This week’s digest is guest edited by Madeline Hill of Impersonal Foul, a weekly sports gossip and culture newsletter. One of Madeline’s most popular posts is interviewing one half of a transatlantic meet-cute romance between the American club chairman’s daughter and the British boy who worked for Burnley F.C. If you enjoy Madeline’s digest today, head over to Impersonal Foul for more great stories and sports gossip.
At the end of the day, all sports news is just gossip. As Substack’s resident Sports Gossip Enthusiast, I really do believe this and will continue telling anyone who listens. A breaking-news NBA trade deadline update? That’s a LinkedIn “Some news” update for professional basketball players. A team is moving to another market? That’s a relocation package. You catch my drift.
If you think about it, a lot of news and cultural analysis across a range of topics is just … gossip. While my newsletter focuses on everything that happens off the court in sports, I love devouring stories from my favorite writers on Substack that captivate me, keep me on the edge of my seat, and fill my gossipy little heart—whether they are actual gossip or not.
I’ve compiled a few of my favorites that I hope you’ll love as much as I did.
SPORTS
“I’ve been a longtime fan of Katie Heindl’s writing. She describes professional basketball and its highs and lows in a way that feels like poetry. With the NBA Playoffs underway, her recent post about physical feats is so engrossing I forgot we were even talking about basketball as I read it”
—Katie Heindl in BASKETBALL FEELINGS
As the rounds winnow down, the cheeky hot-potato pass sequences, heady hang time, superfluous shots and sometimes just dudes charging screaming through the paint will subside. So will the bench celebrations, the falling all over each other, the smirks between past teammates on the floor, the offhand or referential podium comments and winking digs. As all this side effect pent-up energy spent getting here gets used up, the mood will turn serious, studied, very pointed. There will still be feats—making it through four rounds of playoff basketball is a feat in and of itself—but they’ll turn solemn, necessary. Energy expended on the floor will have to be accounted for, measured and matched exactly to what is being matched and measured.
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GOSSIP
“I’m not saying this just because Hunter is my friend, but no one writes about pop culture like she does. On more than one occasion, I’ve had my jaw on the floor, wondering how she could write such a pitch-perfect description of some nonsense that only she could describe with such accuracy and precision. Her recent post on everyone’s favorite publicist to Taylor Swift, Tree Paine, in collaboration with Allie Jones of Gossip Time, is no exception”
—Hunter Harris in Hung Up
Jessica Chastain has opened Final Draft herself. Isla Fisher has cleared her schedule (and her home). Anne Hathaway is printing out a binder of stan tweets and Hung Up posts, already months into research for a role she hasn’t booked yet. Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos make eyes across the room: could this be her third Oscar? Christina Hendricks confiscates that Yellowstone lady’s phone. Reese Witherspoon deigned to go brunette for that one season of The Morning Show … she texts her colorist in case he has a shade of vermilion pre-mixed. Debra Messing is also somewhere clearing her throat loudly because even though she was the butt of every fourth Other Two joke, at least she was being talked about. Amy Adams is totally fine. Minding her business, even! Because, to borrow a phrase, Tree is back and she’s sleeping real good at night. Devoted Hung Up readers will recall that Amy Adams will win an Oscar for the Tree Paine biopic and not a moment before.
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FICTION
“As a former public-school-attending, bus-riding kid, I loved reading the pseudonymous Clancy Steadwell’s short story about all the joys and nonsense that come with riding the bus to school with your peers. In case you’re wondering, I was the kid who sat in the front of the bus, row two on the right”
—Clancy Steadwell in Porn Name Pseudonym
As a bus kid, you learn more on the way to and from school than you do at school. Which I guess is a cliched allegory for life: it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.
How quaint, but true.
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FOOD & DRINK
“I must admit: I didn’t make Alison Roman’s famous Caramelized Shallot Pasta until about two months ago. Yes—I own multiple of her cookbooks and have made some of her signature dishes (The Stew) countless times, but I held out on that one for some reason. I think part of the reason I held back was the hype surrounding the dish and everyone telling me I had to make it. I can’t stop thinking about Alison’s recent newsletter on recommendation culture. I’m tired of it, and clearly she is too! I will say, that pasta is damn good”
—Alison Roman in a newsletter
The assumed entitlement that everyone should have the option to have the exact same everything as everyone else has reached a … weird place. Everyone with the same clothes, the same reservation at whatever mid restaurant, the same Instagrammy vacation spot, the same secret summer swimming hole.
