” -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle,” a podcast by a journalist who began investigating after he heard that his high school friend was the main suspect in a brutal murder. The crime took place in a stretch of rural Northern California where massive amounts of marijuana are produced, and the victim and suspects were all involved in the as-yet illegal industry. It’s packed with true crime pod tropes — the purple descriptions, folksy needle drops, even wishful references to being like Hunter S. Thompson — but I have found myself sucked in despite it. -Claire

The “If Books Could Kill” episode about Neil Strauss’ The Game, the book that permanently made “neg” a part of our mainstream vernacular. I continue to love Peter and Michael’s wry observations, and though I would not have immediately thought of The Game as a classic airport book, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

The Black Friday sales really did me in… so many purchases, and now so many returns of things that didn’t work. But two pant-set purchases (formal and bedroom casual) made the cut: The posy navy pant and buttondown set from Hill House, and these patterned waffle-knit PJs from Madewell. (Per reviews, I sized up one, and I’m glad I did.) It’s pants season, and I’m ready to have all my limbs covered and cozy. -Claire

I too have been in a frenzy of sorting through deliveries and inevitable returns from my Black Friday blackout. But I did buy two beauty tools that I feel very excited about and will *not* be returning. First, the Shark FlexStyle has truly changed my life. If you haven’t heard about this magical hair tool, it is essentially just the Shark version of the Dyson Airwrap, except instead of $600, it’s between $250 and $280, depending on how many attachments you need. I went with the pick 3 option and got the paddle brush, round brush and curling attachments and holy shit this thing works so well! My hair takes forever to dry and curl, and doesn’t hold a curl well, and this product solves for both of those issues. Of course there’s still a bit of a learning curve involved, and it’s not a 5-minute process, but it dries my hair way faster than other hair dryers and allows me to add some really salon-worthy waves if I want to without using any product.

My second rec for the week is the Solawave. My skin is super reactive, and I have long struggled with adult cystic acne, especially around my periods, so I am always up to try anything that might help me calm that shit down. I got the red light therapy wand which is supposed to target minor wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles, blemishes, and dark spots, and the Bye Acne tool which lets you target small areas on your face where you get frequent breakouts. I have only been using them for about a week, and skin stuff is so hard to review because everyone’s skin is different / I am not an expert, but I do think it’s made a difference. I’ve seen my cystic bumps recede more quickly, and I have also just enjoyed adding something quick and relaxing to my skincare routine. -Emma

The Lohanaissance has arrived and it feels so good.

For the two of us, Lindsay Lohan was synonymous with the best parts of girlhood when we were growing up. Her bright red hair and visible freckles were icons in their own right. She was there with us navigating sibling relationships (“The Parent Trap”), parental relationships (“Freaky Friday”), and friendships (“Mean Girls”). We grew up alongside Lindsay, and then watched as the media delighted in her fall from grace, her struggles with addiction, her difficult transition from child star to whatever comes next.

But now it’s 2022, and a lot has changed for the women of the “Bimbo Summit.” Britney is free, Paris is bringing awareness to abuses in the “troubled teen industry,” and Lindsay is back on our screens, charming as ever. And we are *extremely* here for it.

“Falling For Christmas” is a delicious candy cane of a movie. It’s the first of Lindsay Lohan’s multi-film deal with Netflix. Lindsay plays spoiled hotel heiress Sierra Belmont, who gets into a ski accident after an engagement shoot with her influencer boyfriend goes very wrong, and wakes up with amnesia. A down-on-his-luck local lodge owner, Jake, takes her in and (duh!) sparks fly as Sierra learns to appreciate the less luxurious things in life.

Is it formulaic? For sure. Full of completely absurd plot holes and details? Absolutely. Is it a whole lot of fun, thanks in large part to Lindsay? Also yes. We had so much fun watching “Falling For Christmas” and discussing it, and we hope you enjoy our chat just as much. Xo

Programming note: We will be taking the week off for Thanksgiving, so no episode next week! We will be back in two weeks.

