An antidote to rats that bloat.

A little something to distract you from the apocalypse.

Last Friday’s news cycle felt like a rehearsal dinner for the Second Coming. As NYC dried out from flash floods, thoughts and prayers went to city dwellers fearing the next of the ten plagues: bloated rats lining the pavements. Thankfully, they’re strong swimmers so the city’s rodent population is untouched (reportedly). But havoc of biblical proportions is gripping another beloved city as bedbugs invade Paris. One insect told me over the phone: “Hey! We need romance too,” so there you go.

Grab a glass of something soft, hard or hot and dive into today’s newsletter. We’re talking getting high in church, fancy canned food, and the dilemma around raising kids to be ambitious. Also, the Olsen twins have christened the hotel slipper the hot new ugly shoe.

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Let’s start with a round of bingo: how many of these ‘2023 hipster’ signifiers can you claim? I think I can count half of one from this VICE list.

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“You never know the next person you will meet, what stories they may tell you and what brought them here along the way," Welsh artist Alex Skyrme tells Creative Boom’s Ayla Angelos. Her zingy illustrations will make you smile with their depictions of universal experiences like falling in love.

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Onto the pitfalls of “ambition-focused parenting” and why, even though many adults know the burnout that can come from chasing achievement, it’s an approach that can creep in when raising children in an unpredictable world. The Cut’s Amil Niazi reexamines what wanting the best for her children means to her.

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Demographers are massaging the tension between scientists who say population decline is a boon for our planet’s health, and economists who warn that having fewer humans around could slow economic growth. Their forecasts suggest the world’s population won’t suddenly drop off a cliff anytime soon, but it will level off this century at, around 11 billion. Bloomberg’s F.D. Flam writes: “Those warning that a population drop could decrease collective brain power and hurt the economy overlook a better solution than producing more babies: Taking better care of the ones we have.”

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I am an Earrings Person. My ears were pierced as a baby and, growing up, my dear mum would sooner cut my ear off than let me leave the house without a pair of studs in (love you, mum). I do, however, admire the main character syndrome of a Dainty Little Rings person, as told by Alison Vincitore.

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Have you ever tasted a cocoa bean? White and fleshy, like a lychee in texture, they look and taste completely different to chocolate. They’re abundant in countries like Ghana, one of the world’s top cocoa bean exporters. Sadly, the end product is scarcely manufactured in West Africa, thanks in part to colonial-era practices that take the raw material for cheap to manufacture in Western countries. The New York Times’ Patricia Cohen examines efforts to expand manufacturing in Ghana and the economic challenges along the way. Related: Producers in West Africa face competition from farmers in Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, who are betting on larger scale cocoa farming to boost profits. Related related: The price of cocoa is at a multi-year high thanks, in part, to adverse weather patterns and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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Marijuana has been used in religions such as Rastafarianism for more than a century. But bringing weed into the church might be new. Unusual Places takes us to the Church of Cannabis in Denver, Colorado, where Elevationists (!) believe smoking weed is a religious practice that can open our minds. The interior looks like a trippy ode to the stained glass window.

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Who was the first Black woman on the cover of Vogue? If you guessed right, you’re likely in the minority, sadly. A new HBO documentary sheds light on the deeply human life of otherworldly model Donyale Luna, whose barrier-breaking impact in the 1960s and 70s was largely lost to the archives, until now. Available in the UK on Sky.

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Slow travel is more than simply throwing away the tourist bucket list—it requires you slow your mind right down, too. JoAnna Haugen explores how you can embrace a more mindful approach to your trips, be truly curious about the places you travel to, and help make sure the communities you’re visiting aren’t exploited by your presence.

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You may have noticed your pantry/larder/cupboards catching up to your social media feed as companies selling canned goods zhuzh up their branding with a nod to the past—and boost sales in the process. “In a world oversaturated with visual content, this new crop of ultra-designed pantry staples is an effort to break through the endless scroll,” writes Fast Company’s Margaret Andersen.

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Hmmm, I’m not sure about this one. Ready-to-wear hotel slippers, even if by The Row, have given me pause. Which means I’ll inevitably fall in love with them and wear the knockoffs in two seasons’ time. By Dazed’s Hannah Bertolino.

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Thank you for reading. Share to sweeten someone’s day—and have a lovely week!

Isabel :) 

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