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COMICS
“If someone woke you up in the middle of the night and demanded that you tell them what you do for a living or else, what would you say? I always think about this question and almost always hesitate to say I am a Writer with a capital W. I think I’d be quicker to say I am a Sports Gossip Enthusiast than a writer. I guess admitting it to yourself is the first step?! In that case, I loved Zoe’s preview of a comic she made about the perils of describing yourself as a writer and what being a writer means to her, because … as a Writer (!) it hits deep”
—Zoe Si in Zoe Sees
Being a cartoonist makes you a writer, artist, and illustrator at minimum. I’m lucky to get to do all of these things. But I only ever felt comfortable calling myself an illustrator, because it’s a technical skill with obvious practical application, whereas “writer/artist” sounded outrageously fanciful and also seemed to require a degree of self-assurance and personal autonomy I didn’t believe I could possess until super-recently.
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DESIGN
“The premise of Natalie’s newsletter is simple: What is that one frame in a film or television program that you can’t stop thinking about? For one of her recent editions, storyteller Jon Paul Buchmeyer shares how success for him looks like The Mary Tyler Moore Show. As someone who loves specificity, this format scratches the itch”
—Natalie Guevara in Mise-En-Scène
“As a seven-year-old growing up in Dallas, I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about and learning from Mary Richards and Mary Tyler Moore. Week after week, year after year, Mary and her friends and co-workers in the WJM-TV newsroom formed the foundation of my perspective on life. Mary taught me that things work out in the end—just remember to have on a cute outfit when they do. She became my beacon—great job, supportive friends, and an independent, adventurous spirit that led her to strike out on her own in a new city.”
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VIDEO
“You may be surprised (or not) to learn that a war correspondent is well-versed in Kyiv’s bar scene. I loved listening to Peter and journalist Tim Mak’s conversation about covering the war in Ukraine and what makes the perfect Manhattan”
—Peter Suderman in Cocktails With Suderman
I’ve read pre-war accounts of the Kyiv bar scene that call it “cocktail heaven.” More recent reports say the city’s bar scene is still going strong, with a lot of innovation driven by the supply problems and shortages born of war. What happens when the Coca-Cola factory is under attack and you can’t obtain tonic for cocktails? You make your own.
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TRAVEL
“You may be thinking: You just said that you are tired of recommendation culture! This may be true, but if I am going to get travel recommendations from anyone, it’s Yolanda Edwards. Her latest edition from Milan is no exception. From splurge-worthy hotels to the best gelato in Milan, I may need to plan a trip back ASAP…”
—Yolanda Edwards in Yolo Intel
I’ve been coming to Milan for decades, starting when Matt was photographing Salone del Mobile, Milan’s annual furniture and design fair, for Wallpaper* and Grazia Casa, and shooting incredible interior projects like the Fornasetti house on Lake Como. At the time, I had a toddler and spent most of my days in the parks with her, navigating the rough cobblestone streets with a travel stroller. I loved Milan then (the parks are incredible, with little trains, bumper cars and carousels—so much more child-friendly than Rome or Florence!), and I love it now.
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Welcoming Nick Hornby to Substack:
Hello and welcome. I am a novelist, occasional essayist and screenwriter, and I am now well into my seventh decade. And despite my advancing years I am still employed in those fields of endeavour, al…
5 days ago · 110 likes · 23 comments · Nick Hornby
Andy Mills and Matthew Boll—creators of The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling—introduced a brand-new show on Substack about “the strange experience of being human”:
Hi, this is Andy and Matt. We’re the guys who helped create and produce shows like The Daily, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, Crimetown, Radiolab, Rabbit Hole, and many others. We’ve spent much of our careers at places like The New York Times, Spotify and NPR. But now we’re striking out on our own and seeking support from the people—people like you—who…
4 days ago · 18 likes · 3 comments · Andy Mills and Matthew Boll
Dorie Greenspan offered a new paid subscription tier:
Hello! Hello! I’ve written at least six drafts of this letter over the past month and finally decided to just announce some changes to xoxoDorie: After almost three years of writing and after almost 200 posts, I’m moving the newsletter from completely free to a mix of free and paid subscriptions, with more of what you’ve told me you want about food, travel, recipes and the stories that make them come alive. I’m also hoping to put more kindness into the world: Each month, I’ll be donating a portion of the subscription fees…
4 days ago · 69 likes · 64 comments · Dorie Greenspan
Caitlin Dewey relaunched Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends with a new paid tier:
Well, friends: Today is the day. The day I have long promised and threatened. The day on which Links, long a pro bono enterprise, decides to put on its big-girl pants and try to pay its (that is, my) mortgage. Today, after lots of research and thought and conversation with you — you beautiful, eclectic not-quite-strangers — I’m relaunching Links with a …
3 days ago · 57 likes · 13 comments · Caitlin Dewey
More new launches this week:
Coming soon
Congratulations to the following writers celebrating publication.
