📰 🥗 Media Diet 04.05.26

What I’ve been reading, watching and listening the past week (or two, or three...)

Apr 05, 2026

What a chaotic three weeks it has been, especially if you keep up with reality tv and politics. I went to Miami for some rest and relaxation only for Trump to show up and bring traffic to a standstill…

We had issues with TSA and TFP, more ICE and a hot hot hot Summer House. Can we pretend we’re in Europe and skimp on the ice, please? And while we’re at it we might have to cut out oil and food soon too. Let’s get into it!

📖Book: Either/Or by Elif Batuman

The sequel to one of my favorite contemporary novels, The Idiot. I picked this up while on my “spring break” and haven’t put it down since. Campus novel, references to Eastern European literature, Ukraine/Russia/Romania history, stream of consciousness + small observations and the fallout of a freshman falling in love with an emotionally unavailable senior. What’s not to love?

🌐Digital: Lit Hub - Why We Still Need Book Festivals

What struck me most about this write up is not so much the importance of book festivals but more so the idea of discoverability and how that has changed over time. Perhaps, book festivals are the answer to discoverability in a digital heavy/first world.

Also book festivals just need to be heavily promoted online for the right people to attend. Tell the book influencers (and apparently authors) about your local book festival! In a recent episode of the podcast Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, Brooke Averick (author of the upcoming novel Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It) was trying to explain to her co-host that we need “Coachella for books.” Meanwhile I’m at home screaming to my laptop “you mean book festivals?! Those already exist!” But I get what she’s saying. We need the same hype around book events that music festivals or concerts have. Brooke later goes on to say there’s Book Con…Event planning is not for the faint of heart but maybe better locations and way more hype might do the trick.

Also loved these quotes from the article: “The danger is cultural monoculture. And monoculture is the enemy of imagination.” + “Because a book without a reader is only half a life.”

📸Instagram: Byrdie - What are the it girls reading?

The digital magazine, Byrdie, made a fantastic IG carousel shouting out women with great book taste from book influencers like @interestedinblackbooks and @whatnestleread to Olivia Rodrigo and Demi Moore.

👠Magazine: Paper Magazine - Ayo Edebri Is Her Own Canvas

Stunning images from the latest issue of Paper Magazine and a great interview with Ayo on her first Broadway play Proof with Don Cheadle. And I heard a rumor that they are going to release limited edition physical copies soon.

🎬Movie: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett)

Such a fun time at the movies! I’m ready for Ready Or Not: You Can’t Hide and Ready Or Not: I’m Going to Find You immediately.

🎵Music: Tonight by girlsweetvoiced

i still can’t believe joni cleared the sample 😭 this will be out MARCH 27TH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! presave is still in the bio!!! thank you guys for listening to my lil songs, i really hope you love this ...

Clairo-inspired bedroom pop from a Black independent artist who got Joni Mitchell to sign off on a sample of California for this single. She’s been promoting snippets of the song on TikTok for months and finally released her first music video. Can’t wait to hear more.

✉️Newsletter: The Cut - Brand Names Are in A Crisis

Syrn, Cyklar, Skylrk. Can you guess which industry each of these brands are from let alone pronounce them? The Cut explores this new naming convention and speaks with folks at top naming agencies (yes that’s a real job that was unfortunately absent on my career day) including the people who named Febreeze and the Wendy’s baconator. I actually am a repeat Cyklar customer, my fave product being the bodywash. And I’ve been following the founder/influencer/actress/entrepreneur, Claudia Sulewski, since her early YouTube days. Here’s a recent vlog of when the brand launched at Sephora.

📰Newspaper: Los Angeles Times - A SoCal native is set to pilot NASA’s lunar mission — and become the first Black person to reach the moon

I feel like we didn’t showcase this up enough? This is the first Black man to go to the moon people! Maybe because it happened on the same day as Trump’s emergency press conference on the war with Iran and the pre-press conference open letter to the U.S. from Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian. Also isn’t this oddly similar but not to the movie Don’t Look Up?

🎤Podcast: Throwing Fits - The Mary H.K. Choi Interview

Strap in tight, fold some laundry, go for a nice walk or do the Sunday crossword like I did while listening to this two hour long interview with author Mary H.K. Choi (Yolk, Emergency Room, Pool House - releasing 6/9/26) and with the fashion bros over at Throwing Fits. It’s well worth it. Great conversation on book marketing, optioning movies, art and commerce and so much more. I love when fashion and books collide (post coming soon…)!

⏰TikTok: Boston Globe - There was a crazy home invasion in Beverly over the weekend

Emily Sweeney locked in their position at the Boston Globe after this video went viral. The virality was not due to the news itself which was horrific but rather for her charming Boston accent. +1 to the Globe for getting on this so quickly. Local news take notes, your next on camera personality could be in the cubicle next to you!

📺TV: PBS News Hour - Zohran Mamdani on his bold agenda, tackling Islamophobia and working with Trump

Zohran has been everywhere lately from responding to tweets about potholes to partnering with WNBA players to Taco Bell press conferences but this sit down with Amna Nawaz from PBS NewsHour was earnest and thoughtful.

▶️YouTube: The Tonight Show - BTS Performs “SWIM” at Guggenheim New York