THIS WEEK: REWRITING THE SCRIPT • FRUGAL GRANDMAS • FIBER

THURSDAY • JULY 16 • 2026

Good morning,

Back in 1991, I was 31, with a new baby, and lucky to have a few close friends who rode alongside me through eight years of marriage and a tough pregnancy. When Thelma & Louise came out that summer, we saw ourselves in their story—not in the crime, but in the friendship, in how two women could be each other's safety net when everything else was falling apart.

I never went through what they did, but I understood the feeling behind it. That sense of being trapped with no escape. We've all had moments like that, and most of us had a friend who talked us down before we made a choice we'd regret.

Now, 35 years later, Cannes has put them on its anniversary poster. These two accidental outlaws are icons again. Watching the film today, I found myself thinking less about the famous ending than about the friendship that carried them there.

The World Cup. Washington. The endless churn of headlines. Most days, the loudest stories still seem to be about men, and it's easy to feel invisible in all that noise. Which is maybe why I keep thinking about the women in my own life. The ones I've called from parking lots and hospital waiting rooms, who reminded me more than once that the choices in front of me weren't the only choices I had.

That's what stayed with me as we built this issue. Not the cliff. The conversations.

Glad you're here.

CULTURE

​Thelma & Louise Turns 35. We Haven't Come As Far As We Think.​

BY JENNIFER GREEN

We all know how it ended. Two women, hands clasped, accelerating into the abyss on their own terms. We called it feminism in 1991. Thirty-five years later, Cannes has splashed them across its anniversary poster and the culture is still romanticizing that ending. The real question isn't why. It's how much has actually changed and how much we just want to believe it has.

WELLNESS

​​The Great Fiber Hustle: Why Brands Are Suddenly Obsessed with Your Gut​

BY LAUREN MANAKER

Fiber used to come in a dusty orange tub. Now it's in gummies, sparkling drinks, and puffed snacks, all backed by real science and a marketing budget that knows exactly how to reach women over 50. A dietitian on what our bodies actually need, and what's just very expensive dust. READ MORE​

This is a paid sponsorship with House of Twist.

Perfume Shouldn't Be Saved for Special Occasions

It should be something you reach for on an ordinary Tuesday because it makes you feel a little more like yourself.

That's what I love about House of Twist. They create fragrances inspired by designer perfumes without the luxury price tag. The scents are vegan, clean, long-lasting, and beautifully blended, proving you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to wear a fragrance that feels luxurious.

I've been wearing Red Velvet No. 4 for weeks, and it's the fragrance people ask me about more than anything else I wear. It lasts from my first cup of tea through book club that night without a touch-up, and the minimalist bottle looks just as elegant sitting on my vanity as fragrances that cost three times as much.

Their philosophy is simple: wear what matches your mood—not the occasion, not your age, and certainly not someone else's rules. Their newest releases have names that make you smile before you even spray them: Lemon Rain, SwimSwimSwim, Born to Blush, and Matcha Pilates Alo. Lemon Rain is next on my list. I haven't even smelled it yet, but the name alone makes me want to.

Right now, BUY ANY TWO and GET A THIRD FREE through July 27—that's three 100 ml bottles from as little as $60.

If you're already thinking ahead to birthdays, hostess gifts, or the holidays, SHOP THEIR BUNDLES—making stocking up surprisingly easy.

Because perfume tells a story before you say a word. It might as well be one that's entirely your own.

—Susan

P.S.—If you have no idea which scent is "you," take their quiz. It's playful, a little addictive, and mine was spot-on.
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HUMOR

​​I Finally Understand Why My Grandma Hoarded Ketchup Packets​

BY ABBY HEUGEL

The loyalty cards, the closet full of T-shirts old enough to vote, the four-day debate over a $15 dish drainer—none of it started with us. Some financial anxiety gets earned. Some gets inherited. And some arrives via a grandmother who once asked for free ketchup when ordering fast food ice cream. What she was actually keeping track of is more relatable than any of us would like to admit. READ MORE​

TAKE NOTE

Timely and worth your attention.

🏆 Emmy nominations are out and we have a showdown. The outstanding-comedy-actress race comes down to two women in their 60s doing career-best work in the final seasons of their shows: Jean Smart for Hacks and Lisa Kudrow for The Comeback. Smart's up to four wins; Kudrow hasn't taken one home since 1998. Hollywood spends decades deciding women peak young. Then it hands them the roles of their lives at 60-plus.

📚 Every mother-daughter relationship has its version of the pool house—the place where two people who can't quite live together somehow can't leave each other either. In The Pool House, Mary H.K. Choi's new novel, an out-of-work actress and her adult daughter find themselves forced back under one roof, confronting old resentments, unfinished grief, and the impossible push-and-pull between independence and family. Named a must-read of the summer by The New York Times, USA Today, and W.

📺 Most of us have wondered, at some point, how well we actually know our closest friends. Ri​de or Die on Prime Video answers that question by adding an international assassin. Hannah Waddingham plays Judith, Octavia Spencer plays Debbie, and when Judith's past catches up with her mid-friendship, the two go on the run across Europe with law enforcement and professional killers in pursuit. All eight episodes dropped this week, right before Waddingham heads back to Ted Lasso for Season 4.

JOIN US FOR BOOK CLUB

On August 12, I'm sitting down with bestselling author Jane Green for a live conversation about reinvention, freedom, friendship, and finding yourself. Jane's memoir, Rewilding, goes somewhere her fiction never could. This is going to be a discussion you don't want to miss—spicy, inspiring, and messy—just how we like it. This event and more are all inside the PROVOKEDplus membership. Easy to join us, and we'd love to have you.

So on Wednesday, August 12 at noon ET, here's how to get in the room:

The PROVOKED Book Club is for PROVOKEDplus members. If you're already in, you're already invited, and your link is coming. If you're not, this is the moment.

Get the book:

Our friends at Theodore Books, a wonderful little bookstore right here in my village of Oyster Bay, are taking care of us. For a 15% discount, use code PROVOKED15 at checkout. (No, we don't make money on this. We do believe in supporting a bookstore run by actual humans who love books.) Read it and bring your questions, opinions, and afternoon beverage of choice.

Can't wait. Truly. —Susan
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READER SPOTLIGHT

Want to be featured next? Comment on your favorite piece—we read them all.

DEAR READER | LIFE

​When Did My Husband Become the Hot One?​

BY KIMBERLY WITT

A 20-something openly flirted with her husband of 20 years, and what followed was weeks of jealousy, rage, and one truth she couldn't shake: he's aging better than she is, and more to the point, he's allowed to. Wanting to blame the girl didn't help. The real problem is that the math isn't fair in a culture that lets men age while women have to fight against it. READ MORE​

OUR SHORT LIST

🧠 Why women face a higher Alzheimer's risk has puzzled researchers for years. New findings may help explain the gap.

💼 Your job title and bank account are only part of the story. This quiz explores what your lifestyle really reveals.

🍽️ The food is unforgettable. So is the bill. What it costs to eat at America's three-star Michelin restaurants.

🍿 Too much to stream, too little time? Start with the best TV shows and movies of the year so far.

👟 A little retro, comfortable enough for travel, and cute enough to wear with everything—these sneakers come in several great colors. I bought the red ones.

MORE

The Friendship Files

​Refriending a Midlife Friendship: Can You Go Back?​

BY NINA MALKIN

​Is It Time to Walk Away from a Friendship? ​

BY AILEEN WEINTRAUB

​A Friendship Breakup That Began the Day We Met​

BY MELISSA GOULD