1.
“Adrien Brody Found the Part,” December 30, 2024–January 12, 2025
For New York’s latest cover story, E. Alex Jung profiled Adrien Brody following his powerful performance in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist (“Adrien Brody Found the Part,” December 30, 2024–January 12, 2025). Commenter lady-writer lauded Jung as “clearly a listener who gave Brody the respect and space to be his articulate self.” Film critic Ankit Jhunjhunwala also praised the results of the sensitive reportage: “Adrien Brody is extraordinarily candid and self-aware. He wouldn’t dispute that give or take a few Wes Andersons, there’s a 22 year wasteland between The Pianist and The Brutalist … Hollywood never knew quite what to do with him.” Dozens of outlets picked up on Brody’s revelation that he had struggled with PTSD following his Method performance — which entailed near starvation — in The Pianist. Health writer Vivek Kumar wrote that Brody’s “reflections highlight the intense emotional toll that such a transformative role can take on an actor’s mental health.” For the entertainment blog Gamereactor, Óscar Ontañón Docal asked, “As Brody gears up for more potential awards season glory, do you think the emotional toll of his past roles is worth the cost?” Others were taken by the cover photo, shot by Mark Seliger, of a shirtless Brody. Daisy Alioto, co-founder of the pop-culture newsletter Dirt, said, “I love a man that looks like he was carved out of marble but not neatly, every single feature applied with a palette knife, nude descending a staircase vibes.” Journalist Heidi N. Moore joked, “Is it progress that middle-aged actors now have to pose shirtless to show they’re still f*ckable enough to get cast in movies? A form of gender equality, I suppose.”
2.
“The Next Drug Epidemic Is Blue Raspberry Flavored”
Ezra Marcus wrote about the alarming rise of the recreational nitrous-oxide market and one of its biggest brands, Galaxy Gas (“The Next Drug Epidemic Is Blue Raspberry Flavored”). “Great piece about Galaxy Gas and the shady operation behind it,” Bregosaurus wrote on X. “Excellent article. I had no idea this was a thing,” wrote commenter patrizio. “Wow, this sounds scary AF. And the high only lasts for a few seconds? So not worth it,” said commenter oasisgirl. Writer James Vincent called it a “brilliant long read,” noting that “the increased danger from [nitrous oxide] is so clearly linked to quantity and marketing; from single-use whippets to 3 liter tanks with 250 doses.” Casey Lewis featured the story in her youth-culture newsletter, After School, and Longreads recommended it in its “Editors’ Picks,” calling it an “unsettling read.” On Instagram, Izzy Arden joked, “Whippets on Amazon was not on my 2025 bingo card,” and makeup artist Jenny Smith added, “The worst of the ’90s trends to come back again.”
3.
“Life As a Millennial Stage Mom”
Lauren Hilgers’s story of her plunge into the world of stage parenting prompted a discussion among commenters about the ethics of child actors (“Life As a Millennial Stage Mom”). “Good … insider perspective,” said jm_la. “But it glosses over one important consideration — safety for the children. Seems like an easy platform for abusers to take advantage of. I cringed a bit at the part about discouraging parents from supervising.” mrs.maximdewinter added, “This seems very parent ego driven. Also, the discouraging of parents to be around chaperoning their kids seems creepy.” rhannah wrote, “Kids’ theatre programs are great, but children should not have jobs. Sorry!” sklarra offered a more supportive take: “This really speaks to the ambivalence I feel about supporting my kid in her dreams while also parenting her, and recognizing where that might run counter to my own hopes and dreams (for my kid, and also for my own theatre-kid self). I’m grateful that Hilgers was the one who got to write this piece. There are twelve-zillion ways an article like this could have gone that would have served the snark but not the parents and kids who are actually trying to navigate this thoughtfully. This piece really nailed it with nuance and tenderness.” Though midwestissecondbest cautioned, “I think we parents tend to go overboard with our kid’s interest in a way that reminds me of Extreme Home Makeover. Remember how they’d take one thing the homeowner casually mentioned, like visiting the beach, then turn their whole home into a beach themed resort? Maybe your kid really does love acting or soccer or painting or whatever. Maybe they’re truly gifted at it. That doesn’t mean we need to Extreme Home Makeover their whole life to pursue that interest to its end.”
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