Mini-Ep 429: Hugs and Solidarity

Summary

Forever35 Podcast: Mini-Ep 429 - Hugs and Solidarity
Release Date: February 5, 2025
Hosts: Doree Shafrir & Elise Hu

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Introduction and Personal Updates

The episode kicks off with co-hosts Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu sharing personal anecdotes from their recent activities. Doree discusses her weekly desert trips, highlighting a memorable experience where her team's private chef prepared a gourmet dinner under challenging conditions.

Doree Shafrir [02:13]: "It felt a little bit like I was on Chopped because she only had three hours to make a meal for 10 people, and she wasn’t even in her kitchen. It was very interesting and delicious."

Elise reciprocates by sharing her weekend experiences, including attending a Lunar New Year celebration and dealing with her girlfriend’s bout with the flu.

Elise Hu [05:20]: "My girlfriend got the flu, and her entire class went down with norovirus a few months ago. It’s been a hectic time, but overall, I had a pretty good weekend."

Using AI in Everyday Life

The hosts delve into practical applications of AI, particularly in the kitchen. Doree praises ChatGPT for its utility in generating creative recipes from limited ingredients.

Elise Hu [04:12]: "Whenever you have random ingredients in your fridge, you can tell ChatGPT and it can help you not waste them."

Doree adds her own strategy for using AI to tailor recipes to specific needs, such as making small batches of cookies without the hassle of scaling recipes manually.

Doree Shafrir [04:46]: "If you only want to make two chocolate chip cookies, ChatGPT can help you with that without doing the math yourself."

Current Political Events and Their Impact

A significant portion of the conversation addresses the rapidly changing political landscape, emphasizing the impact of recent governmental shifts on federal support programs.

Elise Hu [07:13]: "Over the weekend, we saw the reversal of the pause on all federal payments, but also the collapse and ending of federal payments to USAID, directed by Elon Musk’s administration."

Doree echoes these sentiments, expressing concern over the swift policy changes and their implications.

Doree Shafrir [08:22]: "It's really giving fascism vibes for sure. It's intended."

News Consumption Recommendations from Listeners

The hosts share and discuss news sources recommended by their listeners, aiming to balance staying informed without feeling overwhelmed.

Dory Shafrir [18:22]: "Roy Wood Jr's show, Have I Got News for You on CNN, and Stephen Colbert's monologues provide a good mix of comedy and news."

Elise highlights the value of sources that blend humor with information to make news consumption more enjoyable.

Elise Hu [19:24]: "Jessica Yellen's News Not Noise and Robert Reich's Politics Made Easy are fantastic for staying informed and grounded."

Listener Questions and Product Recommendations

The episode features responses to listener queries, particularly focusing on skincare routines and product recommendations.

Retinol Tips

A listener asks about incorporating retinol into their skincare routine. Doree provides advice on starting with low-dose tretinoin and gradually increasing usage while emphasizing the importance of sun protection.

Dory Shafrir [26:07]: "Start with the lowest dose, like 0.025%, and use it twice a week initially. Always be careful with sun exposure when using tretinoin."

Elise adds her perspective on over-the-counter retinol products, recommending L'Oreal’s Revitalift Night Serum for those seeking milder options.

Elise Hu [29:00]: "The L'Oreal Revitalift Night Serum with retinol is a great drugstore option that doesn’t trigger excessive skin sensitivity."

Product Recommendations

Listeners also share their favorite skincare products. One listener praises Elf’s Holy Hydration line for combating winter dryness, highlighting its affordability and effectiveness.

Listener [30:13]: "Elf's Holy Hydration products have made a huge difference in my skin’s hydration during the cold months, and they’re very affordable."

Friendship Month and Listener Engagement

As February marks Friendship Month, Doree and Elise encourage listeners to submit questions about friendship. They announce plans to invite a guest to discuss these queries in future episodes.

Dory Shafrir [25:02]: "We are collecting listener questions about friendship. Email us or call/text us to share your thoughts."

Ethical Consumption Discussion

Towards the episode’s conclusion, the hosts engage in a heartfelt discussion about ethical consumption, sparked by a listener’s email concerning a Fast Company exposé on Trader Joe’s business practices.

Elise Hu [33:16]: "Trader Joe's has had multiple recalls and unresolved sexual harassment complaints. While some listeners decide to boycott, others choose to continue shopping there for practical reasons."

