Reading. Watching. Listening.

February 9

Hi All,

This week I have thought a lot about how to balance my sanity with being informed. As you all know, it’s a nearly impossible balance to strike right now. I keep coming back to a movie Rob and I saw a few weeks ago- September 5. I highly recommend the movie itself which tells the story of the Palestinian terrorist attack on the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.

The movie focuses behind the scenes on the crew and broadcasters of ABC Sports who carried the story live on the air- the first time a terrorist attack was broadcast live to the world. The whole movie was great and it represented another piece to help me understand the Israeli Palestinian conflict. And along with this, it was such a stark reminder of how differently we now consume information.

While September 5th, 1972 was neither the beginning nor the end of Palestinian terror attacks against the Israelis, at the end of that day, there was a break in news coverage. The crew and broadcasters went back to their hotels. And in America, all the people who had been captivated by the shocking news, turned off their televisions and gave their brains a rest from the terror. There were no twenty four hour cable news programs covering the story. There was no social media to scroll through endlessly looking for more information. For those who were not directly impacted, there was a pause in the terror.

Today, be it war, terror attacks, wildfires, hostage crises, plane crashes or whatever we call what is happening in Washington, DC right there is no break. Unless we force ourselves to take that break.

I am trying hard to give my brain a rest- to read a book, listen to a podcast or watch a show or a movie and I hope you are too. I’ve shared below what I enjoyed this week. And I’d love to hear what you are loving too- leave a comment below!

xo,

Stacey

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Reading:

• An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Kshiguro (print)

• Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (audio)

Listening:

• Pantsuit Politics (Tariffs, DOGE and What Democrats Should Do Now)

• Ezra Klein (What Elon Musk Wants)

• From the Front Porch (New Release Run Down)

• Fiction Matters (January Reading Recap)

• The Popcast (Cinema Sidepiece: Challengers)

Watching:

• The Pitt (Max)

• Queer Eye (Netflix)

• Madame Secretary (Netflix)

• You Hurt My Feelings (Netflix)

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