5SR - October 26, 2023

Abigail Koffler is the Brooklyn based founder of This Needs Hot Sauce, a food newsletter and community that's turning six years old this week. She works as a publicist for food & lifestyle brands, reads a lot, and is currently watching The Morning Show.

My Quest to Downsize Without Throwing Anything Away (Intelligencer)

Moving is the worst—once you find a place to live, then you have to pack all your stuff, which always leads to lots of waste. Even a small apartment can hold SO much stuff.

This writer decided to try and move without a trip to the landfill, and he was moving out of a house.The solutions he found, including an innovative way to get rid of kitchen cabinets, are time intensive but super inspiring!

The circular economy is powerful and it's worth a little extra effort to create less trash. I already love Facebook Marketplace (some of my favorite furniture is from there) and hope more people will give solutions like this a try! It feels a lot better when stuff goes to a good home—and you meet neighbors along the way.

Pumpkins are known for a ghoulish grin and delicious taste. Their origins are rooted in Mexican history (Los Angeles Times)

It's pumpkin season and Andrea Aliseda breaks down the Mexican origins of pumpkins, which date back to 2000 BC (how cool is that?).

The history of squash is seriously fascinating and there used to be so many types, which were used in many ways, from stews to sauces like molé to tamales and even as containers. The tradition of decorating pumpkins for Halloween came to the US from the Irish who used to carve turnips. In the US, they pivoted to pumpkins!

Please share these facts at your next Halloween party and remember that everything we eat has an origin story!

Moses of Cairo (Illinois) (Belt Magazine)

This is a long read and a family history about the author's Lebanese family who immigrated to Cairo, Illinois around 1899, "The idea that non-white immigrants are, generally speaking, new to the Midwest could not be further from the truth." I'm a New Yorker with parents from the East and West Coasts and I am very uninformed about the history of the Midwest.

I'm grateful to this article for sharing the stories of Middle Eastern immigrants in the Midwest before the Civil War, how they were treated, how a broken engagement became national news, and more.

The author also shares how generations of his family related to whiteness, whose definition and criteria is ever changing. People with roots in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt showed up as very small numbers in historic census records but that was most likely an undercount and this type of family history (from a professor of Black, Muslim, and Arab American history and life) is so important in correcting the record.

Our Lizard Brain (Brass Wing Daily)

What's the opposite of lizard brain, where you feel parched and sluggish? Maybe it's bee brain, where we buzz with energy and excitement.

Kara Cutruzzula writes one of my favorite newsletters—it's about productivity and also saying no to things. It arrives short and sweet in my inbox every weekday morning and is the gentle encouragement I need on my walk to work.

Sometimes her newsletters offer the simplest reminders: what if it works out? what if you just do one thing? what if you set a small deadline and then hit it?

Sign up for some Kara Cutruzzula in your life – you won't regret it.

What Happens When Groups Of People Are Described As Animals (NPR)

This NPR story came out in 2018, after some disgusting comments from former President Trump. It's relevant again with the current conflict and something to look out for in news stories, interviews with officials and soldiers, and social media infographics (so many infographics).

Humanity is the first thing we lose in a war and dehumanizing the enemy is an effective way to justify horrific attacks, endless bombings and violence. I hope this goes without saying but, it's also too precious to lose.