FRIDAY FOURTEEN ISSUE 99

November 5, 2021
This week: A compelling argument for not giving up on having kids because of climate change, things you can’t do in the metaverse, meet the 37-year-olds who are afraid of the 23-year-olds who work for them, work red flags in this new post-pandemic era, the disaster that is COP26, and more

Oh man, COP26 looks like a fucking mess

Four *actually* achievable things we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint right now

… and a compelling argument for not giving up on having kids because of climate change

Five young climate activists who should be on your radar

A thoughtful piece in the Guardian about the men who are worried that they'll never get to be dads (“Adam works in a female-heavy environment, where women often have babies. “It’s horrible to admit this, but you dread it when people bring their babies into work,” he says. “You skulk out of the way and busy yourself elsewhere.” Adam’s colleagues often mistakenly assume that his childlessness was a choice. He doesn’t correct them.”)

Things you can’t do in the metaverse

Older women in the nude. More of this please

The BBC has released a list of the 100 greatest shows of the 21st century and whether or not you agree, it’s an excellent list to bookmark and revisit when you feel like you’ve streamed literally every show on the planet

What to feed a vegetarian at a barbeque

A seemingly innocent chant — “Let’s go Brandon” — has taken over American politics. Here’s what it actually means

The awkwardness of being off social media

This piece in the New York Times about the 37-year-olds who are afraid of the 23-year-olds who work for them is required reading (“Lola Priego, 31, chief executive of the lab-testing start-up Base, had to laugh when a Gen Z employee sent a Slack message assigning her a task to complete. Ms. Priego interpreted this as a welcome signal that her 15-person staff doesn’t find her intimidating, but another member of upper-level management was horrified.”)

Work red flags in this new post-pandemic era 🚩🚩🚩

The commencement speech that Hannah Gadsby made a few months ago after being awarded an honorary doctorate has been circulating the internet this week and for good reason (“I don't know how it's possible not to be anxious in this world in this moment unless you're dead inside, and we don't want that.")

VANESSA —>
Watching:
The new trailer for Pen15 over and over again. Dec 3!!!
Reading: Doing a lot of “comfort” re-reading atm, including Curtis Sittenfeld’s Rodham for the zillionith time, Dolly Alderton’s Ghosts and Anna Hope’s Expectation
Listening: To Helen Garner read her lockdown diaries

LIZZIE —>
Waiting for: 2’s day
Watching: Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet turned 25 this week (I feel so old) and Baz has been reliving his fave scenes from the film. The BTS recaps of the petrol station duel and the dreamy pool scene are highlights
Reading: Ottolenghi’s new book Shelf Love