How Mass Culture Events Are Uniting Us In 2026

In February 2024, I was eight months pregnant, parked in front of the air conditioner with the mental and physical fortitude of a damp sponge. “I need a new show,” I texted the group chat. “I don’t care if it’s trash, I just need something mindless.” Someone suggested The Summer I Turned Pretty and, despite its truly absurd name, I pressed play on episode one. I lasted maybe 15 minutes in Cousins Beach. “Not for me!” I messaged, before crawling back to The Real…