Weekend Reads #290

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Key Abortion Drug: Abortion rights activists were quick to warn that the decision to preserve access to the widely used abortion medication mifepristone doesn’t prevent the possibility of future challenges. (U.S. News & World Report)

Abortion pill still under legal threat despite US Supreme Court ruling. (Reuters)

How Q became everything. (Mother Jones)

Chiquita held liable for deaths during Colombian Civil War. (New York Times – gift article)

God loves Megan Stalter in all her hilarious, bisexual glory. (Washington Post – gift link)

After a very public relationship and split, Jodie Turner-Smith is renegotiating how much of herself to share. (The Cut)

AAPI adults strongly support lessons on racism, slavery and Asian-American history in schools. (The 19th)

Brooke Shields Is Changing the Script on Middle Age. (Allure)

Diane von Furstenberg Has No Regrets: ‘I Will Laugh When I Die’. (New York Times – gift link)

Brands Prepare for ‘The Great Exhaustion' of 2026. (Back Row)

The New Yorker: My Father, the City, and Our Dreams. (Jenny)

American women are at a breaking point. (The Atlantic – gift link)

The woman who could smell Parkinson's. (The New York Times – gift link)

I went to the Universal Standard trunk show in DC this past week. I tried on a blue and white striped linen midi-length shirtdress with fabulous wide elbow-length sleeves and a wide self-belt. I almost bought it but wanted to stay on budget. And then I saw it for the Style Box this month. Rumor has it a white sleeveless cotton popover I also tried on is in the box (pintucks and covered buttons).

Google appears to have turned off its new A.I. Overviews for a number of searches as it works to minimize errors. (New York Times – gift link)

Think you’re cleaning your water bottle enough? Wrong. (Washington Post – gift link)

This SPF lip balm does not melt and eek out of the tube when left in a hot car! Code OXYGEN20 for 20% off your purchase.

Why does TV feel so underwhelming yet so overwhelming? (Vox)

AI could choke on its own exhaust as it fills the web. (Axios)

10 Artists on Working, Living and Creating Through Loss. (New York Times – gift link)

See/Hear/Read

I don’t know if it’s age or the time we’ve been living through the past few years, but few movies hit me like they often would when I was a young adult. I can remember films and feel the pain, the shock, the fear, the belly laughs decades later. I haven’t felt such intense feelings for a movie for so long; I thought I had outgrown that sensation. That was until I watched The Iron Claw.

The Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron and many other familiar faces, is the true story of the Von Erich brothers, who were well known in 1980s pro wrestling.

I get it if you have no interest in pro wrestling and only think of Zac Efron as the kid in High School Musical. But this movie was so powerful, gut-wrenching, and painfully devastating that I hope Efron is nominated for some awards. And I have to provide a care warning.

The Iron Claw takes place in the early ‘80s, and it will feel hella familiar to many GenX and Boomers—the fashion, the community, the relationships, the way kids were raised. And that can be pretty traumatic to some.

Please research this film before watching; themes regarding self-harm, TBI, domineering parents, sibling rivalry, depression, drug use, addiction, life-changing injuries… I could go on. Please proceed with caution.

Fritz Von Erich was a pro wrestler who almost made it big. He fathered multiple sons and trained them all to be athletes. One son was headed to the Olympics, and two sons were following in his footsteps as pro wrestlers, with the eldest on his way to winning the belt his father never captured.

The brothers were the best of friends and were raised by parents who loved them and believed in them. They respected their parents, and their parents loved each other. The brothers cared for one another, but with time and life events, things changed.

Just when you think the story can’t get more tragic, it does. But it’s never done in such an over-the-top manner that you become numb to the pain. Have your remote ready because you will constantly be going to your search engine of choice, seeing what is true and what was made up for the film.

The biggest difference from reality is that there was there was one additional Von Erich brother, but even the eldest brother, Kevin Von Erich, understood why. (Uproxx) Kevin Von Erich felt his dad came across as meaner than he really was (link) but still felt it was a well-done movie and, exactly that, a movie, not a documentary. And I hope this movie gets the recognition it seriously deserves.

For Your Entertainment

I searched my site for Chappell Roan and couldn’t find me mentioning her in my Weekend Reads. Not believing that I hadn’t featured her before I “Googled” myself and nope… no Chappell Roan. Gentle readers, I do apologize for such an omission. For Chappell Roan is amazing.

My younger self, who lived for Tori Amos, Alanis, and Bjork, would have been obsessed with Chappell Roan. I found her video for “Pink Pony Club” in 2021 and have been following her since. As a mom to a music-obsessed teen, I’m damn proud to say I introduced my daughter to Chappell Roan (cool mom points to infinity).

Chappell Roan grew up in a trailer park in Missouri. Raised in a conservative Christian community, she and her family attended church three times a week. She started piano lessons at age 10 and performed as a singer for the first time when she was 14. She auditioned for America’s Got Talent but didn’t make the cut, so she began uploading videos on YouTube and ended up being discovered.

Her career began in the late 2010s but didn’t go well. She was living at home with her parents, and after the release of her first album, she had to also work as a barista to pay the bills.

Now, Chappell Roan is a star; a star who found that being completely herself and experimenting, and constantly learning and growing is how to shine bright. She found her current vibe (she says Chappell Roan, not her birth name, is a persona like “Hannah Montana”), and she found her fan base. Proof was the size of the audience at her recent New York’s Governor’s Ball festival performance. (AV Club)

While Chappell Roan has many amazing songs, the one you should know is the catchiest with its own dance. This video came out almost a year ago but like the artist, it has truly found its stride in the summer of 2024.