Summer – Our Story Insight

Jenny Han is Not Done Yet! More THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY and TO ALL THE BOYS is on the Way

admin — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 13:48:03 +0000

The project is still in early stages. Han told Elle UK that she is still in the process of writing the script. So we don’t have any release date yet, and we can only speculate about what Han means by “another milestone.”

Meanwhile, Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has been adapted into a graphic novel! A decade after its original release, Han’s beloved YA romance story has been adapted by Barbara Perez Marquez and illustrated by Akimaro and Li Lu.

“I’m so excited for Lara Jean’s story to live in this new medium,” Han told People. “It was a delight working with artists Akimoro and Li Lu and adaptor Barbara Perez Marquez to get this just right.”

Whether you’ve read the book or have seen the movies or will be experiencing the story for the first time, this new version of Lara Jean’s journey to love is sure to capture your heart. And we do have a release date for this one! You can preorder the graphic novel now, and it will be available everywhere books are sold on May 5, 2026.

Jenny Han fans, we will continue to update you on all the upcoming adaptation news as it becomes available! In the meantime, make sure you subscribe to Book Radar for all the book news delivered right to your inbox.

The post Jenny Han is Not Done Yet! More THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY and TO ALL THE BOYS is on the Way appeared first on Our Story Insight.

» Lyndal Roper’s Summer of Fire and Blood has won the 2025 Cundill History Prize.

admin — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:36:59 +0000

Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants’ War by Lyndal Roper, an excellent new history of one of the largest popular uprisings before the French Revolution, won this year’s Cundill History Prize and its $75,000 prize. The award, which is administered by Montreal’s McGill University, is given to “a work of outstanding history writing” and boasts the largest purse for a non-fiction book in English.

Lyndal Roper is the Regius Professor of History at the University of Oxford, and has written books about Martin Luther and the sixteenth and seventeenth century “witch craze” in Baroque Germany. Summer of Fire and Blood is “told through the voices of the peasants” who fought and died in the doomed rebellions of 1524-1525. Roper brings to life this often misunderstood “mass movement inspired by the radical principles of the Protestant Reformation” and “shows that the uprising was one that expressed early ideas of justice, communal decision-making, and resistance to arbitrary power.”

Ada Ferrer, this year’s jury chair and a professor of history at Princeton, praised Roper’s analysis as “stunning and multifaceted, seamlessly weaving together cultural, intellectual, social, economic and religious history into a rich and engaging narrative.”

Roper’s book was selected from an impressive shortlist and two other finalists, Marlene L. Daut’s The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe and Sophia Rosenfeld’s The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, will each be awarded $10,000.

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Barack Obama Releases Summer 2025 Reading List

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 23:55:23 +0000

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Book Riot Editorial is made up of passionate readers, writers, and book lovers dedicated to delivering insightful book recommendations, literary analysis, and the latest in book culture. With expertise spanning multiple genres and a deep understanding of the publishing industry, we offer thoughtful commentary, book deals, and news that matters to readers. Whether it’s uncovering hidden gems, analyzing literary trends, or championing diverse voices, Book Riot’s editorial team is here to keep you informed and inspired.

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As has been tradition every year, Barack Obama shared his summer reading list on social media this week. The list showcases his usual mix of fiction and nonfiction, and it shows off an interest in both books that have been popular and some that are lesser-known.

This year, we’ve got a couple of heavy hitters when it comes to titles already seeing critical acclaim and award talk. There’s a biography of an American literary legend, as well as a work of nonfiction that’s generated a lot of social media discourse–positive and less-so. And genre? President Obama’s got some of that in his reading life this summer, too.

Here’s the list:

The former President Obama also shared that when the Obama Presidential Center opens next year, there will be a new branch of the Chicago Public Library on site.

Today In Books

Check out some of former Reader-in-Chief Obama’s past reading lists, including his 2024 summer reading list, his 2023 summer reading list, his 2022 summer reading list, and his summer 2021 reading list.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

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Gallagher taps pro athletes for summer insurance internships

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 02:05:54 +0000

Insurance firm Gallagher is tapping into a new kind of summer intern: professional athletes.