We’ve been reading…

Jessica Valenti’s terrifying and essential newsletter, Abortion, Every Day by Jessica Valenti. So much is going on in this country that it can be easy to just tune it out for our own self-preservation. Jessica's newsletter tells us not to do that, to stare at the ugliness right in the face, and then figure out what the hell to do about it. -Emma

In what marks a real low point for my reading trajectory, I can’t remember reading anything this week. I must have, right? I’ll read when cold and flue season is over. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

Finally started season two of “White Lotus.” (It is one of the few shows that my boyfriend will happily watch with me, so I like to save it for us to enjoy together.) Sometimes the sophomore season of a buzzy show disappoints. But so far, this season slaps. Some of the themes (like the class divide) remain, but it feels like this season is diving deeper into gender and sexuality. I’m especially loving Meghann Fahy (shout out to my “Bold Type” stans!) and Aubrey Plaza as Daphne and Harper, respectively. Anyone else feel like one of them is going to murder someone? -Emma

“Turning Red,” the 2022 animated movie about Mei Lee, a Chinese-Canadian 13-year-old who has spent her life as the perfect daughter and student — until she starts transforming into a red panda whenever she she feels a strong emotion. The strong aughts energy (it’s 2002 and Mei is a boy band stan) really brings me back to my own adolescence, and it’s a sweet, heartfelt exploration of growing up and exploring your independence. Also, the toddler is home sick again so I’ve watched it around seven times, conservatively. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

I’ve been really enjoying the first two episodes of the “Infamous” podcast, about Girls Gone Wild and its predatory founder, Joe Francis. Hosted by journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis, who covered Francis in the early aughts, it’s fascinating. -Emma

Nothing new this week, but I do have all the boy band songs from “Turning Red” seared into my brain now. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

Yes, it is the one time a year when all of Hill House goes on a 30% off sale, and yes of course I did purchase this tartan Tatiana skirt and this navy Sylvie sweater dress as a result. (Also… I’ve been *swooning* over their new party platforms.) -Emma

Ugh, yeah, I got the whole family matching PJs, which I guess means I’m now the Instamommy I never dreamed of becoming. I promise not to hire a photographer to take pictures of us having a pillow fight in them. -Claire

“Love Is Blind” came to a crashing conclusion on Wednesday, with a dramatic finale and a still-more dramatic reunion. Some people said no, some people said yes; some couples showed up to the reunion looking relaxed and happy while others showed up with more of a “blink twice if you need help” vibe. Accusations were made about clementines and lies. Deleted footage was aired out. The Cole and Zanab storyline, in particular, has polarized the audience, with each garnering floods of passionate defenders and haters. We’re passionately in favor of everyone going to therapy after this, especially Cole and Zanab. (And Colleen. Love you, girl.)

It was the most dramatic “Love Is Blind” yet, which is saying something after a season that featured ultimate reality show villain Shake. We’re conflicted about what that means for the show: the more compelling it is, the more it leans into conflict that demoralizes real people, and leads to their real demonization. With “Love Is Blind” ascendant in the space, its major players are reaping the social platform boosts, but also the overwhelming hate and harassment, that “Bachelor” franchise contestants long have.

There was a lot to digest, and so this recap is objectively our most unwieldy pod yet — we almost released it in two more wieldy parts, but ultimately decided we couldn’t wait with our reunion takes. It’s a long pod, but we enjoyed every minute of taping it, and we hope you enjoy our hot takes, slightly petty jokes, and lively debates. Happy “LIB” finale week! xo

We’ve been watching…

I started “Buying Beverly Hills,” which is sort of like “Selling Sunset” except about The Agency. The Agency is another LA-headquartered luxury real estate firm founded by Mauricio Umansky, best known as Kyle Richards’ husband from RHOBH. You really just love to see rich reality stars out here building their empire. I can already tell I’m going to binge all of it. -Emma

Netflix’s latest cult/scam documentary, “Orgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste.” It tracks the rise and fall of the self-anointed sexual healer Nicole Daedone and her company OneTaste, which promised people better living through better sex. The organization offered workshops, classes, and gatherings centered around what Daedone called “stroking” or "OMing” (short for orgasmic meditation) — essentially a standardized, ritualistic approach to stimulating a woman’s clitoris. The company, and the charismatic Daedone, attracted a fervent community, media buzz, and floods of investment dollars. But beneath the girl-power, sex-positive gloss, OneTaste was, according to some ex-followers, turning into a sexually coercive space that, despite its focus on the female orgasm, actually urged women to cater to men’s sexual desires — even violent and nonconsensual ones.

