culture porn 1/13
our weekly playlist
screenshot me:
madoff:the monster of wall street (netflix)
i am so haunted by this story that i could watch endless madoff content, and this new in-depth series did not disappoint. featuring compelling intel and interviews with key players and victims of the ponzi scheme, i couldn't stop thinking about it once it ended (and even had a nightmare about deciding whether it was safe to invest my own money with madoff). i could do without the re-enactors - i felt that part was too goofy - but aside from that, highly recommend. the story reads like a shakespearean tragedy.
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the overstory (w. w. norton)
my costa rica trip was the perfect backdrop for reading richard powers' pulitzer-prize winning, transcendent epic. the lives of a group of characters become intertwined by the climate emergency, moved by the silently sentient lives of the natural world all around them.
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babylon (paramount)
wildly incoherent yet mesmerizing, damien chazelle's (LA LA LAND) heightened vision of 20s hollywood serves as a star vehicle for margot robbie.
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the fabelmans (universal)
steven spielberg's ripped-from-real-life film of his childhood is more tragic than expected, but it's saved from sappiness by michelle williams' luminous performance as his troubled mother. and it just won the GOLDEN GLOBES for best drama.
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otherworld (apple podcasts)
hot on the tails of studying how paranormal beliefs are on the rise, i tuned into this listen (thanks to my brother, harrison, for the reco). i really enjoyed this - it reminded me of another great podcast RADIO RENTAL with a slightly more Gen Z lens. "real" ghost stories? endless interesting listening.
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the pale blue eye (netflix)
sort of like TRUE DETECTIVE set in edgar allen poe-times, this christian bale-led piece was very watchable, if not a bit like watching a play vs a film - and lacking some emotional pull, in my opinion. my guy watched it intently while i multi-tasked. still, gorgeous aesthetic!
insights & inspo
ritual raging: why so many women are returning to therapeutic screaming
when our analyst @rajivmenon sent this article to me, i recalled hearing of therapy screaming in the past: a few years back - early pandemic - Iceland, the source of many witty tourism campaigns, encouraged people to scream it all out into their computers. the screams then got released into gorgeous icelandic scenic voids via speakers. how soothing. well, turns out they were onto something.
more insights here
#coldgirlmakeup
we love a good gen z trend. this season we're noticing some chilling repeat behavior in the beauty world: #coldgirlmakeup. this particular makeup trend is all about the blush & lips. will you participate in the frostbitten look? warning: chapped lips may ensue.
more insights here
#LOokforward🌅 with linda ong
it's the time of year for crowning winners - from the return of the GOLDEN GLOBES to the "NATTY," aka the NCAA football national championship, where i got to see UGA's "dawgs" crush TCU's horned frogs at SOFI stadium on a rainy monday.
i never thought i'd live in LA, but since i moved here, i've felt the rumbling of the town's ascendance as a cultural capital. now, even the NY TIMES is recognizing its impact, which will only grow as the world cup and the olympics land on our shores in the coming years.
i typically do DRY JANUARY every year, but this year, it seems not only mainstream, but even aspirational. domestic doyenne martha stewart went viral with her cheeky partnership with TITO'S VODKA, while bars are creating mocktail menus and charging up the wazoo for their questionable concoctions.
for linda’s full debrief, head here