Doree reflects on the dilemma of ethical consumerism in a flawed system, acknowledging the difficulty in completely avoiding companies with problematic practices.

Dory Shafrir [35:19]: "I probably won’t stop shopping there. Trader Joe’s isn’t one of the top priorities for my focus right now, even though it’s important."

Elise emphasizes the importance of being informed and making empowered choices based on personal values.

Elise Hu [35:35]: "We need to be more individually accountable because our institutions and safeguards are being dismantled. It's about making informed decisions that align with what you care about."

Conclusion

Doree and Elise wrap up the episode by thanking their listeners for their engagement and encouraging continued interaction through various channels. They acknowledge the balance between staying informed and managing overwhelm, reinforcing their commitment to navigating self-care and solidarity amidst challenging times.

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Notable Quotes:

• Doree Shafrir [02:13]: "It felt a little bit like I was on Chopped because she only had three hours to make a meal for 10 people."

• Elise Hu [07:13]: "Over the weekend, we saw the reversal of the pause on all federal payments, but also the collapse and ending of federal payments to USAID."

• Elise Hu [33:16]: "Trader Joe's has had multiple recalls and unresolved sexual harassment complaints."

• Dory Shafrir [35:19]: "I probably won’t stop shopping there. Trader Joe’s isn’t one of the top priorities for my focus right now."

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This mini-episode of Forever35 offers a blend of personal stories, practical advice, listener interactions, and thoughtful discussions on current events and ethical living. Through humor and genuine conversation, Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu provide valuable insights into self-care and solidarity in an ever-changing world.

Transcript

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[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Dory Shafrier.

[Elise Hu]

And I'm Elise Hu and we are just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.

[Dory Shafrir]

And this is a mini episode where we hear from you, we share your comments and your thoughts, and we answer your questions to the best of our ability. But please remember we are not experts or podcast hosts. We always encourage you to seek support first and foremost from a medical and or mental health professional as needed. Elise, how how are you? I feel like I haven't seen you in a minute.

[Elise Hu]

Oh yes, you were in the desert again, right?

[Dory Shafrir]

I was in the desert again, yes. My. My weekly trip to the desert.

[Elise Hu]

How did it go?

[Dory Shafrir]

It was great. It. We didn't win, but it was super fun. And yeah, it was just. It. It was a. It was a good time. Glad I went. Yeah, the team had a great time. One of the members of my team is a private chef, so she made us dinner on Saturday night which was awesome.

[Elise Hu]

It looked delicious and also very Green, like, very healthy, too.

[Dory Shafrir]

So she made roast chicken on, like, a bed of panzanella. She made roasted squash with this, like, pomegranate, like, molasses sauce. I don't know. It was very good. And then there was, like, charred broccolini that she made on the grill. She's like, I' just. I don't have that much time. I'll just whip something together. And it was, like, amazing. Like, better than, like, 99% of restaurant meals I've had.

[Elise Hu]

Get yourself a friend that knows how to just whip something up and have it be, like, gourmet.

[Dory Shafrir]

Those are the best friends. I was truly. I was truly in awe. She. She was like. It did feel a little bit like I was on Chopped because she only had, like, three hours, which is not a ton of time to make, like, a meal for 10 people. And, you know, not. She wasn't in her kitchen, and it was. It was just. It was sort of funny. But she. It was very interesting to watch her. Like, she definitely knew the order of operations of everything and, like, what needed to be prepped first. And I don't know, it was just. It was. It was very interesting and delicious.

[Elise Hu]

This actually reminds me of a helpful and useful use of AI that we haven't talked about, which is whenever you have random ingredients in your fridge or just, like, one banana, then you can essentially just tell ChatGPT, I have one banana and I want to make breakfast with it. What should I make? And then. Or sometimes I will just pop in and I'll be like, these are the things in my fridge. Help me use them and not waste them.

[Dory Shafrir]

What a great, smart use of ChatGPT.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah. And it's actually. It's not bad. When I first started doing this, I don't know, like, half a year ago, it was a little wonky. And my options, like, the recipes weren't that great. And then as the AI has improved over. I mean, it improves every minute. And so as it. It's. As it's improved, it's gotten better and more creative, and my options are more delicious. But, like, if you have one banana, it'll come up with, like, two muffins. Or you can make some sort of, like, oatmeal banana thing in a ramekin and pop it in your oven and.

[Dory Shafrir]

Right, right, right. Yeah, Right.

