the weekly | 06.25.25

zohran !! heat waves and the silly canned beverage industrial complex

Jun 25, 2025

I ❤️‍🔥 you, New York City! Welcome back to the weekly: a collection of musings, reviews, and recommendations curated by me (@gabbywhiten), for you! This post contains affiliate links. Be sure to like this post and consider a paid subscription if you love the wednesday blasts! Hot stuff this way →

fresh off the presses

- daisy edgar jones in a sense and sensibility adaptation for focus features

- idris elba on chicken shop date this friday lol

- alternate man’s best friend cover dropped i did chuckle sorry

I preemptively wrote this paragraph assuming that we would need multiple rounds of ranked choice voting before a winner emerged in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. But, in a history making turn of events, Zohran Mamdani stomped the sh*t out of Cuomo in the first round (figuratively). Currently, the self-described Democratic Socialist candidate is ~8 points ahead in the first round tally. With several co-endorsements from progressive candidates (Lander & Blake), it is probable that Zohran would have taken hold of the victory in subsequent rounds. Andrew Cuomo, interestingly, conceded to Zohran around 10:30pm last night and neglected to definitively comment on if he would continue to run as a third party candidate.

The New York Times is keeping a very detailed map of the voting results [brb checking to see if my block was marked safe from the Cuomo Curse]. While we still have a long road to the November general election, what a win this is! Congrats to the Mamdani team and all of the grassroot organizers that made this rule-breaking campaign successful.

📚 a reading list for understanding zohran’s political framework — curated by alice (@rot.and.read)

👩🏾‍🌾 In other good news… the Elizabeth Street Garden is saved from demolition. The new deal brokered by the Adams and Marte administrations involves re-zoning other sites in the neighborhood to build up to 600 new affordable housing units for older New Yorkers.

Mahmoud Khalil has been released on bail from ICE custody after months of unlawful detention.

The New York Post is revolutionizing journalism with this piece on executive branch expletives — it’s really not that bad Donald Trump had an unhinged crash out on national television because JFK cussed once too! To be fair, I, too, would be annoyed if I were steering a clown car off a cliff!

Some very good Foreign Language and/or political dramas are now streaming in the US: The Seed of the Sacred Fig, I’m Still Here, Origin, and The Zone of Interest.

🥵 A heat dome has the eastern United States trapped in record-breaking highs — stay hydrated! Find a cooling center near you (NYC). It’s only a matter of time before the next gentrified, waterside neighborhood is lined with palm trees.

Coco Mellors told me I should take up boxing after we were sparring partners during a Gotham Gym boxing class. You could say the spirit of Bonnie flowed through me. Thank you Ballantine and Random House for the invite!! It should be said that I’m still experiencing a full body soreness I haven’t felt since high school volleyball conditioning! Send help.

🧖🏾‍♀️ For some reason, I’ve also racked up a bunch of skincare empties: the Rhode Pineapple Refresh Cleanser (really liked), Peach & Lily Hydrating Cleanser (instant repurchase, always), Innisfree Hyaluronic Acid cream (really loved, but prefer the YTP moisturizer), and Innisfree Hyaluronic Acid serum (really loved, but prefer the SF Jet Lag serum).

Love Island USA went off the rails and I’m not sure they’ll be able to claw their way back. After a head scratching first day in Casa Amor, I’m feeling less and less invested. I think the creative team behind the Love Island franchise should take a page out of Étoile’s(ironically now canceled) handbook and swap some team members. Maybe then we’ll have something to work with… the British run a tight ship! Perhaps though... too tight!

💄 It’s hot hot hot! But, you still want to maximize the slay? I’ve got my heatwave makeup routine locked in: glowy finish SPF, spot concealer, juicy af lip combo (liner + gloss), and blonzer (blush + bronzer) for a faux sun kissed complexion.

A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250 is open at The Morgan Library and Museum and contextualizes Jane Austen in American culture and features early editions of her work and other unique artifacts. Free Fridays allow for comped entry to the museum — reserved tickets are required and go live one week in advance online! Reading Rhythms and Morgan Pager are teaming up on a release party for her debut novel, The Art of Vanishing (out July 1) — a $30 ticket includes a copy of the novel and an intimate space to connect with other reading enthusiasts in the city.

🍿 the 100 best movies of the 21st century according to a nyt survey

Fourth of July on a Friday? Hot. The Macy’s Fourth Fireworks are headed back to the East Side [as God intended]. Bryant Park Movie Nights continue into July with a new sponsor. Every Monday you can catch screenings of Paramount+ favorites (including Interstellar and Good Will Hunting). Grab a picnic blanket and a Whole Foods spread for a staple New York summer evening. Shakespeare in the Park is officially returning August 7th for an [always free] production of Twelfth Night. Sandrah Oh, Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage, and Tyler Jesse Ferguson will take the stage. Learn more about free ticket distributions here.

🎥 what i’m watching this week sorry, baby (dir. eva victor)

Please respect my privacy at this time (all episodes of The Bear S4 are live). One of my favorite drugstore lip balms is now available with built in SPF. Love! Summer Fridays is expanding into color cosmetics with their new Blush Butter Balms (modeled here on michaela). While Taylor Fitzgerald (MUA for Reneé Rapp and Amanda Batula) wants to make naked eyeball summer happen, I’m more aligned with Danessa Myricks. The beauty titan is dropping eyeshadow stick duos (very 2012, much love) as an expansion of the ColorFix line. A new addition to the silly canned beverage industrial complex that looks like Poppi, sounds like Poppi, but tastes better than Poppi?

Speaking of Reneé, I’m very happy she’s touring in arenas! But, I’m also mourning the $40 standing room only Brooklyn warehouse concert ticket. Bite Me is out everywhere August 1. Tickets for tour go on sale to the general public on Friday (10am EST).

That’s all I have for you this week! stay hot ❤️‍🔥

xx, gabby