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Summer has arrived with the usual rituals: closed windows, lowered shutters, and another round of Europeans debating whether air conditioning is a basic necessity or a cultural defeat. Somewhere between heatwaves, the World Cup, and renewed talk of El Niño, the season has already given us plenty to think about.
But we’re not calling it at that. Summer is also when we can finally catch up on everything we haven’t gotten around to reading, watching, or listening to yet. Like last year, we’re taking a break in August to relax and creatively recharge, so this edition is full of the books, films, exhibitions, podcasts, and recipes we want to make our way through.
We can hardly believe it's been over a year and a half since our first edition in January 2025. It means a lot that you’ve made us a staple of your Wednesday mornings, reading our editions, sending us feedback, and engaging with all the cultural topics we care about. We’ve covered everything from FOMO and fur babies to the politics of fashion and what it means to be lucky, among many others. We also launched our guest edition format and introduced you to two new voices, who wrote about the
meaning of grief and the decision to have children.
We’d love to hear what you think. If you have any feedback or ideas, please just reply to this email. We’re constantly thinking about how to evolve NOC and what new formats or projects we could try out next.
But for now, all that’s left to say is: have a great summer, whatever that looks like to you. Get some sun (or avoid it at all costs, your pick), but more importantly - read a great book, catch a movie at the cinema, pick up a new hobby, or find a new staple recipe to add to the rotation. Feel free to send us your summer favorites too.
As always: thank you, wholeheartedly, for reading!
We’ll be back in your inbox in September.
Your NOC team,
Estelle, Anna, Sanjna
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Books
My Best Friend’s Excorcism — Grady Hendrix (2016)
Gretchen and Abby have been best friends since the 4th grade. But can their friendship sustain the slightly unfortunate event of one of the two being possessed by the devil? Horror.
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Famesick — Lena Dunham (2026)
An account of the writer and actresses life after rising to fame with her TV show Girls, as she battles chronic health issues and addiction. Memoir.
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Sail Away Land — Ben Pester (2026)
A collection of stories about loss, love and loneliness, set between everyday life and the strange place people may go when they disappear or die. Short stories.
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Confession of the Lioness — Mia Couto (2012)
The novel follows Mariamar and a hunter sent to her remote Mozambican village, where mysterious lionesses are killing women and exposing the community’s buried violence, beliefs and secrets. Fiction.
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The Hyena's Daughter — Jupiter Jones (2026)
A historical reimagining of the lives of Mary Shelley, Fanny Imlay and Claire Clairmont, exploring their complicated sisterhood and life among the Romantic poets. Historical fiction.
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Days of Light — Megan Hunter (2025)
Set over six separate days that span six decades, the novel follows Ivy from a tragic Easter Sunday in 1938 through her artistic, bohemian family's unraveling. Fiction.
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Articles
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A one-on-one date with a museum’s treasures — Alex Marshall, The New York Times, July 2026.
‘Navigating the unknown together’: me and my idiot AI boyfriend — Lauren Oyler, The Guardian Long Read, June 2026.
The death of the starter home — Jackie Cooperman, Wired, June 2026.
The disappereance of the public bench — Gabrielle Bruney, Places Journals, April 2026.
What if money expired? — Jacob Baynham, NOEMA, November 2023.
Seeing like a spreadsheet — David Oks, Publication, March 2026.
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Movies
Pools — Sam Hayes, 2025
University student Kennedy, struggling to cope with the recent death of her father and on the verge of being expelled from school, rallies her friends for a wild, late-night pool-hopping adventure.
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The Odyssey — Christopher Nolan, 2026
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic follows Odysseus on his dangerous journey home after the Trojan War.
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Laundry (Uhlanjululo) — Zamo Mkhwanazi, 2025
In apartheid-era Johannesburg, a young musician is torn between pursuing his dreams and protecting his family’s threatened laundry business.
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Bad Apples — Jonatan Etzler, 2025
A dark comedy about an overwhelmed primary-school teacher whose drastic response to one disruptive pupil brings unexpected calm to her classroom.
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The president’s cake — Hasan Hadi, 2026
Set in 1990s Iraq under sanctions and war shortages, the film follows nine-year-old Lamia after she's chosen to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein's birthday.
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Oslo Stories — Dag Johan Haugerud, 2024
Three movies make up the series: Dreams, Sex, and Love. All taking place in the Norwegian capital, they follow individuals as they tackle affairs of the heart and mind.
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Podcasts
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
A humorous interview-style podcast releasing weekly, which features low-stress conversations about shared interests and funny personal stories between Amy Poehler and her famous friends.
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We call her Emma
An investigative 6-part podcast series that traces the story of Emma, a promising banking analyst from a middle-class English family who then married Bashar al-Assad in 2001, the upcoming leader of Syria.
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The Book Club
Each week, historian Dominic Sandbrook and producer Tabitha Syrett dig into the story behind a classic or contemporary novel, its author, and the historical world that shaped it, before ranking the book.
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Our favorite editions of this year
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edition 32: The digital (un)archived — an edition exploring what happens to our collective memory when digital content disappears, changes or becomes inaccessible.
edition 20: How we rest — an edition on why we rest and how the concept has evolved over time, featuring interviews with two individuals who had no choice but to slow down for a period and what that was like for them.
edition 29: So, what do you do? — a look at how work has become tangled with identity and meaning amid AI-driven hiring, layoffs, and shifting generational priorities.
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Exhibitions
MIXEDNESS IS MY MYTHOLOGY — Fotomuseum Den Haag, until August 23, 2026
South African-Dutch photographer Farren van Wyk explores South Africa’s and the Netherlands’ complex historical relationship of migration, ethnicity, colonialism and apartheid.
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Et nous alors?/What about us? — PLATFORME 10, Lausanne, until September 27, 2026
An exhibition bringing together glass animals from the Pierre Rosenberg Collection, exploring how artists and craftspeople across different periods have represented the animal world through the expressive possibilities of glass.
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Mary Magdalene. Sin. Pray. Love — Städel Museum, Frankfurt, until January 17, 2026
A show that traces the ways in which artists have depicted the apostle and devoted follower of Jesus from the Middle Ages to today.
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Recipes
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Concerts
Francis of Delirium — Utrecht, September 11
Upcoming concert by the Luxembourgish indie rock musician.
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Hermanos Gutiérrez — Various European cities, August
The brothers-duo, whose music is inspired by 1950s Latin American sounds, is on tour throughout the summer.
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Lily Allen — UK, Sweden, Norway, August
The singer is performing her “West End Girl” album in a global tour.
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Channels, pages, profiles
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loverofpages — a Youtuber sharing thoughts on recent reads and snippets of life in the UK.
Daniel Steiner - Maps, Explained — a channel exploring how the geography, history and politics of cities are reflected in their maps.
Dinner Music — selection of weekly playlists, overlooked albums, left-field grooves and retro musical gems.
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NOC is a constant work-in-progress. We want to hear your thoughts, recommendations and ideas—reply to the newsletter via email or write to us on social media (LinkedIn or Instagram). Your input will help shape where we go next!
You can browse past editions on our website.
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