As we prepare to feast with families near and far, we are also loading up our libraries—thanks to the newest episode of our Audicted podcast with stories of kin we A. wish we had, B. appreciate for making us feel better about our own, or C. remind us of simpler times. Plus, a small programming note: the Weekly Sound Off will be taking a week off next week; we’ll be back to our normal schedule when we emerge from our tryptophan fugue state.

We know what we won't be having for Thanksgiving

Not that white truffles are a traditional part of turkey day, but this week CNBC and The Hustle reported that climate change has raised the rarity bar on these prized ‘shrooms. White truffles are harvested exclusively between October and December from the roots of hardwood trees in a particular and tiny region of Northern Italy. Warming climates in recent years have meant that the number of truffles gathered has dwindled, raising concerns of an increase in underground truffle crime (it's a thing, ok) as detailed in this fascinating title about bad behavior among the fungi foragers.

But we’ll load up our viewing plate with all of these, please.

Amid constant adaptation news, some is truly too good not to share. Scorsese’s epic mobster film The Irishman hits Netflix next week. Get the facts first with two new bios, The Trials of Jimmy Hoffa and Hoffa: The Real Story. Then, praise the casting gods because Amazon’s Daisy Jones & The Six series will star Elvis’s granddaughter, Riley Keough! And because we can’t resist a good rumor, is it true our favorite Spongebob Squarepants misanthrope is getting his own spinoff from the Netflix/Nickelodeon deal? Please tell us Squidward Tentacles is the next Frasier Crane, otherwise we’re going to get…grumpy.

A new meaning to Holiday Bonding

Gwyneth Paltrow raised a few eyebrows this week with her GOOP Holiday Gift Guide, which included items ranging from $43,000 earrings to a BDSM kit. 👀 While we can appreciate the spicier side of life, might we suggest something a little less restrictive for the book lover in your life this holiday season?

Meth! We’re on it (well, one state is, sorta)

While everyone was talking about South Dakota’s controversial new anti-drug campaign (Terrible? Brilliant?? Discuss!), we were fascinated to hear about two chemistry professors in Arkansas who’ve been arrested for allegedly cooking up meth. In this real-life story that feels ripped right out of an episode of Breaking Bad, their university temporarily closed its science center last month after someone reported a mysterious chemical odor coming from one of the labs. Meanwhile, the professors are on a leave of absence, all campus activities have resumed, and a local narcotics task force is handling the ongoing investigation.

The long goodbye

It’s hard to believe it’s been three months since our beloved Toni Morrison died. While impromptu memorials popped up in the days and weeks surrounding her passing, the first real chance for the public to honor her happened this week and was teeming with literary luminaries. Oprah Winfrey, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jesmyn Ward, Edwidge Danticat, David Remnick, and Kevin Young were among the many scheduled to eulogize the late, great writer and make the Cathedral of St. John the Divine that much more an anointed place.

Some trophy-worthy items of note:

The Beastie Boys, John Waters, and Michelle Obama can now add spoken-word Grammy nominee to their long list of accolades...Congratulations to Ian Williams who took home the Giller Prize (Canada’s highest honor for works of fiction) for his first novel, Reproduction...A few of our editors were fortunate to attend the National Book Awards where they got to see Susan Choi and Sarah M. Broom take home the prizes for fiction and nonfiction, respectively...We’d give an honorary mention to every narrator who subjects themselves to the task of reading aloud an entire work of literature (something writer Tim Dowling refers as being akin to an exorcism)...And if you haven’t yet seen such luminaries as Esi Edugyan and George Saunders weighing in on the making of Margaret Atwood, what are you waiting for?