The Links You Liked the Most in 2024 [#152]

From spycraft to scammers to scathing reviews, a roundup of what y'all found most clickable. Plus, a special holiday section from my childhood bestie.

Hello from Taiwan!

Hope you are having restful holiday week(s), wherever this finds you. Before we close out the year, I want to share that my favorite Christmas thing is here: The Hater’s Guide to the Williams Sonoma Catalog has dropped!

And, I’m here with the Hu’s Letter links y’all clicked on the most in 2024. In case you missed any of these:

• The drama within the menopause expert community, with Dr. Mary Claire Haver at the center.

• A visual guide to the influencers shaping the 2024 election

• Calling out Malcolm Gladwell for being wrong so much

• Google search has been enshittified. Here are some alternative search engines.

• Dead butt syndrome is a real condition and I think I have it.

• The difference between men who like women and men who don’t

• The US accused a prominent Korea analyst of being a spy.

• The obscure federal intelligence agency which is almost always right

• A grand theory of the US that explains a lot

• A hot new money making scheme for Hollywood stars: Doing nothing.

• A scathing review of Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department

• A Twitter thread taking down the Uri Berliner hit piece about NPR

• What’s the deal with Jay Shetty? A deep dive investigation

• The correct time you should do all sorts of tasks, including exercise and waking up

• I am a Boomer’s iPhone and I will not be silenced.

• Elon Musk’s drug problem

• The beach chairs from Big Lots I swear by, which are also helpful if you are a sport parent and sit on a bunch of sidelines.

• Reliable, retractable USB-C cables

A recent piece on how the mainstream media will lose its last grip on relevancy, a prediction from a researcher writing for the Nieman Journalism Lab about broader trends in our information ecosystem, was the most clicked on link in my most recent dispatch. I shared a bunch of adjacent writing on this topic following the November election as well.

The Best SNL Christmas Episodes, According to Friend Jes

Since it’s Christmas, I asked my childhood bestie, Jes, to share something special for the end-of-year Hu’s Letter: Her expert ranking of the best Saturday Night Live Christmas skits, ever. She is the most die hard SNL fan I know, and I remember spending so many middle school sleepovers at Jes’s house watching Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and Matt Foley and the Spartan Spirits in the basement. Quoting from SNL liberally made up (makes up?) at least 30% of Jes’s personality. Jes especially loves Christmas, and had the honor of being in the live studio audience for not one, but TWO Christmas episodes: 2012 - Martin Short and Paul McCartney, and in 2022 - Austin Butler and Lizzo. Herewith, her ranking and notes. Enjoy!

1. Glengarry Glen Christmas, with the ICONIC Alec Baldwin. It just doesn't get better than this.

2. Best Christmas Ever - This one is particularly special to me because not only does it make me laugh, but every year it makes me cry. It's so real for every parent.

3. Schweddy Balls - Another one with Alec Baldwin? Of course. This is not only one of the best Christmas skits, it's one of the best SNL skits ever.

4. Santa Baby - Ryan Gosling and Vanessa Bayer killed this one.

5. Sweeney Sisters Jingle Bell Medley (so old it's not on YouTube) - my sisters and I still quote this classic with Jan Hooks every holiday season.

@huggyattackReplying to @suzyg20

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

Snubs: Dick in a Box (it is classic but not Christmas enough for me), Steve Martin's Holiday Wish List (a classic for sure, but not worthy of my top 5), John Malkovich reading Night Before Christmas (excellent but again not worthy for me).

All right, that’s it for Jes’s list and I hope you enjoyed not only the most-clicked links but also our special section. As always, thank you for being in connection and correspondence with me. Hello to new subscribers, and to longtime readers, thank you for all the years we’ve stayed in touch. I’m grateful for you. If you think someone in your life would enjoy Hu’s Letter, please forward along and encourage them to subscribe!

Merry merry,

Elise