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Welcome back to Thinking Is Cool, the podcast and newsletter here to make your next conversation better than your last. I’m your host Kinsey Grant. If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here.
This week is funky. Today is Thursday, but it sort of feels like Friday because, let’s be honest, no one is getting anything done on the Friday before the first truly celebratory, truly normal long holiday weekend we’ve had in 16 months. So I’m sending my usual Friday email on Thursday. When life hands you vibes, make the most of them.
There’s another reason I’m piping in early, though...the team here at Thinking Is Cool has a major announcement that I can’t wait to unveil.
So I’m not going to. Ready? 3...2...1…
WE HAVE MERCH
At long last, there’s now a way to signal to the rest of the world that you’re someone who values independent thought, creative discourse, stimulating conversation, and corny jokes. The soon-to-be burgeoning Thinking Is Cool merch empire has launched its debut collection, and you’re some of the first people to find out about it.
We have hats. We have stickers. We have photos our ops associate Ali took of me in Soho wearing the hats and using the stickers. We have it all.
And you could have it all too. What do you get when you order Thinking Is Cool stickers and/or a Thinking Cap™?
Well, you get what you ordered, which is hopefully at least one cap and some stickers.
You get to sleep well at night knowing that you’re one of the earliest and biggest supporters of a young, hopeful creative just trying to make it in this world.
You get my undying love and appreciation.
You get to show the world that you’re someone who knows good content when you see it. Doesn’t that sound satisfying? Imagine how cool it’ll be when someone stops you on the street to say, “My, what a breathtaking and expressive hat choice—what is that logo?” and you get to say, “It’s for Thinking Is Cool, a podcast dedicated to making your next conversation better than your last.” To which this stranger will almost certainly respond, “Incredible taste you must have. Your smile, your eyes, your mind—you’re captivating. Can I take you to dinner?”
All that could be yours. Shop Thinking Is Cool merch by clicking here. And let me know what other merch you’d like to see from the Thinking Is Cool team by hitting respond.
That was certainly the biggest news of the day, so I’m going to keep the rest of this email short & sweet. Let’s start with a couple of important programming notes.
I’m going live on Instagram on Saturday at noon eastern. Follow me and pop in at 12pm day after tomorrow to hear more about this week’s episode on the future of political parties and partisan politics in the United States. I’ll be doing this weekend’s live from the Hamptons, so you’ll have to forgive me if 1) I suddenly start the word summer as a verb or 2) one of the girls I’m staying with screams “who wants a mimosa” while I’m on camera.
We’re putting out next week’s episode on Tuesday instead of Monday. Because no one wants to listen to a podcast during a long weekend and I most certainly don’t want to work during one. I’ll say this about Tuesday’s episode—it’s very good, very spicy, and very thought-provoking.
Since this show started, I’ve told you a lot of really great things about our exclusive launch sponsor, HMBradley.
Like how the HMBradley Credit Card1 automatically rewards you more for what you spend on most with 3% cashback on your largest spending category, 2% cashback on your second largest spending category, and 1% cashback on everything else.
And how HMBradley’s Savings Tiers2 have crazy high annual percentage yields and reward you the more you save. And how HMBradley can make your money work for you?
Well...they’re really great people, too. I just met the HMBradley team on my trip to LA and let me tell you—they know their stuff. And when it comes to picking the right place to keep my money? You want people who know their stuff.
Head to hmb.to/ThinkingIsCool to learn more about HMBradley and how to get access to all the best tools for your financial future.
This is a paid endorsement.
Time to talk about what’s going on this week, aside from lots of “no cap / yes cap” jokes at Thinking Is Cool HQ. Let’s dive in (with a brief version of my usual things).
What I’m thinking about this week
The first season of Thinking Is Cool is coming to a bold and perfectly chaotic close in the coming weeks. In fact, after this Tuesday’s episode drops, there will only be two more episodes left in our inaugural season. I’m orchestrating (scheming? plotting?) a perfect way to end this initial run, and let’s just say there will most certainly be some drinking games involved. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram to play along.
What I’m reading this week
Obviously you have to bring a TikTok viral romance beach read when you go to Montauk. It’s more important than getting into Surf Lodge. This time, my choice is Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. So far, so good—I’ll report back once I inevitably finish the book on the neverending train back to Manhattan at the end of the weekend.
What I’m working on this week
Episode 9 of Thinking Is Cool—all about the reopening of the United States in our brave new post-Covid world. I very much wanted this to be an episode in season 1 from the day I decided to go full-time with Thinking Is Cool. To me, it represents so much about what it means to be alive today—the great joy of returning to the lives we once knew coupled with the great anxiety that those lives might not look very familiar. Many of us are simultaneously thrilled to socialize, meet new people, support the hospitality industry, and get back to what we consider to be normal. But at the same time, there’s a great deal of doubt that “normal” is really something we can get back to.
In an effort to both 1) talk through my own pandemic trauma and 2) better understand how the world bounces back from an event as catastrophic and paradigm-shifting as a global pandemic, I’m making this episode about our Great Reopening.
And I want to hear from you—how has your return to “normal” been so far? Do you think getting back to normal is possible? Have you changed over the last year, from the ways you socialize to the ways you go out to the ways you do neither? What’s your experience been like as the world gets back to normal? What are you worried about? What are you excited about? Hit respond and tell me everything.
I can’t wait to hear from you. I hope everyone has a wonderful, enjoyable, and safe long weekend.
’Til next time,
Kinsey
1) The HMBradley Credit Card is subject to credit approval. The HMBradley Credit Card is issued by Hatch Bank under a license from Mastercard. Go to www.hmbradley.com/credit-card-terms to learn more about the Cash Back Rewards Program.
2) Deposit accounts are provided by Hatch Bank, Member FDIC. Interest rates are variable and may change after account opening. Go to www.hmbradley.com/apys to see current rates and the full Savings Tiers terms and conditions.