Sarah Sherman, comedian
IN:
- Black licorice
- Googly eyes on everything
- Phone calls
- Trucker hats in every kind of weather
- Huge fake lashes for any occasion
- Regular Coca-Cola
OUT:
- Sour candy
- Athleisure (work out in cargo pants, y’all!!!!)
- Texting, DMing
- The color grey
- Diet Coke
Simon Kim, restaurateur behind Cote Korean Steakhouse
IN:
- Reading in the bath
- Meditation
- Morning hyper-functioning smoothies
- Midtown
- Karaoke
OUT:
- Seed oil
- Plastic
- Tall sandwiches
- Doomscrolling
- Copycats
Jordan Tannahill, writer and director
IN:
- Jeremy O. Harris’s Japanese jail play
- IBS self-diagnosis
- The Bob
- In-person auditions
- Bread with dinner
- Wet Wipes at the rave
- Watching figure-skating in bars
OUT:
- Autism self-diagnosis
- Self-tapes
- Think pieces on the word faggot
- Book covers copying My Year of Rest and Relaxation
- FIFA
- “What’s your rising?”
- Toy movies
Owen Thiele, actor and podcaster
IN:
- Preemptively writing a memoir that no one will read
- Photo Booth on your computer
- Making vlogs that will never be seen by anyone
- Honestly… green apples
- Sharing your nudes with friends
- I don’t want to say any big conglomerates because that would be giving them too much, but a great food service that gets food for you super quickly
- Band-aids
- Dimmers on lights… let’s keep it sexy…
- Balding
- Normalizing UTIs (we should go to lunch with our friends after hot yoga!)
- Wrinkly clothes
- Etsy
- Hiring your friends (if I’m your friend, hire me)
- Good Hang with Amy Poehler
- In Your Dreams with Owen Thiele (but Amy Poehler’s podcast is first)
- Spraying yourself with your fav perfume at Nordstrom’s but not buying it
- Bailey’s
- SponCon
OUT:
- Diffusers
- Foundation (natural skin is in)
- Narcissism (I had to say that so you didn’t think I was one)
- Cherries (they’re just not in season)
- The hidden folder on your phone (if you can’t take the heat, leave the kitchen)
- Cooking
- Ring lights
- Movie stars that book everything (unless you’re Jennifer Lawrence, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and others)
- Graffiti (let the building be)
- Black coffee (you’re lying to yourself)
- Out lists (let’s be positive)
Carlos Soto, theater-maker and designer
IN:
- Reclusion
- Ouvrier-chic
- Blur
- Tweed chiné
- Solo movie matinées
- Patchouli
- Awe
- Candlelight
- Common sense
- Bitter flavors
- Keeping to the schedule
- Smoke signals
- Early to bed/early to rise
- Disappearing
- Eternity
OUT:
- Content
- Expectations
- Aspirational cosplay
- Relatability
- Chasing
- Influence as currency
- Entertainment
- People-pleasing
- The tyranny of attention
- Burning the candle at both ends
- Indecision
- Experiences
- Time
- “Visionary”
- Design by committee
Olivia Nuzzi, writer
IN:
- Good faith
- No occasion at all
- Benevolent capers
- Early ‘60s fender/sax instrumental surf rock
- ‘40s-’50s Cuban jazz
- Grace
- Context
- Nuance
- Open invitation
- Changing your mind
- Celestial time
- Cashmere on the beach
- Silence
- Stillness
- Superstitions
- Rituals
OUT:
- Bad faith
- Hysteria
- Cruelty
- Novelty
- Honorifics
- Greed
- Formalities
- Fast talkers
- Negotiating with terrorists
- Rationalizing the irrational
- Corporate logos marring buildings
- Stadiums etc. named for banks
- Televisions in restaurants
- Hostile architecture
- Hostile lighting
Justin Vivian Bond, artist and performer
IN:
- Road trips with cats
- Yellow cake with pink icing
- Cheap panties
- Expensive bras
- Spontaneous solo trips to the theater
- Knee-highs with shorts
- Calling, not texting
- Espresso tonic
- Paris
- Wild women
- House parties
- Hot tea
OUT:
- Spiritual violence
- Nonconsensual A.I.
