The Offspring [#146]

A dispatch from set mom/puppy mom life.

Hello from Los Angeles,

I write to you from on a TV set with my eldest spawn, Eva, the actor. She has booked a regular role on a series for tween network Brat TV, so now I am reluctantly “set-momming” when I really want to be home puppy momming instead. YES THAT’S RIGHT WE HAVE A NEW GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY AND HE’S THE CUTEST MUFFIN!

Just the fluffiest.

It’s been a minute since I last wrote. For Labor Day we nearly burnt ourselves to a crisp in Sedona, Arizona, while attempting to hike Cathedral Rock. Instead of hiking, we walked about 50 feet to a good photo spot, took a group photo, and called it a day. Wound up in the pool within 12 minutes. A few weeks later, we picked up our eight-week old Oscar, and the very next day I was off to the Clinton Global Initiative in New York to moderate a session on mental illnesses. Donna Karan just casually came to our session, after which we panelists said to each other, “Was that Diane Von Furstenberg?” But this was cleared up after Donna herself came up to chat with us and take photos. What a cool lady.

Reading

Google’s gotten “enshittified,” so here’s a primer on better online searching. The surge of Instagram photo dumps. I’m spending more time on Reddit, and the subreddit I read most consistently is Ask Old People, where young people ask questions to anyone born in 1980 or earlier. It’s charming and often hilarious. Jia Tolentino weighs in on this Ozempic era we’re in and what it might mean. Is the drop in the fertility rate about all of us having higher standards?

On my nightstand: Big Fan, by Alexandra Romanoff. This novella is a charmer and features one of my favorite tropes — the normal person + celebrity coupling.

Werk Werk Werk

On Forever 35, we were delighted to chat with Emily Amick from @emilyinyourphone and co-author of Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in our Country and Our Lives. She offered up the most important thing you can do today as the election approaches, how to talk to other humans about politics, and how to rediscover the enjoyment of participating in civic life. If you’re new to this podcast, we take listener questions about a range of topics, everything from making more adult friends to finding the best dishtowels, every Wednesday, and host thoughtful conversations with guests on Mondays. Patreon supporters get an EXTRA weekly episode, a casual chat, on Fridays. Join us!

The Forever 35 Giving Circle is fundraising to support legislative races in Arizona, one of the swingiest of swing states. We know that so many of the abortion bills originate out of state legislatures, so it is crucial that lawmakers who support bodily autonomy are in power in Arizona. Please consider a gift to our giving circle. It can really make a difference.

And my book Flawless is out in Polish!

Watch and/or Read

English Teacher on Hulu. It’s so now, so charming, the characters surprise you and make you love them.

Presumed Innocent from Apple TV. I’m late to this but it was worth the catch-up binge. Peter Skarsgaard is the best smarmy assistant DA in the history of smarmy assistant DAs.

IRL

October 24, Atlanta, GA: TED Next

October 26, Dallas, TX: Mayborn Nonfiction Literary Conference

October 28, Santa Monica, CA: YPO Pacific Coast Gold, in conversation with Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wu Dunn

All right that’s it from here, for now. Send me your links and recs or leave them in the comments, I have some time to kill while I’m on set for the next couple days.

Later gators,

E