The "Time ImMemorial" Edition
Dear Subscribers,
I got a lot of feedback regarding last week’s editor’s note, regarding the question of is-it-or-is-it-not-appropriate for the funeral director, who is helping you to choose your mother’s coffin, to bring up his favorite TV show that you made? The answer was roundly “yes, that be kray.” Additionally, my slight shock that my housekeeper told me she Googled me (and enjoyed my career highlights elicited read mail that spanned “Wow, you have the most pro-active housekeeper in the world!” to “If you think everyone isn’t Googling you you’re out of your mind.” It was all good advice/ways to frame the broader implication: everyone is Googling and/or looking you up on LinkedIn whether you know it or not. True dat.
Well, here is a story about one of my own favorite TV Shows that I made, Top Chef. It’s a very good oral history— these are very popular these days, and deceptively hard to get right! Sometimes it just sounds like many people offering opinions or stories about a subject but it doesn’t come together and form *a* story, one with energy and some narrative drive. But this one does—the reporter was great and he reached most everyone who made Top CHef, Top Chef. I think it is super accurate, fairly in depth, and made me remember a lot that I had forgotten.
I am grateful to the awesome crew who made it all happen and even more thankful that they didn’t include screenshots of my insane notes on everything from why Quickfire Challenges had to be distinct from the Main Challenge to our infinite lists of possible titles and taglines. “Grillers In The Mist,” anyone? Would that have won our Emmys?
Well, there is plenty more to tell— enough for at least a short chapter in The Book I Will Likely Never Write. For those of you keeping score, we have a lot of chapters already, right? Should we do an outline based on all the times I’ve mentioned what I will Likely Never Write About in the LZSP Intro?
Happy Memorial Day— Here is a short list for a long weekend. It’s the week’s most important news by and about women, delivered straight to your inbox. From Politics to Pop Culture and everything in between.
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See you next Sunday— Happy June/Pride Month!
LZ
THE PIC(K) OF THE WEEK:
The Strategic Fashioning Of Casey DeSantis via The New York Times
BUSINESS:
Neurodivergence Is A Career Maker For Men Like Elon Musk and Kanye West. Women Aren’t Afforded The Same Privilege via Fortune
A Movement To Make Workplaces ‘Menopause-Friendly via The New York TImes
CRIME & PUNISHMENT:
The Tortured Bond Of Alice Sebold and The Man Convicted Of Her Rape via The New Yorker
E. Jean Carroll and Her Lawyer On How It felt To Win via Slate
HEALTH & WELLNESS:
The Surprising Role Of Blind Women In India’s Healthcare System via Reasons To Be Cheerful
FASHION, THE ARTS & POP CULTURE:
When TV Becomes A Window Into Women’s Rage via The New York Times
At A Particularly Strong Cannes Film Festival, Women’s Desires Pull Focus via The New York Times
’Nobody Can Take Your Power’: Megan Thee Stallion In Her Own Words via Elle
Is It A Triumph For Women That Martha Stewart, 81, Is a Swimsuit Star? via The Guardian
TRIBUTE:
Let’s Talk Barbara Walters via The Cut
Bernadine Strik Remembered As ‘Amazing Person, Mentor, and Friend’ via Oregon State University
AND WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT…?:
Hats Off To An Illuminating New Documentary About Mary Tyler Moore via NPR