Good Sunday! Apologies for my chaotic scheduling this month. I’m octopussing (the act—rather than the art—of mothering more small children than you have arms) abroad and haven’t had time to write any letters. We’re at that stage of the holiday where everyone is tanned and bloated and we’ve settled into a gentle rhythm. I’ve been cooking more and reading less (my evenings eaten by a toddler sleep regression), which is actually lovely. Highlight of our time away thus far is 7-year-old explaining to 5-year-old why incest is illegal (understandably, he got muddled over the genes/jeans part) and 2-year-old pointing at someone’s Playboy Bunny towel on the beach and shouting, “it’s Peter Rabbit!”
I’m going to keep things zen, and say no newsletter next week. Normal scheduling will resume in Sept, once everyone is back at school and nursery. Back to rn, I’ve sent my family off to frolic on the beach for the day and holed up to write an XL letter of recs—seriously, jumbo sized—to get you through my week off. I’m kidding, you’re fine without me.
Below the paywall today: tales from the psychoanalyst’s couch; Shrinking Girl Summer; celebrity face-lifts; AI therapy; the definition of a Jet2 summer; the eternal age of Leonardo DiCaprio; whether ChatGPT is validating us to death… and a mini essay—a wrangle, if you will—on Bonnie Blue and her documentary, 1000 Men and Me.
So many good things in Vanity Fair this month, I might have to take out a subscription again:
A fascinating long read about a Death Row prisoner, William Noguera (since released), and his years uncovering the real number of victims of his fellow inmate and one of America’s biggest serial killers, Joseph Naso
A shocking account of a doctoral student’s 45 days in an ICE detention centre. Rümeysa Öztürk was snatched by masked men in the night, after contributing to an op-ed in support of Palestine. It brought me to tears
A depressing but compelling account of how doctor Priscilla Chan’s science-backed, charitable ambitions were slowly cremated by husband Mark Zuckerburg’s Meta
Stuck in a summer reading slump? Alice Fishburn’s literary palate cleansers include re-reading an old favourite (I’m about to embark on Wild Swans), asking your friends not for their best books but their guilty pleasures, and reading like a child: “No high-low cultural divide exists when you are 11 years old and the world of literature is opening up to you.” A good reminder for all the days, not just those of summer.
A gorgeous piece on never quite knowing your mother, by Abigail Bergstrom for Red magazine (print only or avail on Readly):
“Motherhood is bound by a certain unknowability - not out of secrecy, but love: a desire to shield, to hold part of oneself back so the child can move forward”
And a stunning long read about inter-generational fatherhood—and minds, bodies, grief, masculinity, ambition—from culture critic, Freddie deBoer.
A riot of an interview with Jade Thirlwall, by Joe Stone. I knew Little Mix were successful, but I had no idea they were the third biggest girl band of all time—after The Supremes and the Spice Girls. They sold more records than Destiny’s Child! (When Noel Gallagher said that they were “not in the same league as Oasis”, Thirlwall’s epic reply was that “we are definitely the most successful girl group in the country, but he’s not even the most successful performer in his family.”) Thirlwall, who says she shouldn’t have passed The X Factor’s welfare checks (she was 17, had severe anorexia, and had just been released from hospital) and that popstars should be political (“good for you, hun” she eye-rolls about Matty Healy) is a solo artist in swift ascent—she’s already been nominated for an Ivor Novello. I’ll keep banging this drum till I (or this newsletter) die: the celebrity profile is! not! dead!
Here’s a goodie in People with Helen Mirren, on the folly of youth:
“Younger people cannot comprehend the fact that the older generation had sex, had fun, danced, were obsessed with their hair and their weight… We’ve done that. We’ve been there”
And another, also this week, on the thing she hates most about turning 80:
“If my husband and I are holding hands, someone might say, ‘Oh, look. How sweet.’ It’s like, excuse my language, ‘F*** off.”
I did a little leap of joy when the news broke that Noel Clarke had lost his libel case against the Guardian. Investigative reporters Sirin Kale (my co-writer and co-host on Unreal) and Lucy Osborne endured a year of hell in court, after their 2021 investigation revealed dozens of allegations of verbal abuse, bullying and sexual misconduct against actor and filmmaker, Noel Clarke. I don’t think people realise what journalists who work on public interest investigations have to go through, doing this work. (Another example is the appalling case of Carole Cadwalladr vs. Aaron Banks.) They are the bravest in our industry.
Clearly, I am not one of those Substackers who thinks your entire culture diet should hail from Substack, but that’s not to say there isn’t some excellent cultural criticism on here. Recent highlights include the brilliantly waspish (and considered) fashion editor, Amrita Singh on the false promise of the capsule wardrobe (‘Every TikTok fashion girl… is peddling the same depressing starter kit”; “it’s like getting fashion advice from the woman who claps when the plane lands”), beauty editor Anita Bhagwandas on the intersection of whiteness and beauty and Derek Thompson (formerly of The Atlantic, newly of Substack) on America’s fitness boom. Also good (and weird and compelling) the demise of the serial killer (1970-1990 was ‘the golden age’ for, erm serial killing, in part because it was pre-internet, pre-decent forensics and “Americans were more trusting”).