It was a disturbing watch, with some fair if not entirely groundbreaking points about how female leadership doesn’t necessarily prevent toxic power dynamics and sexual exploitation within an organization. It also contains a fair amount of sexually explicit material drawn from footage of OneTaste events, which prompted a lawsuit from some former members. It was compelling, and I hope that the victims who told their stories in the documentary felt that it properly honored their stories, but at times it did feel ethically questionable that film itself made lurid use of the same sexually titillating experiences that it purported to critique. -Claire

We’ve been reading…

My reading has really fallen off this week. There was simply too much “Love is Blind” and too much election anxiety. I have however, been unable to stop thinking about this The Cut piece I read recently, “Could Thin Be In Again?” Michelle Santiago Cortés explores the resurgence of an online culture most millennial women are probably painfully aware of: the fetishization of extreme thinness and extreme weight loss. I found it to be a deeply stressful and depressing read, but also a deeply important one. I kept asking myself, how do we stop this shit from wreaking havoc on us all…. again? -Emma

Who has time to read a book these days? Not me, I’m afraid! Once again I’m resorting to reading about books instead. Last week I recommended Brandon Taylor’s great essay on “character vapor,” and this week, an essay from the excellent writer Lincoln Michel digging into what Taylor called “trite physicality” a bit more deeply. The clichéd physical details they discuss — Taylor often, hilariously, bemoans characters “toeing off their shoes”; I also loathe the needless outfit descriptions Michel mentions — are one of my great pet peeves in fiction, and Michel has some great points about why this may happen. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

“If Books Could Kill,” a fab new pod from our former colleague Michael Hobbes, who also co-hosts “Maintenance Phase.” In this new show, which only has one episode out so far, but I devoured it, Michael and his co-host, Peter Shamshiri, dissect the pop science “airport books” that topped bestsellers lists and proliferated some pretty fucking terrible ideas in the process! First up? “Freakonomics.” -Emma

I also immediately listened to the first episode of “If Books Could Kill”!! In addition to Michael’s resumé, I wanted to note that Peter Shamshiri is one of the cohosts of the lacerating Supreme Court pod “5-4,” making this a kind of dream collab of two of my favorite podcasters. Not to mention a dream topic: overhyped nonfiction. I never read “Freakonomics,” despite the best efforts of my high school econ teacher. But its cultural impact was so profound that I found I was familiar with a lot of the concepts it peddled, in which Michael and Peter delightfully poke holes. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

I made two fun and frivolous purchases recently: A Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb lip gloss in Fenty Glow (it’s Sephora sale time and I had seen this gloss recommended all over the internet!), and this silk corset top from Abercrombie, which is a great dupe for a more pricey Reformation one. -Emma

My brother-in-law’s wedding is approaching, so obviously a tiny H&M suit for our toddler to wear in some family photos! I also snagged a navy tulle Ellie secondhand to wear to the wedding, and I can’t wait to wear it with some burgundy heels and a bold lip. (I will NEVER participate in the dark-liner-shiny-gloss lip trend.) -Claire

It’s the (not quite) end of the road for the couples of “Love Is Blind” season 3.

Episodes 8, 9 and 10 follow our five couples through the last 10 days leading up to their weddings. It’s always fascinating to watch how the Love Is Blind relationships often find an equilibrium at this point. The couples have been together for a month. They know what they love about their partners and what annoys the crap out of them. They know how to push each other’s buttons, and they have been confronted by the opinions of their closest friends and family members.

For some, it seems like this final stretch provides the chance to exhale and just enjoy. Bartise and Nancy turn a corner (though we suspect that doesn’t mean anything for their longevity as a couple), and SK and Raven have some of their easiest and most romantic moments. Alexa and Brennon continue to be the epitome of stability, while Cole and Zanab and Colleen and Matt seem to be the most overtly conflicted about whether to move forward with a marriage.

A lot of action is packed into this penultimate batch of episodes: We get some forced romantic outings (permanent bracelets! love locks!) and last-chance dates, as well as some pre-wedding rituals. They all go wedding clothes shopping, have group bachelor and bachelorette parties, and, of course, we get to see SK and Raven’s wedding, and half of Bartise and Nancy’s. As always, we had a *lot* to say about it all.

It’s hard to watch some of these couples struggle with what seems like fundamental incompatibilities; the type of things that are simply impossible to know about a person when you are just having deep conversations through the pod walls. Yes, an emotional connection is important to the health of a longterm relationship, but so are so many other things. Will your partner’s family members embrace you? Do you have opposite communication styles when in conflict? Does your partner insist on shooting a Nerf gun while chicken is cooking in hot oil on the stovetop?

