The Monday Media Diet with Lindsey Tramuta

On Paris, Jessica Defino, and the Okavango Delta

Lindsey Tramuta is a freelance writer (New York Times, Traveler, Bloomberg, among others) based in Paris. I’ve read her work for a long time, and welcomed the re-connection via MMD alum Clémence Polès -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I’m another one of those Americans in Paris but I swear my story isn’t the conceit of any frivolous Netflix shows! I started learning French at age 12 and studied French literature and linguistics in Philadelphia as a college student, never thinking I’d be able to make a permanent move abroad. I came to Paris at the end of 2006 where I completed my last semester of undergrad and never left. Since 2011/2012, I’ve worked as a freelance journalist — initially a bit here and there, in addition to working in advertising, then I made it full-time in 2015.

Since, I’ve published two books with Abrams, — The New Paris (2017) and The New Parisienne: the Women & Ideas Shaping Paris (2020)— written hundreds of travel, culture, and business stories for The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Fortune, Bloomberg, Afar, Eater, and many other titles, led discussions with artists and designers, like Angelina Jolie, for brands such as Guerlain, &Tradition, and Ruinart, and interviewed plenty of other fascinating people for my podcast The New Paris, which picks up where my books left off. I live in Paris and the Fontainebleau area (southeast of the capital) with my husband and two cats.

Describe your media diet. 

You might say it oscillates somewhere between balanced and reasonable and toxic or out of control. Which is to say, I read too much, all the time, usually at moments humans are most discouraged from getting sucked into the vortex of the news cycle (first thing in the morning, during what is meant to be a quick work break, moments before bed, etc). I would say that my habits have improved since letting myself spiral with rage, anxiety, and sadness in 2020 and early 2021. I attribute that to spending less time on Twitter (by doing the bare minimum of taking the app off my Home Screen) and making audible reminders to myself that if knowing ALL OF THE THINGS unglues me, I need to make a change. (Thankfully, I’ve never had news alerts or notifications on my phone, so that helps too).

As for what I’m consuming: today, I go between major publications and smartly reported newsletters. I enjoy The Guardian’s First Thing newsletter for headlines (since I signed up, I feel less of a need to look for news on social media), and the brilliant The Week in Patriarchy written by Arwa Mahdawi.

I read The New York Times, The Atlantic (in print), and occasionally check in with Jacobin, which I feel is the most French-style leftist publication run by Americans.

In terms of newsletters, which also leads me to incredibly written and reported stories: I love The Sunday Long Read which curates the best long form journalism from the week (running since 2014), The Unpublishable by Jessica Defino, who offers the most no-bullshit commentary and analysis on the beauty industry and the BILLIONS of ways it hurts all of us—I can’t get enough. And I always look forward to receiving Rahaf Harfoush’s weekly dispatch on the digital frontier called The Foush Report.

What’s the last great book you read?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was mind-blowingly good, I still think about it. I’ve also just finished Maybe You Should Talk to Someone which was equal parts touching and illuminating.

What are you reading now?

I’m about to start The Power of Wonder, a new book by another smart pal, Monica Parker.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

If I take The Atlantic, for example: I always start at the beginning with the letters to the editor and the Dispatches. Then, I dive into one of the longform, reported pieces but really consider what mood I’m in to make that choice. With the current issue, I couldn’t seem to motivate myself to read about the Republicans, but I was, unsurprisingly, drawn to the story about anti-wokeness in France. With one of the previous issues, I was so impatient to read the cover story by Clint Smith (about Germany’s remembrance of the Holocaust and what it can teach America about atonement) that I skipped all the beginning pieces. I also regularly read James Parker’s Odes, which appear at the very end, long before I reach the magazine’s final pages. His series is always a delight.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

Anything that breaks down the systems in place that hold all of us hostage — I guess that boils down to capitalism and white supremacy. But if I were to pick one, I would encourage both men and women to read Jessica Defino’s newsletter (The Unpublishable) because the beauty industry works hard to distort our sense of self-worth, our needs, and our perception of other human beings. Men are just as susceptible to these messages as women.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

They’re all fairly mainstream or famous! I’ll name the one that brings the most joy: the NYT crossword app, mostly for the Spelling Bee game.

Plane or train?

Train, with the caveat that during Covid surges in the last two years, I felt far from reassured while riding them (more maskless travelers, far less ventilation).

What is one place everyone should visit? 

Botswana, specifically the Okavango Delta. I’ve never experienced anything more eye-opening and enthralling that being surrounded by wildlife and understanding how certain travel outfitters play a massive role in conservation (I wrote about one  for Fortune in 2019).

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into.

Let’s just say it was prompted by the release of Dahmer on Netflix. When I first saw it advertised, I couldn’t remember the details of that particular sociopathic serial killer—was he the dismemberer and cannibal or the misogynistic necrophile? My mistake was falling into a chronology of all of Dahmer’s heinous crimes at bedtime. The nightmares were inevitable (and I refuse to watch the series. I did, however, watch Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, the other maniac I was confusing Dahmer with). This is reason enough not to use computers or cell phones before going to sleep!

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Lindsey (LT)

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