Last year, the insurance giant expanded its internship program to offer positions to pro athletes, giving them a pathway to prepare for life after sports. In return, Gallagher discovered the stars also tend to shine off the field.

“They know what it’s like to work hard and how long that path is to get to success,” said Chris Mead, Gallagher’s chief marketing officer. “They know what it’s like to be part of a team and how to lead one.”

This year Gallagher opened the program to eight members of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Stars. Leilanni Nesbeth and Chardonnay Curran, a current and former midfielder with the team, respectively, jumped at the opportunity for a paid internship.

“It means a lot for us to be able to get our foot in the door,” Nesbeth said in an interview with CNBC.

“I’ve never had a job outside of soccer,” said Curran. “Being a pro soccer player was my first career, and I’ve never been in a corporate setting.”

Chardonnay Curran, then of the Chicago Stars FC, before a game between Chicago Stars FC and North Carolina Courage at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park on May 17, 2025, in Cary, North Carolina.

Gregory Ng/isi Photos | Isi Photos | Getty Images

Gallagher started its Partnership Intern Program for athletes in 2024, piloted with four players from the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

Over six weeks, participants gain business experience, professional skill development and career mentorship, while also learning the ins and outs of insurance brokerage, sales and corporate culture.

Gallagher, a sponsor of the Chicago NWSL team, tailors its internship program for the athlete participants to accommodate their demanding schedules.

For many, that support is crucial. Pro sports careers can be short and unpredictable, and earnings can vary widely. The average NWSL salary is about $125,000 per season, according to the league.

Gallagher’s goal is to prepare athletes for what comes next.

“We went in there knowing nothing about insurance, and now I could probably bore your head off about RPS,” Nesbeth joked, referencing an industry term meaning “risk placement services.”

Leilanni Nesbeth takes a shot on goal during a game between the Chicago NWSL team and Bay FC at PayPal Park on May 5, 2024 in San Jose, California.

Karen Hickey/isi Photos | Isi Photos | Getty Images

For Curran, it was about changing preconceived notions about the insurance industry.

“After doing the internship, everything I thought about insurance was the exact opposite,” she said.

Curran and the Chicago Stars mutually agreed to part ways days after she spoke with CNBC.

Mead said Gallagher has gone on to hire some of the athlete interns as employees when their playing careers are over.

He said in Europe, the company employs a professional rugby player who is one of its star salesmen.

“There’s a time when the light bulb goes off and they see how celebrating a win on the pitch is no different than celebrating a win after a sale or doing something wonderful for a customer,” Mead told CNBC.

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Coverage off the field

Ties between insurance and professional sports are not new.

For years, State Farm has run catchy commercials featuring former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, former Indiana Pacers shooting guard Reggie Miller, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark of the WNBA and a host of others.

On Monday, AIG announced it was becoming the first Fortune 500 company to take a stake in an EFL League Two club, with an investment in Salford City Football Club in the U.K.

Nationwide, an NWSL partner, also runs a similar internship program with league players, offering them a professional development program at the insurance company’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.

“Our hope is that the players walk away with new skills and experiences that may serve them now and in their post-playing careers, perhaps back at Nationwide,” said Jim McCoy, vice president of sports marketing for Nationwide.

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Summer travel isn’t as easy as it used to be for airlines

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 11:59:32 +0000

People move through a crowded JFK International Airport days before the 4th of July holiday on July 02, 2024 in New York City. As the summer travel season takes off, millions of Americans and tourists are experiencing long delays and congestion at airports, train stations and on highways. July is the busiest month of travel in the U.S.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Making money in the summer is not as easy as it used to be for airlines.

Airlines have drawn down their schedules in August for a variety of reasons. Some travelers are opting to fly earlier, in June or even May, as schools let out sooner than they used to. Demand for flights to Europe has also been moving from the sweltering, crowded summer to the fall, airline executives have said, especially for travelers with more flexibility, like retirees.

Carriers still make the bulk of their money in the second and third quarters. But as travel demand has shifted, and in some cases customers have become altogether unpredictable, making the third quarter less of a shoo-in moneymaker for airlines.

