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.”
