This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.
We’ve reached peak peony, y’all!
Serving prime basic babe energy, summer’s lush pink peonies are flooding gardens and farmers markets across the U.S. My little shiplap-n-shabby chic heart can barely handle those delicate ruffled petals and sweet, citrusy fragrance. I’ll be living for $2-per-stem at Trader Joe’s until the last blooming minute.
But if I lived near the University of Michigan, I would be Instagramming the heck outta the 10,000 blush blooms at the <a href="https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2026/06/look-at-university-of-michigans-peonies-hitting-peak-bloom.html?outputType=amp">W.E. Upjohn Peony Garden</a> right now. The most expansive collection of peonies in the nation provides the most romantic floral backdrop for a vibey English garden picnic, a watercolor painting session, or a casual stroll through the grassy grounds.
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Hello, did you know you can eat peony petals? Because I didn’t! Named after the French stage actress, ridiculously fluffy <a href="https://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/35491-product.html">Sarah Bernhardt</a> blooms infuse <a href="https://www.alaskapeonycooperative.com/blog/2021/05/11/enjoy-peonies-year-round-from-your-kitchen/">jellies, jams, cookies</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/_A_81HrdUYs?t=217">tea</a>. Maybe TJ’s should stock a few peonies in the snack aisle.
An adorable baby elephant doing baby elephant stuff
Adding to my eternal fascination with elephants and their gentle giant energy, an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j29lzrx78o">endangered Thai Asian elephant</a> was just born at the Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England. And at 3.3 feet tall and 243 pounds, he’s cute as a (really big) button. 
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A baby Asian elephant made his debut at a UK zoo on Wednesday at just two days old. 
On the eve of the FIFA World Cup, the baby boy was given a ball to play with and could be seen attempting a few dribbles and investigating with his trunk. <a href="https://t.co/ExczEmk16y">pic.twitter.com/ExczEmk16y</a>
— The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://x.com/AP/status/2065088623372877933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2026</a></blockquote>
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He has the fuzzy-haired, wrinkly forehead of an old man, but this little guy represents a hopeful future for his species. His older sister Nang Phaya was also raised by their attentive mother Donna (sounding like a <a href="https://www.parents.com/what-is-a-90s-butter-mom-11943963">&#8217;90s butter mom</a>). The baby of the family is in good hands.
He has yet to be named, but just hours after being born, he was already <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZc67GcM9xz/?hl=en">trotting around</a> and testing out his legs. Elephants technically walk on their <a href="https://herd.org.za/blog/fascinating-elephant-feet-facts/">tippy toes</a>, but considering how well this lil fella already dribbles a ball, I’m thinking he could be named after famous Thai footballer <a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/46029689/40-yard-97thminute-winner-chanathip-songkrasin-brilliance-undeniable">Chanathip Songkrasin</a>. Often compared to Lionel Messi, the soccer icon also goes by “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CjUPArrvsvX/">Messi Jay</a>.” Thank you for coming to my baby elephant-naming TedTalk. 
Analog pride with an epic celebration of pencils
If you’re into trad Punxsutawney Phil, you’re gonna love Minneapolis couple John and Amy Higgins’ annual <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/06/06/thousands-celebrate-5th-giant-pencil-sharpening-on-lake-of-the-isles">pencil-sharpening festival</a> every June. Never has “No. 2” had a more wholesome association. 
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🔥🚨LATEST: Thousands of people attended the 5th annual pencil sharpening at the home of Minneapolis couple Amy and John Higgins. This event is revolved around the sharpening of a giant pencil sculpture in their front yard. <a href="https://t.co/j0Afw7io1m">pic.twitter.com/j0Afw7io1m</a>
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) <a href="https://x.com/dom_lucre/status/2064051309318205894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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After the top of their 180-year-old oak tree was destroyed by a storm, the cultural philanthropists commissioned an artist to sculpt the remaining trunk into a 20-foot-tall writing instrument. Now, thousands of people “pencil in” the party every year, which takes place at the couple’s home and features local marching bands, merch, costumed character performers, free ice cream, and a ceremonial “sharpening” of the giant sculpture. 
“When you sharpen it, you smell that graphite. When you erase, you can smell the rubber,” said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iAxo6KeLolM?t=24&amp;feature=share">John Higgins</a> at the event. “What the pencil can do when you sharpen it, is so much more. It’s a promise to do something.” 
