Hello! Today: the scam of all scams, the most soothing Youtube content of all time, plus some all-time favourites – 1) the history of the metre and 2) a tender gay drama. Bliss!

Article: “She never looks back”: Inside Elizabeth Holmes’s Chilling Final Months at Theranos by Nick Bolton, published by Vanity Fair in February 2019
A couple of years ago, a young entrepreneur named Elizabeth Holmes claimed she had invented a technology that could do blood tests with a single drop of blood. Spoiler alert: she didn’t. But she became celebrated as a start-up leader, had a star-studded board, partnered with Walgreens to offer in-store blood tests and raised tons of money along the way before Theranos, her weirdly named company, was exposed. This article tracks the last few months of Theranos. It’s a truly wild story. If you want more, there’s a book, a documentary series, a podcast and an upcoming feature film.
Note: This is obviously a story about blood testing, so you may want to skip it if this is not your vibe. I’m *very* squeamish and I dealt with it just fine but your mileage may vary.

Film: God’s Own Country (2017), directed by Francis Lee
When I lived in London, my friend and I would regularly meet up for drinks and emotionally cathartic cinema trips. Almost every film we saw was interesting and moving, but this one was the only one that made me feel close to tears when the credits rolled and a perfect song started playing. A young Yorkshire farmer aimlessly and angrily rolls through life until a Romanian worker starts helping out on the farm. Sheeps are born, feelings happen. Life doesn’t seem pointless anymore. Love is real! What a film.
Note: God’s Own Country is streaming on Netflix.

Book: The Measure of All Things by Ken Alder (2002)
Not to hype it too much, but this is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It combines several things that I’m obsessed with: the metric system & measuring more generally; the French Revolution; academia as a system that destroys people’s mental and physical health; good history writing. Simply put, it’s the story of the definition of the metre, which involved two astronomers travelling the length of France for seven years, while the French Revolution was going on (and transformed into Napoleon’s reign). I often think of this book longingly. Will I ever read anything as perfectly calibrated to my niche tastes again? Even if you’re not interested in the same things, it’s an incredible story. I couldn’t recommend it more.

Other: Bon Appétit on YouTube
The other day I watched a chef make Cadbury Cream Eggs (gross) while I was taking a bath. I suspect I’m not the only one. The Bon Appetit YouTube channel is huge and it feels weird to even try to explain it, but until last year I had no idea it existed — or that I would ever feel joy watching people cook! Basically, this is a YouTube series in which chefs who develop recipes for the magazine Bon Appetit... cook. Or ferment. Or do challenges. Everyone is very charming and likeable and not very cool (unlike other internet-famous cooks who shall remain nameless). It is the most soothing content I can think of. A warm bath for the stressed brain. 
Start with a classic (gourmet KitKats) and work your way up to making the perfect pie (which involves a pie competition and two people having "great rapport", as the other person in my household puts it).

That's it for now. Tell me what you loved this week! Take care.