Episodes
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In a rerun of an *absolute hit* episode from last holiday season, we’re talkin’ Thingies with Alison Roman, the woman behind a SLEW of recipes we cook all the dang time. We know you know her, but JIC, she’s the author of NYT bestselling—and gifty!—cookbooks Sweet Enough, Nothing Fancy, and Dining In, she doles out the most delightful kitchen content in A Newsletter and on her Home Movies YouTube channel, and she delivers guidance of all kinds on her Solicited Advice podcast. In essence: She’s full of thoughts, and we want them all.
First things first, what we would bring to a pilot kid-gift swap (thx, Leslie!): Spirograph, Yellow Owl Workshop DIY Pin & Flair Kit, Bastien Contraire Stencil Kit, Majo Ideas Art Pack, and Pop Tubes.
Alison’s tabletop Thingies include beeswax candles (try Greentree Home Candle—maybe in the sangria color?!), candle holders *in general* (e.g., this Sophie Lou Jacobson one), and interesting serving platters including Bordallo Pinheiro's. For the bod, she loves using Laneige’s lip mask as lip balm, and Davines’s Vegetarian Miracle Mask for her hair. On the food front, how about chopped fermented chilies—use them to make her Brothy Chickpeas with Calabrian Chili (and/or these chickpeas)—and, for dessert, Kolsvart gummies.
Share your Thingies with us at 833-632-5463, [email protected], and @athingortwohq, or drop them in our Geneva!
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Are a majority of today’s topics serendipitously eighties related? Yes. Are we inadvertently excited about that? Indeed.
Pizza Hut updates! Tomato-basil Pizza Wine and American Girl’s Book It! Set.
Someone barefoot 24/7: Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins.
And spotted! Cutie eyes on Kacey Musgraves merch.
We are loving Rivals, which is based on a novel by Dame Jilly Cooper. See also: her takes in this Financial Times interview and “It’s Family ‘Sex Scenes’ Night” by Anya Kamenetz for The Cut.
If you’re in NYC soon, check out Luna Luna at The Shed, and read Joe Coscarelli’s piece on it in the New York Times for more backstory.
Share your follow-ups and/or recommendations at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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Episodes manquant?
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You ready to talk about romance, feminism, and monsters? We sure are, and so is Sanjana Basker, a psychology PhD student and bookish content creator who we’re obsessed with (in a totally normal way). Also: some animal updates, thank goodness.
Animal Updates! Kacey Musgraves is an NYC rat defender (join the club), the raccoon at LaGuardia has captured our hearts, and Claude has arrived at Erica’s house (by way of Long Island Rabbit Rescue)!
Sanjana’s Thingies are Rivals on Hulu, mass-market paperbacks, Calzedonia tights, @poetssquarecats (see also: @catworkers), and L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.
Some authors mentioned in this ep include Lisa Kleypas and Libba Bray, and books mentioned include Left of Forever by Tara DeWitt, Office Hours and Sabbatical by Katrina Jackson, Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba, and Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein.
Want to more of Sanjana? The way she talks about romance on TikTok is an absolute delight, and her episode of the Care So Much Podcast is fantastic.
What romances are you loving right now? Let us know at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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We are so excited to chat with photo director/visual cultural commentator/incredible Instagram follow Emily Keegin about her Thingies! Also: some thoughts on where to get your gift guides this year, should you not be overwhelmed with them already.
Thank you for respecting our decision not to do 2024 gift guides! If you want past installments, we have five year’s worth here. For the freshest stuff, check out Helen Rosner’s for the New Yorker, Goop (the modern Neiman Marcus catalog?), Caroline Moss of Gee Thanks!, Alisha Ramos of Downtime, T mag, The Strategist’s searchable Gift Scout, and a roundup of Substack gift guides from last year (that’ll point you toward this year’s too, certainly).
Emily’s Thingies include Thomas Tallis polychoral music from the 1500s (Fifty Shades–coded?), spraying perfume or hand sanitizer on your armpits and vodka on your clothes, passionfruit, Madness, Rack, and Honey by Mary Ruefle, and scrolling through someone else’s Instagram feed.
