5SR - August 17, 2023

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

Is Trump the New Nixon? (New York Magazine)

With his 4th indictment, I can’t help but compare the 45th President to the 37th President.

Apparently I’m not alone, and this detailed piece highlights similarities and differences between these two former presidents - especially the latter’s successful comeback and the former’s attempt at one.

I think a lot about Roger Ailes’ inspiration to start Fox News was because of the Nixon impeachment and resignation (and was a seed of an idea before Watergate), and how the role of highly partisan media has more influence than actual facts in people’s opinions.

This read may be extremely niche and for the history nerds, but it’s one I encourage everyone to read.

This Viral TikTok Is Shining a Light on the Financial Struggles of Gyn Z and Millennials (Katie Couric Media)

I wish financial literacy and real-time economics was taught in schools, and especially in an intersectional way.

Because the old advice of “go to college, work really hard, and you’ll make it” just doesn’t work in today’s economic environment. And I’m really glad to see this conversation go viral on TikTok - especially from the parents’ perspective.

Farnoosh’s own money story (especially her parents’ perspective) is so similar to mine when I entered college, and I made my own share of credit card mistakes despite my parents’ similar ‘fear in God’ money lectures.

We’re introducing financial lessons through allowances a bit differently with our young kids, and this post has some great advice from parents at different stages on how they’re teaching their kids about money. I’d love for you to join the conversation here:

Schumer and McCarthy find rare unity on government funding (Axios)

Giving props where they’re do - Kevin McCarthy has not only managed to survive in his role as Speaker of the House, but has also found compromise on essential legislation (like budgets and spending bills) and delivered the votes to get them passed.

And while I’ll also disagree with some of his partisan moves (the way a Republican would disagree when Democrats do the same), I’m grateful that we’ve been able to avert a government shutdown - so far.

With the vast majority of political news being negative, I think it’s important to share the rare stories that demonstrate our government actually working - and this is one of them.

Alia Bhatt Is Coming in With a Bang (InStyle)

I don’t know how I ended up on Alia-Ranbir-Deepika-Ranveer Instagram (IYKYK), but I’m not mad about it. And I love seeing my favorite Bollywood actresses cross over into Hollywood (in non-strike times, and I hope they all support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes to protect artists’ work and for fair compensation).

I digress.

In the few films I’ve seen Alia act in, I’m struck at how she completely becomes the character she’s playing, with incredible depth and sensitivity. She reminds me of Jennifer Lawrence in a lot of ways, both in her acting and in how chill she seems outside of work.

I’m excited to see what’s in store for her (post-strike).

Chandrayaan-3 vs. Luna-25: Are India and Russia racing to the moon’s South Pole? (Space.com)

There’s a new space race brewing - this time, between India and Russia.

Both countries are attempting to land rovers on the south side of the Moon, with expected landings on August 23 and 21, respectively.

Russia hasn’t had a moon landing since the 1970s. For India, a successful landing will give them entry into an exclusive club of countries that have done the same (joining the United States, Russia, and China).

The significance of each of these missions is to prepare for humanity’s return to the moon to stage a new phase of crewed exploration, to Mars and beyond. And while we should absolutely be devoting most of our resources to solving the problems here on Earth, I can’t help but be excited about the future of exploring space.