Hi! Welcome to the fourth issue of The Good Side of the Internet. Super glad to have you here. For a brief run-down on what all the hullabaloo is about, please visit the About page for this publication.
As a reminder, this newsletter has been split into three sections. The first is external links that I truly adored, with my own endorsements and a little explanation about why I enjoyed them. The second is similar, but within Substack. The third is a compilation of all the recommended readings on
over the last month.The ones with the little asterisk next to them come Highly Recommended (by me). Please do heed the trigger warnings if they’re present. For access to paywalled essays, feel free to reach out to me. I’m always open to discuss/debate/listen to your opinions about any of these links. In fact, if that happened, I would ENTHUSIASTICALLY participate, and ascend to a higher plane of joy. Happy reading!
TGSotI Reviewed
How Matrimonial Shows Like ‘Indian Matchmaking’ Use a Western Gaze for Popularity | The Swaddle
In exaggerating certain aspects of the matchmaking tradition – such as the use of biodatas, the practices of horoscope matching and face reading, and intergenerational differences between Sima Aunty and her young clients – and ignoring others, recent OTT releases on Indian matrimony undermine the dark underbelly of the country’s arranged marriage institution. This includes the coded practices of casteism and dowry, legitimacy of marital rape, domestic abuse, and the transnational abandonment of women. But these shows also neglect the positive evolution of the industry, such as digital innovations, reduced parental interference, and the growing agency of younger generations in choosing their partners. Moreover, the spate’s singular focus on heteronormative, upper-class, upper-caste Hindus and Non-Resident Indians has allowed a privileged, homogenous group to define culture for a country as diverse as India.
TGSotI Review: I recently had a conversation with a friend about how the lived experiences of Indian-Americans and Indian-Indians are wildly different, and how a lot of the Western media that comes out regarding Indian culture seems to be disparaging the latter and serving the former. There’s a lot of picking-and-choosing of what is an acceptable amount of Indian-ness to diaspora, which means there’s a lot of equal parts dilution and exaggeration of certain aspects. This piece talks about so many different facets of Indian-American created media, the considerations of so many social elements that are either glossed over or ridiculed, and the very obvious pandering to the Western gaze. Yet, somehow, it all comes together to form a cohesive and incredibly structured argument. A thoroughly eye-opening read.
Adrift* | Associated Press News
In the early morning hours of May 28, 2021, a strange boat appeared in the Caribbean. As local fishermen approached it, they made a grisly discovery: Everyone aboard it was dead. As local fishermen approached it, they made a grisly discovery: Everyone aboard it was dead. Yet what remained held clues to their story.
TGSotI Review: This is one of the best structured and most thoroughly and satisfyingly reported investigative pieces I’ve read. Perfectly compassionate and logical in equal measure. Highly Recommend!
Shift happens: Writing about the history of keyboards | MIT Technology Review
After discovering that a history of keyboards— from typewriters to iPhones—had yet to be written, designer and typographer Marcin Wichary got to work.
TGSotI Review: Exactly what it says on the lid, this fascinating article talks about the evolution of keyboards, including information about ergonomics, Braille cells, and the history of the backspace key. These pictures will blow your mind!
Space Elevator* | Neal.fun
Welcome to the space elevator, the only elevator that goes to space.
TGSotI Review: At 800m, a mallard tells you you’re on an elevator to space. At 1900m, you’re in the troposphere, it’s raining, and you see a hang glider. At roughly 3500m, as it starts to become a bit chilly, you get to pick a scarf in the colour of your choice. There’s elevator music from 5300m, cirrus clouds at 7000m, and the highest-flying helicopter at 12,500m. And on and on you scroll until you leave Earth and reach the Kàrmàn Line at 1,00,000m. I cannot even fathom the amount of research that has gone into this, leave alone the amount of hands-on work. Delightfully creative, super informative, and just ridiculously fun. If for nothing else, you should check this out just so you get to pick out a nifty space suit for your character. Highly Recommend!
Cuddly, Cute, Curious Cats: On the Beauty and Diversity of the Feline Species | Literary Hub
Jonathan B. Losos Explores the World of Cat Shows
TGSotI Review: This was delightful to read, from start to finish. Such a fascinating subject, such adorable descriptions of cat mannerisms, and information about cat celebrities, which I did not know was a thing until I came across this article.
Nathan* | Longreads
Language lessons with an extraordinary ape.
TGSotI Review: I have never been so sure of recommending a piece before, in any of these newsletters so far. The curiosity, the beauty, the pain, and the eventual loss – they’re all brought out so well. I think I cried a bit while reading it, but I also laughed and smiled and silently looked outside the train window for a good three minutes when I finished. A deeply compassionate account, and a deeply interesting one too. In the truest sense of the phrase, with a vengeance I have never exhibited before, very Highly Recommend!
Virgins, Again | The Swaddle
If virginity is a social construct, why are so many women covertly undergoing surgery to ‘restore’ it?
TGSotI Review: One of these days, this newsletter will consist entirely of links from The Swaddle and I won’t even apologise for it. Yet another incredible piece, horrifyingly eye-opening and very disturbing indeed. Alas, it’s another conversation to be had, and I’m glad this is the way I learnt of it. Well-researched and articulately explained, covering aspects that I wouldn’t have even thought relevant if not for the stellar coverage.
In-house Links
This section contains links to pieces from different Substack newsletters. The reason I’ve demarcated it is because there’s more room for interaction with the authors here. (Also because the formatting is very cute, I love that box.) The ones with the little asterisk are from some of my favourite publications, which are, in my opinion, well worth subscribing to.
Suddenly I seem to be coming across a lot of coverage about the ~ richness ~ in ~ fashion ~, but this was one of the first articles I read surrounding the idea. As always,
delivers with Eat The Rich, Steal Their Skin?*The Absurd Manifesto from
Why we can’t leave celebrities alone which brings out a new perspective from
The thodi Masterlist
(I didn’t want to make this section too crowded, so I haven’t included the blurbs for each link. If you’d like some context about each one before clicking on it, I recommend navigating to the thodi issue that contains those blurbs.)
From physical wounds (June 3)
Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India
“What I Said on My Private Island Was Taken Out of Context!” On Celebrity Apologies
From how to slow down time (June 10)
Life Is a Particle Time Is a Wave (animated short film)
#CoreCore videos are becoming more popular on TikTok. What exactly are they?
On Seinfeld and the Mundane Fantasy World of the Three-Camera Sitcom
Liquid animations ✨ (video)*
From cloud photos (June 17)
How Scientists Diagnosed King Tut Thousands of Years After His Death
Consider the Lobster (and the Greenland Shark): On the Animals That Don’t Age
That’s a wrap for June ‘23! Feel free to make me the happiest person alive by reaching out to discuss any of it. If you want the tinier, but week-lier, version of super fun links (along with poetry, book, and song recommendations, plus a sometimes-nonsensical-sometimes-profound-sometimes-toopersonal writeup), we’d be happy to have you over at
.If you’d like, please share this with your friends. Or your mother. Or on your Instagram story that you share a Spotify link on once in six months. Or anybody who you think would enjoy it. This is a fresh-out-of-the-oven publication, and I am deeply passionate about telling people what to read.
Thanks for reading, and see you next month!