Good afternoon, everyone.
Today marks the first day of New York Smashion Week, which you may have never heard of because I invented it last year (these are things you can do as an independent media company). It’s a weeklong editorial celebration of hamburgers — smash and beyond — on Feed Me that takes place somewhere between New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. I invited some of my favorite writers to contribute this year, and I think you’ll be surprised at who they are and what they they have to say about pickles, mustard, and beef.
Today’s newsletter includes: Substack’s new UK Lifestyle hire, a recipe from Ben Smith’s barbecue last night, the most in-demand wedding dress tailors in New York, The Times hired a Stephen Colbert alumni for their Shows team, Dario Amodei is also worried about the speed of AI advancement, and a New York museum exhibit dedicated to girlhood.
For our next Guest Lecture, we’re talking to Ari Emanuel, the agent-turned-mogul who runs MARI and TKO (parent company of UFC and WWE), founded the talent agency Endeavor, served as the inspiration behind Ari Gold in Entourage, and has represented industry titans like Martin Scorsese and Aaron Sorkin.
Paid readers can ask him anything about the 1995 walkout that started Endeavor, buying the UFC for $4 billion when it had only just been legalized New York, or the current state of Hollywood. His memoir, Roll The Calls, is out September 22.
Designed to be consumed quickly and efficiently, with both hands. By Patrick Radden Keefe.
Many of you may have read Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling, which spent 15 weeks this year at #1 on the non-fiction chart in the UK. When I was putting together my dream group of 2026 Smashion Week contributors, Patrick also had the #1 spot on that list — I was thrilled when he said yes. I attended a book talk with him a little over a week ago in Bridgehampton, where when asked he told attendees that his favorite piece he’s ever written was The Jefferson Bottles for The New Yorker in 2007. So now you have some burgers to go with your wine.
One of my shortcomings is the sheer velocity with which I eat. I put food away like a guy on his first day in prison. Manners-wise, this is pretty gauche, so in polite company, I try to slow down. But I tend to think hot food should be consumed while it is still hot, and with Newton’s Law of Cooling etc., I can always sort of hear the clock ticking. The burger may be the perfect food for a person with my proclivities: compact and ergonomic as an MRE, heat-retaining, designed to be consumed quickly and efficiently, with both hands.