Change of plans, pricier tickets

Airline planners have been forced to get more surgical with schedules in August as leisure demand tapers off from the late spring and summer peaks. Labor and other costs have jumped after the pandemic, so getting the mix of flights right is essential.

Carriers across the industry have been taking flights off the schedule after an overhang of too much capacity pushed down fares this summer. But the capacity cuts are set to further drive up airfares, which rose 0.7% in July from last year, and a seasonally adjusted 4% jump from June to July, according to the latest U.S. inflation read.

U.S. airlines’ domestic capacity is down 6% in August from July, according to aviation data firm Cirium. The same period last year, they cut domestic capacity just over 4% compared with just a 0.6% downsize between the months in 2023, Cirium said. From July to August in 2019, airlines cut 1.7% of capacity.

Carriers that bet on a blockbuster year were left disappointed earlier in 2025 when consumers weighed President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs and economic uncertainty. To attract more customers, many airlines slashed prices, even for flights in the summer peaks in late June and July.

Demand has improved, airline executives said on earnings calls in recent months, but carriers including Delta, American, United and Southwest last month lowered their 2025 profit forecasts compared with their sunnier outlooks at the start of the year.

Further complicating matters, some travelers have been also waiting until the last minute to book flights.

“It really was, I would say, middle of May, when we started seeing Memorial Day bookings pick up,” JetBlue Airways President Marty St. George told investors last month. “We had a fantastic Memorial Day, much better than forecast, and that really carried into June. But it does have the feeling of people just waited a long time to make the final decisions.”

There’s always next year

Now, some airlines are already thinking about how to tackle ever-changing travel patterns next year.

“Schools are going back earlier and earlier but what you also see is schools are getting out earlier and earlier,” Brian Znotins, American Airlines‘ vice president of network planning and schedule, told CNBC.

Public schools in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, returned on Aug. 5, and Atlanta public schools resumed Aug. 4. In 2023, more than half of the country’s public school students went back to classrooms by mid-August, according to the Pew Research Center.

Southwest, with its Texas roots, ended its summer schedule on Aug. 5 this year, compared with Aug. 15 in 2023. American, for its part, is shifting some peak flying next year.

“We’re moving our whole summer schedule change to the week before Memorial Day,” Znotins said. “That’s just in response to schools letting out in the spring.” Those plans include additions of a host of long-haul international flights.

“We are a year-round airline,” he continued. Znotins said the carrier has to not just make sure there are enough seats for peak periods, but know when to cut back in lighter quarters, like the first three months of the year.

“For a network planner, the harder schedules to build are the ones where there’s lower demand because you can’t just count on demand coming to your flights,” Znotins said. “When demand is lower, you need to find ways to attract customers to your flights with a good quality schedule and product changes.”

American said its schedule by seats in August was on par with July in 2019, but that this year it was 6% lower in August from July.

American forecast last month it could lose an adjusted 10 cents to 60 cents a share in the third quarter, below what analysts are expecting. CEO Robert Isom said on an earnings call that “July has been tough,” though the carrier says trends have improved.

The capacity cuts, coupled with more encouraging booking patterns lately, are fueling optimism about a better supply and demand balance in the coming weeks.

“The mistake some airlines make, you tend to try to build a church for Easter Sunday: You build your capacity foundation for those peak periods and then you have way too many [employees],” said Raymond James airline analyst Savanthi Syth.

She said it was unusual to see airlines across the board pruning their summer schedules before even the peak period ended, but she is upbeat about demand, and fares, going forward.

“Time has passed and people are getting a little more certainty on what their future looks like and they’re more willing to spend,” she said.

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Real estate startup Runwise is taking on record heat this summer

admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 15:01:04 +0000

Runwise co-founders (L-R) Jeff Carleton, Lee Hoffman and Mike Cook.

Courtesy of Runwise

A version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

As brutally high temperatures bake the nation this summer, cooling is becoming increasingly critical across commercial real estate property portfolios. Landlords are balancing soaring demand with rising costs, putting energy efficiency front and center.

The trouble is that most large building systems essentially run blind. Temperatures are set centrally, so they don’t know if certain parts of the building are running too hot or too cold. That’s why so many office workers sit at their desks wearing sweaters in the summer and then feel overheated in the winter.

