a submarine-free pop culture newsletter
all of the palm trees in LA are going to die at the same time!
Hi!
Thanks for opening this email / reading this post.
Chewing up all the stuff on the internet and spitting it out here:
Shein, a Chinese “fast fashion” company, hosted a trip for influencers to one of their factories to help defend against allegations of inhumane working conditions. They were able to find a group of people with lots of enthusiasm and very little familiarity with China, the clothing industry, capitalism and human rights. Taylor Lorenz has a good video about it, but this TikTok also gives you the general idea of the state-sponsored vacation.
Feeling a modicum of understanding for those Romans who watched people get ripped to shreds in the Colosseum thousands of years ago. Consider my bloodlust piqued!
Harvard Business School, an expensive place to learn how to shake hands and take a bunch of Myers-Briggs tests, caught my attention today, because one of their professors, a “dishonesty expert,” was caught falsifying data. When people tell you who they are, believe them <3
To close out Pride Month, I’ve partnered with Big English Major to indoctrinate you in the homosexual agenda by sharing a few of my fave (gay) poems.
Hart Crane, Voyages
June Jordan, Poem for my Love
Eileen Myles, Peanut Butter
Tunes to start the week with:
I wrote about Liz Phair’s self-titled fourth album for Albumism this week, and how people absolutely lost their shit when she released it in 2003. Read my piece if you need a little reminder on the hideous sexism in the music industry during the 90’s and early aughts. Listen to the album if you like catchy, wry pop music for adults. I, for one, felt surprisingly sentimental about the choke-hold “Why Can’t I?” had on the rom coms of my youth.
And for something fresher, Jungle is putting out a new album in August and have been releasing some very funky singles leading up to it. Perfect nu-disco vibes for all of your summertime functions.
xx