Being in nature actually makes us feel better
<a href="https://sempervirens.org/news/introduction-to-forest-bathing/?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=15286828546&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADnymdpwyf3WbzkD4uaQCDmIEwpXk&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwuanRBhBSEiwAY5y6V6v2x4PtKDppZi6GZhbyFzDlSBc8kCyNOVLm_qrdR8SmQJ6K-4kHERoCnHIQAvD_BwE">Forest bathing</a>, or the intentional practice of immersing yourself in nature, might sound like your crunchy neighbor’s favorite thing to do when they’re not DIY-ing soap from beef tallow. But a new study by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412026002357?via%3Dihub">Environment International</a> suggests that spending time in nature really does increase satisfaction in life. Thanks, grass!
It’s obvious to anyone who enjoys a hike in the woods or camping on the beach, but nature has long been known as a salve for the spirits, offering all of us the chance to ditch our screens for a boost in mood and a sense of well-being. But a recent survey of over 50,000 people of all ages and nationalities showed increased self-compassion and, in turn, greater optimism about life. All from connecting with nature. 
“No one says, ‘That tree’s ugly because it fell and the other ones are standing up,’” notes content creator <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2026/06/05/surprising-science-backed-reason-being-nature-makes-you-feel-good/">Tori Murphy</a>, who enjoys the refreshing landscape of Juneau, Alaska, where she lives. “Just because it isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful.” Same goes for us humans.
If you’re having trouble shaking off your “city thoughts” as you become one with the great outdoors, put your phone on silent, take a few deep breaths, and activate your senses. Smell campfire smoke wafting through the air? Hear cicadas or birds in the trees? Feel the warmth of the sun, or a cool breeze on your skin? You’re doing it right.  
Art imitating life via the nearest empty driveway
Growing up, we used our backyard hose for more nefarious purposes like spraying whoever was standing inside the screen door to the patio. But one family puts their resources to much better use, creating some pretty fantastic water silhouettes in their driveway.
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<section><a title="@mamamamamamidwest" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mamamamamamidwest?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@mamamamamamidwest</a> Our family was absolutely floored by the millions of you who watched us make water sillouettes in our driveway last summer. It was a little summer fun that brought so much happiness and so many new friends. We are kicking off the summer by bringing back our water art and this time it’s all about movies. Can you guess the movies we are portraying? What do you want to see next? We have a hose and a driveway and we can keep the fun coming!!! <a title="summerfun" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/summerfun?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#summerfun</a> <a title="water" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/water?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#water</a> <a title="movies" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/movies?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#movies</a> <a title="kidsoftiktok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/kidsoftiktok?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#kidsoftiktok</a> <a title="series" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/series?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#series</a> <a title="♬ Summer Days - Mirage chart" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Summer-Days-7392157554179377168?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ Summer Days &#8211; Mirage chart</a></section>
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I don’t know what level of crafting genius is required to be the Midwest mom who comes up with this type of activity, but I aspire toward inventing iconic images even half as recognizable as <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mamamamamamidwest/video/7521856434414308639?is_from_webapp=1&amp;sender_device=pc&amp;web_id=7612721609313699341">Air Jordan</a>, “Mary Poppins,” “E.T.,” and “The Little Mermaid.” My silhouette would probably end up looking like a sidewalk crime scene. Wait — maybe I’m just being hard on myself. I’m sure I could do a pretty mean “starfish.”
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Okay, it’s not the most popular sport in the U.S., but I love watching a World Cup game at a bar with enthusiastic fans! Bonus points for an ice cold beer. Help me feel better by sharing your guiltiest pleasures and joys in the comments. You can <a href="mailto:lbair@dailywire.com">email</a> me too. There’s so much to celebrate and it’s more fun to do it together! — Lauren

