Hi from LA,
One theme I return to a lot in my work is seeing/being seen. I think the shock of being seen — going from only understanding ourselves as subjects to seeing ourselves as objects — marks a real transition from childhood to womanhood. And we wrestle with seeing ourselves in third person henceforth. My book Flawless, and my film WINDSWEPT explore in their own ways how identity is performed and contested.
What happens when we now come of age and learn to self-objectify … in a uni-context? It’s a compelling framework advanced by the philosopher Agnes Callard, and encourage you to read her recent conversation with Derek Thompson about it.
This high-stakes, high-conflict divorce in South Korea. A guide to eating veggies in a time of cyclospora. The teens trying to get the explosive diarrhea on purpose. The enshittification of the audience capture business, which I realize I’m sharing on a platform designed to capture you as my audience. Rachel Baker & Maggie Bullock interviewed NYMag’s Brock Colyar, and it’s filled with signs of the times about how “the influencer-ification and same-ification just continues to creep farther and farther.” Brock’s piece about the big little penis anxiety among penis owners. Missing persons posters are going up across DC for Mitch McConnell.
Book on my nightstand: The Tyranny of Thinness, by Celine LeBoeuf, a philosopher whose work undergirded Flawless’ conclusion. I’m looking forward to interviewing her for the first-ever Hu’s letter author Q/A. If it goes well and y’all are into it, I am open to doing more!
I found a stomach-turning overlooked detail in the coverage of Graham Platner’s consultants. For Epstein Files Book Club, we discussed how Bill Gates has complicated his own legacy, with reporter Tim Schwab making the case he’s been overestimated as a do-gooder all along.
On this here Substack, a reflection on a difficult June, and a few foreign correspondent travel tips. And this summer is all about being heads down on assembling a film! As WINDSWEPT is in post-production we are working consistently with nothing to show for it until way later. But we do still need to raise finishing funds, so if you’ve yet to pitch in and are in a position to, any contribution helps!
Less work related and more parenting related — I’m briefly quoted in this Bloomberg piece about how expansive and popular girls volleyball has become in this country, the way private equity rules everything around us, and how it’s costing parents, girls, and the culture. Earlier rant on youth sports is here.
Cookie Queens. This is ostensibly a story about four separate Girl Scouts who are trying to make their cookie sales goals during one intense six-week cookie season. But it’s also a story about commerce and capitalism, girlhood and performance, and to whom we owe our talents.
It’s directed by the brilliant Alysa Nahmias, who I am so proud to know, as she is consulting on WINDSWEPT. Cookie Queens is in theaters August 7, please go see it! Here’s the ticket site.
Widow’s Bay. I thought that everyone had already binge-watched the critical darling of the summer (and a show already topping best of 2026 lists). But then when I told people I encountered at tennis, or on a plane, or on a set about Widow’s Bay, they hadn’t heard of it. This says something about the silo-ed social and cultural circles we’re in, and also gives me an opportunity to say, WATCH WIDOW’S BAY! It blends horror and comedy and drama so brilliantly, in such an original story, with such a delightful cast. (Apple TV+)
Lucky Loser, an audiobook read by the author, Michael Kosta. I loved this book! I loved that comedian/author Michael Kosta read it to me. It’s about his journey from someone ranked on the professional tennis tour to a touring comedian, and the brief time he tried to juggle both. There’s a Northeast Asian leg of this book that really cracked me up, as the former South Korea and Japan bureau chief for NPR.
This TikTok making the rounds, with the Trump-voting UFC fighter realizing MAGA is a cult.
And this one: Can people tell the difference between Erewhon’s $12 “sacred water” and water from a hose?
I love that top comment: “This is what I think wine drinkers are like.” Lol.
OK that’s it for this one — send any links you recommend or talk with me in the comments. More soon!
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