Welcome back to The Weekend Press—where this week we ask pressing questions like: Should Fox News really be turning the Bible into a podcast? And should tech bros be turning dead people into AI avatars? Could lonely young men benefit from more body positivity—and could Ariana Grande benefit from less? But before we get to all that . . .
Dasha Nekrasova was supposed to be in Utah this week, filming a psychological thriller. But last Friday, her contract was abruptly rescinded, her talent agency dropped her, and someone told her to hire crisis PR. So when Suzy Weiss asked the Succession actress if she wanted to have Two Drinks in Manhattan, Dasha said sure, she was free.
How come her acting career blew up in her face? Because Dasha is also a podcaster—she co-hosts the infamously provocative show Red Scare—and recently she had the white-nationalist antisemite Nick Fuentes on as a guest.
And how does she defend her decision to platform a man who’s described Adolf Hitler as “awesome”? Does she think her career is doomed? Why does she “kind of hate” Elon Musk? And why, when the nation voted for Donald Trump in 2016, did she drunkenly think, I was elected to be born in this age?
She answered all these questions, and many more, while drinking beer in the bar where she recently held her wedding reception:
Second Thought: If Jesus Had Wanted a Podcast. . . |
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"The Chair Company" is the most relatable comedy on television right now. It’s about the see-red rage you feel when, say, IKEA puts you on hold for the sixteenth time, even though it’s their fault the flat-pack wardrobe arrived without a crucial part. Do not miss River Page’s hilarious review of it in Second Thought—or his reaction to the news that Brian Cox will be voicing God in Fox News’s retelling of the Bible. | | |
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AI Is No Way to Revive the Dead |
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It’s seductive, right? The promise, peddled by a new AI company, that soon you can talk to your late grandma again, or ask the advice of a friend who died too young. But in this beautiful essay, Peter Savodnik insists that we can’t let tech bros “solve” grief—without it, we’ll be worse humans. | | |
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The Straight-Male Case for Body Positivity |
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Online, young straight men seem increasingly convinced that unless they look like Brad Pitt, they’ll never marry or have sex. To this, Will Rahn says: “That is not how the world works. That is not how women work. That’s not how mating works.” | | |
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A Man Should Know: How to Form an Opinion |
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“When some significant event occurs and I don’t know what to make of it, I find myself checking a group text I’m on with two close friends,” writes Elliot Ackerman. He never agrees with these guys, mind you; he just knows you’ve got to hear every side of the debate before you draw any conclusions. | | |
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