FRIDAY ROUNDUP: Childcare Hellscape, Snailmail & Inflation.

Plus, a giveaway.

I often write about the right’s culture war, how they are re-writing the narrative of womanhood and moving the Overton Window as we watch. And the response I hear from you all is: OKAY, so how do we wage a culture war back?!

Hollywood movies, social media and podcasts help shift culture, but other kinds of media do too. As you know, I’m a book lover. I’ve been watching my friend Jo Piazza fly all over the country this week, to red states like Indiana and Texas, to promote her new tradwife murder mystery Everyone is Lying to You, and I’m reminded of what fiction can do.

Good fiction breeds empathy and makes us think when we least expect it. Often it’s easier to absorb big ideas and uncomfortable truths through a novel than through a news article, because we’re in a more relaxed mindset and more willing to be convinced. And people who would never read a feminist manifesto might just pick up a juicy thriller and see the world a little differently by the time they close the final chapter.

Jo calls Everyone is Lying to You a trojan horse. It’s a fast-paced thriller, but it also peels back the layers of influencer culture, patriarchy, and the curated lies we’re sold online—especially by women who claim to be just “living their truth.”

Jo has spent a long time chronicling the rise of momfluencers with her podcast Under The Influence and had a front row seat to the explosion of tradwife content. She realized these women weren’t just selling a lifestyle. They were selling a worldview. “We want to believe in the soft-focus fantasy of safety, structure, and well-behaved children with braided hair and matching outfits. But that fantasy only works if you don’t ask who’s being silenced or sacrificed to keep it intact. And that’s where things get really creepy. Because once you see the tradwife aesthetic not just as a personal choice, but as a form of branding with coded language, racial implications, and political alignment, it starts to look a lot less like a charming cottagecore dream and a lot more like soft propaganda in a dress that looks like a picnic table.”

What’s great about Everyone is Lying to You is that it doesn’t preach - it just puts a dead body in the middle of a carefully curated life and asks: what’s really going on here? Who’s keeping secrets and who benefits when women are told told to be quite, happy and grateful.

Next week I’m going to expand on this a lot more, but culture change isn’t just a fight over what gets said - it’s a fight over how we feel. And the stories we tell, especially ones that are juicy and bingeable, help us make people feel something outside of their worldview.

First week sales are so important, they build momentum, drive visibility, and help more people discover the story. If you are able, I’d love for you to order a copy of Everyone is Lying to You today! (Bookshop, Amazon)

Then come back next week, because we’re going to talk more about the role of feelings in the culture war. But for now, a good plot twist might just be the way to endure the times.

→ if you’re looking to connect with people in your area, we have location-specific threads now in the EYP chat! You can find that here! (if you use desktop you can search to see if your location has already been discussed!)

Childcare is a hellscape for most US families. Why isn’t there a bigger push for change? (The Guardian) - Long seen as women’s work, childcare is underpaid and considered a private matter for families, not something the government should fix. It needs to change, but how?

Dr. ChatGPT Will See You Now (Wired) - AI tools are creeping into the exam room, raising big questions about accuracy, ethics, and how we trust our healthcare system.

Kennedy Claims Doctors Profit Off Vaccines. In Fact, Many Lose Money on Them. (The New York Times) - Experts say the health secretary’s remarks send a dangerous message: Don’t trust your physician.

How DIY Disaster Prep Is Becoming a Necessity at Home (Mother Jones) - As climate disasters worsen and federal help falls short, Americans are turning to DIY “home hardening” to protect against fires, floods, and hurricanes.

Inflation Picks Up Again in June, Rising at 2.7% Annual Rate (CNBC) - Consumer prices rose 0.3% last month, bringing annual inflation to 2.7%—a slight uptick, but in line with expectations.

Popsugar

The Joy of Snail Mail Is Back. A delightfully nostalgic look at the resurgence of pen pals and letter writing, proving that slow communication might just be the most rewarding. I am personally NOT a fan, but I think some of you are if the glitter letters were any indication. Read it here.

A Complete Guide to Touching Grass. This isn’t just a meme. Spending time outside has measurable benefits for your mental health and science is finally catching up. Read it here.

Vegetables for Dessert? It’s a Thing Now. Chefs are putting carrots in cake and beets in brownies as the next frontier of fine dining. Read it here.

The World’s Greatest Stretch Might Actually Deserve the Name. It opens your hips, loosens your back, and calms your nervous system. Here’s why everyone from athletes to office workers swears by it. Read it here.

The Canadian travel ad that is making everyone tear up this week. In its latest tourism push, Canada isn’t selling scenery and poutine, they’re selling civility and it is surprisingly charming. The campaign highlights empathy, patience, and cross-border friendship. I have two friends who already booked flights. See more here.

Texas kids set up lemonade stands to raise money for flooded Camp Mystic.
In the wake of devastating floods, young Texans turned lemonade into real relief and raised thousands to support their summer camp. Read it here.

This toddler ruined a crawling contest. By hilariously taking their first steps in the middle of it. Watch it here.

THE BRA is buy 1 get 1 free with the code FREEBRA. I’ve heard from a lot of people that they also think Left on Friday swimsuits are worth the expense, so giving that a stronger endorsement!

Each week I give away a book to my paid subscribers (U.S. only), and this one feels especially timely.

This week’s pick is Everyone Is Lying to You, the tradwife murder mystery from Jo Piazza we talked about earlier. It’s a razor-sharp thriller disguised as a juicy beach read—a Trojan Horse for peeling back the soft-focus filters on influencer culture, patriarchy, and the fantasy of feminine perfection.

The story follows Lizzie, a burned-out magazine writer and mom, who reconnects with her long-lost best friend Bex. But Bex isn’t just Bex anymore—she’s Rebecca Sommers, a wildly successful “traditional wife” influencer with five kids, a hot husband, and a perfectly curated life on a ranch. When Bex goes missing and her husband turns up murdered, Lizzie is pulled into a world of secrets, swinging, backstabbing, and a whole lot of aesthetic manipulation.

If you’ve ever sensed that soft-focus domesticity might be the gateway drug to something more sinister, Jo Piazza’s new thriller will confirm all your worst suspicions.

→ Comment LYING below for a chance to win.