Now, new technology is taking on the challenge. Runwise, a New York-based technology company, invented its own hardware/software platform to eliminate overheating in large buildings. It recently expanded that to cooling.

“We’re trying to hit these climate goals, yet right in our literal building we’re throwing money away every time you run a boiler when it doesn’t need to run, you’re wasting money and you’re producing carbon emissions unnecessarily that really make nobody comfortable,” said Jeff Carleton, co-founder and CEO of Runwise.

The Runwise desktop app.

Courtesy of Runwise

The company combines future weather algorithms with a wireless temperature sensor network that speaks to a Runwise central control system. That control analyzes the data and then operates the system more efficiently.

For example, a 100,000-square-foot building may have just one boiler, but it needs multiple temperature inputs. Runwise would put in 20 to 25 sensors, which take an average based on the user setting and future weather, and then figure out how often to run the boiler.

The tech is now installed in more than 10,000 buildings across 10 states, with roughly 1,000 customers, including major real estate owner-operators such as Related, Equity Residential, FirstService Residential, MTA, Port Authority, National Grid, Rudin, LeFrak, UDR, Douglas Elliman and Akam. Runwise claims to have collectively saved more than $100 million in energy costs to date.

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The startup recently announced a $55 million Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures, bringing its total funding to $79 million. Other backers include Nuveen Real Estate, Munich Re Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Multiplier Capital, Soma Capital and Fifth Wall.

Carleton said Runwise will use the additional funding to grow the business nationwide and, of course, to incorporate artificial intelligence into its systems.

“It’s only going to become more and more ingrained in what we build, as we collect data from more and more buildings and build more advanced models on how to run them more efficiently,” he said. “We plan to use AI to continuously make our algorithms more efficient.”

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Essence Fest leads a summer of events for Black entrepreneurs

admin — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 01:38:02 +0000

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga at the Global Black Economic Forum during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 6, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Michael Democker | Getty Images News | Getty Images

In a year when the U.S. consumer has been weighed down by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and inflation, Black entrepreneurs are eager to get to the Essence Festival of Culture to connect with their core customers.

“Essence Fest is like my Black Friday,” said Rochelle Ivory, owner of beauty brand On the Edge Baby Hair. “It is my biggest sales weekend of the year. It’s where I make all the capital I reinvest in my business.”

Essence Fest kicks off on Friday, with roughly 500,000 people attending the event in New Orleans. It generates around $1 billion in economic activity, according to organizers.

“It’s the cannot-miss event for us,” said Brittney Adams, owner of eyewear brand Focus and Frame. She said this year Essence Fest is even more important because she’s seen Black consumers pulling back on spending.

“I would say the uncertainty of just the economic and political climate — that’s giving people a little bit of hesitancy. Should they save the money? Should they buy the things they want?” Adams said.

Ivory said her sales are down roughly 30% year over year, but she’s hopeful people come to New Orleans looking to spend their time and money in the festival marketplace.

“This could make or break some of us,” she said. “It’s one of the few places where Black women, Black founders can really come together and be seen.”

The Global Black Economic Forum aims to bring visibility and create solutions for Black business owners at Essence Fest. This year speakers include Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Last year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris spoke.

“We intentionally curate a space that allows leaders to preserve, build and reimagine how we can collectively increase economic opportunity to thrive,” said Alphonso David, CEO of the GBEF.

Second half shift

While many Black Americans express economic anxiety, the data is less clear.

In the first quarter of this year, according to Federal Reserve data, the median weekly salary for Black workers was $1,192 a 5% increase year over year. Black unemployment stood at 6% in the most recent jobs report, a historically low number, but still higher than the national average of 4.2%.

However, the data doesn’t appear to fully reflect the sentiment for many Black Americans who are concerned about the political, cultural and economic shifts that have taken place since President Donald Trump’s election.

“Never let a good crisis go to waste,” said John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation Hope, one of the nation’s largest non-profits focused on financial education and empowerment.

Bryant said he sees the concerns of Black Americans as an opportunity in the second half of 2025.

