0:07
Scientists just debunked a dangerous baby rattlesnake myth
A new study debunks the long-standing claim that baby rattlesnakes are more dangerous than adults. Researchers found that young rattlesnakes can control their venom just like adults, while adult snakes usually inject much more venom and cause more serious bites.
0:22
Scientists found a longevity diet that helped mice eat more and lose fat
Scientists found that a modified Mediterranean-style diet with low protein and just enough methionine helped mice live healthier lives while reducing body fat and frailty. Human data also linked lower animal protein intake to lower rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, suggesting the approach could benefit people as well.
0:40
A hidden immune backup system could supercharge mRNA cancer vaccines
Researchers found that mRNA cancer vaccines can recruit an unexpected immune cell to launch powerful tumor-fighting responses, overturning a long-held assumption about how the vaccines work. The discovery could lead to more effective cancer vaccines and help scientists tailor treatments for better patient outcomes.
0:57
9 July 2026 ~ 3 Good Things
This morning we said goodbye to Felix, the best dog who ever lived. The best creature who ever lived. He was gentle and loving and joyful and we were the luckiest family in the world to have had his calm, steady, loving presence in our home over the last 14.5 years.
Sad does not begin to capture the way we feel. If you have lost a pet, you know.
And also, as I said to my family, the heaviness in our hearts right now is a direct result of the enormity of the love we have felt for and from Felix all these years.
I keep coming back to Mary Oliver’s poem, “In Blackwater Woods,” which concludes with these lines:
"To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go."
I keep coming back, too, to this practice. This practice to return to, to ground me, to remind me that even in sorrow there are points of light. What a gift.
A few of the points of light from this day: to have known the pure uncomplicated love of an animal; kind, caring, capable, and compassionate veterinary care; Marissa brought us flowers this morning; Bennett called to check on us and sent photos from a beautiful place; FaceTime with Lucy; so many people sent us loving messages; polymer clay impressions; hot dogs, and this practice.
We practice on the easy days and we practice on the regular-day days so that we have the muscles to practice on the days when our hearts are heavy.
This this this this this is why we practice.
Thursday:
Queen Bee two days this week.
I got back into the pool for the first time in 3 weeks. I swam slowly, but I did it.
The sky cleared and we took a walk after dinner in sparkly evening light.
Now you? Tell me 3 good things?
Xo.
2:13
Your imagination was hijacked by cortisol. Here's how to take it back.
It’s Friday morning.
You’re in the shower.
The kids aren’t awake yet.
You have maybe four minutes of quiet.
And your brain — instead of resting in those four minutes — is running the 9am meeting, the unanswered text from your mother, the decision you’ve been postponing for three weeks, and a low-grade sense that something is about to go wrong.
No specific threat.
Just the feeling that one is coming.
That’s not anxiety.
That’s not being a worrier.
That’s a brain that has been running on chronically elevated cortisol for long enough that it has restructured itself around threat detection.
And the part of the brain that used to imagine — that used to see possibility, future, rest — has been quietly shrinking to make room for it.
Here’s what chronic cortisol is actually doing to your brain.
Not metaphorically. Structurally.
The hippocampus — the brain region responsible for memory formation, spatial navigation, and crucially, the ability to imagine future scenarios — is one of the most cortisol-sensitive structures in the entire nervous system. It is packed with glucocorticoid receptors. Under acute cortisol exposure, those receptors help the brain learn from threatening experiences. Under chronic cortisol exposure — the kind that runs continuously in a parent whose nervous system never fully returns to baseline — those same receptors trigger a process called dendritic atrophy. The branches of hippocampal neurons retract. The volume of the hippocampus measurably decreases. And with it goes something most people never connect to cortisol:
The imagination.
Not creativity in the artistic sense. The basic human capacity to mentally project into a future that is different from the present. To imagine rest. To imagine possibility. To see the life beyond the immediate threat.
Chronic cortisol doesn’t just make the present feel dangerous.
It makes the future feel inaccessible.
And the deeper problem — the one that explains why standard cortisol advice rarely fully works — is this:
The imagination has been hijacked by threat.
The brain is using its future-projection capacity not to imagine rest or possibility but to pre-run every potential danger. Every unresolved situation. Every conversation that hasn’t happened yet. Every decision that’s been postponed.
Cortisol keeps the brain in a permanent rehearsal of everything that could go wrong.
The fix isn’t relaxation.
It’s reclaiming the imagination from threat.
A mom in this community sent me a message three weeks ago.
