Friday Flames | 5.12.23

A weekly synopsis of what we figured out.

Hi, friends! First of all, thanks so much to all you new subscribers—and a special shout-out to those of you who have already sent some money our way! We haven’t enabled payments yet, mostly because we’re still building this plane as it inches off the runway. As we climb, though, we’ll be relying a lot on feedback from you cool folks who were first to come on board.

It has been another unprecedented week, because you don’t often see a former president found liable for sexual abuse and allowed to lie about it the very next day on a formerly useful cable news network. We also lost Heather Armstrong, a uniquely compelling writer who pioneered the parent blogging space we used to inhabit.

On Wednesday, the day we officially became Parents of Adults, we released our first podcast episode, "Why isn't there any There here?” [transcript] We talked a lot about overcoming the bad old days and enjoying the better new ones, as friends who oh-by-the-way were married a while back.

Comment of the Week

On the topic of the communication gap between us and our teenage kids (and between our parents and us, for that matter), listener Catherine wrote: “Vintage clothes may be cool, but vintage advice is not helpful.”

Topic of the Week

As we prepare to take way-too-many prom photos of our son tonight, we’re wondering: Did you go to your prom? Are you still in touch with the person(s) you went with? And how differently did you perceive prom as a parent than you did as a high schooler? Drop us a comment, and we’ll reference it on the show.

Tearjerker of the Week (in a good way)

Writing professor Bethany Schneider wrote about interning for E. Jean Carroll and what kind of person she is, in "E. Jean Carroll Bought Me a Dress."

Currently reading

Magda is reading Penelope Fitzgerald’s Human Voices, a funny little novel about the strange, dysfunctional world inhabited by people who worked for BBC Radio during World War II. Fitzgerald writes from experience, having worked there briefly in 1940, and her book is wry and deadpan and charming and really funny.

Doug is reading Less, the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic novel from Andrew Sean Greer, about a middle-aged writer who books a weeks-long trip around the world in order to avoid his former lover’s wedding. (Its sequel, Less Is Lost, arrived last September.)

Currently watching

Schmicago (the schmecond schmeason of Schmigadoon) is just as funny and clever but with a different set of musical references. Magda says, "This is perfect for both people who love musical theater and people who hate-watch musical theater!" Do with that what you will.

Coming next week

On Wednesday, we’ll release our Episode 2 discussion with Dawn Friedman MSEd, who says it’s much more useful to work with parents of anxious kids than with the kids themselves. Dawn is a wise and funny first-ever guest, and we think you’ll appreciate her wisdom earned from decades of talking to people on couches. Check out her Instagram feed here.

(And if you’re also on the Gram, you can find us here.)

Thanks for reading, and for supporting our new thing. Have a great weekend!

Magda and Doug