Daniel Radcliffe Factchecks The New Yorker, A 'Grey's Anatomy' Writer Lies About Cancer & More Pop Culture Reads I Haven't Stopped Thinking About

For your consideration: pop culture reads on Samantha Jones's lovers, Carl Reiner's obsession with the 1995 thriller 'The Net' and more

Happy Friday everybody! As we head into the weekend, I’m sending along some of the pop culture stories that have taken up a permanent residence in my brain, in case you’re in need of some extra-captivating reading material for these muggy days. There’s compelling writing, dogged reporting and one article that will make you feel a deep, deep appreciation for Daniel Radcliffe.

What’s the pop culture read you’re still thinking about? Let me know below.

Daniel Radcliffe and the Art of the Fact-Check by Michael Schulman

When Daniel Radcliffe played an intern assigned to fact-check a story about teen suicide in the Broadway show “The Lifespan of a Fact,” he went method for the occasion. The actor headed to The New Yorker office to work as a fact-checker for the day, dutifully taking on his assignment to verify that every word in a review of Oxomoco, a Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn, was correct.

Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 1 by Evgenia Peretz

This deeply reported feature unravels the lies of Elisabeth Finch, a Grey’s Anatomy writer who falsely claimed to have chondrosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, and wielded that falsehood in the writers’ room, with the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes and, later, her ex-wife — who ended up being the one to uncover the truth.

Trust That No One Loves The Net (or Sandra Bullock) More Than Carl Reiner by Pablo Goldstein

Writer Pablo Goldstein noticed something about Carl Reiner’s Twitter. He was tweeting about the 1995 thriller The Net…a lot. Turns out, the beloved comedian had taken such a shine to the movie that he wanted to make sure his Twitter followers also got the chance to appreciate it as much as he did. Goldstein decided to reach out to Reiner to see if he would be interested in talking about The Net and this gem of an interview, whether you have seen the Sandra Bullock-vehicle or not, is such an enjoyably earnest read.

If I Wrote a Coronavirus Episode by Maria Elena Fernandez

In the midst of the pandemic, Maria Elena Fernandez reached out to dozens of TV writers to see how characters from their beloved shows would handle such a scary and uncertain time. Boy, did they have respond. Come for Mike Schur’s take on Leslie’s CDC protocols and stay for Jason Katims’ dynamite Coach Taylor speech.

The Men of Samantha Jones: 8 Actors on Playing Infamous Sex and the City Flings by Patti Greco

Patti Greco gave Sex and the City fans the deep dive feature we didn’t know we desperately needed: a series of interviews with Samantha Jones’s many lovers. There’s conversations with — among others — Farmer Luke, Chip the Stock Broker Guy and Mr. Cocky. Also, it offers this little behind-the-scenes nugget, courtesy of the NYU Wrestling Coach: “Kim, because she’s the one who did all these scenes, had this little cup made for her men, almost fashioned like an athletic supporter.” Long live Samantha Jones.