Greetings, Slate Plus members!
This will be the first time I round up Slate’s latest and greatest for you, but hopefully not the last—I’ll try to make it a good one! I’m an editorial assistant here at Slate’s culture desk, keeping you up to date on the latest news from Cultureland, and yes, all things Amy Schumer. This is a relatively new gig for me, but it’s always a blast to work with such incredibly talented colleagues, who, above all else, somehow put up with me constantly chomping on snacks from the vending machine and pitching stories about things like Michael Sheen’s eyes.
This week was packed with great stories. We had a fascinating interview with Seymour Hersh, whose latest behemoth of an investigative piece questions the official narrative surrounding the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. We also published Slate associate editor Bryan Lowder’s incredibly thoughtful, well-researched Fresca piece on the shifting relationship between homosexuality and “gay” identity. It’s an enlightening feature—and definitely well worth taking the time to read as carefully as it was put together.
We had a lot of serious pieces in the magazine this week, but we also had a lot of fun: Brow Beat kicked off the week with a chat between Slate pop critic Jack Hamilton and assistant editor Miriam Krule about which of the Boltons is the worst person in Westeros this week—because let’s face it, no one else even came close this episode. We rounded up all of critics’ best guesses as to how Mad Men will finally end. And then there was Katy Waldman and Amanda Hess’ hilarious debate on Lexicon Valley about whether words or GIFs are the better tool for self-expression. If you missed it, be sure to check it out—Hess is a very GIFted debater. (Sorry, had to.) Finally, Alison Griswold kept us up to date on my favorite news topic—cheap food. Olive Garden is offering subs made on its famously heavenly breadsticks, and breakfast sandwiches are saving the fast-food industry. What a time to be alive!
I can’t think of anything better to end on than fast-food breakfast—in fact, I think I’ll go grab some right now. It’s been a pleasure, and I hope to write to you again soon.
Peace and blessings and sausage biscuits to all of you,
Laura