We explore all of these questions (and much more) on this week’s LIB3 recap. Hope you enjoy! Xo

We’ve been reading…

My new thing apparently is reading half of a book and then putting it down for a month and then going back to it? So finally into the latter half of Sloane Crosley’s Cult Classic, and I continue to REALLY enjoy it. Love me some magical realism in New York City. -Emma

I am stalled out right now. The pace of Bachelor in Paradise and Love Is Blind, plus Tell Me Lies, two toddler sick days last week, and a Halloween half-day for a daycare parade and trick-or-treating have left me perpetually scrambling. In lieu of reading any books, I read Brandon Taylor’s latest essay for Sweater Weather, “Against Character Vapor,” which examines how contemporary and modernist fiction engage (or don’t) with characters’ physical forms. Though I like a lot of the novels he critiques, it’s a compelling read, puts words to some writing tics that irritate me as well, and maybe even persuaded me a little bit. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

In honor of Halloween, I watched “The Craft” all the way through for the first time in… decades? The perfect ‘90s aesthetics! The grunge soundtrack! A perfect, dark, twisty, witchy rewatch. -Emma

The premiere of “White Lotus,” season 2 (Italian edition)! Jennifer Coolidge is back as Tanya, an unfulfilled heiress, now rather unhappily married to Greg, her fling from season 1; Aubrey Plaza and Meghann Fahy are also here as the wildly dissimilar wives of two old college friends, one of whom is now a tech billionaire. I’m obsessed with the casting, and I only hope the rest of the season is as fun as the first episode. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

Friend of the pod (and IRL friend) Jacqueline Trumbull’s raw, honest, compassionate episode of “A Little Help For Our Friends” about her decision to end her engagement. It takes a lot of maturity and bravery to be so open about such a difficult and personal decision, and it was a beautiful listen. -Emma

I have been catching up on some more politically geared podcasts in my queue, and with the midterms rapidly approaching (and in some cases, already taking place!), it’s a stark reminder of how much is at stake in this election, and how likely it is that Republicans will make consequential gains. I’ve been listening to Supreme Court pod “Five Four” on the independent state legislature theory, a once-fringe legal theory conservatives are diligently working to leverage in order to overturn future elections, and “Know Your Enemy” on the crucial importance of winning political battles at the state level to preserve democracy across the country. Abortion is on the ballot; trans lives are on the ballot; democracy is on the ballot. Please vote! -Claire

We’ve been buying…

Shoes! I caved and decided to get back into Uggs after seeing my boyfriend’s sister wearing a particularly cute pair, the Neumel Suede Platform booties. They are so cozy and give you some height, which as a short lady, I very much appreciate. I also have been on a search for a not-wildly-expensive pair of lug sole loafers, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered these Massimo Dutti ones. (I love that they have a gold accent, a nice dupe for the Gucci ones.) They’re gorgeous, and although they’re a little wide for my narrow feet, a simple shoe insert did the trick. Can’t wait to rock them with some visible white socks. -Emma

Some new fall gels from Color Camp! I kind of love the warm, orangey browns that are everywhere this fall, so I’m obsessed with my new caramel nails, but also this crochet-inspired design.

I was (full disclosure) having some issues with my gel press-ons for a bit this summer: I’d remove them to find that I had green under one or two of my nails. This is apparently a kind of fungal infection (ahhhh!), and though it was painless and went away once I left my nails bare, it was obviously disgusting and bad. No one seemed to be talking about this!! No warnings, nothing!! But I did some research and made some changes (dry prep instead of soaking nails before pushing back my cuticles, using nail dehydrator before applying, getting a good nail glue with a brush applicator for even glue coverage) and haven’t had a problem since. If you’re still reading this and want to try at-home gel press-ons, bear in mind that ANY water trapped under a fake nail for a couple weeks can lead to infections. Dehydrate those nails! -Claire

Happy Halloween, beloveds! Gather round the campfire, because we sure have a spooky story for you: a tale of a sweet, naive college freshman who stumbles into an entanglement with the wrong man. A man with a dark past and a penchant for seduction. A man so addicted to fucking around, he’s driving his life straight into a ditch.

In short, we both ripped through Hulu’s sordid series “Tell Me Lies,” based on the 2018 novel by Carola Lovering, which wrapped up this week with a shocking finale that already has us clamoring for a second season. As a TV show, it’s far from perfect; as a period piece set in 2007 (our own college days!) it sadly leaves much to be desired. As a creepy, steamy binge, it fits the bill, as long as you don’t worry too much about the details.

The series follows Lucy (Grace Van Patten), a freshman at an upstate NY liberal arts college in 2007, who falls hard and fast for Stephen (Jackson White), a junior with “bad boy” oozing from his pores. Stephen pursues Lucy diligently, but he also withholds commitment and seems to be hiding things from her, which only makes her work harder to keep him interested. Meanwhile, her roommate Macy dies in a tragic car accident before classes even begin, and it soon emerges that some people on campus know more about the circumstances of her death than it initially seemed. Is Stephen a wounded but worthy soul, or a fuckboy beyond redemption? Will their relationship bring out Lucy’s best, or drag her down to the depths?

