The streets are alive so listen to this new mixtape while you read this.

Modern Musings

Takes on what’s happening both big and small

Knicks in 5
I get why magazines always have a June/July edition. When you live somewhere that decides to have an eternal winter, the day outside opens up, everything goes from 0 to 100. Summer demands you rework your routine. I've been outside, which is exactly why you're getting a combined June/July issue. Cosplaying as a Knicks fan ate up way more of my time than I expected.

While change and a new championship are in the air, it feels like we’re going back to basics. I don’t think you can offer sharp, insightful culture commentary without being with the people so it’s actually a match made in heaven that I need to be outside in order to do this job well. 

Every game of the NBA finals, I found myself in different bars and spaces surrounded by all kinds of people chasing the same dream: being a part of something so big and so undeniable. Games were projected onto whatever wall could hold them and business owners sprinted to Best Buy to mount TVs on any flat surface they could find (walls were really the real MVP). I always love the universal experience we all can have when we sit down (and/or stand for multiple hours because you didn’t camp out early enough to get a spot) and watch something together. Communal watching is the foundation of my earliest TV memories and is why being a culture writer now is so fun but also so ingrained. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and it’s such a gift that media can offer that to us. And at a time where tech can isolate us and cultural conversations feel like they can only live online, the Knicks championship run and all the camaraderie that’s come with it reminds us that our lives are outside with the people. And the Internet works best as a complement to that, not a replacement for it. 

(P.S. Outside also includes getting on stages! Vote for my Podcast Movement session about how pop culture is an effective tool to have conversations about social impact.)

Emmy Nominations
I’m officially back in my awards season bag! Emmy nominations were announced last week and if I ruled the world, here’s who would win these top categories. (And check out this special edition of The Hotline).

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Sterling K. Brown (You can’t convince me there’s anyone else in this category that’s a stronger actor than him.) 

Outstanding Comedy Series - Hacks (Though if Widow’s Bay somehow pulls this off, that’s fine by me since I’m here for a good underdog story during awards season.)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Jean Smart (When she pulls this off, she’ll have won this award for every single season of Hacks. I love TV history!)

Outstanding Drama Series - Paradise (I’m on a mission to convince everyone I know to watch this show.)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Rhea Seehorn (Apple TV is on a generational run right now and her performance shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.)

Many many many more of my Emmys thoughts are coming. Season 5 (!!!) of Consider This For Comfort will include another special Emmys episode. Here’s last year’s to hold you over. 

Consider This for Comfort 

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Mark Your Calendar: Season 5 premieres on Wednesday, August 19. I have so many incredible things in store for this season. We’re taking things to the next level in the best way! 

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Eteng Recommends

Film/TV

• The Odyssey. I read a ton of Greek Mythology growing up (was that a Catholic school thing?) so there was a time where I could’ve probably reenacted this for you by heart. A tale as old as time shot entirely on IMAX film? Take all my money please! Like Ryan Coogler’s breakdown of Kodak’s film strips, I’ve loved geeking out on all the technicalities, including getting insight into the actor experience according to Anne Hathaway.

• Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed. I know exactly one person who watches this show and they’re behind so time to put us all on. It’s a great blend of thrills, action and laugh-out-loud comedy. If Search Party had an older, still irresponsible sister, this is it. And my current favorite nepo baby, Charlie Hall, (aka Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ son) is comedy gold!

• Cape Fear. Equal parts creepy and camp and another one I can only watch in the daytime. It’s an Apple TV show so a cinematography budget doesn’t exist and Amy Adams and Javier Bardem are another duo I didn’t know I needed. What I appreciate most is the not-so-subtle critique of the nonprofit industry and the ways it can tokenize the same people it claims to help. CCH Pounder plays an opportunistic Executive Director so well that I look forward to her scenes the most.

• Getting to talk about hate-watching Euphoria on stage. (Stages are IN)

Lifestyle

• Jay-Z. Every generation swears they grew up with the best artists, but when I say it, it’s actually true. ‘90s/2000s rap had such a special aura we haven’t experienced since. My earliest Jay-Z memories were listening to songs from The Black Album (where are my Numb/Encore stans?) while I roller skated in a gym before day camp. Fast forward, and Jay-Z playing Yankee Stadium says everything about his musical prowess, enduring legacy, and cultural impact. And getting Rihanna on a stage in 2026? Absolutely legendary! If you went to any of the shows, reply so I can live vicariously through you. And here’s a mash up of two of my favorite songs of his.

• Bong. It's always a badge of honor finally landing a table at a restaurant that's impossible to get into. Bong, a new-ish Cambodian spot in Crown Heights, was worth the wait. Every dish was light, fresh, and flavorful. Casually eating a whole fish to an incredible R&B soundtrack at a 10:15pm reservation on a school night. What more could you want?

• NYC. If you’re not in NYC this summer, you might want to make the trip. The streets are saying it’s giving summer ‘16.

Sincerely,