The Coffee Order Culture Corner
Trademark pending.
For this week’s Friday post, I wasn’t sure what I should write about.
It’s been a hard transition back to real life despite the big game I talked last week about being ready to rejoin society. Wednesday had never been humpier. Each morning alarm felt more unfair than the next. The next L train on my morning commute was 20 minutes away on Thursday. Everyone has been feeling it.
One of my main goals this year is to dedicate more of my life to cultural pursuits. I find myself most inspired after seeing a great movie, reading a great book, or listening to a great conversation. I’m very lucky to live in one of the largest culture hubs in the world, basically handing all of these things to me on a silver platter on a daily basis.
I often get asked how I find out about things or how I fit so much into my schedule. I often reply by saying it’s inherent with being single and living alone—I’m footloose and fancy-free 100% of the time. Every evening and weekend is an opportunity to enrich myself in the arts.
To make this worth the while of people who don’t live in New York City, I wanted to also include my favorite movies and shows I’ve seen recently, books I’ve read, or podcasts I’ve listened to if you also have the goal of broadening your horizons. At the bottom, I’ll put my favorite places to visit IRL if you are local.
Movies You Should See
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My Mom Jayne, 2025 | Directed by Mariska Hargitay, available on HBO Max
Everyone I have told to watch this documentary has instantly called or texted me after to say how much they loved it, with the exception of one straight man who thought it was “pretty good”. I rarely cry at media but this was truly so beautiful from start to finish. My queen Mariska, also known as Detective/Sargent/Captain Olivia Benson on Law and Order: S.V.U. for the last 25 years, is the daughter of the late Jayne Mansfield, the original Marilyn Monroe, who tragically passed with Mariska was just a baby. The story is much deeper than that, which Mariska retells with her siblings and old comrades of her mother’s, but I want you to see for yourself.
Oh, Hi! 2025 | Directed by Sophie Brooks, available on Netflix
I watched this movie last weekend and truly got a real kick out of it. It’s an hour and a half, which is the perfect at-home movie length, but besides that, Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman execute a masterclass in cunningly poking fun at modern dating while taking it way too far. As someone in the trenches, I appreciated it greatly.
Companion, 2025 | Directed by Drew Hancock, available on HBO Max
This is like if Oh, Hi! and Ex-Machina had a baby. If you watch or have watched the former and enjoyed it, you’re bound to also love Companion. I watched this in the height of my horror kick, but it’s not necessarily super scary, people with a low tolerance should be able to enjoy. This was a film that made me want to create something myself and come up with a wild story to tell somehow.
Books You Should Read
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Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin, 2024
I have raved at nauseam about how much I loved this book. It got me writing in a way that I had never before, exposed me to different types of fictional structure that I didn’t know existed, and was also one of the rare instances of me crying at something this year. Elkin does a phenomenal job at telling two simultaneous stories within the same four walls of a Paris apartment, evoking emotion that’s genuine, raw, and relatable.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, 2024
If you have a sister, this is a MUST read. I sobbed and then texted my own how much I love her after. This would be a fantastic limited series as well, displaying the fragility of family dynamics and the foundations of sisterhood, along with how different we can be with those who share our blood. If you don’t have a sister, you’ll still love it.
New Animal by Ella Baxter, 2021
This book is NSFW so if you are my relative please skip past this paragraph or read it and do not tell me or think of me. New Animal is kind of like The Odyssey if it took place in modern times with a girl in Australia who joins a sex club to deal with grief and conflict. At moments, Baxter made me feel Amelia’s pain so deeply that my chest would hurt (and I’m not talking about pain inflicted by whips).
No One Asked For This: Essays by Cazzie David, 2020
I am basically waiting outside of the doors of McNally Jackson for David’s next book releasing this March. It’s been almost six years of me waiting for something to fill the gap in my psyche that her debut left. When I read this in college, my roommates kept asking what I was laughing at. It made me want to write a book. A firsthand account from someone whose boyfriend left her for Ariana Grande and then had to listen to a song about it called Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored is a recipe for success in it of itself. I also love books of essays because it offers quick changes and is easy to pick back up wherever.
Podcast Episodes You Should Listen To
I wanted to do episodes for this instead of just shows, because if I recommend a show that’s been on for like, eight years, that’s not very helpful.
WHAT ELSE would I ever start out with. This is eight years old, but for young, creative, insecure, outspoken women, it’s fantastic. Dax, Monica, and Lena discuss Lena starting Girls at 25 (something that has haunted me, a 25-year-old with no creative prospects besides this Substack), her addiction, and her controversies. I’ve listened to this probably 10 times.
I do not particularly enjoy SmartLess, I podcast I was once an avid listener of, because it’s gotten very surface-level, rushed, and star-fuckery. However, this episode from 2021 with longtime Editor-in-Chief of The New Yorker, David Remnick, is an insightful look inside one of America’s most important magazines, the relationship modern Hollywood has with media (i.e. Jason and David seemingly being best friends), and the best part—cartoons.
Kathleen Sorbara is the owner of Sorbara’s—one of my favorite stores ever—and a vintage expert/curator. She speaks to the guys at Throwing Fits about what it took to start her business, the next important phase in which this episode was timed with, and lots of other very nice cool-girl things. I loved listening to someone talk about their female-owned business in one of New York’s toughest markets, leading a team, and the ethos of Sorbara’s.
Where You Should Go To Be Cultured
The 92nd Street Y is by far my favorite place to see a conversation or someone I admire greatly. They get the top of top-tier talent—Andy Cohen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Anderson Cooper—all people I’ve had the pleasure of spending my evening with, along with talks I haven’t attended held with Oprah, political leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Michael Bloomberg, editors from every major magazine, and more. Make sure to sign up for their newsletter so you know when to get tickets, because they do sell out.
I saw Fran Lebowitz at The Town Hall last year and felt like a real Manhattan woman. I was the youngest person in the room by nearly 40 years, but the atmosphere was engaging and enriching despite being in the last row. It’s right near Bryant Park so very central to lots of different public transportation options.
WSA is a building in FiDi that has gotten a lot of buzz recently for being a hub for every cool fashion party or pop-up for the last three years. You may have to stay vigilant in there to not run into some ghosts from your past (I speak from experience), but the free programming run by Nikole Lubov Naloy is excellent, ranging from book fairs to screenings to professional panels, etc.
I hope you all enjoyed that digest. I tried hard to pick things off the beaten path, not telling you to listen to Call Her Daddy or watch Marty Supreme or go to The MET. If you’d like more cultural recommendations in the future, you know where to find me to request them.
TODAY’S WINNER OF COFFEE ON COFFEE ORDER IS: Olivia Babuka!
THIS IS A DIFFERENT OLIVIA, NOT ME! Thank you for subscribing, Olivia!