Spring weather – May 28

The Bright Side: A Soccer-Playing Baby Elephant And Other Stories You Need Right Now

baby elephant

bright side

Nature

pencil sharpening

peonies

Upstream

World Cup

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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As the U.S. celebrates its big 2-5-0, we’ve never been hungrier for patriotic pride. And with the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, international soccer fans serve American spirit by shining a hilarious and heartwarming light on our country’s everyday awesomeness.
The odds might not favor Team USA, but we’re already winning with Waffle House.
“It’s like a GTA lobby,” German fútbol fan <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2063406538652360934?s=20">Freddy</a> wrote, relating an Atlanta metro platform to the “Grand Theft Auto” video game. “One person next to us [is] taking off his shirt and declaring war on Donald Trump while another person is moonwalking across the platform.”
Freddy later witnessed <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064514871685710295">a bald eagle</a> soar through Auburn University’s packed 88,043-seat Jordan-Hare stadium as Argentina shut out Iceland 3-0 on the Road to 26.
Welcome to America, buddy.
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There’s an eagle flying around the stadium <a href="https://t.co/luC6ENq7oM">pic.twitter.com/luC6ENq7oM</a>
— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064514871685710295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“This is the most &#8216;The European mind can’t comprehend this&#8217; moment of my life,” <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064530727807463920">Freddy</a> shared. “One of my friends said, ‘Punch me five times tomorrow and I’ll still think this isn’t real.’”
Freddy, who chose Cristiano Ronaldo as his profile pic, has been delighting X followers with his travels through the South. (He’s also open to recommendations.) But he’s not the only one praising American treats like <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064174706073198903">watching the NBA Finals</a> at Chili’s with a cosmo marg and a &#8220;quesadilla explosion&#8221; salad. (I definitely thought he was joking about the “explosion” part, but it’s real. How did that concept ever make it out of the initial marketing briefing? Who cares, it’s got cheese on it.) 
Those Joni Mitchell <a href="https://genius.com/Joni-mitchell-big-yellow-taxi-lyrics">lyrics</a> go something like “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone … paved paradise put up a parking lot.” Luckily, the U.S.A. is still jam-packed with unique experiences, sprawling landscapes, and parking lots. (Where else would we put our Chevy Silverados?) We might take it for granted, but we live in a place where you have the right to customize every element of the all-star special at Waffle House. It’s refreshing to see American culture through someone else’s eyes. Especially if those people are loving every minute of it.
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Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1am. Great food, great prices, and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back.😋 <a href="https://t.co/QHgftpqfoX">pic.twitter.com/QHgftpqfoX</a>
— Freddy🇩🇪 (@FreddyLA7) <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2063853754449850487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Gleefully bewildered by massive <a href="https://x.com/WarrenLNaida/status/2064558298511417624">12-lane highways</a>, military <a href="https://x.com/fiago7/status/2064293544584503681">flyovers</a> for sporting events, food <a href="https://x.com/WarrenLNaida/status/2064549213980025225">delivery robots</a>, and an order from <a href="https://x.com/WarrenLNaida/status/2064075450767323646">Taco Bell</a>, pumped-up tourists take over small-town USA, fully in awe of the pristine bathrooms and gas pumps at <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064596372041412720?s=20">Buc-ee’s</a>. 
Catching the attention of celebrities and <a href="https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/2064770890080870556">politicians</a>, Freddy has been making the most of his visit so far. “The best discovery of our road trip has been a musician called Ella Langley,” <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064843218361991363?s=20">he posted</a>. “We’ve become big fans. She’s basically the soundtrack of our trip.” 
We’re loving watching Freddy and his crew listen to “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUsrYVxrDwI">Choosin’ Texas</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3G_7XgK2B4&amp;list=RDA3G_7XgK2B4&amp;start_radio=1">I Can’t Love You Anymore</a>” on repeat as they chow down on <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064910196644679948?s=20">Chipotle</a> somewhere along Fairhope, Alabama’s idyllic Spanish moss-draped coastline. “I could live here,” <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/2064903455156641997?s=20">Freddy</a> wrote.
“WE’RE KEEPING FREDDY,” <a href="https://x.com/alexjmingolla/status/2064905875022873079?s=20">someone</a> replied with an American flag emoji. 
Yes, these are the things most Americans do without thinking. But FYI, your daily routine is the stuff of champions.
Elsewhere on X, Swedish football fan Elsa offers us all a new appreciation for “<a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2065058970608509326?s=20">beautiful</a>” fire trucks, <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064899554399678790">lowrider</a> car culture, and the finer fare of greasy spoon diners. “Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP,” <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064145024892215673?s=20">she posted</a>. And after enjoying <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064700519176941810?s=20">the fastest WiFi</a> of her life on a domestic flight at the start of her month-long visit, she was one of us. 
“What are we doing wrong in Europe? The USA has completely radicalized me within 48 hours.”
Vulnerable to the comments section, Elsa and Freddy have caught flack from internet provocateurs (and obvious haters of soccer and America), who claim these sorts of fun-loving travelogues are somehow <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064904553850712236">pandering trolls</a> meant to drum up hate-clicks. How could their pure joy for these signature American experiences possibly be genuine? Aren’t we all just joyless, jaded cynics also eating Chipotle in our bedrooms with the blinds closed? (Mom, I said extra guacamole!)
International flights, plus a month-long road trip across America and World Cup tickets that can cost upwards of <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/soccer/world-cup-game-cost-ticket-hotel-fifa-rcna347377">$2,000</a> depending on the city (with hotels sometimes surging above the price of a cheap stadium seat), pose a sting to the wallet. And with each host American city unlikely to recover the estimated <a href="https://www.smith.edu/news-events/news/2026-world-cup-high-costs-host-cities">$100 million</a> needed to host the tournament, fans like Freddy are more essential than ever.
Other self-described World Cup fans have expressed alleged concern about traveling to the U.S. Claiming to have felt much safer touring around previous host countries like South Africa and Brazil, German national Steve Schwarzbach is skipping this year. 
“You see the ICE people going around and just pulling people from the streets just because they look foreign and you don’t get the feeling that anybody would protect me, you know?” he told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/21/travel/world-cup-travelers-united-states">CNN</a>. “I look more Asian than German. I wouldn’t feel safe.”
While Steve watches the festivities remotely (eye roll), we’re over here with Freddy and Elsa (and Tanzanian Canadian tourist, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/21/travel/world-cup-travelers-united-states">Arjun Modhwadia</a>, who excitedly shelled out $2,000 for the quarter final game in Kansas City) living our best lives tasting Twinkies, Combos, and <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064506331306828079">Coney Island</a> hot dogs again for the first time. 
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I feel like I’m in a movie <a href="https://t.co/uIEj9N50r7">pic.twitter.com/uIEj9N50r7</a>
— Elsa (@elsathora) <a href="https://x.com/elsathora/status/2064159877681881251?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Can we keep these people, and deport the haters? This is purely an attitude assessment. Debbie Downer locals telling these happy-go-lucky visitors that our food is overly seasoned and salty, while trying to throw a wet towel on small-town America? You’re uninvited to this moment. Life’s too short — and this country is far too great — to spend another second listening to anyone complain about it.
As for Freddy, he finally got eyes on his avatar’s namesake, <a href="https://x.com/FreddyLA7/status/1801926340318232988">Ronaldo</a> (and he’s learning the difference between the Gulf and “the sea,” thanks to Florida <a href="https://x.com/rondesantis/status/2064880494307574226?s=46">Governor Ron Desantis</a>’ geography lesson). Even though our favorite European soccer fan has weeks to go on his great American experience, I think we’ve already come to a consensus. Like <a href="https://x.com/Grantmitt/status/2064520727621964263">this dude</a> posted on X, “I’ve seen enough, let’s get this guy citizenship.” God bless America.

