Hi!
I wrote about
@cw_nancydrew
for
@slate
. I love the show, I love everything about it—I want to be in Horseshoe Bay for ever. It's fun, sexy, and diverse and it has really been like home to me.
Ahead of the finale, I wrote about the CW's show
#NancyDrew
—how it got me through the pandemic, how sad it is that it was canceled too soon, and how much I'm gonna miss it,
@kennedymcmann
, and the online debrief from my fellow
#Drewds
Drew Crew 4ever 💛
Manny Jacinto reveals he didn’t know his lines were cut from ‘TOP GUN: MAVERICK’ until after the movie was released.
“It’s flattering that there was a little bit of an outcry, but it wasn’t shocking to me. There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see
for those who are asking: I, too, am not in Chicago. I am currently on my couch in Brooklyn watching the track and field events at the Olympics and eating potato chips (like the good half-Jamaican that my father raised me to be).
Sadly, our beloved Rachelle (
@heyydnae
) is leaving ICYMI. Though she can never be replaced, someone has gotta continue explaining what is happening on Al Gore's internet.
Please apply to be our co-host for
@ICYMI_pod
! But only if you're nice and cool.
I spoke with my dear friends
@LegsFrank
+
@heyydnae
about why Black people love
@paramore
and the legacy the band has in widening the emo/pop-punk space
also we give our burning opinions on their latest album
#ThisIsWhy
I would like to say that it's only been 11 minutes of breaking and a competitor already pulled out a surprise jacket that says "Free Afghan Women"—THAT is breaking. THAT is hiphop culture.
Keke Keep A Job Palmer has been booked and busy and on Black TV screens for years now. Please read my
@Slate
article to see why her recent blow-up was not only inevitable but lonnnng overdue.
A joint venture w/
@SlateCulture
+
@NPR
: Slate has updated its Black Film Canon to include some recent movies and: I got to be a part of it!!!
It's beautiful and important and I'm a lil shocked (+ proud!) to be listed as a contributor 🥲 please read it!!
It's been exactly one year since I began writing full-time for
@Slate
/
@SlateCulture
!
I can't wait to share a really annoying thread of all of my favorite Slate things I've been a part of this year. 😊
“Jawnalist” is an incredible term but i can’t take credit! I had the pleasure of interviewing
@FarFarrAway
(who has the term in her bio!) about our beloved Philly sports fans. You can read it here:
What I've been saying since I got those Masters of the Air screeners and all I'm saying now is: Austin Butler and Callum Turner are in LOVE and i don't care about anything else, really.
I interviewed
@FishGuyKai
for
@Slate
about the fish representation in The Little Mermaid! I learned so much and we bonded over loving the original as well as the new one.
I wrote about how the Beyoncé/Kelis situation has blown up into something else entirely. I want to thank
@jesshopp
for taking a few minutes out of her day to drop some gems of knowledge for this piece.
Hiiii, I wrote about
@insecurehbo
for
@Slate
. It’s a great show, but more than being a show it’s been an integral part of Black culture that will be dearly missed.
Some VERY exciting news to announce: Scaachi Koul is joining
@Slate
as a senior writer for our culture and human interest sections!!
She needs no introduction, but here's a little more about
@Scaachi
and what she'll be up to at Slate starting in June:
I interviewed
@jgwheel
and Myrriah Gómez for
@Slate
about the harrowing truth of the Manhattan Project's displacement and mistreatment of local New Mexicans that the film OPPENHEIMER conveniently omits.
I'm tired of Black hair care being used as metaphors for "the horrors of assimilating to whiteness" in Black satirical horror (a genre that, I must say, I am starting to grow tired of).
I was on two Slate pods this week to discuss: Rihanna + Paramore
The first is
@ICYMI_pod
w/
@heyydnae
where we talk about Rihanna, Paramore, and a continuation of our chat-piece on slate dot com about Black People Loving Paramore
I'm proud to have contributed to
@SlateCulture
's package of the Greatest Stand Alone TV Episodes of All Time! I got to praise some of my favorite eps of TV ever from Avatar: TLAB, The Leftovers, Atlanta, and more!