On this episode, we discuss the aesthetic of 2007 (side parts and flat-irons, dark eyeliner and tunics) and what appears to be the show’s choice not to embrace it. We also unpack the show’s exploration of emotional abuse both in families and between romantic partners, and its lurid depiction of the evils of hook-up culture. We hope you enjoy, and remember: stay safe out there. Fuckboys are everywhere.

P.S. Remember to vote!! Look up your early voting polling place and get out there. Even scarier than an FBoy is a racist, xenophobic, misogynist nutjob running your state and local government.

Toto, we’re not in Malibu anymore!

That’s right y’all, it’s time for our 5 (moderately) happy, newly-engaged couples to head back to Dallas, move into their show-appointed neutrally-decorated apartments, and commence the grueling labor of coupledom.

This week’s batch of episodes was so meaty that we found it difficult to discuss them in a concise and coherent manner. Some scenes felt like they needed entire podcast episodes, like the knotty conversation that Bartise and Nancy have about abortion rights, or the massive blow-up fight that Matt and Colleen have and then quickly try to paper over. Plus, predictably, both Bartise and Cole continued to act a fool after realizing that the other women they had pursued in the pods, were in fact, also hot.

Luckily for our cold dead hearts, which have been beaten down even further by this season of Bachelor In Paradise, we also got some sweetness in these episodes. Alexa and Brennon continue their reign as the golden couple, even as their differences become more pronounced, and SK and Raven’s slow burn has turned into a moderately hot flame.

Who are our top 3 enemies? Who rose up the ranks in our should-they-get-married ratings? Listen and enjoy! xo

We’ve been reading…

After a break, I went back to Gabrielle Zevin’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and read the last two-thirds of it on one rainy Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t put it down, and I spent the last 100-ish pages weeping. It’s so very beautiful. Don’t let the gaming premise turn you off, this is a must-read. -Emma

I’m still reading “Nevada” by Imogen Binnie, though I’ve been on something of an enforced break. Max has had a bad cold, so not only was our weekend more chaotic than usual (postnasal drip does not put toddlers in a good mood any more than it does adults, and they can’t use decongestants) but he missed a couple days of daycare. My fun reading is the first thing to drop off the agenda, but I’m hoping to get back to it soon!

I also read Lila Shapiro on the lawsuit Moira Donegan is facing over the Shitty Media Men list, which disturbingly appears poised to go to trial. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

Taylor Swift’s “Midnights.” Duh. I’ve been especially obsessed with the 3am tracks, specifically in “Could’ve Would’ve Should’ve,” her musical excoriation of John Mayer, who she dated at 19 when he was 32. “Give me my back my girlhood / It was mine first.” Devastating. -Emma

We’ve all been listening to “Midnights,” which for some reason has emerged as the Taylor album I am least likely to skip tracks on. Maybe I’m just becoming more patient in my old age and letting her quieter tracks have a chance to creep up on me, or maybe I love the blend of indie rock influences and synthy pop — somehow I even enjoy the cringe tracks like “Vigilante Shit.” (It’s because I, like Taylor, am cringe.) -Claire

We’ve been watching…

Honestly haven’t had time to watch anything this week other than BIP, Love Is Blind and a little bit of Tell Me Lies. Pretty cool that I got to do all of that for work. -Emma

The upside of Max’s cold is that we’ve all had a chance to get into “Encanto.” The first couple times we tried it, he found it pretty overstimulating, but now he is obsessed. And so am I. He gets to watch chunks of it while he does his many inhaler sessions, or when he’s too miserable to play with toys, and I think I enjoy it as much as he does. The plot holes are starting to get to me a bit (why does Tia Pepa affect the weather easily enough to summon a whole hurricane on her wedding day, but in the actual movie we only see tiny little clouds directly over her? Mostly I have a lot of questions about Tia Pepa) but it’s just so fun and packed with earworms. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

It will come to absolutely no one’s surprise that I indulged in a little Hill House holiday-wear. I love this soft blackwatch tartan pattern, and got the Louisa dress and the Evelyn, both perfect for taking a fall stroll / grabbing a meal out / podcasting from your bedroom. All the versatility I need for my current lifestyle. (LOL.) -Emma

Ugh, same. I wear my tartan Ellies around the house constantly in the winter, so it was easy to convince myself that I needed more. I got a Caroline, and it’s like being swaddled in a soft, light blanket. For those who need to look nice outside of their homes, perhaps at parties or even a fashion-forward office, I recommend the mod Araminta — I’ve never felt more beautiful in a statement sleeve or a shift dress. (I never need to dress up, so mine is going back, but not without a pang!)