Foreign Soccer Fans Are Discovering Something Many Americans Forgot

freddy

Tourism

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Millionaire tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson wants to live forever. But after spending <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/has-bryan-johnsons-anti-aging-experiment-backfired-biohacker-spending-2-million-a-year-admits-to-a-costly-misstep/articleshow/120036487.cms?from=mdr">$2 million</a> a year “future-proofing” his body, the 48-year-old has finally tapped into an actual reason for living. 
“Guys … I have a girlfriend,” Johnson posted to <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1995953490930401334?s=20">X</a>. 
In 2025, he announced he had been dating his <a href="https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/?tw_source=google&amp;tw_adid=783567070527&amp;tw_campaign=23258069197&amp;tw_kwdid=kwd-2173918292587&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23258069197&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAqWPWN7UVLekpWbLbeWKBwa34GvIk&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXblHYRqCy5xJ2UFO7-bs9em1IaWMr4o5DHdYNCJRJm7raCUVpl_TRoaAl4HEALw_wcB">Blueprint</a> health protocol co-founder, 30-year-old <a href="https://people.com/millionaire-entrepreneur-who-wants-to-live-forever-announces-hes-been-dating-30-year-old-cofounder-for-3-years-11863011">Kate Tolo</a>, for three years. But it wasn’t until this month that he flew to Australia to meet Kate’s parents for the first time. 
“International travel causes aging,” <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/2059388262872203763">he noted</a> from the plane. “But I really love her so it’s worth the cost.”
Behind every man attempting to live forever, there’s a strong woman organizing his <a href="https://youtu.be/kf9e1o7rUeo?t=23">54 daily supplements</a>, plugging in his red light therapy laser helmet, and holding his stuff during his therapeutic plasma exchange appointments. But a temporary deviation from his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn2PJY6sb25/">1,977 vegan calories</a> per day allowed him a glimpse at an existence beyond vitalitycore.
“I ate everything [Kate’s mother] prepared, including meat, bread, and pasta, and embraced the discomfort of being an introvert in a week-long marathon social interaction,” <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/2062711998656418008/photo/1">Johnson</a> shared. “It was laughter and teasing all around … It feels nice to be part of the family.”
Johnson also posted a photo of himself cowering under a UV umbrella on a sunny day as Kate’s dad cracked macadamia nuts from their tree, and he lamented the “<a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/2062932515728633942">spike in food noise</a>” while traveling thanks to off-kilter hormones from jet lag. But while the painfully on-brand longevity enthusiast routinely takes incoming fire from haters in the comments, many related to Johnson’s desire just to be accepted by Kate’s family.
“A pale immortal trading their immortality for the love of a human is actually a very important trope to me,” an <a href="https://x.com/a22kay/status/2062978256102715762">X user</a> wrote.
<a href="https://x.com/amalnotclooney/status/2063404235656396834?s=20">Someone else</a> gleefully shared, “Lol why does this man who I loathed have me screaming and kicking my feet?”
“Some things are worth dying for,” commented <a href="https://x.com/hritikkgandhi/status/2063278124620464440?s=20">another</a>. 
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I met Kate’s parents.
It was a nail bitter.
We landed after 24 hours of travel and immediately went to her mum’s house where the family congregated… her mum, dad, auntie, three cousins, sister, brother-in-law, a 3-wk old newborn, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law. There… <a href="https://t.co/uA00aRGl7J">https://t.co/uA00aRGl7J</a> <a href="https://t.co/78KBHBqorV">pic.twitter.com/78KBHBqorV</a>
— Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/2062711998656418008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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It wasn’t a total surprise that Kate’s Bosnian-born parents were slow to warm up to her mogul boyfriend. Just a month before the trip, <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/2049688286126559372">Johnson wrote</a> about Kate’s “top 1%” vaginal microbiome swab test with a not-safe-for-work announcement about the couple&#8217;s recent activities. Mom and Dad’s dream.
