The Weekender: Happiest U.S. cities, Matt Damon’s stuntwoman and the perfect BLT
Plus, a quiz to find out if you’re hydrated.
The Weekender
August 2, 2026

When it comes to scary movies, I am a total wimp. My co-producer of this newsletter, Kellina Moore, is the exact opposite. So when she called “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” the buzzy new horror film starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, “more sweet than anything,” I still wasn’t swayed. No matter how much chatter surrounds a film like this one, I’m way too scared to go see it. However, the upside of being fright-averse is that I can and will read all the spoilers, and I recently found out that I’m not alone in this behavior. In a completely unscientific poll of other wimps, I found that we all enjoy reading up on movies that other people are talking about and we will most likely never see. In this case, I’m starting with Kellina’s report from the star-studded and (fake) blood-soaked premiere party for “Miasma.” That’s below.

Also in this edition, meet the stuntwoman who plays Matt Damon’s biceps in “The Odyssey” and find out how to predict the weather in our new era of freakish storms. First, though, take the hydration quiz. I’ll see you next weekend(er).

— Farah

An illustration of a figure wearing sunglasses and sweating while drinking from a glass of water. A shining sun hangs in the sky behind them.

Dominic Kesterton

POP QUIZ

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Photo Illustration by The New York Times; Photos: Associated Press; Getty Images; The New York Times

POPCAST

What’s the song of the summer? Let’s break down eight top contenders.

A movie poster for “The Odyssey,” depicting tall, armored figures facing a single person holding a sword.

Universal Pictures

THAT'S A FLEX

Matt Damon’s biceps in that “Odyssey” fight scene? They’re hers.

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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog.

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH?

The secret to a perfect BLT isn’t what you think.

Thirteen books laid out on a patch of grass.

Yuki Sugiura for the Booker Prize Foundation

LONG LISTED

Here are the 13 literary works up for this year’s Booker Prize.

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Illustration by Cecilia Erlich

BREAKTHROUGH

Inflammation keeps us alive. It’s also making us sick.

A catamaran with a tender driving up to it.

JOURNEY'S END

A captain calls this yacht his home. The owner is selling it.

An aerial view of the business district of Fremont, Calif., showing roads, parking lots, low-rise office buildings and verdant mountainsides rising near the horizon.

Getty Images

CALCULATOR

And the happiest cities in America are …

A gridded illustration featuring images of the following scenes and objects: a patient speaking with their doctor; a bowl of yogurt and fruit; a person sleeping in bed; a person walking upstairs; a dumbbell; a syringe; and an arrangement of healthy produce, beans and fish.

Suvi Suitiala

SMALL HABITS, BIG DIFFERENCE

These are the nine things experts wish you’d do in midlife to increase longevity.

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Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times

SCREAMING FUN

Peek inside the premiere party for Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson’s new horror film.

Fog encroaches on a tree-lined coastline, seen from the water at a distance.

Natalie Ivis for The New York Times

THE FORECAST

In a new era of freakish storms, here’s how we can predict the weather.

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KT Kanazawich for The New York Times

REMOVING RISK

There’s a way to prevent ovarian cancer. Few know about it.

Gina Kolata

Gina KolataNYT Logo

Health reporter

So often while reporting one story, an offhand comment leads to an entirely different one. That’s what happened here. I was interviewing a prostate cancer specialist when, out of the blue, he mentioned that ovarian cancer almost never starts in the ovaries. I was so surprised I had to investigate.

B

B.

Boston

What happens to women like me who have a hisof ovarian and uterine cancer in her family and have no plans for an abdominal surgery? Is this a procedure that will be offered as a stand alone option not a piggyback choice? And, does insurance cover the removal of the tubes?

Gina Kolata

Gina KolataNYT Logo

Health reporter

@B. Most insurers, unfortunately, do not cover remval of the tubes. The specialists I spoke to hope tube removal as a stand alone procedure will become a standard of care for women who have finished childbearing and want to protect themselves from ovarian cancer

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This edition of The Weekender was edited by Farah Miller and Kellina Moore. Reach our team at weekender@nytimes.com.

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