[Elise Hu]

I find it really awesome. And, like, whenever I want chocolate chip cookies, the serving size or like, the. The recipes are always for, like, at least a dozen chocolate chip cookies. But what if you only want to make two chocolate chip Cookies, but then don't want to do the math. That's what I also do with ChatGPT. I'm like, hey, oh, my gosh, I need a recipe for two chocolate chip cookies.

[Dory Shafrir]

That's so smart. That's so smart. How was your weekend?

[Elise Hu]

It was pretty good. I was supposed to be also in the desert, but in Phoenix, in Scottsdale. And then my girlfriend that I was gonna go with, she got the flu. There is a lot of flu going around.

[Dory Shafrir]

There's a lot of flu and a lot of Noro.

[Elise Hu]

Not that we would know it, because the CDC data is just getting, like, systematically wiped off of federal databases.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

So. But yes, doctors say there's a lot of flu going around and a lot of norovirus. Luna's entire class went down with norovirus a few months ago. Like, the whole.

[Dory Shafrir]

Oh, my God, did she get crazy?

[Elise Hu]

No one could escape it. Yeah. She got it and came home. And then that night on the WhatsApp, one by one, each family was like, we've gone down.

[Dory Shafrir]

Did you get it? I don't remember you having Noro.

[Elise Hu]

No. It's probably because, like, nacho cheese runs through my veins. I eat so poorly anyway that my. My gastrointestinal system is just like, okay, right?

[Dory Shafrir]

Oh, my God.

[Elise Hu]

But no. Yeah, knock on wood. I avoided it.

[Dory Shafrir]

It sounds like Nora's really going around.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

So.

[Elise Hu]

So, yeah, I had a pretty good weekend. I ended up having not having to travel, so it was really quite chill. And then there was a big lunar New Year celebration here on the west side that Issa danced in. They did a traditional fan dance. I had a nice, long, meandering dinner with my good friends, a couple. And so I was like, third wheeling there. I love. I love it. I feel like I'm going out to dinner with my parents, and then they get tab. It's sort of like. Like when it was Parent Week or whatever at college and your parents would come and you're like, yes, we get to go out to nice places to eat, and maybe mom and dad will get it.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

So I. I had a pretty good time. It's just, you know, obviously, the barrage of changes at the federal government level, and, like, the things that are being dismantled are happening so quickly. And so over the weekend, you know, we saw the reversal of the pause on all federal payments, but then, like, basically the collapse and the ending of federal payments to usaid, which is how America had often supported the poorest people on the planet. And all of these payments were stopped at the direction of the richest person on the planet, Elon Musk, who is essentially running government with his 18, 19 and 20 year olds. And so a lot of the dinners and a lot of the weekend has been just like, they've been fraught, you know, over these quick changes. There was a, there were the Grammys over the weekend in la and all traffic was stopped from the Valley to the Grammys because of protests against Trump's immigrant immigration executive order. So there's a lot of go. A lot going on, a lot of attempts at resistance. It just feels like everything's coming at us pretty fast, like the fastest.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, it's really giving fascism.

[Elise Hu]

It gives the fascism vibes for sure. And it's intended. So I was actually talking on offline with you about how there's a great sociologist named Jennifer Walter who has put out kind of, this is what happens. There's shock and awe. And so I'll find a way to just do a Patreon post, if that's cool, so that we can all, we can all be informed in this moment.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's not great. It's not great.

[Elise Hu]

The quick takeaway from the writings on this and just like how to respond in this moment of overwhelm is to find three or four things that you really care about. Like three or four things you really want to focus on, whether it's the CDC data and the preservation of that, or whether it's immigrant rights or whether it's, in my case, like, I care a lot about USAID and being able to support the poorest people on the planet and prevent disease like USAID was helping. There's an Ebola outbreak going on right now in Uganda and it keeps Americans safe if we help contain Ebola outbreaks in Africa. And so all of this is connected. We are not like an island unto ourselves and we can't policy make that way. And so I care a lot about that. I'm doing what I can to share on that front. But whatever y'all care about, our focus is a form of resistance. Like not getting overwhelmed is a form of being a good citizen in this moment.

[Dory Shafrir]

I love that that's such good advice too, because it can feel like, ah, there's so many things I can't, I can't do everything, so I might as well just do nothing. And so focusing on just a few things I think is such a good idea because everyone won't be focusing on the exact same thing. So we'll, we'll be able to cover a Lot of ground.

[Elise Hu]

Yes, yes.