Considering that he’s said “<a href="https://youtu.be/kf9e1o7rUeo?t=66">I really want to have multiple lifetimes</a>,” it’s putting it extraordinarily lightly to say Johnson sets a high bar. Since selling his company Braintree Venmo to PayPal for <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/07/14/bryan-johnson-spending-2-million-young-forever/">$800 million</a>, the 48-year-old has been raking it in, acting as his own guinea pig to shill gateway goods for his branded longevity protocol. Apparently, all it takes is $40 “<a href="https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/collections/daily-health-longevity/products/extra-virgin-olive-oil">Snake Oil</a>” extra virgin olive oil, $60 <a href="https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/collections/hair-and-skin-care/products/facial-serum">facial serum</a>, and a $40 <a href="https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/collections/nutritional-support/products/nutty-pudding-fruit-and-nut-mix">blueberry nut mix</a> and you’ll be on your way toward sitting in front of a sunlamp every morning stimulating your “<a href="https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/blogs/news/morning-routine?srsltid=AfmBOoqP249QZlzw-5iq79YrfDAaspoVdcdTYpRidfvZJoaUMQ0xh2qn">body clock</a>” for your health.
I watched Johnson’s 2025 Netflix documentary, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf9e1o7rUeo">Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever,</a>” without blinking. My basic Amazon omega-3-6-9, magnesium, and creatine routine felt like Flintstones Vitamins next to Johnson’s aspirational regimen. Can anyone keep up with this guy?
We all have our types. But I could never imagine even being distant roommates with someone so focused on manicuring his body hair like a mint-condition Ken doll. Earlier in his life, Johnson was <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1995953490930401334">married for 13 years</a> to a woman with whom he shares his son, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/dont-die-tech-mogul-bryan-johnson-penis-measuring-contest-son?srsltid=AfmBOoqkaDxeYcjZTtsZC6Y-wPbSaNasMyisV1JvPQhVdlpq2mos9x28">Talmage Johnson</a>. But by age 44, Johnson says he was beginning to come to terms with living out the rest of his lifetimes (yes, plural) solo. 
Then he met Kate, who witnessed the unvarnished ins and outs of life with BJo (she may have even styled the <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1624869645613412353">French braid</a> he wears to keep his mane out of his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-v1g-kyM6_/">rejuvenated eyes</a>) and said, Sign me up for more of this. They say there’s a pot for every kettle. 
On some level, we’re probably all just looking for someone whose weirdness is compatible with our own. Luckily for humanity, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/08/for-valentines-day-facts-about-marriage-and-dating-in-the-us/">most of us</a> meet our match.
Even for fans of ultra life-maxxing, the love quotient has a real impact on longevity. Research proves that those of us with close relationships experience a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2910600/">50% greater overall rate</a> of survival than those with “meh” personal connections, with one study suggesting that we should all “take social relationships as seriously as other risk factors that affect mortality” such as smoking, alcohol, and inactivity. 
On the flip side, the <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/what-causing-our-epidemic-loneliness-and-how-can-we-fix-it">devastating surge in loneliness</a> and social isolation has been shown to lead to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01617-6">earlier death</a> from all causes.  
If you’ve got the money, you can pay for <a href="https://www.mygenefood.com/blog/bryan-johnsons-gene-therapy-is-it-worth-it/">$25,000 gene therapy</a> at a specialized clinic in Honduras as Bryan Johnson did. But while the procedure may have helped him maintain muscle mass and quell a little of his alleged inflammation, he can’t spoon with his own six-pack abs at night under the covers. 
According to an <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/">80-year-long study</a> (the rough equivalent of two of Bryan Johnson’s current lives), happy, fulfilling relationships — not genes, IQ, or social class — might be the greatest predictors of longevity.
“Playing the longest game ever with Bryan Johnson: Don’t Die …” <a href="https://x.com/_katetolo/status/1876003595398914070?s=20">wrote Kate</a>, summing up their serendipitous meeting of the minds when she emailed him as a fan of his work. Even though she originally wanted to get into fashion, their life’s passions aligned.
“Kate was luminescent … butterflies fluttered in my stomach,” <a href="https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1995953490930401334?s=20">Johnson wrote</a> of first falling for his co-founder. “It wasn’t how she looked but how her mind worked: original, eccentric, entirely her own. She was art.”
“Life sinks or sails based upon the quality of our most intimate relationships,” he said.
Sounds like a well-matched pair doing a little love-gevity research as they sail into the sunset.