I wrote about how much I love
@jamieleecurtis
and how fun her awards press cycle has been! If you haven’t been keeping up with her awards antics, you can find the highlights here:
If you're like me, true crime these days can make you feel pretty gross when you watch/listen to it. I asked some colleagues and true crime experts what the best true crime of the year was, this is what they suggested:
When Reservation Dogs first premiered I was blown away by the endearing characters and the way it felt like both a universal and specific teen experience. And, having lost my own Daniel at a young age, I felt a lot of kinship to the main characters...
.
@Slate
is hiring a host for ICYMI. Full-Time. $100,000 - $115,000 a year. Hybrid NYC or DC. Honestly, dream job. I highly recommend you apply or somehow get me on the short list. Either/Or
A couple years ago, I saw a reference to Shirley Wheeler—the first woman charged with manslaughter for getting an abortion. But I couldn’t find much else about her.
Today, on the first episode of this season of Slow Burn, we’re telling her story:
Yesterday marked my 1-year at Slate but what's even cooler is that the new season of
@Slate
's podcast "One Year" premieres tomorrow. If you're into anniversaries, Slate, the 80s, and/or cool podcasts, check out
@SlatePodcasts
' "One Year: 1986" tomorrow!
I went to three screenings this week—and out of a women-led Marvel movie, an Emerald Fennell movie, and a Hunger Games prequel, I was sincerely not expecting the Hunger Games prequel to blow the other two out of the water.
I wrote about the absolute war going on between people who ship Sydney and Carmy from
#TheBear
and people who think they should Just Be Friends.
But, in a way, I also wrote about the cultural war shipping your favs is embroiled in right now.
I just went back to listen to my first
@ICYMI_pod
episode in honor of
@heyydnae
's last episode—and I guffawed when I told Rachelle that I'm "not a Kpop Stan per se," but I "dabble." Man, they grow up so fast 🥹
Hi, I wrote for
@Slate
about how
@quintabrunson
is 100% correct in not doing a school shooting episode and why it's actually rude that you ask and why you can stay mad. Thank you. 💛
In case you were only mildly aware of Usher and wanted to know where to start listening to understand the impact of his decades-long career, I made a playlist for you 💛
I talked to some friends and thirst posters to try and figure out why me and the rest of the internet are attracted to Austin Butler in Dune even though he's playing a pale naked mole rat psychopathic murderer.
.
@aymanndotcom
interviewed the parents of Wadee Alfayoumi—the 6 year-old Muslim boy who was murdered in Chicago—and some community leaders of their area about how their lives have changed since.
It's devastating, but so important. I urge you to read it.
I wrote about
#StrangerThings
and how Lucas *could* be the best character if they'd let him. (I still love you
@Stranger_Things
, you gave me mama Steve and for that we will always be tight.)
@SlateCultFest
@thehighsign
Also, one of my favorite pieces ever dropped today. In which I posit that Nolan movies aren't just for film bros but are also for the girlies! Hot dudes who you can't hear speak?!?!? What more could you ask for??!?!
I was on
@SlateCultFest
today with Steve &
@thehighsign
and we had SO much fun talking about espionage, George Michael, and whatever the hell Musk is doing with this app. Avail. wherever you get your pods!
On this week’s Culture Gabfest, Dana and Stephen are joined by Slate’s
@calllmenadira
to discuss Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, the documentary Wham!, and Spill, a new app.
I wrote about how much I love
@Wawa
and how sad I am to see my favorite store of my youth fall victim to today's obsession with minimalist design—at the cost of community.
h/t to
@daveprimarily
&
@DeePhunk
for bringing this to my attention.
Lizzo breaks her silence on lawsuit filed by former dancers, saying the accusations against her are "false" and "unbelievable."
@KelleyLCarter
reports.
I will say this one, twice, as many times as yall need to hear it:
The only reason we should be recreating stage shows on film (instead of just filming the stage productions) is to enhance the choreography since no one has to sing *and* dance at the same time.
was on
@SlateCultFest
this week for a super fun and animated show w/
@samsanders
to talk about American Fiction, Mike Judge’s new show In the Know, and the Barbie Oscar “Snub” Discourse! avail wherever you get ur pods
I reviewed
#Swarm
for
@Slate
—some highs and some lows but I loved writing this piece. As a member of the BeyHive it’s always fun to assess my own understanding of fandom.
