Sorrow and Bliss [#98]
Plus a smoking hot gorilla, the Gap store playlist and hot dog hands that can be yours.
Hi hi hi,
I was going to headline the newsletter “Sad demise” since that’s on theme for the news of late (and maybe for the 21st century). But it seemed too cynical.
Here we are though, in the liminal place before the U.S. will no longer protect the federal right to abortion.
In all the post-leak reading, I learned a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the privacy grounds on which Roe legally protected abortion rested were shaky, and she had suggested way-back-when that abortion be protected with human rights/equal rights reasoning instead. It makes sense, as Kathryn Kolbert, who defended Roe in the Casey case before SCOTUS, said in a TED talk she gave in December:
"Women are unable to be equal participants in our society if we cannot control whether, when and with whom we have children; [if] we cannot exercise the fundamental human right to make decisions about our bodies and our destinies."
Reading
Women are indeed missing from the Constitution. That’s a problem to remedy, not a precedent to honor. If you’re fired up, here is a great guide to taking action. The sad demise of America’s public goods. Gen Z’s sad demise into fast fashion.
This gorilla is really really really good looking. Exploring the minimum effective dose of exercise. Maximum trivia about Oreos. There is more to the Gap store playlist than I thought. There is more philosophy involved in farts than I thought. There is more to Instagram posing than I knew. And if you loved Everything Everywhere All At Once, you can now buy hot dog hands!
Werk Werk Werk
What a post-Roe America might be like, on NPR’s It’s Been a Minute. A conversation with Tiana Epps-Johnson, who is trying to restore trust in American democracy by shoring up local election officials. And authors Jasmine Guillory and Emma Straub shared their summer book recs with me. I already started reading Sorrow and Bliss because they described it as “a lot like Fleabag.”
A request: I’m hosting It’s Been a Minute through the end of the month and I’d love a little joy and levity from your world. Please share the best thing that has happened recently, record a voice memo and email it to ibam@npr.org. Wontcha? We will likely feature it on the show!
Watching/Listening
Finally watched Roadrunner, the Bourdain doc. Miss that guy.
The staff at IBAM is raving about The Great Pottery Throwdown (HBO Max), which is supposed to be 10x better than British Bake-off, if you can believe it.
If you are like me and hear about a show or film but not sure which of the 147 streaming services to find it on, let me sing the praises of JustWatch.com. Simply enter the title and it will show you everywhere you can watch with a subscription or pay to rent. SO GREAT. h/t @staceywoelfel
Okay that’s it for this one. Please send links, comments, quips, complaints anytime. Thanks to all the new readers and sharers of the Hu’s Letter! I’m psyched to be back and writing you again.
To world peace,
E