“I used to be able to daydream,” she said. “I’d think about holidays we might take, things I wanted to do, how I wanted things to feel. I can’t do that anymore. Everything I imagine is just more of the same stress.”
She wasn’t losing her personality.
Her hippocampus had been running on chronic cortisol for three years without a real recovery window.
The daydreaming didn’t disappear.
It got redirected toward threat.
That redirection is reversible.
But not through thinking harder about it.
What You’ll Learn:
→ 7 daily habits that reverse cortisol’s structural effect on the brain — reordered by the mechanism that makes the reversal possible
→ Why four of them work on the body rather than the mind
→ The unfinished loop technique that stops cortisol running overnight (paid section)
→ The body-based imagination reclaim that most people dismiss as too simple (paid section)
→ Read time: 5 min
The habit that surprises you most is usually the one your nervous system hasn’t received in the longest time.
Start there.
Reordered by mechanism — starting with the ones that work on the body before the mind.
Scrolling is not rest. Netflix while checking texts is not rest. A podcast while doing chores is not rest. The nervous system doesn’t recover during stimulation — regardless of how passive the stimulation feels.
Real rest has one defining characteristic: low input.
The default mode network — the brain’s internal processing system — activates during genuine rest. It is responsible for consolidating memory, processing emotional experience, generating creative thought, and producing the sense of internal coherence that chronic stress erodes. It cannot activate while external stimulation is competing for the same neural bandwidth. Every hour of stimulation disguised as rest is an hour the default mode network didn’t run. An hour the hippocampus didn’t consolidate. An hour the cortisol level didn’t drop as far as it could have.
Stimulation consumed as rest
→ default mode network suppressed
→ emotional consolidation doesn’t occur
→ hippocampal memory processing interrupted
→ cortisol drops less than during genuine rest
→ next day begins with a higher baseline than necessary.
The parent who spends the evening on the couch — technically resting — but consuming content continuously from 8pm to 11pm has given their nervous system three more hours of input when it needed three hours of recovery. The content doesn’t have to be stressful to have this effect.
5:39
Raspberry Sherbet Ice Pops
These Raspberry Sherbet Ice Pops are such a fun little summer treat and honestly couldn’t be easier to make. I love this flavor of Olipop and it tastes even better in ice pop form. The fresh raspberries add extra flavor and texture, and using the Raspberry Sherbet Olipop soda gives them that creamy-fruity flavor with a little fizz before freezing. Plus I found ice pop sleeves on Amazon, so you can make the classic tube style Freezies we all grew up with at home this summer.
Tini’s Tips
Placing the popsicle tube in a cup helps keep it upright and makes filling way easier.
Leave a little room at the top before sealing since the liquid expands slightly when frozen.
Makes about 2 Popsicles
What You’ll Need
1 can Olipop Raspberry Sherbet (increase the amount depending on how many popsicles you want to make)
½ cup of fresh raspberries
Step 1: Prep the Raspberries
Add the fresh raspberries to a small bowl and mash them with a fork until mostly broken down.
Step 2: Fill the Popsicle Tubes
Open a plastic popsicle tube and place it inside a cup to help keep it upright and prevent spilling. Pour in some of the Olipop Raspberry Sherbet soda.
Add a spoonful of mashed raspberries. And then pour in more soda until the tube is almost full.
Step 3: Freeze
Seal or zip the popsicle tube. Freeze overnight until completely solid.
Step 4: Enjoy
Once frozen, enjoy straight from the tube for the easiest nostalgic summer treat!
Xo,
6:39
Midweek gems #65: Affordable Napa Tips (it is doable!)
Hello there!
California’s Napa Valley wine country is dreamy but it’s also expensive. A couple weekends ago, we went to Napa for a friend’s 90th birthday party and we were astounded by the prices. So, I’d leading off with pointers gleaned from our recent experience there.
Do go on Sunday through Thursday when hotel prices tend to be lower. On a Saturday night at the tidy Best Western Plus, we [ahem] paid $400‼️ (tax and fees included); the midweek rate is about $140. Across the street from the BW are an In-and-Out burger, McDonald’s and Raley’s supermarket so you can get snacks and/or breakfast — which are not included in the hotel price. There’s a swankier Hampton Inn nearby. Stay on the edge of Napa to save money and drive a few minutes into Napa central. You’ll have to drive to the wineries anyway!
Don’t overlook the wine bars and restaurants run by the Culinary Institute of America. They are located in Napa at Copia and at the historic Greystone campus on Highway 29 in St. Helena. The wine bars are automated and you can sample what you like from a curated list (you won’t have a bad wine). It’s fun and low-pressure. The CIA restaurants are helmed by student chefs who prepare and serve a la carte and multi-course dinners with wine pairings. The grounds at Copia and Greystone are great to stroll around, too. More about the CIA wine bars and restaurants here.
