Offline Recs: Algorithmic anxiety, drunk robots, agnostic dentists

Plus, space rock, the vibecession, Hot Line Cook Summer, and other things we're obsessing over this month

We all need to unplug sometimes. Image generated using the AI art tool Midjourney, with the prompt “A computer floating on the ocean in paradise.”

Welcome to Offline Recs, The Culture Journalist’s monthly digest of articles, music, tv shows, and other cultural ephemera we can’t stop thinking about — regardless of where they fit in the news cycle.

First up, though, some online recs to get you started, because we know that’s where you probably spend the most of your time.

This edition of Offline Recs is free for everyone. For the full version of our recs — plus podcast episodes, essays, and more — sign up for a paid subscription. 

Online Recs

• Kyle Chayka on algorithmic anxiety, or the discomfort we feel when we can’t figure out whether we consume things because we like them or because the algorithm is telling us to

• Macroeconomics guru Kyla Scanlon asks, Are we in a Vibecession? 

• Amanda Mull on how data-driven trend forecasting created a world where “so much of the clothing that ends up in sto…