What are your Thingies lately? Please share with us at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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Welcome to Article Club! A few that require our attention this week span topics from an important anniversary to management tips to recommendation culture. Now off to go eat a personal pan pizza…
Is it an overstatement to say that Book It! is one of our generation’s premier cultural references? This NYT story commemorates the 40th anniversary, and an LA Times article from 1985 made us feel nostalgic. See also: pins for sale on eBay and Tejal Rao’s fascinating review of Chain.
We loved “Want To Be A Good Boss? Be A Bitch.” by Samhita Mukhopadhyay for Bustle. Here’s to intergenerational slaying!
The Locavore Guide to Shopping NYC by Caroline Weaver is a tribute to physical guidebooks of yore featuring 670 NYC shops. It has a a searchable digital directory too! Relevant: "The Banality of Online Recommendation Culture" by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker.
Does anybody have any intel on Cutie Eyes? Please share with us at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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Another day, another kookalook collection of topics from us, including new lingo care of (honorary Bob) Jack Schlossberg, wrinkle makeup, minimalist shoes, LaGuardia Airport, and a straw cupdate.
Wrinkle makeup—not what you think, probably! Check out a couple of looks by @shine__rising and rachy_mua. Related: crackle lips.
In which we dip our toes into the minimalist shoes conversation: Gait Happens, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, and The Infinite Race 30 for 30 doc by Bernardo Ruiz are all relevant on the content front. Some brands of interest: Muki, Vivo Barefoot, and Groundies. They kind of remind us of Prada Sport from the late 90s/early aughts, Miu Miu rope sandals, and ballet flats with wide toe boxes from Sandy Liang and Proenza. Also: Let’s take this opportunity to shoutout Yoga Toes.
We’ve been considering giving our ComfiLife a break and trying a kneeling chair. Memor and Varier are good-looking options!
In the world of straw cups, Claire got a BrüMate and really likes it! (Don’t get her the MargTini though.)
Where do you stand on Eat/Pray/Love vs. FMK? Do you believe they can coexist? Let us know at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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We are DELIGHTED to have Alana Cloud-Robinson on today to share her Thingies from her perfect, wood-paneled home (more on that, clearly). She’s the author of the 831 Stories release Hardly Strangers, out tomorrow, and, wow, we can’t wait for you to read this one.
Alana’s Thingies include shoulder pads, thrifting (see: The Council Shop!), her home in Century City, and Irish culture (shoutout to Fontaines D.C., and Say Nothing).
Want more Alana? Check out The Artists Are Frightened, her premier collection of personal poetry.
Also, a really important album that is (somehow) a follow-up to our milk.com conversation.
What are *your* Thingies? Let us know at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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After this episode, we have some action items for the Bobs: 1. Petition Dairy Queen and Carvel to make their ice cream cake minis available nationwide, year-round. 2. Use “whenharrymetsallying” in a sentence. 3. Send us your thoughts on NYC Marriage Bureau merch.
We aren’t doing gift guides this year, but we’ll tell you good places to look once it's time! Start with giftguide.substack.com.
We’re excited to meet Chewbie, Hi-Chew’s new Mascot, but perhaps this is a "say less" situation?
The Rat Pack is still in our lives, and it introduced us to the MeowSquad.
Speaking of local government initiatives, the NYC Marriage Bureau has merch! We especially love the Witness Tee and "I Got Married in New York City" mug.
All about Split59’s Raquel high waist crop legging, and we’ll try their Icon legging and report back.
A shoutout to A24’s book Hey Kids, Watch This! It’s full of movie recs, great design, and FUN.
What menu items do you whenharrymetsally? Let us know at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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We have some very serious reporting about very serious topics coming your way, including the official Sanrio character rankings, a Jellycat status update, and some wild news from the domain-hoarding beat.
We have to take a moment to show some love to Kuromi, the third-ranked Sanrio character overall and Sanrio costume-sourcing, ℅ Sueju Design and Nerdy Treasures by Amy.
How Jellycat became so popular with kids and grown-ups alike. Also: Their pop=ups give Sew Your Soul vibes, in our opinion.
Let’s talk tech! Our listener Olivia shared her Notion tips, we are flatted for the credit you’re giving us for Google Tabs, and we loved the piece “The Million-Dollar Mystery of Milk.com” by Alex Mayyasi for The Hustle.
Finally, have you listened to "Longer Gone" yet?