[Dory Shafrir]

We. On a completely different note, we got a text from our. One of our. Our free mugging listener, one of the many. But. But so who has been corresponding with us. And I, and I believe the last time they wrote in, I said something like, why don't you just use like a, like a travel lid that you get at Starbucks or whatever? And they. They wrote us and said, wait, let me clarify. A closed lid won't help, as 97% of the spills sadly happen whilst drinking from said tiny hole. It just dribbles out. My mouth can't hold what my brain thinks it can. I. I don't even know what to say to this, but thank you for the clarification.

[Elise Hu]

Yes, yes. Different strokes for different folks.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yep, totally. All right, well, before we take a break, I just want to remind everyone if you have, you know, updates on your free mugging or you want to tell us the areas that you're focusing on in the current hellscape, you can text or call us at 781-591-0390. You can also email us at forever35podcastmail.com we also have our website, forever35podcast.com Our Instagram is at forever35podcast. Our newsletter is forever35podcast.com newsletter. And you can shop our favorite products at Shopmy Us forever35. And we are going to take a short break and we're going to come back with some recommendations from listeners about their news consumption.

[Elise Hu]

Okay, we'll be right back.

[Dory Shafrir]

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[Elise Hu]

Yeah, we do.

[Dory Shafrir]

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[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

Elise, I gotta tell you about a couple of the things that I've gotten recently from Quince. One of them is the Transit quilted small crossbody tote. I had been looking for something exactly like this to just like carry around when I need to take Henry to soccer or something and like need I need room for a water bottle. I need room for all the other accoutrements. But I don't want some massive bag. It's perfect. It has a little handle but then it also has a crossbody strap. I love a crossbody. It's just. It's the best.

[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

Yes. So I've actually used this to great results. I used to have a leave in conditioner from Prose, which I liked. Yeah. But I was like, I think my hair is feeling a little dry. And I went into their review and refine feedback tool. I told them this and they sent me a conditioner to use in the shower like a regular conditioner. And it has made a world of difference. I also have adjusted the fragrance. You know, I do like a touch of fragrance sometimes in my shampoo.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

You know, I'm very picky about fragrance, so I'm always tweaking. But I love the Prose fragrances. They're. They're like the perfect hint of fragrance.

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[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

All right, we have returned. I really appreciated all of these listeners suggestions. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. This person wrote that they listen to podcasts that give me the headlines, the morning announcements from Betches Media gives me the top line stories with a little snark and I can go about my day the other way. I get news is from comedy. Roy Woods Jr's show have I Got News for you on CNN is great. And Stephen Colbert's monologues. They give me joy of comedy with the pain of the news. Thank you for those suggestions. Next email this listener wrote. Hi Elise and Door. I want to second what y'all said about local news, NPR and substack as primary news sources. Right now I still get the New York Times breaking news emails, but don't always open them for some other reasons. I'm feeling a little disillusioned by the times, but love the games and recipes so we soldier on. The substacks that are helping me feel fully informed and mostly grounded re our current political hellscape are Jessica Yellen's News Not Noise. We actually got a few suggestions for Jessica Yellen's. Yes, this is her.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah. Longtime White House correspondent for cnn. She left CNN and started this News Not Noise franchise. And it's like mostly on Instagram, I thought, but it sounds like it really expanded so good.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yes, we got several suggestions for News Not Noise. Robert Reich for the kids. He was Bill Clinton's secretary of Labor. He's also a cartoonist. He shares his drawings, a caption contest each week. So that's fun. Also fun fact, he was my college graduation speaker.

[Elise Hu]

Oh.

[Dory Shafrir]

And it was like everyone was sort of like what? Like no disrespect to Robert Reich, but like it wasn't, I think it wasn't like the, the stature that. Yeah. That our, our, our, our class was seeking.

[Elise Hu]

I have no idea who gave our commencement speech because he was such a nobody, I guess.

[Dory Shafrir]

Oh, that's really funn. Jackie J's. That's Jackie Johnson's husband. Ben Sheehan started one too called Politics Made Easy.

[Elise Hu]

Okay.

[Dory Shafrir]

He has worked for Crooked Media for a long time and has like generally good opinions on things. Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American. If I had to choose just one out of all of these, I think I'd choose Heather's. She's a scholar and a wordsmith. I also just want to thank y'all for all the newsletters. Beautiful humans I follow that bring me healing and joy. Because of this podcast. You two, Kate Spencer Ann Shen, Nora McInerney, Caroline Moss. The list goes on and on. Stories and community matter more than ever. So thank you both for telling and building. Good ones in the truest sense of the word. Love and light. Another Kate oh thank you.