I also saw that Rifle Paper Co. was having a sale on 2023 planners, so I went ahead and got the 2023 version of my current planner, which I love. The promotion appears to be over, but a few individual planners are still discounted. I’m more an organizational aspirant than a rigorous organizer, but this planner has just the right balance of calendar space, general note-taking space, and to-do list space for my fairly basic needs. -Claire

We love a pod love pod here at Rich Text, so we were ready as hell for season 3 of “Love Is Blind” to kick off this week and we’re already back on our bullshit (making pods about pods).

Season 3: Dallas edition, which is dropping just a month after the season 2 “Love Is Blind: After the Altar” special and associated divorce announcements proved the Chicago experiment a bust, hopes to restore our faith in blind speed dating. Can Vanessa Lachey and her statement sleeves (and, less importantly, her husband Nick) help these lonely hearts find love sight unseen?

The first four episodes introduce us to our main daters (e.g. the ones who end up getting engaged and participating in the rest of the show), follow a few love triangle clusters, and see our newly betrothed couples head off to Malibu for a luxury getaway.

At this stage, season 3 might be the least dramatic season yet, with no apparent second-choice engagements, love triangles that linger past the pod stage, or interpersonal drama. That doesn’t mean people don’t find ways to act foolish (doing a loud set of jumping jacks while a potential fiancé shares a painful family story, for example) or say gross things (“I’m gonna pump a couple kids in you,” FOR EXAMPLE), but the season feels a bit gentler and more mature.

One thing was a particularly refreshing change after a season 2 fraught with fatphobia, negative body talk, and weight loss backstories: not only are the contestants presented as less fixated on thinness, we actually see a plus-size woman, Alexa Alfia, who embraces her own body and its beauty and who has a blissful love story in the pods.

If you’ve watched already or if you just want to hear the breakdown, here’s our full recap. Hope you enjoy! xo

We’ve been reading…

“Nevada,” by Imogen Binnie. I’ve been listening to the Missing Pages podcast Emma mentioned a few newsletters ago, and while it hasn’t necessarily been my favorite podcast ever (for one thing, I’m already pretty familiar with all the big literary scandals and mysteries from covering the book world for half a decade and writing innumerable listicles about the industry), I enjoyed Binnie’s interview on an episode about J.T. Leroy. It got me curious about Binnie’s own cult classic, which was recently reissued by FSG. The novel follows Maria, an almost-30 trans woman who has a miserable job at a Very Famous Indie Bookstore in New York, a rapidly imploding relationship with a long-term girlfriend she used to love, and a brewing internal crisis over her inability to connect with her own feelings and needs. It’s provocative, scathing, and deeply jaded — Maria is even bored with her own traumas and vulnerable places. It’s often uncomfortable reading, in the best possible way. -Claire

Jamelle Bouie’s NYTimes op-ed, “Jim Crow Should Have Made One Thing Clear,” about lessons we all need to take on board from our own nation’s history as we head closer and closer towards terrifying authoritarianism. The whole column is a must read, but this paragraph stopped me in my tracks:

As we look to a November in which a number of vocal election deniers are poised to win powerful positions in key swing states, I think that the great degree to which authoritarianism is tied up in the American experience — and the extent to which we’ve been trained not to see it, in accordance with our national myths and sense of exceptionalism — makes it difficult for many Americans to really believe that democracy as we know it could be in serious danger. In other words, too many Americans still think it can’t happen here, when the truth is that it already has and may well again.

Please please please make sure you are registered to vote, and get yourself and your communities to the polls in November. Our lives and our democracy depends on it. -Emma

We’ve been watching…

I finished “Partner Track” this week. It was a treasure trove of memes for me, given that the villain has exactly the same name as my brother (who is not villainous at all) and the script is littered with gems like “I just want to punch Dan Fallon in his smug, pretentious face,” so I had to see it through. But genuinely, to me, “Partner Track” is an “Emily in Paris”-level binge: so much is going badly (the acting, the writing, the corny plot twists, the often clunky if well-meaning treatment of social justice issues) that it’s impossible to look away. Honestly, get me another season of “Partner Track” to watch alongside Emily’s Parisian adventures — but also, maybe some more actually good shows with quirky female leads. -Claire

The first episode of the new season of “The Vow.” Did this NXIVM docu-series need a season 2? Probably not. Does it lack interrogation of things like the money that went in and out of the self-help cult? Yes. Will I still be watching it all? Also a yes. -Emma