- Billionaires
- Barbed wire
- Binaries
- ICE
Alex Tieghi-Walker, founder of TIWA Select
IN:
- Train travel
- Merch
- Saunas
- The Netherlands’s hot gay prime minister
- Digital detox
- Bar snacks
- Yellow taxis
- Pajamas (the moment I step through the door of my home)
- Saving Jimmy’s Corner
- Helena Bonham Carter in The White Lotus
- TALA LED lightbulbs
- Wild swimming
OUT:
- Whatsapp groups
- Sharing plates (time for my own food)
- Political apathy
- Food trends
- Gay pride (the parade; obviously if you’re gay you should totally be proud of it)
- Equinox gym
- The Internet tbh
Maxwell Frost, congressman for Florida’s 10th District
IN:
- Morning walks
- Mutual aid
- Uniqlo pleated wide pants
- Yapping
- Public transit
- Documenting more
- Do not disturb 24/7 (sorry friends)
- Glasses
- Greek yogurt
- Mosh pits
- Exploring Florida lakes
- Joining a union
- Quarter zips
- Yu-Gi-Oh cards
- Magdalena Bay
- Finally working out consistently
OUT:
- Look-alike contests
- Tax breaks for billionaires and mega-corporations
- Rage bait
- Grind culture
- < seven hours of sleep
- Skipping sunscreen
- Detailed five-year plans (or honestly anything more than two years)
- Overconsumption
- Fascism, oligarchy, and authoritarianism
- Buy now, pay later
- Cover letters
- 0.5 selfies
Jinkx Monsoon, actor and performer, most recently in Oh, Mary! on Broadway
IN:
- Absurdist comedy
- Skorts
- Group activities that don’t involve screens
- Making out with friends
- The objective truth
OUT:
- Jelly Sandals
- Red hats
- Adult bullies
- The patriarchy
- White supremacists
Chase Strangio, co-director of the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project
IN:
- Bad Bunny Superbowl Halftime Show
- Whistles to alert community of ICE
- Dance parties with friends
- Hormone therapy for all (we see you taking testosterone cis men AND women)
- Analog
- Unrivaled
- Birthright citizenship
- Fancy dinners
- Lesbians
- WNBA couples
- Justice Jackson writing for the majority
OUT:
- A.I.
- FIFA
- ICE
- Billionaires
- Spotify Wrapped
- Slack
- Nepo babies
- Spirit week at your kid’s school
- Octogenarian politicians
Kat Abughazaleh, writer and candidate in Illinois’s 9th Congressional District race
IN:
- Mutual aid
- Physical media
- Crafting circles
- Unions
- Media literacy
- Democratic socialism
- Public transit
OUT:
- Generative A.I.
- Lookalike contests
- Supporting monopolies
- Elon Musk
- Capitulation under the guise of moderation
- Pickleball
Lukas Gage, writer and actor
IN:
- Moving in silence
- Taking PrEP
- Katseye
- Irish goodbyes
- Being ugly
- Heavy naturals
- Pegging
- Going to the movies
- Rosacea
- Doing things with your hands
OUT:
- Begging for attention
- Posting Deadline articles
- People thinking they are authors or podcasters
- Fake fame-induced mania
- Unboxing videos or anything of that matter
- Aritzia
- Doing press
- Working just to feel like you have purpose
- Saying “renowned” before job titles
- In and out lists
Lucien Smith, artist and restaurateur behind FOOD
IN:
- Pajama sets
- Vivien Ramsay socks
- Airbnb
- Donuts
- Unibrows
- Traveling
- Video games
- Seed oils
- Dumb phones
- Wearing glasses even though you don’t need them
- Fondue
OUT:
- Carbone
- Matcha
- Tapas
- Selfies
- Lines around the block
- Art fairs
- Ibiza
Matt Starr, writer, co-founder of Dream Baby Press, and creative strategist at Substack
IN:
- More shlubby looking sex symbols (Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks, the guy from Bridget Jones’s Diary that isn’t Hugh Grant, etc)
- Learning a hobby with absolutely no productive value
- Feeling bored
- Reading Harry Potter as an adult
- Watching rom coms all year round
OUT:
- Talking about what you’re wearing. To anyone. To any camera
- Attractive people cast as starring roles in rom coms. I don’t believe it
- Competition. It’s not good for anyone
- People making they’re opinions known/having too many opinions
- Logos on clothes
Morgan Bassichis, comedian and writer
IN:
- Sauerkraut
- Left governance
- Lisa Kudrow
- Going to the event
- Becoming a member of an organization
- Twin flame (mine)
- Abolishing ICE
OUT:
- Polyamory unless it’s me
- U.S. funding to Israel
- Slashes in pronouns (pick one!)
- Fascists
- Nightshades, sadly
- Milquetoast democrats
- Saying “What have you been up to?”
Isabel Klee, writer and animal rescue worker
IN:
- Rescuing crusty old dogs
- White wine even in the winter
- Trashy reality TV
- Making fostering animals cool
- Sexy fantasy novels
- Matching sweaters with your pet
- Two-hour naps
- Sleeping with your dog in the bed
- Investing in pajamas
OUT:
- Backyard breeders
- Uncomfortable pants
- Restaurants without bag hooks
- Making your wedding your entire personality
- Not allowing dogs on the couch
- Nonchalant men
- People who hate cats
- Dog breed restrictions in apartments
in your life?