Well Rounded (Issue 6)
Article recommendations on technology, business, architecture, fashion, and ideas.
Welcome to Well Rounded, a series in the newsletter where I curate a catalog of hyperlinks I recently found to be insightful and interesting on a diverse range of topics—from business to self-improvement to popular culture. Subscribe here for free to get future editions delivered straight to your inbox.
Hello everyone. I hope you had a wonderful week thus far. Earlier this week, I announced my little postcard project and sent off the first three card to members of the community who signed up; 2 to the States and 1 off to Switzerland. I’m excited to share what they’ll write in a few weeks time and I’ll be sending another card in the next issue of the Zeitgeist. It will be free, worldwide. I hope to see you participate!
In other exciting news, I have a guest on the conversation series next week to talk about menswear fashion so I’m stoked for that. Get your wallets ready because there’s going to be a bunch of great recs.
Finally, today, for this sixth issue of Well Rounded, I’ve expanded to include more links and a cover a wider range of topics. New York Magazine’s been killing it with their content lately, so you’ll see a lot of that. I hope these recommendations will keep you entertained and occupied this weekend! Happy reading (+ watching) !
A Great Story: “How to get your ass kicked” by Austin Tedesco on Substack
I enjoyed this read by Substacker Austin Tedesco, in which he detailed his journey of working in a professional kitchen for the first time, having only been in corporate media in the past. Fast-paced and written in The Bear-esque format, the story follows cold emails and painful learnings through trial and error, before reflecting upon personal growth during his time there.
“During dinner, the clock ticks incredibly quickly. A 5:30 opening turns into a 7:30 rush which turns into a final 9:45 push in no time. At brunch you can’t look at the clock. You’re hungover and you’re convinced you’re frying chicken for the worst people in Brooklyn and oh shit you just looked at the clock and there’s still three hours left.”
Technology: “Is Reddit the Future of Crisis Comms?” from NYMag’s Intelligencer
Last week, The White House joined Reddit, a rather unexpected move. Their first post reads “President Biden holds a briefing on Hurricane Milton preparation and Hurricane Helene response” alongside a related picture in the Roosevelt Room—which I learned about in the comments—and has garnered 27k upvotes. The reason? As written in the New York article:
“Traditional media is fragmented and its audiences are diminished and hyperpolarized. Lots of people are watching TV but not the TV you need them to watch; everyone’s looking at their phones, but they’re not receiving your messages.”
Ideas: “Should You Just Give Up?” from The New Yorker
“In Phillips’s view, we have a bias against giving up […] “Heroes and heroines are people who don’t give up,” he writes. And yet tragic heroes are tragic precisely because they never give up; hell-bent on their purposes, they pursue them until they destroy themselves.”
Business: “The Rise of $40,000 Gym Memberships” from The Economist
The luxury gym chain Equinox launched their “Optimize” membership earlier this May, priced at $40,000 per year. “The plan includes blood tests, a sleep coach and a nutritionist, as well as access to the group’s swanky clubs.”
“ “Five years ago, if you asked someone why they used the sauna they would have said, ‘It feels quite nice’,” says its [Third Space, a high-end gym group] boss, Colin Waggett. Now they talk about “recovery, sleep and mental well-being.” ”
On the sleek black-themed Equinox website, every page is filled with fitness and wellness terminology that I have a hard time grasping. Personal training at Equinox is “more than training, it’s the first-of-its-kind, data-driven and expert led path to unlocking your absolute best and achieving extraordinary results.”
I also think it’s worth nothing that not all memberships are priced in the thousands at Equinox. A club access in Downtown LA is $252/month, while an access pass to all clubs worldwide is priced at $405 monthly.
Architecture: “Memoirs of a Perfectly Imperfect Fourth-Floor Walk-up” from NYMag’s Curbed
This is less so a read than something to see, but I really like the look of this apartment in Manhattan. It reminds me a lot of Bode; crafted by hand, rich in heritage, and trinkets collected from all over to form a cohesive whole. The apartment is not perfect (“Here, until his lease ran out this month, the stairs were so narrow and steep that, try as the movers might, all his furniture lugged out of storage just wouldn’t fit.”), but the off-white walls and wooden beams, along with curated items that decorates the space makes the house of Alex Tieghi-Walker feels cozy with a touch of personality.
Fashion: “Bottega’s Child’s Play for a Sophisticated Mind” from NYMag’s The Cut
If there’s one high-fashion brand that’s been piquing my interest lately, it’s Bottega. The figures they recruit for their campaigns are great fits for the brand’s persona: Jacob Elordi, Kendall Jenner, and ASAP Rocky. Under the creative direction of Matthieu Blazy at the Spring 2025 show, NYMag’s Cathy Horyn writes:
“Knowing in advance that he [Blazy] was after a sense of wonder, I was curious how he would pull that off. Would I feel it? […] Well, I did feel it about midway into the fast-paced show. […] The wonder was ultimately in how Blazy and his team conceived and styled the clothes, with many of the looks and gestures corresponding to a feeling we relate to moments in our lives and thus the passage of time.”
Bonus (video): “Andrew Garfield | Chicken Shop Date” with Amelia Dilmoldenberg on Youtube
This would’ve gone on the next issue of The Zeitgeist, but I’m impatient and I think it’s a mandatory watch. I’ve written in the past that I love Amelia’s Chicken Shop Date series. My favorite date varies from time to time. Two days ago, it was the Sabrina Carpenter one (The end gets me every time). But yesterday, a new date was uploaded and I now can’t stop smiling at the screen. The chemistry between Andrew Garfield (AKA Spider man) and Amelia is real. As described in the comment section of the video, one user wrote, “This is better than any Netflix rom-com I've watched.” Even Amelia couldn’t hold her usual awkward composure. Highly recommend you watch for the laughs and love.
Thank you for reading the fifth issue of the Well Rounded series. Feel free to subscribe to support future editions and get them delivered into your inbox! Have a great day, and I’ll see you next week!
-CS
How to get your ass kicked was a great read!