culture porn w/o 6/6
our weekly content recommendations
screenshot me:
the candy house: jennifer egan (scribner)
i liked MANHATTAN BEACH better than A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD, but in her new novel, egan revisits SQUAD's eclectic salazar family to create what NPR calls "a brilliant portrait of intersecting lives." - lo
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the staircase (hbo max)
in this meta remake of the series that itself was based on a landmark documentary, colin firth and toni collette replay a mysterious accidental death (or murder?) on a now-infamous set of stairs. in this telling, the documentarians are part of the gripping courtroom thriller, wrangling their need for objectivity amid conflicting opinions. - lo
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borgen (netflix)
if you're looking to escape june gloom or escape the heat, check out the 4th season of this chilly, danish political drama. a climate-centric conflict fuels the warring ambitions of newly elected female leaders, who turn out to be just as conniving and selfish as men. - lo
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big boi’s favorite verse: kate bush’s running up that hill (pitchfork / youtube)
forefronted again by STRANGER THINGS, this song is a CULTIQUE fave. seeing big boi reflect on it as a childhood favorite of his is a treat in every sense. - su
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fire island (hulu)
this LGBTQ+ romcom features bowen yang, one of my fave SNL cast members. i recently read an amazing history of the importance FIRE ISLAND, specifically THE PINES, has served among the gay community and so i watched this very very fictionalized portrayal with glee. is it silly? yes. is it salty? yes. it's the perfect welcome-to-summer watch. - su
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norm macdonald: nothing special
from airplanes to masturbation to slut-shaming, the late, great and former SNL player's last stand-up is an impressive feat, delivered straight to camera without an audience – in a single take! bonus content: a post-screening roundtable with dave chapelle, david letterman, molly shannon, conan o'brien, adam sandler, and david spade. - lo
insights + inspo
find your ‘third place’
"third place" is one of those cultural concepts that has staying power. the pandemic really muted conversation on it for a few years, but this article brings it back to the fore. the spontaneity and informality represented by a third place is something we're slowly learning how to re-engage with, and increasingly find the value in.
- sarah unger, @sarahjaneunger
for more, head here
americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own
for the past two years, we've been tracking the pandemic-fueled migrations (aka THE BIG SORT) across the country, especially from california to places like idaho, tennessee, and texas. as things start to settle down, the ideology behind these moves may begin to shape the country's electoral future – with citizens hunkering down in the regions that share their views. but might this just make americans more politically extreme?
- linda ong, @lindaong100
more here
coalition conversation: top gun: maverick
linda ong, sarah unger, and scot safon break down top gun: maverick
watch their full conversation here
#LOokforward🌅 with linda ong
culture is constantly evolving, and we at CULTIQUE don't sit still either. in the coming weeks, we'll be rolling out the latest iteration of our logo. to be forward-facing, polycultural and global, as well as communicate our openess to change, we chose an outlined korean/latin font that, when viewed vertically, starts to look like asian characters. let us know what you think!
as we're in the fifth month of our 4 DAY WEEK pilot, our posts on the changing workplace seem to gain the most traction these days. take TESLA's latest policy: a 40-hour, in-office workweek. with only 40% of workers in the office on any given day, and previous mandates failing at corporations like GOLDMAN SACHS, i'm curious to see if musk's staffers will show up – or simply move on.
for linda’s full debrief, head here