No. 12: MD's Newsletter
Inspired by true events on movie screens
Here in the desert, you get used to the oppressive heat. It doesn’t mean it gets any easier to deal with, but you learn to expect it and adapt accordingly. Keep the shades closed midday to block out excess heat. Leave out extra water for the pets. Take care of yard work at 8:30 p.m., when the sun is down but it’s not yet dark. Start the car a few minutes before going somewhere with my son, so it doesn’t feel like an oven.
What’s less routine, though, is the intense heat rippling across the globe. Phoenix is seeing ridiculous record-breaking temperatures. Hot temperatures led to a record-breaking wildfire season in Canada, generating smoky air that knows no borders. Southern Europe is in its second extreme heat wave of the summer, and we’re barely halfway through.
The majority of Americans — about 61% — already say that climate change is affecting their community. Yet only 37% say it should be a top policy priority. Will those numbers shift as the heat intensifies? Or maybe the better question is, will anyone listen?
Right where you left me
I’ve been back working for Modern Retail for about a month now, and am surprised how quickly I was able to jump back into reporting. It’s always a pleasant surprise when someone answers the phone/returns the email after a few months of not talking with them.
I’ve picked up many stories in the same beats I’ve been covering the past year, including sustainability, policy, home & design, workplace conditions. But I’ve also been eyeing what’s happening in the baby space because — surprise! — when you are parenting a tiny human there are LOT of things to buy. And there’s also a lot of Feelings around what we buy and what it represents about us on our parenting journey (see: that great New Yorker stroller piece).
From this vantage point, I was thrilled to tackle a story on a combo feeding Target campaign from Bobbie, a formula company, and Elvie, which makes hands-free breast pumps. What is combo feeding, you ask? It’s when you give your baby both breast milk and formula, and it’s something I didn’t know existed until my son was about eight weeks old and was gaining weight a bit slower than we’d like. I started giving him “dessert” after nursing, and now we’re in a great rhythm where he gets formula and breast milk in bottles while I’m working. It’s been working great, but there’s still so much guilt, and I dove into all of that for this piece on the new campaign. Would love it if you gave it a read!
A few other highlights:
Inside Overstock’s grand plan to reinvent itself as Bed Bath and Beyond
Start-ups are trying to get people on board with refillable cleaning products
When did you forget to have fun?
Per usual, music gets me from one phase of the day to the next. Jazz or cello in the morning, beats for writing, pop or hip-hop for working out. The new Misterwives album that came out on Friday has me gobsmacked — this band was always a little peripheral for me (you may know them by their excellent “Same Drugs” cover) but with this one, it feels like they really found a groove. It’s intricate without being busy, it’s sonically referential to bygone eras without being a total nostalgia play. “Broken Glass,” “All the Same,” and “Dagger” are not to be missed.
“Weathervanes” from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit has also been in heavy rotation. If someone asks me why my baby seems so serious all this time, maybe this is why? But I think he’s just a contemplative soul.
I’ll leave you with this: I’ve never felt more like a millennial parent than when we were listening to Mozart sonatas before bed, only to be followed up by Megan Thee Stallion’s “Girls in the Hood” because I didn’t clear my queue after going to the gym. Shouldn’t AI have been able to prevent things like this by now?
Thanks for reading,