John Hope Bryant is the founder and CEO of Operation Hope.

Paras Griffin | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

“This president has done something that hasn’t been done since the 1960s, which is unify Black America. Wealth was created in the early 20th century because Blacks were forced to work together. But instead of Black Lives Matter, let’s make Black capitalist matter,” he said.

Pastor Jamal Bryant of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has galvanized Black consumers with an organized boycott of Target that began in February in response to the retailer’s decision to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Bryant said he is in discussions with Target but is ready to organize a longer-term boycott if the retailer does not fulfill the promises it made to the Black community after the killing of George Floyd. He is urging Black Americans to use the estimated $2.1 trillion dollars in spending power forecast by 2026 to drive economic and political change.

“I would dare say that ‘pocketbook protests’ are a revolutionary activity,” said Bryant.

“I think we have to be very selective in light of the ‘Big Ugly Bill’ that just passed and how it will adversely affect our community,” he said, referencing Trump’s megabill that passed through Congress this week.

Celebrate and educate

Invest Fest, an event that blends commerce and culture created by financially focused media company Earn Your Leisure kicks off in Atlanta in August.

Co-CEOs Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings said the event will remain focused on financial literacy, but this year they are emphasizing the urgent need for education and entrepreneurship in technology.

“It’s definitely now or never, the time is now,” said Bilal.

“The important thing this year is the way technology is going to disrupt a lot of career paths and the businesses, and we have to prepare for that, which is why AI is at the forefront of the conversation, crypto is at the forefront of the conversations, real estate as always and entrepreneurship,” said Millings.

New this year is a partnership with venture capital firm Open Opportunity and a pitch competition where an entrepreneur can win $125,000 in funding to scale their business.

“We need more businesses that can reach $100 million valuation to a $1 billion valuation, get on the stock market. The pathway to that 9 times out of 10 is technology,” Bilal said.

Festival attendees sign an exhibit wall during Day 1 of the Essence Festival of Culture on July 05, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Aaron J. Thornton | Wireimage | Getty Images

The National Black MBA Association Conference in Houston in September will have a similar tone. The event is known for its career fair where the nation’s largest companies recruit as well as for networking and vibrant social activities.

This year, interim CEO Orlando Ashford is working to establish artificial intelligence education and financial literacy as pillars of the event.

“Doing business as usual is not an option,” Ashford told CNBC. “AI is something I literally refer to as a tsunami of change that’s on its way. All of us will be forced to pivot in some ways as it relates to AI. Those of us that are out in front, that embrace it and leverage it actually can turn it into a tremendous and powerful opportunity. Those that wait and ignore it will be overtaken by the wave.”

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The Most Popular Summer Releases, According to Libby

admin — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:54:15 +0000

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Summer is in full swing, which is exciting for a few reasons. One, it means there is a new season of new books to faun over and get excited about (case in point, all these summer release book lists). Two, it offers yet another opportunity to get a look at reader behavior.

This week, we’re looking at reader behavior as it pertains to the new books of summer. Our friends over at Libby shared with us the most commonly checked out books that just came out this June. There are bestselling thrillers among them, as well as elemental romantasy, lesbian vampires, and the 1980s Space Shuttle program.

As usual, however, lists like these are usually heavily influenced by bestseller lists, which themselves are influenced by marketing budgets. This often results in a lack of diversity as far as authors are concerned. To add more diversity to your summer reading, make sure to look into Kuleana: A Story of Family, Land, and Legacy in Old Hawai’i by Sara Kehaulani Goo, The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie, and The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley.

10. Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

A trifling man takes three women for a ride in this thriller.

9. King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

The King of Southern Noir graces us with a new story where a young man tries to save his family from a dangerous debt.

Today In Books

8. Shadow Princess, Part 1 by Caroline Peckham

The fourth book in a very popular romantasy series that has fae, zodiac dealings, and elemental magic.

7. The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb

A man struggling with fatherhood tears his family apart through a tragedy he causes.

6. With a Vengeance by Riley Sager

Luxury trains, Philly and Chicago in the ’40s, and one woman hunting the people responsible for destroying her family 12 years ago.

5. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

Three words: “toxic lesbian vampires.”

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Skydance boss David Ellison tells Hollywood pals that Paramount merger will close before end of summer: sources

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 03:51:09 +0000

Skydance Media boss David Ellison has been striking an upbeat tone in his quest to purchase Shari Redstone’s Paramount, On The Money has learned.

The budding movie mogul’s quiet confidence to media insiders in recent days may seem a bit odd for regular readers of On The Money. We’ve been chronicling how the $8 billion deal faces significant headwinds from the Trump administration’s regulatory apparatus, and the president’s own legal team.

Not according to Ellison, however. In fact, the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison has been telling people in TV and movie circles out in Los Angeles that he believes the deal will go through before the end of summer – well before its drop-dead date in October when both sides need to walk away if the deal isn’t completed, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

David Ellison, the son of billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has been telling people in TV and movie circles out in Los Angeles that he believes the deal will go through before the end of summer. AFP via Getty Images

It’s unclear exactly why Ellison – whose independent studio has produced hits like “Top Gun: Maverick” and the latest “Mission: Impossible” sequels – is so optimistic because much of the news surrounding the transaction has been anything but encouraging.

Trump’s regulators are stalling their mandatory approval as they investigate if Paramount’s CBS News subsidiary violated Federal Communications Commission guidelines that its content must be free of political bias; conservatives have complained about CBS’s left-wing bias for years – a charge the network has vehemently denied.

More From Charles Gasparino

Trump has also filed a $20 billion lawsuit against CBS in Texas federal court, charging the network’s “60 Minutes” with violating an obscure state business law in a case involving its controversial interview with Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. Trump claims the sit-down with his Democratic opponent was deceptively edited. Paramount believes the deal’s regulatory approval is contingent on a settlement.

Yet, as On The Money previously reported, Redstone’s management team and board are worried about being on the hook for bribery charges if the payment is seen as a quid-pro-quo to get the deal done. That’s because their boss, Redstone, would receive a $2 billion payout once the merger is complete.

But maybe Ellison knows something we don’t know. Both sides in the lawsuit have recently held settlement discussions, On The Money has learned. They’ve discussed a payment of $35 million to end the lawsuit, a far cry from the $20 billion headline number and lower than the $50 million Team Trump originally sought.

As On The Money has reported, a potential settlement has been discussed where CBS runs millions of dollars in public service ads for causes of the president’s liking, such as combating antisemitism, as well as making a lower cash payment.

Sources say the mediator has warmed up to the idea of PSAs and a smaller monetary payment than what Trump has sought. But it’s unclear if Trump will agree to those terms.

Shari Redstone would receive a $2 billion payout once the merger is complete. REUTERS

“President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, hoaxes, and lies to account,” Trump lawyer Ed Paltzik told On The Money on Wednesday.

“CBS and Paramount targeted the president in an attempt to harm his reputation while committing the worst kind of election interference and fraud in the closing days of the most important presidential election in history. President Trump will pursue this vital matter to its just and rightful conclusion.”

A Paramount spokesman had no comment. A spokeswoman for David Ellison declined comment.

Trump recently praised the Oracle scion as someone who will be great running Paramount, and would change the culture at CBS, or as Trump put it (in his usual understated way): “They are all getting fired” when ownership changes.

Trump recently praised the Oracle scion as someone who will be great running Paramount, and would change the culture at CBS. Christopher Sadowski

David Ellison’s dad, Larry Ellison is supplying the money (some of his $250 billion in net worth) for the Paramount merger, and as reported, he has an open line to the White House given his relationship with the president.

Media industry insiders say there could also be a scenario where the deal is approved before the lawsuit is settled. Ellison then could write Trump the check after he takes over at Paramount.

Charlie Gasparino has his finger on the pulse of where business, politics and finance meet

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Or maybe Paramount is ready to just bite the bullet and pay Trump close to what he wants. Legal experts say any bribery case would be a stretch in court. Trump has been wringing settlements out of other companies over similar squabbles, and Paramount could make the case that even paying Trump $50 million is less than the cost of litigation.

So, there might be good reasons for David Ellison’s optimism that he will bag both a major movie studio and the Tiffany Network.