[Elise Hu]

Another Kate thank you.

[Dory Shafrir]

Another Kate Great suggestions. Such good suggestions. I am going to subscribe immediately to all of your suggestions. Elise, you want to take this next one?

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, sure. Hello E and Door. I was just listening to your app about mental health and the news and wanted to share my current coping mechanism. Re watching Veep I I find the hilarity and absurdity and maybe everyone's incompetence soothing as I think about what's going on in Washington right now. Fingers crossed the new administration bungles their various attempts to dismantle our rights and government in a Jonah esque fashion. All joking aside, I am a social studies teacher and am also struggling with how to balance presenting my students, including many who are terrified about the deportations, with all the news in an informative, productive fashion. Hugs and solidarity. This actually reminds me there are two other great sources that I'm sort of turning to in this moment for clarity and just to keep myself sane. And one of them is actually a history teacher named her Instagram is at Sharon says. So she's a very well known history teacher now because she's become kind of like a history influencer, American history influencer on Instagram and she came out with a big book last year. It was like a surprise bestseller. Let me find her last name. Sharon McMahon. Sharon McMahon. She wrote a book called the Small and Mighty last year and she's now known as America's Government teacher. So she is somebody who's clear eyed and pretty like puts things in historical context and then and it's like news not noise or it's history not noise if you will. And then the other is I've been listening to the first few episodes post Trump administration from Ezra Klein and the Ezra Klein show on New York Times and they've been having really incisive conversations. I think that pull back the curtain a bit and have actually been calming in that it's delivered in a really like measured, calm, non cable news kind of way. And so I've been able to make it through those in order to stay informed and not be in a heap because I think y'all recall that last week I was like basically on a heap in a heap on the floor and like joked that I was podcasting from there. So I'm getting a little bit better. I had the weekend to kind of like pull myself together. And those are some of the places that I'm turning to.

[Dory Shafrir]

Okay, thank you, Elise. All right. On a totally different note, we got a text from a listener that said I wanted to chime in on the digitizing photos etc discussion from mini app 428. I have used Scan Cafe multiple times to digitize old photos with great results. I was doing a lot at one time, so it could be expensive depending on how many you are looking to digitize, but the quality is great. They also offer restoration if the photos are old or not great quality. And they take great care of the photos. You mail the photos in, you can divide them up into envelopes for easier sorting slash organizing. If needed, they scan them. You can review the scans and opt not to pay for a certain percentage of the scans that didn't come out well. And they will either send you a USB drive or a CD with the scanned photos or allows you to download them from their cloud storage service along with mailing the photos back to you. Of course, for a small fee, they even give you the option to leave all of the photos in an album and they will take each one out, scan the photos and put them back in the album. They did this with my dad's baby photos and my parents wedding album. So it works even with old and or delicate photos. How cool.

[Elise Hu]

Okay, that's a really strong recommendation for Scan Cafe. Scan Cafe.

[Dory Shafrir]

Love that. Just went to their website and they have a 30% off code for February Feb 2025. Great. I'm gonna check this out. Very cool. You know what, Elise, we forgot to mention that we are collecting listener questions about friendship. That's right, it is Friendship month. Yeah, Friendship month is starting on Monday and at the end of the month we are going to have one of our guests back to respond to our listener questions about friendship. So if you have listener questions about friendship as a listener, email those to us at Forever 35 podcast Gmail or call or text us at 781-591-0390. All right, Elise, we're going to take one more break and we'll be right back.

[Elise Hu]

We'll be right back.

[Dory Shafrir]

All right, we are back. We have a voicemail.

[E]

Okay, I need my parasocial older sister. I am turning 30 in like a month and decided that I'm going to start using retinol at 30 because that felt right, but I'm kind of also terrified. So like what are the tips? What do I, what am I supposed to know? Like, I read the Internet. And the Internet gives a lot of steps or do I need to follow all of those? Is the Internet being aggressive? Is there not enough? Is there a hack? Yeah, all the retinol tips.

[Elise Hu]

Thank you, Dori. I feel like retinol is part of your routine, right?