Funniest Thing Ever:
@piersmorgan
asked me why I accused him of racism regarding Meghan Markle...but then later blames me as a "high profile Black man" for why he was criticized for his previous remarks.
I think he just answered his own question right there.
I was on
@ICYMI_pod
w/ my besties
@heyydnae
and
@pahwa_nitish
to discuss Hasan Minhaj. Tish and I could talk about this ordeal forever, and we tried—sorry to ICYMI's intrepid prod.
@seera_sharae
!—but I think the bottom line is: Always close read.
An official ranking of Little Women IP as follows:
1. Greta Gerwig's LITTLE WOMEN (2019)
2. Kim Hee-won's LITTLE WOMEN Kdrama (2022)
3. The actual book, Alcott's LITTLE WOMEN (1868)
4. Everything else.
One of the coolest things I've done
@Slate
: My favorite show currently in production, WE ARE LADY PARTS, dropped its 2nd season on Peacock today. I got to interview the showrunner, Nida Manzoor, about how the music has evolved since the first season.
where is the book on amanda bynes. where is the longform youtube essay on amanda bynes. amanda bynes is so important to me and my generation. amanda bynes did things no one else in the industry could do. we should have taken care of amanda bynes, to whom we owe a Lot.
It’s crazy to watch Amanda Bynes clips and take in how effervescent of a performer she was & how totally her surrealist brand of humor took over my generation, literally the human analog to SpongeBob. An incredible contribution to culture, she deserves the greatest care & respect
given all of the
#QueenCleopatra
backlash, I interviewed a historian to figure out whether or not Cleopatra was historically Black.
the answer may surprise you!
*in my Drake voice*: I'm going Baaaack to Baaaack! I was on
@ICYMI_pod
again today to discuss (read: scream with
@heyydnae
about) why I hate the quiet luxury/stealth wealth trend. (Per usual, also avail wherever you get your pods.)
👇my manifesto against Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose callous, thoughtless, and insensible acts of cultural destruction—culminating, not least, in the recent scrubbing of Cartoon Network's website—have been allowed to go on for too long, and need to be stopped
I had a great convo with the co-creator of The Sympathizer about the ending of the show. We talked about so much precious stuff that couldn't make it in (like the connections between this and Blindness) that didn't make it in, but I loved this!
I feel like I should take this moment to say that a new episode of
@ICYMI_pod
dropped today, where
@thecandicelim
and I talk about our favorite Olympic internet moments thus far!
Consider this me plugging my mixtape under a hit tweet or whatever:
I feel like I could speak for a long time about enjoying content that simultaneously alienates or negates your existence (your race, your body, etc.), and I'd start with
@stefficao_
's really affirming piece about
#Wonyoungism
.
but frfr re:fire - most things have insurance.
a human life does not.
i’m not that bothered if fire is your method (though I wouldn’t recommend it).
i’m more bothered that people care more about a burning building or car than a racist institution and a Black life.
i love that
#Barbie
has reinvigorated the conversation around Bratz but what’s being lost in that convo is that Bratz weren’t just “another gen. of doll,” they were coded (and outrightly made) to represent non-white girls
they also, most importantly, didn’t dream of labor ✊🏽
this is one of my favorite episodes of TV of all time. i praised it in Slate’s list of Best Standalone TV Episodes. Braugher’s work had done SO much for me in my lifetime, and though it will continue to do more, this is so effing sad.
I will be talking to my esteemed colleagues (
@dankois
,
@SamuelAAdams
, +
@thehighsign
) about the Oscars (and i get to do my favorite thing: being a professional hater)
Tune in if ya fancy ✨✨✨
I wrote about why Frank Ocean's controversial experience at Coachella isn't that surprising.
In other news, rip to all my Frank fans who had tickets to Weekend 2; I'm prayin for yall.