#5SmartReads - April 3, 2023

Abigail is a copywriter and the founder of This Needs Hot Sauce, a food newsletter. She's based in Brooklyn where lives with her boyfriend and her houseplants, one of which recently got sunburned. She loves cooking, writing, and having long convos with friends (in person or in a group chat peppered with voicenotes). This year, she is finally working on a novel.

Playing For The Yankees Has Its Perks. In-Flight Internet Is Not One Of Them. (SI)

As a Queens native, Mets > Yankees.

This article made me laugh, even professional baseball players don't get free inflight internet. The BTS life of a professional athlete is less glamorous than it seems and I loved reading about how the players cope (some unplug, some use a family plan).

How Wegmans’ Ginger Seltzer Became A Cult-Status Drink (Food & Wine)

This one is for my fellow gals with anxiety. I wrote about soothing beverage of choice, Wegman's ginger seltzer (with a shoutout to my wonderful coach Leah Wiseman Fink).

These cans have gotten me through many a rough moment and are particularly good when paired with a walk for some fresh air. It's like a ginger ale for grown ups and I need to have some on hand at all times. I haven't written this openly about anxiety, especially as it pertains to work, before and have been really appreciative of the reception so far.

I Went To Mushroom Camp And Came Home With These Incredible Fungi Facts (Saveur)

Mushrooms are fascinating and this writer got to go to a mushroom camp in California to learn all about different types, foraging, botany, and more. There are about 350 types of edible mushrooms and most supermarkets only have a few.

There's a whole world out there to explore. I also learned about the ways mushrooms have historically been used in sweet dishes, which I've never tried.

Raising Kids Would Be So Much Better Without Cars (Romper)

A caveat that I don't have kids but I really resonated with this story about how sprawl and reliance on cars makes parenting harder. I grew up in Queens and was able to accompany my parents on errands by foot, walk to the playground (we also had a car).

I remember being so excited to start walking to a friend's house or to the closest Baskin Robbins alone or with my sister. It was a rite of passage and gave a sense of independence.

Cars are such a threat to kid's safety and they also add so much work for parents with drop off, pickup, and more. Living in a city can help reduce the reliance on cars but this issue requires investment in public infrastructure and safety, which has not been a priority for this country.

So many communities of color have been bulldozed to build highways, leaving behind air pollution and unsafe pedestrian routes. It's systemic.

 The IPPC Makes It Clear: Fossils Fuels Must Go (Heated)

Heated is a newsletter about the climate emergency that gives me the information I need without too much doom (though it does not minimize the issues). The perspective is that everyone reading is taking this seriously and each issue includes a cute animal picture at the end of the tough news.

There's so much to unpack from the latest IPCC report and this is a good, quick analysis.