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On Stands Now!
On Stands Now!

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From a mixtape to a boozy shake: 5 things to try this weekend

  • By Kaci Yoder @kaciyoder, Lauren Heffker

1. If you haven’t yet, listen to the noteworthy podcast “S-Town” while traveling for the Fourth. With celebrations for the Fourth of July underway, you may be headed out of town on a long road trip or flight. To get the most out of your travel time and stay entertained, download a few podcasts to listen to on the way.

One of my faves that I return to time and time again is “S-Town,” from the producers of NPR’s “This American Life” series. Hosted by Brian Reed, “S-Town” attempts to navigate the complicated story of the life of John B. McLemore in seven hour-long episodes. The narrative is controversial, beautiful and evocative, and it goes in unexpected directions that make its journalism feel more like listening to a fiction novel than a biography.

“S-Town” is popular because it demonstrates the purpose of storytelling at its core—to better understand others’ experiences. 

2. Become a minimalist; see what happens. Get rid of your stuff to become happier—that’s the mantra of minimalism. The rapidly growing movement may seem like just a design aesthetic or lifestyle for those who can afford to get rid of their belongings, but its roots lie in gaining freedom from a life of excess. 

The documentary “The Minimalists” imparts that lessening your compulsory consumption habits and attachment to material things will ultimately make you happier. The doc is led by the original minimalists themselves, co-authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.

3. Chill out with some boozy milkshakes. If you’re opting for a laid-back Fourth at home—or feeling ambitious for your cookout—boozy milkshakes are the way to go. Don’t think about the sugar content. Just don’t. Focus instead on how delicious they are until you’re too buzzed to care about whether or not they’re bad for you.

Some recipes that look especially promising: Fruity Pebbles by The Pike Place Kitchen, whiskey praline by The Bewitchin’ Kitchen, caramel peanut butter cup from Life Tastes Good and white-chocolate-covered strawberry from No Spoon Necessary. Bonus: a patriotic boozy shake to keep it thematic.

4. Watch the triumphant and chilling music video for “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” from the Hamilton mixtape. Naturally, a hip-hop Broadway musical full of actors of color about a controversial founding father has become a lightning rod for political news over the past two years. From VP Mike Pence being booed out of the theater to the cast’s performance at the White House, the play has gotten plenty of political mileage.

The latest issue approached by Hamilton creator, Puerto Rican-American and personal fave Lin-Manuel Miranda: a powerful, haunting and defiant music video for the track “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” off his mixtape of remixes and riffs on the play’s original soundtrack. Built around a line shared between Caribbean-born Alexander Hamilton and the French Marquis de Lafayette, the rap track features Riz MC (Pakistani-English actor Riz Ahmed), K’naan (Somali-Canadian), Snow Tha Product (Mexican-American) and Residente (Puerto Rican).

The video is a cinematic, Snowpiercer-nodding trip through a train full of humans living the reality of immigrant (and undocumented) life in America. I’ll stop trying to explain it now—just watch it and see what you think for yourself. (It’s also worth noting that the Snowpiercer inspo likely comes from Hamilton‘s Tony-winning Daveed Diggs scoring the lead on TNT’s upcoming show based on the movie.)

5. Cap off Pride Month 2017 with these vintage photos of the LGBT Rights Movement in San Francisco in the ’70s. In recent years, Pride has become more of a party than a protest, but The Cut’s feature on Daniel Nicoletta, a photographer who documented the Harvey Milk era in San Fran, keeps the roots of the movement in mind.

For more Pride-adjacent content before June’s over, check out NBCOut’s feature on Drag Race winner Sasha Velour and Autostraddle’s hysterical ranking of “lesbian Ken dolls.”