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, I use tretinoin. You can get a prescription from your dermatologist or you can use one of the many online pharmacies that exist now to provide online dermatology services, including one of our sponsors, Apostrophe. You can go to apostrophe.com forever35 and you get your first like visit which is basically just like telemedicine with code Forever35. So you can check that out. They will prescribe you tretinoin or again if you have an IRL dermatologist, you can get it from them as well. I would recommend starting with like the very, very lowest dose, which I think is 0.025%. That's what I use. And you start out very gradually. Like start out doing it like twice a week whether or not you quote unquote need it. I, I don't know, like I can't, I can't make that determination because I'm not a doctor, I'm not an expert. Some people start at 30. Like I don't think there's just, I don't think there's like a one size fits all when it comes to this. The one thing that I do that I will say as a non expert is that you do have to be very careful about the sun when you use tretinoin. I stop using it basically all summer because the sun here is so intense and if you know you're going to be outside a lot, like don't use it the night before because it makes your, it makes your skin very sensitive to the sun. So that's, that's just like something to note. If you're like a lifeguard, tretinoin might not be. Yeah, if you're like a beach lifeguard, tretinoin might not be for you. Although you know, maybe some people make it work with like a ton of sunscreen. But yeah, that's what I would do. I would either go to your real life dermatologist or use one of these online dermatologists like Apostrophe and, and go from there. And they, and they might say to you, hey, we don't recommend retinol. Like we don't recommend retinol right now. Here's something else that we think you should use. Again, not an expert. So I Can't make that determination.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, I don't have any prescription strength retinol, but I have products that have retinol in them. So we should note that there are plenty of.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

Like over the counter products, skin care products that include retinol, like night creams. And there's one I like that I've used for a while now. It's actually drugstore. It's. Y'all know I love my drugstore stuff. It's the L'Oreal revitalift night serum with retinol in it. They have derm intensives as well, which is more of a serum specifically. And there's the cream that has retinol in it, which is what I meant to say for the earlier mention. And that doesn't trigger the skin sensitivity that you can get with the more higher strength, more potent formulations. When retinol is mentioned to me, it's when I'm getting my eyebrows waxed because they're like, have you been using any retinol on your skin? Because I guess it's. Your skin gets like more sensitive to.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yes.

[Elise Hu]

Sunlight to wax. So just be aware of that. But yes, consult your dermatologist first.

[Dory Shafrir]

Okay. Hot tip. All right, next voicemail. We have. We have three voicemails here at the end of the show. Unusual, but, you know, is what it is.

[F]

Hey, Dorian. Elise. I was listening to the latest full episode, I think, and Elise had mentioned the elf lip oil elf recommendation that I recently discovered. I live in the northeast and it's been extremely cold, so therefore it's extremely dry inside because the heating is going like 247 at like Max capacity. And I tried their holy hydration line. They have. I've tried the serum, I've tried their day moisturizer, and then they have like a night moisturizer or balm or something. I might have both, but I have the thick cream and it comes in a little pack. And they are amazing. They've made a huge difference in terms of the hydration of my skin. They really keep the dry, tight, terrible winter skin at bay. And I highly recommend it. And it's very, very affordable. I got mine at Target. I think it was like between 10 to $20. I don't think I paid more than $20 for a single item, which is unheard of in. Fantastic. So just wanted to throw that out there as a wreck or a product wreck. And yeah, love the pod. Love you both and have a. I hope you guys stay safe and have a good week.

[Dory Shafrir]

Thanks.

[E]

Bye.

[Elise Hu]

That is a great Wreck. Holy hydration.

[Dory Shafrir]

Okay.

[Elise Hu]

Who knew stealing my daughter's elf lip oil would be a gateway to more.

[Dory Shafrir]

Elf products that were highly affordable would pay such dividends?

[Elise Hu]

Yeah, it is. It's coming back. What? You, you, you get. You get back way more than you give.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yep. You know what, Elise? Since this is we're running a little long, I'm going to save one of these voicemails for our next episode. But we did get a Trader Joe's wreck for the pimento cheese dip. It's phenomenal. Warning, you may not be able to stop. And then it becomes dinner. No regrets. I use the TJ's pita chips to scoop up the cheese dip. And that's from Kate in Boston. I also I a sample of the unexpected cheddar cheese spread. It's delicious.

[Elise Hu]

I love unexpected cheddar. That's my favorite cheap cheese at Trader Joe's. It breaks really easily, so it looks really nice on your charcuterie board. And I always serve it on my boards when I make one, which is rare. But yeah, I love unexpected cheddar. That's awesome. And now it comes in a spread.

