THIS WEEK

Dolly parton posing with a French bulldog, both are wearing red and white gingham — Dolly Parton and dog in matching red and white checks. (Photo: Doggy Parton)

📖 READ: The Wing shutters for good, and everyone wants to know if they can buy the furniture. Sharon Stone’s Botox story is intense. Prayers up for Jane Fonda. What I want my son to remember as he leaves for college. Why Tia Mowry was never afraid to go gray. Finding Mom in the pockets of her sweaters. Meet Mary Peltola, the first Native person heading to Congress. Why women in their 40s love Harry Styles. (TueNighter Cheryl Squadrito has a few thoughts on that below.)

👀 LOOK: Björk’s new video for “Atopos” takes place in a “fungal underworld” because of course it does. 50 questions with Madonna. Narciso Rodriguez for Zara.

🎧 LISTEN: The 20 best Riot Grrrl songs. A previously unreleased track from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. An introduction to Latina punk.

🤣 LOL: This 1987 BBC News report about goths is comedy gold. A health app startup’s idea of what women over 45 look like. Peanuts Gang calls CPS to report Pigpen's parents.

🛒 ADD TO CART: Spray Nation, a new volume of previously unpublished images of NYC’s 1980s graffiti scene. Doggy Parton, Dolly Parton’s new line of dog toys and accessories, because part of the proceeds go to an animal rescue. Disability rights activist Alice Wong’s new memoir Year of the Tiger.

📺 WATCH

Now: The 7th and final season of Queen Sugar (OWN).
Thursday: The 6th and final season of The Good Fight (Paramount+), and Tom Hanks plays Geppetto in Pinocchio (Disney+).
Friday: Gutsy, the new docuseries from Hillary and Chelsea Clinton (Apple TV+), and Jon Bernthal’s abs star in American Gigolo (Showtime).

💰 GIVE: Places to donate to help flood victims in Pakistan and people without water in Jackson, Mississippi.

OBSESSED: Why Harry Styles is the Perfect Human Being

A man in purple velvet overalls with a microphone and mic stand, mouth open, eyes closed — Harry Styles, styling what looks to be purple velvet overalls? (Photo: Variety)

By Cheryl Squadrito

Pop star Harry Styles premiered a video for his new single, “Late Night Talking” on July 13th, and in less than eight hours, the song racked up more than 3,000,000 views on YouTube. I’m pretty sure that a few hundred views were mine.

I saw Harry perform last year with my daughter and her friends in Philadelphia. He is my idea of the perfect human being. He’s generous and genuine, urging fans to treat people with kindness. He helps LBGTQ+ kids come out. He grasps the impact of fabulous nail polish and smooth dance moves. His single “Watermelon Sugar,” is probably the only Grammy-winning song about oral sex and female orgasms! But the thing that really gets me? Harry appreciates older women; he’s dating actress Olivia Wilde, who is 10 years older. #SmartMan

I discovered Styles the summer before the pandemic. My teenage daughter was working out Harry’s song, “Ever Since New York,” on her acoustic guitar.

“Whose song is that?”
“Harry Styles.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“He was in One Direction, you know, the boy band.”
“Really?”

I tried to hide my fandom as I fell into the cyber-sinkhole of all things Harry Styles. But it wasn’t a secret among my daughter’s friends and my close friends, too, who would send me articles, gossip, and memes. Throughout the pandemic, his music was my escape, my distraction. Harry was the perfect panacea. My daughter’s teenage friend Tess, who knew I loved Harry, invited me to join her, my daughter, and her little squad at his sold-out concert in our hometown. “Plus,” she said, “You’re fun.”

In May, just before the release of his third album, Harry’s House, I won the “golden ticket” lottery and scored four passes to see him perform on the Today show. The other moms were jealous. However, the day before the show I came down with bad Covid and couldn’t go.

While I bounced back from Covid, I still haven’t recovered from missing Harry. But Nigel, my English fiancé, has scored tickets for my daughter and me to see Harry in Dublin’s Slane Castle next summer. I can’t wait.

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Hey, you! (Yes, you.) We’d love to hear what you’re obsessed with these days. So would our readers. If you’ve got something to share with the class, hit us up at Hello@TueNight.com.

IT’S ME, MARGIT: Witnessing History at Serena's Last Match

a gif of Serena hitting a tennis ball at her last match

By Margit Detweiler

I snagged tickets for Friday — not knowing whether Serena would make it past a Wednesday night matchup with the No. 2 seed, Anett Kontaveit, but knowing if I waited until after Serena won, the tickets for Friday night would be insanely expensive. I looked my husband in the eye and said with confidence, “If I get these tickets, she will win.” And guess what?! Call it a 55-year-old’s intuition.

Watching her scrap to a win against Kontaveit, my husband and I practically rolled around on the floor with glee. “We’re going to see SERENA!” It was a rare chance to see a legend, the greatest tennis player of all time (GOAT!), and well, a grown-ass woman showing us all how it’s done.

Our newsletter editor Margaret (who watched the game at a sports bar in Washington, DC) saw my Instagram posts and my TikTok and started texting me a barrage of questions. “How did you get tickets?” “What are you wearing?” Some of them made me giggle. So I thought I’d share them with you, FAQ style.

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Go get that new booster shot this week, TueNighters!

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