We’ve been listening to…

“Normal Gossip,” because I always save the new episodes to have as a little treat later and then forget I have them stashed away. This week my absent-mindedness paid off because I got to binge, like, six episodes of “Normal Gossip” and I was LIVING, my friends. Boy band fandom gossip! Family Secret Santa gossip! Gay kickball league gossip! This week I was just swimming around in it, letting it sink into my pores. The Telephone Game episode, a time-lapse compilation of the weekly guests playing an extended game of telephone with an anonymized piece of gossip, was perhaps my favorite, just because it is SO INSTRUCTIVE about not just the fact that gossip DOES get twisted with each retelling, but how and why those changes happen. -Claire

The first episode of a new pod series about the rise and fall of pop famous church Hillsong. “Hillsong: A Megachurch Shattered” is an investigative seven-part series which is a companion piece to a discovery+ docu-series. So far, it’s gripping. -Emma

We’ve been buying…

The Emilia velvet rose platform heels from the recent Antonio Melani X Nicola Bathie Dillard’s drop. I am planning to wear a certain lilac tulle dress to an upcoming wedding, and they seemed to call for some striking platform heels. I went with the cabernet color to darken my look up for fall, and I love them. However, I am slightly terrified of falling over and/or injuring myself?? Women who wear high high heels are so brave. -Claire

These brown leather knee-high Vince Camuto boots. They have been having a major fall sale, so I got them at a discount and I am so excited to enter my flowy dress / tall boots era! As someone with ~shapely~ calves I thought I simply couldn’t wear knee-high and over-the-knee boots, but it turns out that some brands (like Vince Camuto!) make a ton of their taller boots in wide-calf sizes too. #Bless. -Emma

If you are a geriatric or middle-aged millennial woman who loved Scholastic book fairs, you probably have core memories of “Catherine Called Birdy.” The 1994 historical fiction Y.A. novel by Karen Cushman was certainly formative for both of us.

The book follows spirited 14-year-old Birdy, the daughter of a country knight in 1290 England. Her father has decided that it is time to marry her off to the highest bidder, and the novel takes us into Birdy’s diary as she quietly and overtly rages against the gender-based strictures of her time. It is a story that feels both incredibly of the moment that it was published, and simultaneously a timeless tale of transition from girlhood into young adulthood.

On Oct. 7, Lena Dunham’s adaptation of the beloved novel, which stars Bella Ramsey, Billie Piper, Andrew Scott and Joe Alwyn (aka Mr. Taylor Swift), hit Amazon Prime. On this week’s subscribers pod, we dive into the film and the ways in which it stays true to the book and has been updated, with mixed results, as well as why the magic of the story endures, even for readers like us, who are now the age of Birdy’s mother rather than the protagonist herself.

Hope you enjoy! xo

We’ve been reading…

Sloane Crosley’s latest novel, “Cult Classic.” This book is like Emma catnip: a woman in her late 30s, satire about dating culture, and New York City. I love it so much. -Emma

This strangely lovely New Yorker story by Ted Geltner about the real, terrifying car crash that inspired a classic short story. Every turn of the article is unexpected. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

More “Heavyweights.” This week’s episode is a beautiful story about estranged family relationships, the beauty of strangers, and healing generational trauma. -Emma

I finally got into “Missing Pages,” the literary scandal pod Emma recommended a few weeks ago, and it’s already inspired me to buy at least one book. That’s the kind of podcast I can get behind: a podcast that reminds me to shop support my local independent bookstore. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

“Love Is Blind” screeners, which is great because I love having more men I don’t know as low-grade nemeses. Get ready for some wild Friends to Enemies ratings in the weeks to come. -Emma

Netflix’s “Partner Track,” which is pretty terrible, and screeners of “Love Is Blind” season 3, which are exactly what they ought to be. Stay tuned for pods! The season starts dropping soon. -Claire

We’ve been buying…

A classic black belt with a bit of embellishment. I have been trying to buy more neutral pieces lately that can be worn with each other for years to come. In that vein, I purchased this & Other Stories black belt with a gold heart buckle — a much more affordable version of this Saint Laurent one. I’ve already worn it cinched at the waist over dresses and with trousers, and it’s perfect. -Emma

A long quilted liner jacket from Everlane for the cold, wet fall park days we’ve been having. Somehow I never bothered to get myself a really warm, capacious, practical transition jacket, so for the last few springs and falls I’ve resorted to piling on layers of sweaters and light jackets for cold, damp playground days. I read that this jacket runs big, so I sized down one size, and it’s still perfectly oversized and cozy. Also, the weather is now suddenly warm again. But I have no regrets. -Claire

We’re back with more answers to more questions! Last week, we published a free episode with our responses to some of the wonderful questions you all sent us about work and work-adjacent topics. Today, in our usual subscribers-only episode, we’re answering some of the more personal and personal-adjacent questions.

