Substack Reads: The double exposure effect, a mustard obsession, and the color of Neptune
Hello and welcome to another edition of Substack Reads. This week, Substack writers dive headfirst into curious phenomena, including Gregg Kilday on Oscar nominations, Chloe List on the history of mustard packaging, Stephen Fry on the predictability of human behavior, Tahirah Hairston on the roots of personal taste, and Erik Hoel on what the real color of the planet Neptune tells us about science, and ourselves. We hope you enjoy it!
ENTERTAINMENT
The double exposure effect
What happens when nominees have two great performances out at the same time? History has the answer, writes Gregg Kilday
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Despite the urge to declare races over even as they’ve just begun, there is the matter of what former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld liked to call the “known unknowns.” Ostensibly, the acting Oscars honor individual performances in specific films. It’s not always that simple, though. An actor’s overall career can come into play, whether it’s rewarding a veteran for the latest in a string of impressive performances or hailing a newcomer who shows exceptional promise. There’s the matter of how charming—friendly, engaging, grateful!—a nominee comes across while working the awards circuit. And then there’s also what could be called the Double Exposure Effect, the extra praise that’s heaped on a performer earning added kudos for other films or TV shows that appear simultaneously alongside an Oscar-nominated turn.
DESIGN
The mustard issue
In her newsletter on packaging design this week, designer and packaging obsessive Chloe List turns to a favorite: mustard
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Grey Poupon was founded in 1866. Colman’s was founded in 1814. Maille was founded in 1747! I didn’t know just how old these legacy brands were until I started researching this letter, but after digging further, it’s not all that surprising. Mustard as a spice is one of the earliest on record, appearing in Sanskrit manuscripts around 3000 BCE, and mustard as a condiment dates back to the early Romans. I’d love to see how they were storing this colorful condiment back then, but I’m quite pleased with how these brands are jarring it today. Per usual, this is one of my favorite categories in this deep dive because of that whole “timeless cool” thing that always wins for me when it comes to packaging design. Side note, I’m now obsessed with vintage mustard pots.
CULTURE
The one and the many
Stephen Fry takes us inside his mind through expert storytelling—this week covering the masses, arithmetic, and the point at which he knew Hillary Clinton wouldn’t win against Trump in the 2016 presidential race
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Groups are weird. They behave in the oddest manner. Predictably, for one. Predictably, like groups of people who come to the theatre, but predictably in weirder ways too.
Imagine you have a group of 20 randomly chosen people. You study this group and discover that differing personality types have emerged. Not surprising. There’s The Clown—a joker who just can’t stop themselves trying to raise a laugh. There’s the quietly charismatic Natural Leader. There’s The Loudmouth, who thinks they should be leader. There’s The Shy One. The Complainer, who moans about everything. There’s The Kindly Empathetic One. There’s The Bossy One. The Quibbler. The Bickering One. The Know All. The Rebel. The Sneaky Sycophant. And so on. If you’ve seen an episode of Big Brother, The Traitors or similar, you will know what I mean.
FASHION & BEAUTY
On taste
In her new Substack, Tahirah Hairston analyzes the roots of her sense of style, and confidence
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My father, a drug dealer, General Motors assembly line worker, and member of a Detroit rap group called Street Lordz, taught me about dressing for myself. He was always the best dressed, with a preference for Lou Myles suits, alligator loafers, Coogi sweaters, and Cartier gold-rimmed frames. His love language was material, exposing me to designer brands and to the importance of building a relationship with your salesperson. A tall, dark-skinned, big-bodied man, my father commanded attention, and time spent with him usually involved being seen. We’d shop at the Gucci store (where, at one point, he was dating one of the saleswomen) or Neiman Marcus or Saks, despite skeptical onlookers, and he’d spend thousands of dollars both because he had an affinity for nice things and something to prove.