Name how much $$ it would take for you to change your email for at [email protected], @athingortwohq, our Geneva, or our Substack comments!
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Get a free Sage guidebook for parents with kids ages 5 to 12 who want to better navigate tech and their digital worlds.
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Just a heads up, this episode will make you want to refresh your bra and underwear drawer! We’re talking Thingies with Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez, the authors of the smart, compelling, and fast-pased book Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon.
As mentioned, bra and underwear Thingies incoming! Chantal absolutely swears by the Tom Bra from the brand Mary Jo, and Lauren likes bras from Only Hearts, Notori Bliss underwear, and Bombas UItra Stretch Calf Socks. Also, shoutout to Le Bon Shoppe’s Her Socks.
Misc. Thingies include Chantal’s go-to assassin’s pasta and Lauren’s rejection of (most) kids' music.
Want more of Lauren and Chantal? Lauren writes Puck’s Line Sheet newsletter and hosts the companion podcast Fashion People, and you can find Chantal’s writing in The Cut (see: “The Unbranding of Abercrombie”), for starters.
Friends, you gotta read Selling Sexy: Victoria's Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon. We are thinking and talking about it a lot, a lot.
Finally, for those intrigued by Soupstack, check out Anne Helen Petersen’s 3rd annual soup roundup (4th annual coming…sometime, we’d bet?!). Ella Risbridger of You Get In Love And Then is also testing crowdsourced soups, and Becca Freeman shared her favorites too. A few of our own favorites: Ottolenghi’s curried lentil, tomato, and coconut, 101 Cookbook’s red lentil with lemon, Smitten Kitchen’s carrot with miso and sesame, Thomas Keller’s butternut squash.
Actually good: Souper Cubes.
Do you have bra and underwear recs we have to know about? Please share them at [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
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Try L.A. Burdick’s delightful and individually handcrafted chocolates (the ghosts, the coffin!).
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Gather round! We have a whole lot to say about Fudgie the Whale, learning chess, finding your inner paid tier, and a whole lot more. But what’s new?
This many week post-launch of 831 Stories, we’re so grateful for the love you’ve shared for Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff! If you’re looking for additional recs to hold you over until Hardly Strangers by A.C. Robinson comes out in November, take a peek at our list.
Did you know Fudgie the Whale’s mold moonlights as Santa during the holidays? Check out this CNN article for the deets. If you’re feeling ambitious, we love this Ali Slagle ice-cream cake recipe.
We are now deeply committed to Jouer’s Skin Barrier Cream. Shoutout to Knockout Beauty’s facialist!
We’re also hyped on Seed’s Pediatric Daily Synbiotic and Storytime Chess over here.
"If" by Rudyard Kipling has some good life advice for 8th graders and grown-ups alike.
What’s your personal paid tier? Let us know at [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
Challenge your preconceptions about the real origin of our species and check out Eve by Cat Bohannon, available everywhere books are sold.
Tackle your fears with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.
Give your first Moonpig card for FREE with the code ATHINGORTWO.
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Bobs, you all have been sharing a lot of Thingies that are unignorable. They’ve been moving, unhinged, funny—and we must discuss them.
We’re loving the nym SNAG: Sensitive New Age Guy, ℅ Maia via the podcast Shameless.
Portlanders, have you been to The Croc Stop yet—a jibbitz lending library, brought to our attention by Kelly? See also: shoe charms…which we’re kind of charmed by.
Your bathing rituals, friends. Kelsey had a tip on washing makeup brushes in the shower; Rebecca has a tub desk that we could talk about for hours.
Also, very publicly hoping our favorite establishments follow Garlic Expressions’s lead and give us some bottled salad dressing! Thank you for the comments on this one, Laura and TK.
Keep those Thingies coming! Enlighten us at [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
Hire with Indeed and get a $75 sponsored job credit when you use our link.
Support your hair with Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.
Challenge your preconceptions about the real origin of our species and check out Eve by Cat Bohannon, available everywhere books are sold.
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Status report: We’re a little bit hanging on by a thread over here, and we’re so impossibly grateful to Duckbill—sponsor of this week’s ep!—for helping us chip away at our to-do lists. (Or, better yet: taking on projects so we don’t have to put them on our to-do lists in the first place.) More on this, along with chore charts, a useful response to the having kids question, and an important discussion of snapping.
