MAKING THE CUT
We’ve scanned the zeitgeist for what to read, watch, wear and drink now.
1 Streaming
If you missed the first episode of the limited series Gaslit when it premiered on 24 April, fear not. There’s time to catch up on this juicy political thriller based on the Slate podcast Slow Burn: Watergate. Julia Roberts stars as Martha Mitchell, wife of John Mitchell (Sean Penn, above with Roberts), United States President Richard Nixon’s attorney-general. Martha hints in an interview that the 1972 Watergate break-in might be linked to Nixon and his administration. What happens next involves kidnapping, torture and the unravelling of everything American democracy holds dear. Watch the series on Stan.
2 Podcast
Released in February, The Trojan Horse Affair racked up 13 million downloads in less than a month. Produced by the same people who brought us Serial, Trojan Horse retraces events in 2014, when an anonymous letter arrived at the Birmingham City Council in the United Kingdom. Alleged to be the work of Islamic extremists, it outlined a plot to overtake the city’s schools by radicalising the students. The letter was later revealed to be a fake but the damage had been done. Now, almost 10 years later, the producers of Trojan Horse believe something far more insidious was afoot.
3 Style
Long live Woodstock – tie-dye is here to stay. The late designer Virgil Abloh’s Off White hoodie (above, $1100; marais.com.au) features a similar aesthetic. Australian label Aje has released a dramatic teal ombre maxi dress (ajeworld.com.au) and
Stella McCartney goes full commune in a swirly citrushued jumper and shorts set (stellamccartney.com).
4 Gadget
You got a puppy during lockdown and now you’re returning to the office. But who’s watching doggo? Well, you can. Many commuting pet owners will be familiar with the Furbo dog camera (above, $359; shopau.furbo.com), which was originally released in 2018 but has a whole new relevance. It comes with a bark alert (that’ll keep the neighbours happy), an infrared camera and even a treat dispenser. You just connect it to your phone via an app so you can chat to your furry friend (or tell them to get off the couch).
5 Drink Never Never Distilling Co.
(neverneverdistilling.com.au) was recently announced as the winner of World’s Best London Dry Gin and Best Distiller at this year’s World Gin Awards, beating 30 other distillers from across the globe. Not bad for an operation that began less than five years ago in a shed in Port Adelaide.
6 Beauty
For decades, it was all about exfoliating, acid peeling and sloughing off dead skin cells. Now the backlash: you’ve got to maintain the barrier – that top layer of skin also known as the acid mantle – because it’s responsible for moisture retention. Two new products claim to help: the Tasmanian Spring Water Intense Hydrating Mask from Sand & Sky ($48; au.sandandsky.com) and Sisley’s
All Day All Year Anti-aging Day Care moisturiser (above, $495; sisleyparis.com). Both aim to build on that barrier by hydrating and protecting the skin.
7 Book
Finally, a vegetarian cookbook just as wild and exciting as its carnivorous contemporaries. In The Forest Feast Road Trip, Erin Gleeson takes the reader through her home state of California, from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite National Park, cooking up 100 vegetarian dishes in picturesque cabins amid glorious scenery. In bookstores on 19 May.
8 Movie
Top Gun: Maverick, the hotly anticipated sequel to 1986’s
Top Gun, reunites the title character (Tom Cruise, above) with Iceman (Val Kilmer), only this time Maverick is the one teaching all the tricks. One new recruit happens to be Bradley (Miles Teller), the son of Goose, Maverick’s fighter pilot partner, who was killed in the original. It proves a trigger for the veteran airman, forcing him to rethink the past. Co-starring Jennifer Connelly as Maverick’s new love interest and with Jon Hamm as a vice-admiral, viewers are sure to regain that loving feeling when it lands on 26 May.