I vividly remember the black-and-silver velour Sean Jean tracksuit he bought me. I told him I couldn’t wear it, that it was too baggy and for boys. He told me I could wear anything I wanted and to trust him, this would look fly. (The response from my classmates proved him right.) At the time, I was about 13 years old; I didn’t understand the impact mere shopping trips with my father had on my sense of self. But seeing my dad flaunt his style and, to my knowledge, not care what anyone thought about it, informed my confidence. Overhearing my Uncle Skeet and Uncle Sean recounting the outfits he wore to weddings or to the club were moments that made me think he was so cool. It was my first understanding of what it meant to shamelessly revel in standing out.
COACHING
The most important coaching challenge of my life
He was half a world away from home when Wake Forest basketball coach Steve Forbes got some shocking news from his daughter. Now he is coaching the fight of their lives
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He thought it was a butt dial.
On the night of August 8, Steve Forbes was riding a minibus at Camp Arifjan, the U.S. Army installation in Kuwait, when he felt his cellphone vibrate. Forbes, the men’s basketball coach at Wake Forest, was there for Operation Hardwood, a program that sends a group of former and current college coaches to military bases so they can coach servicemen and -women through a tournament and give them a little taste of home. Forbes and his fellow coaches were on their way to a late dinner. When he pulled his phone from his pocket, he saw that it was his daughter, Liz, calling from home. Forbes figured it was a mistake and let it go to voicemail.
A few minutes later, Liz sent a text message saying they needed to speak. Steve stepped off the bus and called her back. Liz was more than 7,000 miles and nine time zones away, but the message came through all too clear.
“I think Mom had a stroke.”
SCIENCE
The bleeding color of Neptune
Erik Hoel writes about the planet’s draining color, and its effect on our long search for meaning
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Neptune, it turns out, isn’t actually blue. A few months ago, scientists bid us say farewell to its cerulean skies, say goodbye to its signature hues on glossy pages and in movies. We were fooled from when Voyager 2 slingshotted past the planet in the 1980s; the resultant widely publicized color photographs were actually composites, put together in a way it’s not a stretch to call propaganda.
Here’s the real Neptune—a milky orb nude and sickly, a blind eye. The planet now looks just as unmemorable as Uranus (which, by the way, has lost most of its supposed green as well). No, instead of Superman blue, Neptune is an interstellar cataract.
MEMOIR
The monster within
During Covid-19 lockdowns, writer and cartoonist Carolita Johnson became a live-in caretaker for her estranged mother, and started a journey of creative discovery
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It so happened that my mother, nearly 87 and all alone in the house since my father’s death a year earlier, began making it clear to my brothers that because she was falling down a lot, and also because the house was haunted by my vengeful father playing loud music in the basement (with other miscellaneous spirits tramping through the house at all hours), she wanted someone to live with her.
It went without saying that it wasn’t going to be either of my brothers, not even the one who would have benefited most from living rent-free, and who had been the most devoted to her all his life. Even he, and I quote, “would rather be dead than move in with her.” Our other brother, having finally settled down after three decades of serial monogamy, wasn’t about to leave his long-desired life behind, though, had he been available… Well, let’s just say lucky for him and his partner, it’s a moot point.
I understood. My mother is a monster.
Recently launched
Coming soon
Congratulations to the following writers celebrating publication.
offers the first chapter of her debut, Unruly Figures, which came into being as a result of her Substack of the same name. The book comes out next month and is available to preorder:, of , announces his new semi-autobiographical illustrated novel:’s new book, On the Edge, will be released in August:’s book This American Ex-Wife will be published in two weeks, and can be preordered now: shows readers of his new book, available to order globally:
New & noteworthy
shares news of a competition for short-story writers:And finally, readers expressed their appreciation for Substack’s Writer Office Hours, which wound down this week on its 100th edition:
Inspired by the writers featured in Substack Reads? Writing on your own Substack is just a few clicks away:
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 curated and edited from Substack’s U.K. outpost by Hannah Ray.
Got a Substack post to recommend? Tell us about it in the comments.
Wonderful roundup and lovely seeing Sarah Miller’s comment about Office Hours.
Awesome reads for the weekend.
If you are a beginner and looking for something different to improve and grow your subscribers then I leave this here. Have a rocking Weekend!
https://open.substack.com/pub/raisini/p/from-zero-to-100000-subscribers-the?r=aegif&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post