Three recs, Friday surprise edition
A darkly feminist summer read, my fave current show about comedy, a podcast about American fascism (fun!)
Welcome back from summer, kids. I extended mine for as long as I could, but now it’s time for cooler evenings, my woolly Irish socks, decorative gourds, apple festivals, and whatever your favorite warm drink is.
I have a really fun essay for you, but it’s going to have to wait for the next issue (which will, I promise, come in two weeks), because I just found out this morning that the (absolutely bat-shit) soapy audio drama company I’ve been writing for this year just culled something like 80% of the company for budgetary reasons. Honestly, it’s not entirely surprising. They had literal Emmy-winning writers on their payroll and still couldn’t figure out how to break even, so, you know.
Anyway, we all spent today gossiping and are now looking for gigs again. So if you or anyone you know happens to need someone who’s good with words and story… well, you know, hit me up.
In the meantime, let’s get you some fun recs!
Rec 1
Teddy (book)
This debut novel about a Texas debutante who finds herself in late 1960s Rome, surrounded by rich, power-hungry Americans, is one of those books I almost didn’t read out of pure contrariness. It came out of nowhere to be suddenly everywhere this summer (or, at least, everywhere on my Instagram) and the blurbs referencing Mad Men, Roman Holiday, and White Lotus seemed to be trying a little too hard to make it everyone’s favorite beach read. And yet, despite myself, I was still influenced.
Honestly, I get why Mad Men, Roman Holiday, and White Lotus are references (see: 1960s + Rome + rich Americans abroad, as well as tabloids and the appearance of government agents interviewing our narrator in the first chapter), but I also now think those gushing blurbs do the book a disservice. It’s Mad Men if Betty Draper were the main character: a woman raised solely to be beautiful, her only value in men’s adoration of her, leaving her lacking the language to even express her frustration with the system in which she was raised. It’s Roman Holiday in the real world, where strangers use and exploit each other instead of falling in love. It’s White Lotus if the rich Americans abroad weren’t on vacation, but rather treating politics and power-plays in Cold War Europe like a game.
Teddy is certainly a summer read. It’s a compelling, twisty slow-burn that I tore through in a few days. But what makes it more than that is the way it’s a deeply psychological portrait of a woman chafing against society and its constraints – and how even the people who love her have made her believe that that means there’s something wrong with her. As much as I wanted to know how the plot ended, it was Teddy’s internal struggle that kept me on the hook, that made me want to find out if she would ever learn that it wasn’t her fault.
Naturally, I won’t tell you if she did. But if you do read it, hit me up – I want to discuss the ending.
Where: Borrow it for free from your local library, or buy it from your non-Amazon bookseller of choice. (Here’s the Bookshop US link, and here’s the Bookshop UK link.)
(In the name of full transparency: I’ve included affiliate links to Bookshop.org – if you’re going to order from them anyway, please use my link so I can make a little extra cash! If you want to see/order any/all of my book recs, I’ve made lists on Bookshop, too: US version, UK version.)
Rec 2
Hacks (TV)
First: The Emmys scooped me on this one. I was going to send this newsletter last week, but, well, I was in New York, and then the Emmys gave this show all the awards, but just know that I was gonna rec it first, okay? Also, I really thought I had recced this before, but apparently not, which… Sorry? It’s one of my faves.
Speaking of women chafing against society (always one of my fave story areas), the third season of this truly delightful HBO/Max series about a Joan Rivers-esque Boomer comedienne and a Gen Z (or young Millennial?) writer absolutely killed it. Again. I’ve loved every season so far.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that I’ll watch Jean Smart in anything, but, well, I just want to reiterate it. She’s magic. Without her, this show would probably still be fun. But she makes it exceptional. The combination of hubris and vulnerability that she brings to her character – along with her impeccable comic timing – is brilliant. Deborah is not an inherently likable character, but Smart makes us love her all the same. Without that, the show wouldn’t work. I’m thrilled she’s getting the love and recognition she deserves for it.
Of course, she’s not the only brilliant thing about the show. It’s hilarious, it’s heartfelt, it’s full of fun characters, and it skewers the industry in satisfying ways. It certainly has its ups and downs, but the downs rarely last long.
As if that weren’t enough, it has half-hour episodes. Need I say more?
Where: HBO/Max (US), Amazon Prime (UK)
Rec 3
Ultra, s2 (pod)
Did you know that Americans collaborated with Nazis to undermine the Nuremberg trials? These days, I wish I could say I was surprised to hear that, but that made the story and characters behind it (and that came out of it) no less disturbing/fascinating.
Longtime subscribers may remember that I recced s1 of this narrative history/investigative journalism podcast about the rise and reach of the ultra-far-right in mid-20th-century America back when it came out last year. I was excited to see a second season coming out, though I wasn’t sure where it would go.
Turns out, I needn’t have worried; the far-right continued its exploits in the US even as WW2 ended, so there’s plenty of fertile territory to explore. Beyond Nuremberg and a traitorous lawyer, this season has Joe McCarthy, it’s got senators being blackmailed, it’s got outlandish lies and wild propaganda and stories people wouldn’t believe if you made them up. In other words, if you’re a history nerd like me, it’s got it all.
But my favorite thing about the show is how it shows that fascists and wannabe dictators aren’t new to the US. We might know this in theory, but this is history we should be learning in school so that we know how close it can be and has been. So we never again think that this kind of extremist is a problem that happens elsewhere.
Also: I don’t really care about Rachel Maddow, but tbh I wish her TV stuff were more like this. It would be better and less sensationalist.
Where: Wherever you listen to podcasts
That’s all for this week! What are you reading/watching/listening to that I should be aware of? Drop me a line (or comment) to let me know if you check out any of my recs and what you think.
Please spread the word and I’ll see you in a couple weeks.
xo
Kate
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