How do you make friends in your thirties? How do you stay friends when some of you are having kids, and some of you aren’t? What does feminist parenting look like when you have a son? How did we know our partners were “the ones”? And honestly, how can we continue to wear pants and feel stylish as 30-somethings? We discuss all this and more.

Thank you all so much for asking us so many delightful questions! We hope to do this again sometime. As we continue to figure out what this newsletter/podcast is and should be, we’re always trying to figure out the best mix of TV/movie coverage, cultural trend discussions, and personal conversations about our lifestyles, so let us know in the comments or our inbox what you’d like to see more frequently.

We’ve been reading…

Still working on “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,” because I read at a snail’s pace when I’m not on vacation. Too much TV to consume for the pods! -Emma

“I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” the 1964 Joanne Greenberg novel I mentioned previously, which I finished over the last week. It fulfilled all the promises of Esmé Weijun Wang’s glowing foreword; I found myself constantly wanting to underline and annotate it because its observations about human experience are so sharp and well-formulated. The book follows a teenage girl battling schizophrenia through years of grueling treatments and psychoanalysis at a mental institution, emerging to a hard-fought recovery toward the end, and it is a deeply specific, revelatory book about those experiences. And like any very good, deeply specific book about a certain experience, it captures certain universal feelings all the more vividly. I highly recommend it. -Claire

We’ve been watching…

The new season of “Sister Wives,” after our fave Aubrey Gordon recommended it. True to her review, this season, which shows the slow dissolution of the polygamist Brown family, is a fascinating anthropological document, which explores relationship power dynamics, patriarchy, collective parenting and divorce. -Emma

In addition to the new season of “Sister Wives” (during which I have been reveling in everyone finally turning on Kody), “Reboot,” Hulu’s charming new show about a popular early aughts multi-camera sitcom that gets rebooted by an up-and-coming, edgy filmmaker (Rachel Bloom), who turns out to be harboring a very personal reason to reimagine the comfort-food TV staple as a more complex, daring show. The cast is exceptional (Keegan-Michael Key, Judy Greer, the list goes on), and I’m honestly just glad that we’re finally reckoning with Hollywood’s reboot addiction through the most vital medium of our time: streaming TV comedy. -Claire

We’ve been listening to…

The new season of Gimlet’s Heavyweight podcast. Host Jonathan Goldstein is just so smart and thoughtful, and manages to find the most beautiful and intimate stories to tell. Also, his voice is soothing AF. -Emma

Good Cult, a podcast about the personal development cult Lifespring (not yet mentioned in the podcast but an unfun fact: Ginni Thomas was in the group as a young woman and became an anti-cult activist after leaving… until, you know, she got into QAnon). Reported and hosted by River Donaghey, a journalist who grew up in a sort of unlicensed branch of Lifespring. His parents met in an offbrand version of the famous Lifespring organization called Wings and raised him attending its seminars — the podcast touches on his own family’s experiences and delves into the backstory of Lifespring, its leader, and the string of deaths and other disturbing outcomes linked to the intense, confrontational seminars the group offered. Need I say more? -Claire

We’ve been buying…

The most perfect slouchy trousers from Reformation. (I sized up for extra slouchiness, and got the pants in Stone Stripe, but they come in a bunch of colors and petites!) These are the pants that can do it all: go to the office, out for a nice dinner, or paired with chunky sneakers for a daytime fall stroll. -Emma

My Hill House fall order finally arrived, and I’m loving the botanical green crepe Ellie for fall — I do find it hard to layer cotton dresses for the colder months because of how the skirts cling to my tights. (Wait, is this why people wear slips? I’m going to look into this.) Also the Grandpa cardigan in navy. I know it’s pretty boxy for some people, but somehow I find it to be slouchy perfection, and I vastly prefer the pearl buttons to the usual gem-encrusted buttons they use. -Claire

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. Part 2 of this series will be released for paid subscribers on Monday. Rich Text is a reader-supported project — no ads or sponsors!

We asked you, our beloved audience, for questions a few days ago thinking that *maybe* we’d get enough to cobble together one podcast episode. But, as always, our community went above and beyond.

We got so many thoughtful, interesting, probing questions that we decided to break this Q&A into two episodes: One public episode (this one!!) released today, on work and career, podcasting, our favorite books, The Bachelor and other culture. The second part will go out on Monday for paying subscribers only, and will get a bit more personal, as we dig into questions about love and marriage, parenting, 30-something style, and friendship.

Thank you for your questions, and we hope you enjoy!

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