Very close to Copia is Oxbow Marketplace for fancy-casual food, an outpost of Gott’s Refresher (good burgers), the Model Bakery (sinful English Muffins and more), plus the Fatted Calf (sandwichery, butcher shop, charcuterie). Grab lunch or dinner or make yourself a picnic.
Pop in for lunch at charming Oakville Grocery. Compared to when I first went in the late 1980s, the grocery store is now much more upscale but in a pleasant, casual elegant way. There’s outdoor seating, plenty of parking, and a automated wine bar. Order a sandwich, pizza, or salad or grab a sweet. Buy a split bottle of bubbly and sit outdoors under the shade for a splendid, lazy lunch.
You’ll be hanging out adjacent to Opus One (Mondavi’s ultra luxe winery), a spectacular facility where the “Opus One Experience” costs $250 per person. Less expensive is the Mondavi Estate that just reopened after renovations; tastings and tours are ticketed and worthy, if you’re a wine enthusiast and Mondavi fan.
Buy beans at Rancho Gordo’s official shop! They recently moved to a bigger location on Main Street, where you can peruse their full selection. The staff is super knowledgeable, and I always notice a new bean or two when I go there (versus shopping online for RG beans). Beans make great gifts.
Eat well at Stateline Roadhouse, if you’re in the Kansas City barbecue mood. Stand in line to place your order at the counter and they’ll bring it to your table. Along with the regular menu, check out the specials by chef/co-owner Darrell Bell, who trained in France and has cooked at Michelin-star restaurants in the States. One time, we got a hamachi collar special that was a knockout.
The PTFS community is near and far, which I’m grateful for in unfathomable ways. I write these dispatches and share recipes that I think you’ll want to cook because they’re tasty, fun, and out of the ordinary.
Bob recently shared a special Peking duck dinner with pancakes and salad with the nuoc cham vinaigrette. Duck and lychee with nuoc cham vinaigrette is an idea I’m borrowing! Also, I love how Bob got a duck from Weee! Do you shop at Weee!?
made the apricot ginger jam with ‘cots on the East Coast and reports the results were 💯! I made a second batch and gifted some to the neighbors whose trees I gleaned. The stellar recipe is 🆓 on my website for you to use!
in France made the fresh apricot sauce with his local abricots and loved it. He had fun taking it in many directions.
I’m stoked that my recipes offer you entry points to play with food in ways that you normally wouldn’t. To keep me posted and share photos, comment on my dispatches, or use Substack Notes or Subcriber Chat (better for pics). I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to register for the July 19 cooking class! It’s only 10 days away. Paid subscribers can sign up for a 25% discount with a special promo code (which you can share with friends and family). Details here: 👇
For this upcoming Sunday Special, I’m sharing knowhow for making a Viet street food that’s popular with kids of all ages. I consider us all youthful adults.
9:43
Pasta alla Nerano: Spilled Milk #474
Today’s Newsletter Includes:
Why too much zucchini is actually a pretty good problem to have.
The Italian pasta that turned one humble squash into something unforgettable.
My richer take on Pasta alla Nerano, built after years of eating my way through zucchini season.
What you would be missing out on if you didn’t join me on my trips to Oaxaca and Africa.
If you've ever wanted to see the world through its food, culture and the people who make a place special, I'd love to have you join me. I don't put my name on just any trip. Every one is thoughtfully curated with incredible partners and built around the kinds of experiences you simply can't recreate on your own. The people who've traveled with me have had an absolute blast. So have I. These journeys are one of the most rewarding parts of what I get to do.
Oaxaca is one of the most exciting food destinations on the planet, and this trip is designed to help you experience it beyond the guidebooks. We’ll explore vibrant markets, meet remarkable artisans and cooks, dive into the world of mezcal and share unforgettable meals that tell the story of the region. It’s an immersive experience built with care, curiosity and plenty of fun.
This is one of those trips you’ll be talking about for years. We’ll experience extraordinary restaurants, world-class wines and unforgettable safari adventures while exploring one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. Every detail has been carefully considered to create a trip that is equal parts adventure, discovery and incredible hospitality.
Every summer it happens. Not mosquitos. Not unwanted relatives at the beach house. The zucchini show up.
