Long Summery Days

and thinking about 2026

Dear Not Sorry Community,

Happy summer! We are busy worker bees over here. Courtney and Casper are in Prince Edward Island for the Anne of Green Gables pilgrimage, Julia and Vanessa are gearing up for two pilgrimages in July, and our podcasting team has had loads of special guests come by our shows. Our programs team is busy concocting new in person and virtual events for later this year and beyond. We are passing excellent summer days at Not Sorry by reading, writing, listening, and walking (and of course, answering and sending emails.)

dispatches from PEI

ART DIGEST:

For this month’s Art Digest, Vanessa asked Casper to come by. We have all sorts of exciting in-person programming with Casper in 2025 and 2026 to wrap up Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. We are crying a mix of happy and sad tears about this over here. If you are too, read more below about opportunities to gather.

Vanessa: So Casper, the question that we ask everybody on this newsletter is what is one piece of art that you think every single person in the world should consume?

Casper: Okay, well, that’s maybe too high a bar, but I will tell you something I recommend wholeheartedly, which is War and Peace, not the book, but the 1972 BBC adaptation. It’s an incredibly sumptuous festival, just lavish. You don't have to deal with the endless battle scenes that are described in the books, but you do get all of the emotional intensity of one of the greatest novels of the Western world. You hear all the names, rather than seeing them on the page, which for me is so important, because I want to name every single child I could possibly have after all of these characters.

Vanessa: Anatole Kuragin, the hot baddie.

Casper: Exactly. And I'm really in it for the costumes. This period of time is the one time where menswear was better than womenswear. All the women are in empire dresses and everyone looks like a potato sack, right?

Vanessa: I love an empire dress.

Casper: Yes, you are so comfortable, and with diamonds and feathers, it’s great. But the men are in these coats and cravats and ruffles. It's a major yes.

Vanessa: I love that equity for men's fashion.

Casper: If I’m sick, this is what I love to watch. If you do nap, you can totally still follow along. It starts slow, but it's so wonderful. There are quiet looks of longing across the room. You just want to be part of their Christmas celebration.

Vanessa: You can nap and still enjoy it. 100% sold! One of the things I like best about myself is how easily entertained I am. People say, “it's a little slow,” and I think it’s riveting. I went on an early date years ago with a guy to a movie and at the end, he said, “that was the slowest thing I've ever seen,” and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Do you know what does bore me though? Lord of the Rings. Couldn't care less.

Casper: Well, because there's no ballrooms. This is what I'm saying. I can withstand bad, all sorts of things, but give me a ballroom. I'm down.

Vanessa: Yeah, okay. That's why you're perfect. Thank you, sold.

OUR UPDATES:

Ariana’s amazing podcast project, When We All Get to Heaven, is launching our crowdfunder. When We All Get to Heaven is a documentary project that tells the story of one of the first gay-positive churches, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, and how it faced the personal, social, and political trials of the AIDS epidemic, including the deaths of 500 of its members. Check out the sneak peak in their feed!

If you're in the New York City area, please join Casper to celebrate Solstice in the Park – a free, volunteer-run, community event to celebrate midsummer with song, dance, pageantry, ritual, and joyful folk culture. We will honor the turning of the stars, mark a beautiful tradition of public revelry, and build community. As a fun bonus, they will have lots of handmade puppets to hand out made of paper mache and cardboard. Gather at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn between 4-5pm for the parade into Prospect Park and then join the mythic pageant and a giant picnic!

Vanessa visited our friends at Pantsuit Politics to guest host an episode about federal funding at universities. Vanessa and Beth talk about higher education and the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard. If you loved this, check out the amazing project the Pantsuit team is doing on citizenship here.

Pilgrimages:

Registration for our last Harry Potter pilgrimage has launched! Vanessa and Casper are going to a Scottish castle to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through the theme of transformation. The demand for this trip has been enormous and we are still working through registrations, so if you are interested, do sign up as soon as you can.

If you aren’t able to join us, this pilgrimage is not the only in-person event that we're planning to bid our farewell to HPST. We have two in-person live shows planned, one of which will encompass an additional ticket for a Sacred Practice Saturday (like a VERY mini C.A.M.P. or pilgrimage). And for folks who can't make it to one of the cities we visit in person, we'll also have a final virtual live show for HPST in the spring working in accordance with the final episode. Stay tuned to this newsletter for when tickets go on sale.

If you’re still looking to join a 2026 trip, we have a couple spaces remaining on our A Room with A View pilgrimage in dreamy Florence, Italy. We will be staying in a magical frescoed villa. This will be the perfect time of year to visit Tuscany and we are so, so excited for this one.

Virtual Programming:

We still have room in upcoming What Matters cohort. Our secular answer to divinity school, What Matters that starts up in August. This course is perfect for people going through life changes, who love deep reading and contemporary classics, and who are looking to grow their community of thoughtful individuals in their lives. There are multiple ways to join the course, including payment plans, partial scholarships, and a class-only option, so that we can have it be as accessible as possible to our community. We would love to have you join us this year!

“Figuring out ‘what matters’ through sacred reading and self-reflection in a tight-knit community was a life-giving practice. Participating in What Matters gave me deep hope and was something I looked forward to each week during a challenging time in my life.”

— Dallas, WM 2024-2025

Podcasts:

The Real Question: We want to thank you all for helping us reach our goal on Patreon – we officially have 10% of our listenership supporting our podcast monetarily. This support helps our staff get paid a living wage and offsets the costs of our website hosting fees and recording materials. This month, we had Jolie Doggett join us on an episode to talk about boundaries, favors, and how and when to help others. You can find her excellent episode here.

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text: Matt Potts has returned to cohost an episode! He and Vanessa talk about Chapter 11 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through the theme of intimacy.

Hot & Bothered: Vanessa was joined by Helen Zaltzman to talk about the Sex and the City movie. The conversation encapsulates all the highs and lows intrinsic to the romantic comedy movie watching experience. Listen here.

STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:

Casper: My favorite opera is Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and there was no better production than this 2007 version at the Metropolitan Opera. The opening scene has leaves gently falling onto the stage--just stunning! Or listen to the incomparable Dmitri Hvorostovsky in this Act I aria. Be still my heart!

Ariana: I just finished the podcast Ripple, which came out last year. I was totally captivated! It’s about the 2010 BP Oil Spill and how it’s still affecting the Gulf Coast. If you’re a fan of the podcast You’re Wrong About, this is like an 8-episode, immersive, You’re Wrong About episode. I learned so much and it made all of my car trips more enjoyable this past week!

Vanessa: In the latest installment of Vanessa being a decade late on something, I am offering you a recommendation that is amazing in and of itself and will give you an opportunity to laugh at me and how behind the times I am. I recommend the SNL Fake Ad, "Wells for Boys". Next time a man says that they think Mamma Mia 2! is bad, I will yell at him, "That's because it's not for you. Because you have everything. EVERYTHING IS FOR YOU. AND THIS ONE THING IS FOR [ME!]" H/T to Hope Rehak

AJ: This month I am recommending the classic game of Backgammon. My buddy just bought a set and we have been playing in the park and it has been fun!!! Nothing revolutionary here just thought everyone should be reminded.

Courtney: My recommendation is finding a solid paint-by-number kit, and enjoy. If you're not an artist (or you think you aren't), this is an approachable, easy way to do something soothing and beautiful while enjoying a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. I hosted a paint-by-number party last month and used this kit. We shared snacks and painted for several hours at my kitchen table, and it was such a fun way to spend time with my gals. The finished products were so lovely!