[Dory Shafrir]

Now it comes in a spread. All right. And we did get an email from a listener named Danielle that said. Did you read the recent article series in Fast Company that's basically an expose of Trader Joe's. It's a well reported, three part series about their bad business practices, including unsafe working conditions. They sent a link to the first article and they said, I was so shocked to read all this. Don't feel like I can shop there anymore. Hope you are both safe. Best. Danielle, thank you for sending this.

[Elise Hu]

Dory. You read part of it? I. I did, yeah. I. I read. I don't think I read all of it. I also read part of it and then I watched the summary from the reporter, the investigative reporter who investigated it. So it details like more frequent recalls of products than other places. There was like little metal bits found in the donut holes. There was. There were a series of sexual harassment complaints that went unaddressed. So, yeah, it didn't seem great.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

And then, and then I saw. But then some people are so devoted to Trader Joe's that some of the comments were like, just let me eat my metal screws in peace. So I don't know that this investigation is going to make a dent for me. I do notice that there are a lot of recalls regarding Trader Joe's products. So I think anecdotally that does seem like it tracks. I just feel like we have to Be more aware now as consumers. Like, everything is a little bit more precarious. Us as our institutions and our safeguards and our watchdogs are all kind of like either being dismantled. I, I, this seems a piece of this moment that we're in where we're, we're called upon to be like, more individually accountable because our institutions don't feel safe. What was your take on all of this?

[Dory Shafrir]

My take on all this was like, I'm glad my eyes have been opened. Will I stop shopping there? Honestly? Probably not. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe. I don't know. You know, I feel like, I feel like sometimes when people read these things, they're like, well, there's no ethical consumption under capitalism. Moving on. And like, I, I feel like that is a also a cop out, but I also feel like kind of to, like, to, to go back to the discussion we were having earlier. Like, so much is so up right now that, like, it, it, I, I can't. Trader Joe's is not one of the three or four things that I am going to focus on.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Anker]

Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

You know what I mean? Nice callback.

[Dory Shafrir]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. And you know what? They have not increased the price of eggs.

[Elise Hu]

They haven't.

[Dory Shafrir]

And Kroger has.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

So I don't know. I also know people who have worked at Trader Joe's for like, 20 years. And, like, I think, I think there's good and bad probably to all of these places. I don't know. Am I, am I just being saying a cop out? What are you, what about you? Are you gonna still stop at Trader Joe's?

[Elise Hu]

Well, I, I stand with my LGBTQ allies always, you know, and I believe that. But then I still get my Chick Fil A chicken sandwiches, so I feel like I'm kind of a hypocrite when it comes to some of these corporate boycotts that we could be take part in. And so the answer is based on what I read, I can, these are safety issues that I think that I can live with. Like, I'm taking that risk. So, yes, I probably will still shop at Trader Joe's. I'm glad to have my eyes open. I'm glad to be aware of it, because then I feel more empowered having the information. And so listener who called in, like, if you can't shop there anymore, that is a valid choice and you should make that choice. Like, yeah, that's exactly what information should empower us to do. It should empower us to make informed decisions. And so, but for me, like, I, I guess I'm with you where my main issue is fossil fuels. I think fossil fuels contribute so much to climate change. And so I won't, like, I'm part of those investment portfolios that are like anti fossil fuel. I won't, you know, like, I, we don't take sponsorship dollars from fossil fuel companies. Like, there's ways that we can take a stand against the things that we care about. But like, I have to pick which corporations I'm gonna.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yeah, that's kind of boycott's kind of where I'm at. Yeah.

[Elise Hu]

But yeah, thank you, thank you for bringing that to our attention. If you haven't seen it, it is. That investigation is in fast company.

[Dory Shafrir]

Yep. All right. And we will link to it in the show notes as well. All right, well, thanks everyone for listening. We appreciate you and we'll talk to you soon.

[Elise Hu]

Keep calling in. See you later.

[Dory Shafrir]

Bye.

[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

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[Elise Hu]

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[Dory Shafrir]

Right, I'm gonna let you in on a secret, Elise.

[Elise Hu]

Okay.

[Dory Shafrir]

I kind of always thought I could be a really great spy.

[Elise Hu]

I could see this.

[Dory Shafrir]

I'm just saying, like, like a, like a Jennifer Garner and alias type spy.

[Elise Hu]

Yeah.

[Dory Shafrir]

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