Today we're joined by Sam Cummins of Nymphet Alumni to discuss the timeless American novelist Willa Cather. We talk about the needless politicization of Cather, why Nature is the ultimate identity cleansing force, and how frontier literature has evolved today.

Discussed:

Cather novels:

• O, Pioneers
• One of Ours
• My Ántonia 
• Death Comes for the Archbishop

Willa Cather and the Politics of Criticism, Joan Acocella (2000)

The Kingdom of Art, early Cather essays collected by Bernice Slote (1966)

“Becoming Noncanonical: The Case Against Willa Cather,” Sharon O’Brien (1988)

(Homework!: “Getting the Pump,” Jordan Castro in Harper’s)

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Happy New Year! Today we take the opportunity to look back at how Gwyneth and Goop defined Wellness in the 2010s. I argue that while Goop lacked a soulful center, Gwyneth is working in the grand Esoteric tradition of seeking the sublime through one's relationship to the body. I look at the current aesthetic detritus of exercise culture, challenge the bad rap on “self-optimization,” and meet Gwyn in her New Age quest for Something Beyond.

Discussed:

“How Goop’s Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrow’s Company Worth $250 Million,” Taffy in NYT Magazine

Lauren Oyler on the Goop Cruise for Harper’s

“Gwyneth Paltrow Looks Back at 15 Years of Goop and More,” Marisa Meltzer in NYT

Outlive by Peter Attia

My fave episodes of the Goop podcast:

• with Michael Pollan

• with Peter Attia

• with Monique Melton

• 15th Anniversary Special Episode

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Today we use Kim Kardashian and Skims to close out many open conversations of the year: the body, motherhood and domesticity, women megalomaniacs, athleticism as an editorial trend, and so much more. I argue that Skims is the most exciting, subversive contemporary *beauty brand* and *grand editorial project* of 2023, commend Kim for her commitment to her own point of view, knight her as a Free Thinker, and formally retire our paranoia around “Girl Culture.” 

Plus! A deep dive into Tate McRae: her revival of White Girl Hairography, confused visual identity, and the renewed thirst for pop stars who can seriously freaking dance 😻😻😻

P.S. Addison walked so Tate McRae could run… missing her always… see u in 2024  💫 

Discussed: 

Kim on the goop podcast

Jens Grede on the BoF podcast

Skims nipple bra ad

Rachel Tashjian on the Skims nipple bra in the Washington Post

“Nothing Lasts Forever” music video, Sevdaliza

“Mel Ottenberg Gets Ripped for Rick Owens” in Interview

“Woman in Retrograde” by Isabel Cristo in the Cut

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