Duckbill—a recurring Thingies submission from you all—is an executive assistant for your personal life, led by expert humans and enhanced with AI superpowers. Use the code ATHINGORTWO for 50% off your first two months, plus priority off the waitlist.
Oh, look, a bunch of ideas for how to use Duckbill.
Do you have any Notion tips ‘n tricks? We’re here for them.
Tell us your favorite ways to use Duckbill at 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
Get support with Duckbill and take 50% off your first two months, plus priority off the waitlist, with the code ATHINGORTWO.
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Want the scoop on what the kids are up to? Casey Lewis is your gal. We’re chatting with the genius behind After School—iconic newsletter and epic new podcast tracking all things Gen Z—about back-to-school trends, curly-hair controversy, and, of course, Thingies.
Some trending BTS items include tube tops and sweats (ideally together?), On shoes, Adidas Campus sneakers, Birkenstock Bostons, *the* Abercrombie camo hoodie, and Dae’s Cactus Fruit 3-in-1 Styling Cream with Taming Wand.
Casey’s Thingies include the Wet Brush (Claire is trying out the Bounce Curl brush, too), fiber (chia seeds!), a walking pad, and the Funky Nassau from the Lot in Greenpoint (combo of white wine and Grapefruit Spindrift).
Subscribe to the After School newsletter and podcast, both. Casey knows how to make trend-tracking very entertaining.
Cooking oil recs from us: Algae Cooking Club and Enzo infused olive oil (Organic Basil Crush and Organic Fresno Chili Crush specifically).
What’s your take on the (potential) skinny jeans resurgence? Let us know at 833-632-5463, [email protected], or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva!
Boost your hair with Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.
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We are THRILLED that cultural commentator/overall delight Hunter Harris—of Hung Up and Lemme Say This fame—is joining us today to share her Thingies! We couldn’t chat with her without asking for her takes on all the hot pop culture gossip, so unwrap your Fruit Roll-Up and enjoy!
Want more of Hunter? If you don’t already, subscribe to her must-read newsletter Hung Up and listen to her Wondery podcast Lemme Say This, which she co-hosts with Thingies alum Peyton Dix.
Hunter’s Thingies are LMNT electrolyte drink mixes, Fruit Roll-Ups, lemon and orange essential oils in the trash can, Rhode Pocket Blush, washing her makeup brushes, iS Clinical Active Serum, and tennis.
She gets her news (aka celeb gossip) from Gossip Time, StraightioLab, Las Culturistas, Who? Weekly, and of course, Reddit influencer snark.
Want to get in on the accidental Idiocracy x Crocs collab? Share your thoughts at 833-632-5463, [email protected], or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva!
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Oh, we are excited about this week’s Thingies guest! Get ready to dive into the mind of the inaugural 831 Stories author, Alexandra—AKA Zan—Romanoff. We gab with her about Big Fan, fanfiction tropes, Hanson, ocean swims, online vintage shopping, you name it.
Zan’s Thingies are Henné Lip Tint, Bask reef-safe sunscreen, Will Rogers Beach in Santa Monica, the Gem App, and the public library.
Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff is out tomorrow, September 10. Grab a ticket to one of Zan’s LA or NYC events (we’ll be in attendance too!) and dive into the all of the book-universe bonus features (including an epilogue).
Get even more Zan: Read her YA books (Grace and the Fever is very Big Fan–adjacent) and listen to the pop culture + sports podcast she co-hosts with Sarah Enni, On the Bleachers.
More on Canadian Shack fics (um, delightful).
Also, we want to make sure you know that we are in the Jack Schlossberg/Miele fan club.
What’s your fandom of choice? Share with us at 833-632-5463, [email protected], or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva!
Follow @haagendazs_us on Instagram and let them know in the comments that we sent you!
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In a true throw-back classic episode from last year: Make sure to double-knot your shoes because we’re running through a bunch of activewear brands, morning baths, kale phones, butter money, and COTC (corn on the cob, clearly).
