4. That New Orleans Spirit

Plus where you can watch Conclave for free, primal intelligence explained, and pics of the cutest hotel in New Orleans.

Apr 23, 2025

It's finally warm in NYC and of course I'm not there. Plus, I severely underestimated the New Orleans humidity when I packed. Many of my friends have fallen prey to New Orleans' charm, pretending they want to leave NYC to move here. Though thoughts like those have entered my brain, they are immediately sweated out by the discomfort of the swampy weather and the smells of the streets. I'm not built for it, but I certainly see its allure.

If you center your stay at Hotel Peter and Paul its even easier to fall in love. An old church, schoolhouse, and rectory dressed in all-gingham everything. The hotel is by boutique hotel experts at Ash but with a local partner. Hotel Peter and Paul definitely feels more of the community than The Siren Hotel in Detroit for example (another Ash property).

When we were getting a little tour of the church from my new friend named Victor, he asked where we were from. Brooklyn, we said. "Ah Yanks!" He said. "Where are you from?" He asked the other couple. "Florida," they replied. "Wow, even worse than being a yank," Victor said. I'm glad Florida universally elicits the same response across many parts of the country.

As it was Easter weekend, we attended the Big Gay Easter Parade. It was fantastic. I'd like to spend Easter here every year. I once again did not pack correctly - everyone goes hard on their outfits. "Thank you for the boldness of your beige," an elder gay said to me playfully.

If you have a trip planned to New Orleans, an actual travel guide is coming soon.

Today’s letter includes: My bold beige Easter outfit, 7 things to talk about at parties, a heartwarming Sopranos reunion (Bobby is so underrated), and why you need to make scallion focaccia asap.

Pope Francis has passed away. The 88-year-old pope died Monday after suffering a stroke. He was the first pope from the Americas and emphasized social justice and denounced climate change deniers. Who will be next? Experts say there isn't a single front-runner, but we do know people are extremely curious about the process. Oscar-winning thriller 'Conclave' which literally depicts choosing the next pope, jumped 283% across streaming platforms yesterday. Earlier today, the movie was opened for streaming to Amazon Prime subscribers. ⁣Netflix's 'The Two Popes' saw a similar jump, rising 417% on Monday.

Palantir announced a new scholarship and it has a very scary tagline. Palantir launched a paid “Meritocracy Fellowship” targeting recent high school grads with Ivy League-level test scores (1460+ SAT or 33+ ACT). The tagline? “Skip the debt. Skip the indoctrination. Get the Palantir Degree.” *shudders* The program offers a $5,400/month internship positioned as an alternative to college, appealing to students disillusioned with elite university gatekeeping and student debt.

Lisa Says Gah is bringing us bugs for the summer. Because we need a palate cleanser after that last one. In the same vein as the beloved Rachel Antonoff Farfalle print, Lisa Says Gah's new collection is called the Critter Capsule and its got lady bugs, butterflies and corn.

The Eastern European version of H-Mart has landed in Manhattan. Tashkent, the beloved Brighton Beach grocery store known for its amazing hot bar, opened on 6th and Waverly in West Village. It looks like grandma-approved cooking at very low prices. Here's a little tour.

Sanpelligrino launched a new line of sparkling water and nailed their social campaign. Sanpellegrino CIAO! is a flavored sparkling water with real fruit juices, balanced by a pinch of Sicilian salt. And to announce it they played with Soprano's nostalgia. It's high quality content, but you can tell they took a social-first lense, thinking about how it would play in super short, consumable episodes. You can watch it long form here.

Out with data, in with witchcraft. This was an interesting read on our return to mysticism. Zoe Scaman posits that we are in a cultural shift she's calling "Primal Intelligence." A deliberate turn away from our obsession with data-driven everything. "This move towards ‘Primal Intelligence’ isn’t about abandoning reason, rather it's about expanding our definition of intelligence to include the knowing that can't always be charted, graphed, or explained. It's about making room for both the mystical and the measurable."

This week's New Yorker cover is pure spring vibes. "Literally how prospect park looked on Saturday lol," my friend Emily said. The cover of this week’s issue is called “Lucky Dogs."

Did I invent scallion focaccia? I'm sure I didn't, but it feels like it. A few weeks ago I made two focaccias. On a whim I put scallions on one. We ate it all within a few hours of it coming out of the oven. It tasted like a scallion pancake with the same satisfaction you get from an everything bagel. Make some focaccia, throw some scallions on there before you bake, and enjoy.

Listening

I have a real soft spot for well-written and executed pop music. So mostly that.

Lostboycrow has a new album - he's a musician that was served up to me by the Spotify gods and I liked a single song (Strawberry Sunscreen). In an effort to build out a more 3-dimensional understanding of those algorithm likes I’ve doled out, I listened to the new album in full. It’s called “The Sounds of God Laughing.” The songs aren’t super sophisticated but they are easy to listen to like a nice Beaujolais is easy to drink. His voice sometimes triggers a little pop punk nostalgia. So far, Summer Boy is my favorite song.

Griff and Sigrid teamed up for a great song. Something about the chorus sounds so familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Watching

I’m racing against the clock to finish Bad Sisters because I can’t pay for Apple TV+ forever now that I’m done with Severance. I love Sharon Horgan - she builds great characters and worlds. When I think about the primary voices depicting modern Ireland, it’s Sharon Horgan and Sally Rooney. I also recommend This Way Up (you can watch on Hulu). Looks like HBO Max subscribers will be getting some SH love as well - they just inked a deal.