Happy weekend, readers!

In this week's issue, Daysia talks about Goop's latest venture and Hannah mourns the end of the iPod and recalls her favorite albums that she used to listen to on her orange iPod Nano.

Also, some super exciting Lorde news and there are truly too many tabs.

Happy reading,

<3

Daysia and Hannah

This Week's Fixations

Daysia: This week, Gwyneth Paltrow's brand, goop, pushed the Diapér, a—you guessed it—luxury baby diaper. And wouldn't you know? It was fake!

It was a publicity stunt to bring attention to the diaper tax. The $120 fake diapers were priced to reflect what some families pay in diaper taxes annually, which can create a financial burden on low-income families. Goop is partnering with Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that provides children in poverty with diapers, on this campaign,

Goop is known for pushing pseudoscience and selling questionable, expensive, and inaccessible products (remember the jade eggs?). As a result, luxury diapers don't seem like stretch when it comes from Gwyneth Paltrow. So while it's a nice sentiment, I'm not sure how effective this stunt was. Paltrow said the diapers were designed to make you mad, but many of the things she earnestly pushes have the same effect. She has received backlash for other controversial products and advice in the past, such as extreme dieting and crypto. What about the issues behind those things?

Ultimately, when it comes to ragebait stunts like this, my reaction is always the same: ...okay? Glamour called Gwyneth a "self-aware queen" for the Diapér, but that's a generous read. It's actually hard to take someone seriously when they try to make a statement by doing something totally in character. Parody doesn't really work that way, luv!

Another example: Heidi Montag faked us out in April with "single-use jeans" designed to help the planet. This, of course, made no sense, but Montag kind of has a reputation for publicity stunts. This one, however, was to bring awareness to single-use plastics polluting the oceans. Again... okay? These types of campaigns always give more attention to the celebrity than the cause, which gives me the ick! (Although, I suppose by talking about it, I'm doing exactly what they wanted 😔)

Hannah: In this week's sad news, it's the end of the road for the iPod. 😢

I still have my orange iPod Nano and think about the days when your phone and music were separate. I don't want to say those days were simpler, but... those days were simpler.

In memory of the good ol' days here are my favorite albums that were on my iPod Nano (that I still listen to all the time):

• Jonas Brothers, "Jonas Brothers" and "A Little Bit Longer"

• Aly and AJ, "Insomniatic"

• Demi Lovato, "Don't Forget"

• The Twilight Soundtrack

• Taylor Swift, "Fearless"

The real tragedy is that I still haven't seen the Jonas Brothers or Aly and AJ live. But maybe this fall is my chance because Aly and AJ are the special guests on Ben Platt's tour?

Has Lorde Dropped a New Album?

Lorde is launching a Sonos radio station called Solarsystym! She said it'll be "like stepping into my brain, giving listeners a front row seat to the songs that have meant a ton to me and my life."

ICYMI: Bad Bunny released a new album, Un Verano Sin Ti.

Too Many Tabs

For Bustle, writer Charlotte Shane spoke with Mia Khalifa about her rebrand into an influencer for the girlies.

Avan Jogia discussed cultivating an intimate community through his Substack and shaking off the fear of being cringe with Buzzfeed News' Kelsey Weekman and Nicole Collazo Santana

Vulture's Rachel Handler interviewed the elusive and guarded Joe Alwyn about Conversations with Friends, creating "exile" with Taylor Swift, and those persistent engagement rumors.

Plus... a new Doctor Who, Samantha Hanratty is no Misty Quigley, Deux Moi's upcoming novel has already been picked up for TV development, Vogue cover star Dua Lipa, Hilary Duff speaks about the failed Lizzie McGuire reboot, all hail Amanda Seyfried, new Jack Harlow is bad, Dan Howell has YouTuber brain, James Hong finally gets his Walk of Fame star!, a day with Parker Posey, Issa Rae's next act, Denzel Washington recommended Austin Butler for Elvis, Theo James maybe should have traveled back in time and not done this show, and Ariana Grande explains her break from new music.