Food writer Georgia Freedman announces her new book, Snacking Dinners:
 | | Georgia Freedman 9d Some fun professional news (that also explains why my newsletter has been MIA this month): | |  | | |
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Zen priest Cristina Moon shares first looks at her latest book:
 | | Cristina Moon 8d They’re here and they’re beautiful!! | |  | | |
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New York Times Magazine contributing writer Ross Barkan posts about his new novel Glass Century:
There was a great pitcher named Bob Feller who reached the Major Leagues while still in high school and struck out the world. He was a sensation until Pearl Harbor and then he was, like most very young men, fighting in World War II. Feller lost prime years to the war but still ended up in the Hall of Fame. He was known, in retirement, for his cantankero…
2 days ago · 39 likes · 16 comments · Ross Barkan
Melissa Hemsley posts news of her new cookbook, Real Healthy:
 | | Madeline Hill 4mo I've always been fascinated by NFL cheerleaders. What is their life like?! How do they juggle being a professional cheerleader and a job/school?! Auditions?! Well, I chatted with a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader who answered all of my questions. Enjoy! https://www.impersonalfoul.com/p/what-its-like-being-an-nfl-cheerleader | | |
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| | Madeline Hill 3mo Super Bowl Sunday means it’s time to gossip in the group chat… 👀🏈 Come hang! https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/8e5520c0-dfce-42f4-b110-9829057a6d53 | | https://www.impersonalfoul.com | | |
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| | Madeline Hill 2mo I thought a $700 million blurry Instagram post would be enough, but apparently I was wrong! Shohei Ohtani just hard launched his…marriage??? On Instagram??? I investigate this nonsense! https://www.impersonalfoul.com/p/shohei-ohtani-hard-launched-his-marriage | | |
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 | | M. E. Rothwell 10d me: aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrr dentist: i’m not looking in there until you’ve put some trousers on me: | |  | | |
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 | | Wu Fei 吴非 5d A hummingbird just came by while I was practicing music. I had to improvise a song for her before she flew away. | |  | | |
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 | | John Ward 5d A complete story in three parts. | |  | | |
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 | | Rene Volpi 4d Whales are one of those creatures that are just phenomenal to watch. Affluent folks travel between Iceland and Southern Argentina to observe them in action, and study their behaviour. This sweet thing is thanking the fisherman who released her from a tangled harness. Photo by Enniet. | |  | | |
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 | | Gurwinder 5d Using ChatGPT to write everything for you may benefit you in the short term, but in the long term it will cost you dearly, because writing is how you distil your thoughts, refine your beliefs, and make sense of the world. | | |
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 | | Rob Stephenson 3d 6 Handball Walls, NYC | |  | | |
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 | | Amber Tamblyn 5d Ashley Judd and I interrupt your Substack-scrolling to bring you the following important message: You are loved. You are seen. You are heard. You are valued. You know who you are, what your truth is, and no one can take that away from you. No one. You got this. Now continue on with your beautiful day. 🩷 | |  | | |
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Substack Reads is a weekly roundup of writing, ideas, art, and audio from the world of Substack. Posts are recommended by staff and readers, and this week was curated and written by Madeline Hill, who writes Impersonal Foul on Substack. You can follow Madeline on Notes, Instagram, X, and TikTok. Substack Reads is edited from Substack’s U.K. outpost by Hannah Ray.
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