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11 books to fuel a weird, beautiful summer. ‹

admin — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 07:32:37 +0000

June 17, 2025, 2:22pm

Photo from brianwilson.com

Beach Boy Brian Wilson, the American genius and big time Norbit fan, passed away last week. He wrote some of the greatest pop songs of all time, and to honor the departed musician, I’ve curated a playlist/reading list of tunes and books to pack along the next time you’re heading to the beach.

Listen to: “Surfin’ U.S.A.” Let’s start with this classic, early ‘60s ear worm. It’s pretty saccharine though—why not temper it with something on the darker side of surfing?

Pair with: William Finnegan’s memoir Barbarian Days will make you want to experience Finnegan’s ecstatic connection to surfing, and also fear the extremes of surf culture. I like to imagine the “ride the barrel and get pitted” guy was on the Pulitzer committee for this one.

Nothing says “surfing” and “USA” like sadistic beach freaks and crazed ‘Nam vets. Kem Nunn’s Tapping the Source is a fun, feverish, sand-blasted noir that inspired Point Break, one of the top movies in the Boyfriend Film Canon.

Listen to: “Help Me Rhonda” This deceptively sunny tune has some real heaviness beneath it: the deep guitars, the low “bow oh oh”s, and the rejected narrator pitching a weird love triangle. There are plenty of books out there about love triangles and men begging woman to sleep with them, going all the way back to The Aeneid’s self-serving lover boy, but how might Rhonda feel?

Pair with: Lise from Tove Ditlevsen’s Faces is a quintessential heartsick and confused character to me, who is looking for some relief too. I think Lise might see herself in the opening lines: “Well, since she put me down I’ve been out doin’ in my head/I come in late at night and in the mornin’ I just lay in bed.”

Torrey Peters’ Detransition, Baby features another complex romantic entanglement, with characters after solace and love, and where everyone’s begging to “help me get her out of my heart.”

Listen to: “God Only Knows”

Pair with: One of the greatest songs of all time needs to be paired with one of the greatest books of all time: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Both are sweeping, reflective, hopeful, and appealing to a higher power: put these two American masterpieces in conversation.

Listen to: “Good Vibrations” What sticks out to me about “Good Vibrations” is how strangely patchwork it is: there are so many small compositions and moments that fit together in this trippy love song. I also love the invented word “excitations” here, a neologism that doesn’t seem to have caught on.

Pair with: This song reminds me of two dreamy and inventive short story collections: The Miniature Wife by Manuel Gonzales, which features a plane that circles for years and a man who speaks from his ears, and the smart horror in The Doll’s Alphabet by Camilla Grudova, with stories of a spider-man in Europe and a feminist revolution. Both are as weird and beautiful as Wilson’s song.

Listen to: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” Relationships are hard. Lyrically, this song is pretty simple, but the complexity of the musical arrangement elevates it to something more than just a ditty about teenage puppy love. This is a song about belonging, about imagining a future with someone, and feeling the pang of the distance between where you are and where you hope to be.

Pair with: Naturally, this sends me to a book about finding love in very new places: Kate Folk’s Sky Daddy. Like the song, Sky Daddy is strange, sweet, and full of deep longing. Unlike the song though, this one features horniness for jet planes.

And if we’re talking about Californians striving for a better world, a “world where we belong,” Mike Davis’ City of Quartz has to be in the conversation.

Listen to: “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” Brian Wilson was a man who struggled, and I think probably felt pretty out of step much of the time. But there isn’t much bitterness in this song, and like many Beach Boys songs, the complexity of the music complicate the meaning. This is a lament for something that is out of reach, almost strange to the narrator.

Pair with: When I think of characters who are “looking for a place to fit in” and who “got brains but they ain’t doing…no good,” I think of the great Kobo Abe‘s books. Particularly, the man and woman in The Woman in the Dunes, and The Box Man from The Box Man, who dons a large cardboard box, retreating into a strange reality all his own.

Sometimes if the world is too strange and frightening, we have to find ways to make something new. Rest in peace, Brian.

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11 books to fuel a weird, beautiful summer. ‹

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