You can read more about Vuori’s lore in Courier (and try out their Pose fitted polo, Daydream drew, and All the Feels bra for yourself). Other workout wear of interest: Splits59 (specifically their Raquel flared leggings), Wilson (how ‘bout these Wynne pleated pants and the pleated court short?), Tracksmith ( their Article One running sunglasses collab!), District Vision, Satisfy, On, Tory Sport, and Sweaty Betty. Curious about cool sports stores? We’ve heard good things about Distance in Paris, we love FrontRunners in L.A., and we have to hand it to Pete Carlson Golf and Tennis in Palm Desert for going *deep*.
The everything shower! Consider this reel from The Everygirl your primer.
If you’re looking to limit your oblivion time, check out the OneSec app…or consider the cocaine/kale phone, via George Mack by way of Trung Phan. Also, the to-google notepad, ℅ Courtney Martin.
Butter sculpture season, our Bama Rush? A great read: "The Secret Feminist History of Butter Cows” by Lyz Lenz.
What activewear brands do you like, how do you morning bath if you do such a thing?! Share with us at 833-632-5463, [email protected], or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva!
Show your hair the love with Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.
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Is anybody looking to start a hummus business?!? Do we have some domain names for you! In addition to our GoDaddy closet sale, we also have a grab bag to discuss, including mouth tape, face shaving, rat poop legal battles, WNBA mascots, and more!
Re: personal catchphrases: the title Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner got us thinking.
If you want to hear the case for VIO2 mouth tape that converted Claire, check out our Guest Thingies episode with Glynnis MacNicol.
Claire loved getting dermaplaned at Carrie Lindsey Beauty in Brooklyn.
Erica’s nightgown journey involves the Skims Fits Everybody and Soft Lounge dresses, while Claire’s includes Taleen, Eileen West, Vermont Country Store, and Salter House—if you’re chasing the Victorian ghost aesthetic.
For all your LA luxury cat hotel needs: Check out Chats de The, Purrvana, and Cateau Marmont.
WNBA star to stan: Breanna Stewart. US Open player with peak energy: Taylor Townsend.
Want to start ratemyvcs.com? Great, get in touch via 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
Follow @haagendazs_us on Instagram and let them know in the comments that Claire and Erica sent you!
Slip into your new fall shoes from Marc Fisher and use the code ATHINGORTWO to receive 20% off your purchase.
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Some of you Detective Bobs have already caught on to this, but: We’re starting something new! It’s officially time to give you the scoop on our romantic fiction entertainment company, 831 Stories…and the first book we’re publishing, Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff. It comes out September 10…which means right this second is the perfect time to pre-order it.
Special thanks to Bea and Leah Koch, behind The Ripped Bodice, for kick-starting this journey! Our podcast episode with them from 2019 for a taste.
The authors and titles that made us fall hard for romance include Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You, Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sister Series—and our 2021 podcast interview here), Tia Williams's Seven Days in June, Tessa Bailey (start with It Happened One Summer…or our recent chat), Abby Jimenez (loved Yours Truly), Lyla Sage’s Rebel Blue Ranch series, and Yulin Kuang’s How to End a Love Story.
We also think about what Sanjana Basker shared about romance on the Care So Much podcast all the time.
Sign up for the 831 newsletter, follow 831 on Instagram, and pre-order Big Fan. We cannot WAIT to share it with you.
What was the romance novel that got you into the genre? Tell us at 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
Show your hair the love with Nutrafol. Take $10 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.
Find your new fall shoes from Marc Fisher and use the code ATHINGORTWO to receive 20% off your purchase.
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Another great day for Thingies! This time from newsletter legend Caroline Chambers, whose book What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking (a verified banger!) comes out tomorrow. You’re in for a treat.
Caroline’s Thingies are Sézane Jimmy trousers (often worn with Sézane Lenny low mules), the Olympics (DUH), having swim-safe kids (New Yorkers: Imagination Swimming), and Taylor Swift singing to Travis Kelce. Also, some romance recs! Pucking Around by Emily Rath, Kulti by Mariana Zapata, and Happenstance by Tessa Bailey.
Hey, The Idea of You fans! Check out Caroline's interview with Robinne Lee on her podcast So Into That.
P.S., if you are as riveted by the idea of “lockstep individualism” as we are, read this Washington Post article “The mysterious tyranny of trendy baby names” by Daniel Wolfe that references Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Names Wizard. And sign up for the Gloria newsletter that surfaced this!
What’s your fave thing to cook when you don’t feel like cooking? Please share away at 833-632-5463, [email protected], @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!
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