Live, Laugh, Crash Out

late capitalism’s favorite feelings newsletter.

After asking for your feedback last week, I read, I pondered, I brainstormed, and I heard you loud and clear.

So… I might regret this, but as of today, I’m attempting to make this newsletter daily. Yes every single day. Consider it a shared experiment in consistency, chaos, and connection:

- to share important news that gets lost in the shuffle (why did Trump’s recent health report not mention his cankles?)

- to research only the most pressing questions (should men pay on dates?)

- and to find out if there is any hope left for humanity (there is! it just takes a little digging)

and I’m so happy you’re here!

Airplane Mode is a place for you, and I want to hear your thoughts as we try something new. Drop any of your questions, suggestions, loves & hates in the comments, and so I can keep writing, creating, and showing up for you <3

And with that, let’s dive into our first weekend review!

A lot happened this weekend. I watched the sunday shows and kept up with the news, so that you don’t have to:

1. Dan Scavino is Named Head (Caddy) of Personnel at the White House

As Donald Trump’s former golf caddy, book publisher, personal fast food delivery boy, and author of most @realDonaldTrump posts, Dan is anything but up for the job. Good thing he’ll be unbiased when he decides who to hire and fire!

2. Trump Administration Walks Back CDC Firings After (More) Layoff Chaos

Speaking of hiring and firing, in the midst of his I-lost-the-Nobel-Peace-Prize temper tantrum, Trump ctrl + alt + deleted over 4,000 employees, including 1,000+ CDC scientists, doctors, and health officials. Then, after a Times report provided insight into the mass firing’s casualties, Trump was publicly humiliated enough to reinstate hundreds of employees on Ebola and Measles response teams (again). Turns out he does believe in vaccines?

3. Former Miss Colorado Pageant Girl Lindsey Halligan Secures Unfounded Indictment against Attorney General Letitia James

Originally tasked with “removing improper ideology” from the Smithsonian institutions (which, cool, totally normal thing to assign someone) Halligan graduated on Friday to her first prosecutorial job. And what a debut.

After Trump’s original appointee, Erik Siebert, was dismissed (fired? gently escorted out? who even knows anymore) due to the fact that there was literally no legal basis for charges against Letitia James, Halligan stepped up, took the wheel, and somehow got it done. She indicted Letitia James on... well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? On what, exactly? For doing her job? For prosecuting financial fraud? For having the audacity to hold powerful people accountable?

This is about a sitting attorney general being indicted in what increasingly looks like retaliation for enforcing the law. And if we’re being honest, it feels like a test. Like they’re seeing how much they can get away with before people actually lose it.

So here’s my question: Can we put the same energy into defending Letitia James as we did Jimmy Kimmel?

4. US Representative Marjorie Taylor Green Blames GOP for the Continued Government Shutdown

In a stunning but welcome reversal, the congresswoman from Georgia once again sides with Democrats in blaming Mike Johnson and the GOP for the continued government shutdown. This break with her party is only the latest in the series; a reminder that Americans do care about healthcare, something even Trump’s most loyal allies can’t help but see. Who’s next in line to join the team? Looks like someone is afraid of losing in the midterms….!!

5. Gen Z Makes Waves in Nepal with Demands for a Better Government, and Better Representation

My parents brought this up to me on our weekly family FaceTime, the one where they look at me through their slightly-too-close phone camera and genuinely wonder how the hell I can still live in America while all of this is happening. And then my mom, because she loves a good success story, told me about Nepal. About how young people there, backed by the power of TikTok, Reddit, and Discord (yes, Discord, the place where people mostly argue about video games) victoriously fought back against a corrupt and geriatric government. With a historic vote that happened on a Discord channel, over 7,500 young Nepalis voted for Nepal’s first female prime minister, Sushila Karki, to help rebuild Nepali life and actually represent the people who live there now, not just the ones who’ve been clinging to power for decades. This victory reminded Nepal’s officials that the youth are not a demographic to be ignored or patronized or dismissed as “too online.” It proved that the internet—much of which was literally banned by the incumbent prime minister Oli because he was terrified of what young people might organize, wields an equalizing power that can be used for communal good. So maybe that’s the lesson here: we don’t need some grand, perfect plan. We just need to stop waiting for someone else to fix this and start using the tools we already have, the group chats, the servers, THIS SUBSTACK, the sheer chaotic power of people who are tired of being ignored. Because if young people in Nepal can do it on Discord, what the hell is our excuse?

I’ll be back tomorrow, without the news! The rest of the week is for us, besties. For laughs, for vibes, and for whatever else you need to survive!

While you wait for tomorrow’s juicy dive, let my most recent podcast episode keep you company! It’s been flying off the charts which is really exciting because men with mics kind of got us in this mess, and I firmly believe that women with mics can get us out of it.

Podcasting is still a man’s world, and while we’re living in it, we’re trying to change it. If you listen, rate, review, comment, and share with a friend, it all makes a really big difference. We’re just a few reviews away from girl-bossing our way to the top, and showing Joe Rogan what this movement is really made of. Let’s do this!

x Liz