5SR - November 28, 2023

Hitha on cortisol, your next podcast listen, and Giving Tuesday

Author

Hitha Palepu
November 28, 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.

I’ve lost count at the number of people who have told me to get my cortisol levels checked in the past month. Apparently we’re all watching the same social media accounts and listening to the podcasts that are talking about it.

And listen - my friends and family are not wrong, and I’m getting a full bloodwork done to see exactly what’s happening in my body. But other than knowing cortisol is a hormone triggered by stress and triggers its own unpleasant cascades, I really don’t know much about it.

This primer on cortisol is incredibly well-reported and accurate, and I feel like I’m going into my doctor’s appointment knowing that it’s but one factor in my overall health and that we need to re-instate some healthy habits again.

I won’t lie - when I first saw this headline, I thought it was about NASA’s opinion on NASA-themed romance novels (one of my favorite niche genres).

Sadly, it’s not (but for a brief mention). But it’s an even smarter read on how NASA is considering deep relationships - including romantic ones - for staffing upcoming long missions.

This piece also takes a look at past relationships between NASA colleagues and how sexual harassment charges have been handled in multinational crews. As much as we want to believe in a happily ever after, relationships are more complicated than that. Add in months of isolation with just a few people whose lives are in your hands - and vice versa - and it’s something I’m glad the space agencies are evaluating thoroughly as a part of the upcoming Artemis mission.

The cancelled-too-soon Netflix show AWAY tackled a lot of these themes, and it’s worth a watch (or re-watch, in my case).

The headline undermines the depth of the reporting that’s gone into this piece - a look inside the White House and diplomatic agencies over the past month and half.

Please read it with an open mind.

My friend Bethany has the best taste - in books, in TV and film, in fashion and beauty recommendations. Reading her new Substack feels like I’m catching up with her over a cup of coffee and a long walk.

Naturally, I smashed the subscribe button for The Witch Trials of J .K. Rowling on her recommendation. I’ll let Bethany take it from here on why you should listen to it, and will simply say “she’s 100% right."

“I can say with zero hyperbole that since I listened to this podcast four months ago I’ve thought about it once a week. For those whose don’t know, J. K. Rowling, the once nearly universally beloved author of the Harry Potter series of books, has become an intensely contentious figure in the past five years. This is due to comments she’s made (via Tweets at the start) about gender, sexual identity, and transgender rights. That is the nugget of information that this podcast is ostensibly based on. But, in truth, the layers to Rowling’s situation and this podcast are a veritable onion and intimidating to try and sum up.

The thing is though, I am 100% not going to sum them up. Nor am I going to talk about my opinions on the subject matter of this podcast. That’s a conversation that demands more nuance than a newsletter can provide. Instead, I want to talk about all the elements that made this particular podcast so damn compelling for me in hopes that if you listen you’ll find a lot to mull over as well.”

And while I have you, I encourage you to subscribe to Bethany’s newsletter.

While I’ve largely skipped the BF/CM madness this year, I’ll be active today for Giving Tuesday.

Not just because I think it’s the most meaningful of modern awareness days, but because nonprofits need it more than previous years.

Something I learned about in this piece (and LOVED) is creating a giving circle:

“Ciara Coleman, who works for a large philanthropic foundation, approached the fundraising problem from the angle of a donor when she started a giving circle in New Orleans to support women and girls in her city. Her professional experience had taught her that too often, decision-makers in philanthropy overlooked her community.

“I gathered nine of my friends at the time and just had this conversation about reshaping philanthropy because I was frustrated with the roles being dominated by white men,” Coleman said. Since it was founded in 2021, the giving circle, Geaux Girl Giving, has donated $50,000 to 30 organizations in grants that range from $1,000 to $5,000.

She and the other members also volunteer, serve as mentors and open their networks to their grantees and the people those organizations serve, which she sees as embodying the original, Greek meaning of the word philanthropy. That is, “the love of humanity, which never was, I think, intended to mean solely those who write a large check,” Coleman said. “But those who really have a love for people and tap into all of their resources in order to exude that love for others.””

I serve on the boards of Youth Represent, Feminist Press, and New Morning and am so moved by the work and impact of each organization. If you’re looking to support a nonprofit today, I can’t recommend these three more highly.

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