First it’s a few from the farmer’s market. Then your neighbor leaves a bag on the porch. Then your garden decides to produce enough to feed a small village. We all eventually run out of ideas. Grilling it. Roasting it. Baking another loaf of zucchini bread that nobody really wanted in the first place.
The Italians solved this problem more than 70 years ago.
Pasta alla Nerano isn’t an old peasant recipe that’s been around forever. By Italian standards it’s a modern creation. The dish was officially created in 1952 at Ristorante Maria Grazia, a family-run restaurant in the tiny fishing village of Nerano on the Sorrento Peninsula. According to the family’s story, Donna Rosa improvised the pasta for Prince Pupetto di Sirignano, what a great name, a regular customer who had dropped in for lunch. Whether every detail is exactly true doesn’t matter anymore. The restaurant is still there, the family is still making it and the dish has become one of Campania’s great culinary gifts.
11:33
The best new thing I've eaten this year
Barbara and I went to see an exhibition of photographs by Francesca Woodman at the Gagosian in Rome, including lots of previously unseen images – as if my day could have gotten any better! Then I had lunch, and it did.
We got a taxi to dal Cordaro restaurant, where my friend Rachel had recently had a good meal of sausages poached with beans and scarola (R writes about it here). I ordered the sausages, and then, at the behest of my waitress, ‘verzino con acciughe’ to sate a craving for something like puntarelle which was not in season; it is dressed the same, she told me.
Well, gosh, is all I can say. The modest-looking plate arrived and when I tried it I was transported, I was ecstatic, I looked around me, possessed: everyone else was having it too. So invigorated was I by the cabbage, that I ordered a half portion of pasta Amatriciana afterwards, too.
Next to us a vast wall covered in jasmine boomed out fragrance, and we sat in the abundant shade of grape vines in full leaf; I had drunk some red wine, etc. The waitress watched Barbara so I could go to the bathroom alone, too: such blessings!
Anyway, I made the salad at home few weeks later, guessing at the method – incredible! – and then again this evening – we wanted twice as much! It is a profoundly enlivening dish.
I did half a good-sized sweetheart cabbage for two of us as a side to pasta. It was probably all we needed but we both wanted more. I give instructions below for a whole cabbage.
1 sweetheart cabbage, tough outer leaves and stem removed with a small knife
6 anchovies, plus, if desired, 3-4 to add to the salad
2 good size cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1/2-1 lemon depending on lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and fresh black pepper
Slice the cabbage very finely and sprinkle over 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix it in.
Make the dressing: in a pestle and mortar, bash the anchovies and garlic until a paste with a pinch of salt. Add in the olive oil, then the lemon juice and red wine vinegar. Season with black pepper. Adjust salt, acids and oil to your taste.
Toss the cabbage with the dressing and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes to soften a little in the dressing before eating.
This, with fellow writer Amber Husain, who wrote the brilliant Tell Me How You Eat.
And this panel with author and critic Chitra Ramaswamy, editor of The Skinny’s food magazine GNAW, Peter Simpson, and Ben Mervis, founder of Fare Magazine, talking about all things food writing and publishing.
Come! I’ll be around to chat after in the book tent.
13:20
If I Could Only Eat 10 Things This Summer, It Would Be These
I’m excited to share that the author has rounded up ten recipes they’d happily eat all summer long, each chosen for big flavor, quick prep, and the ability to keep things interesting at the grill or the table. The list is meant to be a practical rotation—nothing fancy, just dishes that hold up well whether you’re meal‑prepping, entertaining, or just looking for a fresh dinner.
A few stand‑outs are the Smashed Cucumber Salad, which combines tangy honey‑Dijon dressing with avocado, feta, dill, and chives in under fifteen minutes, and the Watermelon Feta Salad with candied walnuts, a sweet‑salty mix of fruit, cucumber, red onion, mint, and a honey‑lime glaze. The Miso Crunch Shrimp Salad adds protein and fiber, tossed in a bright miso‑lime dressing and topped with crispy rice that actually gets better the longer it sits. The High‑Protein Tzatziki Chicken Salad delivers about 45 g of protein per serving, tasting like a gyro without any mayo.
For heartier meals, the Street Corn Chicken Power Bowls bring Mexican street‑corn flavors to a satisfying bowl of chicken, smoky corn salad, and creamy dressing. The Ultimate Steak Chimichurri Salad pairs seared ribeye with cucumbers, tomatoes, garbanzos, and a herbaceous chimichurri. Honey Harissa Chicken Thighs offer a smoky‑sweet, slightly spicy glaze, while the Grinder Pasta Salad mixes pasta, mozzarella, pepperoncini, and meats for a
