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What's Good Wednesdays

What’s Good Wednesdays™, July 23, 2025

Read: “The House of My Mother” by Shari Franke, the eldest daughter of a Mormon family known for their controversial Youtube channel, 8 Passengers. The channel, created by the Franke family matriarch Ruby, was created in 2015 was originally meant to share the Frankes’ seemingly perfect life. However, it emerged in 2020 that one of the children had been forced to sleep on a beanbag chair for over seven months, so fans grew suspicious. It later came out that Ruby and her friend Jodi Hildebrant had been arrested and later charged with six counts of felony aggravated child abuse of the two youngest children. The House of My Mother dives into the personal, first-hand experience of Shari’s childhood, the twisted, abusive nature of her mother, and how the Mormon church played a large role in both the behavior of Ruby and the creation of the channel. – Hannah

Play: Untitled Goose Game is pure, honking chaos in the best way. You play as a troublemaking goose let loose in a sleepy village, stealing stuff, messing with people, and generally being a menace. It’s light, clever, and full of charm. Perfect when you need a good laugh. Who knew being an annoying goose could be so satisfying and so much fun? – Natalie


Cook: Fresh tomato sauces. Whether you pronounce it “to-may-to” or “to-mah-to,” summer means one thing in the kitchen: it’s tomato season. Just chop a load of this delicious red fruit (yes, they are a fruit, but don’t put them in a fruit salad!) and let it simmer on the stove for a while and you’ll have yourself a delicious sauce that you can pair with your pasta (or zucchini noodles, if you’re gluten free). Obviously, you can – and should – add other ingredients, like onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, or even eggplant to make a pasta alla norma. But keep it simple. It’s really about the tomatoes. – Zac

Watch: Ozzy Osbourne’s last performance of “Mama, I’m Coming Home.” – Alex G

Hot take: An egg bagel is not a bagel. – Zac

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Listen: to RaiNao’s Tiny Desk concert. The artist whom Bad Bunny has called his “favorite artist from Puerto Rico” delivers a captivating blend of reggaeton and mellow electronic beats in this NPR Tiny Desk performance. An alchemist of genres, RaiNao moves effortlessly between sounds and moods. This is a concert I recommend for the drive home [...]
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