Sidebar: Is Everyone Okay?

Unhinged AI Boyfriends, Cher Deep Dives, and Salt Lake Real Estate Drama

This is my weekly roundup of links and recommendations. If we talked IRL, I’d likely derail our entire conversation with “Sidebar, have you read | watched | listened | deep dived on this?”

First, I am thinking of everyone in LA (and all those who love them). Here are resources to help folx right now: https://www.lahsa.org/newsArticle/resources-to-support-those-during-the-la-fires

This week has felt heavy. Here are some things that have made me think, made me laugh, or simply stare into space and feel less stressed.

Have you watched?

Sold on SLC (Peacock)

I have been struggle -busing pretty hard lately with some health flares and just life in 2025, so I needed a show that I could watch as an escape. The stakes are meaningless, the people are funny, and I will 1000% forget all of this 2-3 weeks after completing this season. It is, in other words, perfect. This is Bravo’s answer to Selling Sunset and is set in Salt Lake City. It follows a real estate brokerage led by girl boss Jen and focusing on her rag tag team of agents and their very Mormon drama. I am very here for the black lesbian former Mormon who reads a holier-than-thou Mormon agent. That is all I will say without giving away further plot points (though “plot” here is relative).

Shrinking (Apple TV)

I have had many people recommend this show to me, and am not sure why I waited on it till now. This show is funny, sincere, and also a good escape.

Can these American Revolutionary war vets be this old? (not the point of this video, but my question)

This video from the BBC documents a project by early photographers to photograph all remaining living American Revolution veterans. It features scans of newspapers from Chronicling America (and the Connecticut Digital Newspaper Project, specifically, which is co-directed by my wife). So proud!