The only good America250 project so far.
A podcast by an East Hampton high schooler.
Good morning everyone.
After having four heavy pours of red wine at Old Town Bar on Saturday night and closing down the bar, I had a vivid dream that someone made a film adaptation of a short story I’d written called “Plus One.” When I woke up, I was relieved that the film adaptation was just in my dream. I finally watched Ari Aster’s The Strange Thing About the Johnsons to familiarize myself with a) the early work of Aster, and b) how uncomfortable you can make viewers in the format of a short film.
My next West Coast letter is delayed until later this week because of some exciting news that came across my desk this weekend.
Today’s letter includes: a Hamptons podcast made by a high school student, WSJ is hiring a food and restaurant writer, and the status of Fenty’s Brooklyn store.
🔎🔎🔎 Want me to look into a story? Reply to this email or text the anonymous Feed Me Tip Line: (646) 494-3916 🔎🔎🔎
The Wall Street Journal invented a new term: “Unputdownable.” The paper is hiring a food trends columnist (food media boom continues) who will “deliver trenchant, well-observed columns and coverage on food trends and restaurant scenes” and write “profiles of distinctive and interesting chefs, diners, restaurateurs, food producers or trend-makers.” One of the qualifications listed on the job listing is that applicants have “unputdownable clips and exceptional writing and reporting skills.” I’d love to interview whoever wrote that description.
A week after Chris Crowley announced that he was leaving New York Magazine, Adam Platt also announced his departure. Which leaves two holes on Grub Street’s team. Wonder if they’ll post job listings for new restaurant writers.
And one more food media-adjacent item. Mahira Rivers wrote about the diaristic-style of writing that is becoming more prevalent across categories on Substack, including food.
“Looking around — and maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places, maybe my algorithm is broken, or maybe I don’t subscribe to enough indie publications — but it seems as though culture-driven stories about people and cuisine are being drowned out by the highly resonant “where I’ve eaten” beat. Reporting a story is costly, but the act of recording — what I did today, where I ate this week — is mostly free and easy. The engine of consumption is hard to compete with and even here, for us food journalists, life is content.”
Is anyone writing a modern version of Real Simple on Substack or elsewhere? This post from Martha Stewart about shining her silver came up on my feed over the weekend and it made me miss the cleaning tips and diagrams on how to pack suitcases in the pages of Real Simple.
An East Hampton high school student and The East Hampton Historical Society are working together on a podcast about the progression of the American Revolution in East Hampton each month during 1776. The project was ideated by East Hampton Town and Village Historian Hugh King (who was also a key part of my first documentary, The End). Do any of you work with New York City high school students on projects like this? Do any high school students who make podcasts read Feed Me?
WSJ asked eight well-dressed men in New York City where they go for style advice. The top comment on the story reads, “It is so sad that this is what passes for well-dressed nowadays.” Should I do the same story but talk to all the old guys in Chinatown who were absolutely fitted this morning?
Still no new Rihanna music, still no Fenty store across from Barclays. Savage x Fenty signed a lease on Flatbush in 2022, and since then the building has been in increasingly worse condition.
Condé Nast’s director of event programming is leaving for Semafor.
X’s head of product Nikita Bier proves to be quite thin skinned. Friend of the letter donald boat has been posting screenshots of their duel.
donald boat@laserboat999He turned off screenshots because he is afraid of me
4:27 AM · Jan 18, 2026 · 648K Views122 Replies · 274 Reposts · 11.7K LikesI’m feeling sad after identifying Yasmin’s grey shirt from Industry last night and learning it’s sold out.
“If someone can turn down a cookie, they can turn down the delicious satisfaction of buying an artwork, too.” Gallerist Ellie Rines told art world newsletter The Baer Facts that the biggest challenge she’s facing in today’s art market is “counteracting GLP-1s.” “I’m still in the impulse sector over here.”
I need Martha stewards housekeeper to start a substack
Fascinating connection between GLP-induced impulse control and buying art. The top 10% by income of consumers account for 50% of spending. The use of GLPs is undoubtedly higher in that high income group. What other impulses might be muted?