What's Good Wednesdays
May 13, 2025
Watch: “Adolescence.” This four-part Netflix miniseries follows a 13-year-old boy in a northern English town who is arrested on suspicion of murdering a girl in the year above him. Though the pilot centers on the arrest and the boy’s day in custody, this isn’t a murder mystery. It’s about the myriad challenges that parents face as their children live alternative lives online, with their own ecosystem and own language. It’s a harrowing picture of the modern world, but essential viewing at a time when figures like Andrew Tate – who is referenced directly in one of the episodes – proliferate online. – Zac
Glance: Can a millennial pass the vibe check with Gen Alpha? Bet. Xiaoma, the 34-year-old polyglot who became an online sensation years ago for his language abilities, delivered an address to a group of schoolchildren in West Chester, Pennsylvania, using their own dialect. He lowkey slaps, no cap.
Purchase (preferably second-hand): A pogo stick. One trip to a random apartment in Park Slope and a $10 Venmo transaction later, I am the proud owner of a pogo stick – and no purchase ever made me feel like I leveled up in life. I took it to Washington Square Park and was immediately flocked by other adults wanting to take it for a spin and rediscover the childhood joy of defying gravity. Catch me boing boinging around Brooklyn. – Riley
Hot take of the week: “The cheaper the pickle, the better the taste.”
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping, ahead of a bilateral meeting in Beijing, China, on January 29, 2026.
Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS
This week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer became the first UK leader to visit China in eight years. His goal was clear: build closer trade ties with Beijing.
Igmel Tamayo carries charcoal to sell on the side of a road for use as cooking fuel in homes, after US President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching the island as Cubans brace for worsening fuel shortages amid regular power outages, on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, on January 12, 2026.
REUTERS/Norlys Perez
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