The Man Spending Millions To Live Forever Discovered Something Money Can’t Buy

bryan johnson

longevity

love

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Luxe inclusive it-brand Selkie — known for the “<a href="https://www.shondaland.com/shondaland-series/bridgerton/selkie-founder-kimberley-gordon-on-joining-the-bridgerton-world">Bridgerton</a>”-esque “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/selkie-tiktok-famous-puff-dress-inclusive-fashion">puff dress</a>” it popularized on TikTok — is taking major heat from its fanbase. The label’s new patriotic capsule didn’t land with fashion-hungry feminists who are taking a hard pass on reclaiming their own American story. 
Despite giving “sexy Colonial woman,” not even starry-blue corsets or flouncy red-and-white striped skirts could convince Selkie devotees that a $799 petticoat meant they’d be fighting the patriarchy. Even worse for the woman-owned, LGBT-friendly brand, the announcement dropped on Instagram in tandem with the arrival of “Pride Month.” The comment section promptly frothed with rage. 
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“Could have been a Pride collection. Instead it’s… this,” a she/her licensed <a href="https://www.instagram.com/glitterdivine/">trauma therapist</a> posted. “Releasing literally nothing would have been better.”
Fronted by U.K.-born WILDFOX  co-founder <a href="https://selkiecollection.com/pages/about-selkie">Kimberley Gordon</a>, who spent much of her life in Santa Barbara, California, Selkie attempted to sell the concept with a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZFrG0AFLLj/?img_index=1">rallying message</a>. 
“America has been in the background of our lives and stories … At a time when women’s rights are threatened, immigrant women are torn from their communities, guns are rampant in our schools and [sic] violence against women, minorities and the LGBTQ communities … We refuse to surrender the symbols of this country to those who would use them against us … What’s your American story?”
Instead of sharing heartwarming anecdotes, followers went for the jugular. “If I saw someone wearing this collection, I would think them an unsafe person to be around,” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZFrG0AFLLj/?img_index=1">someone</a> posted. Others called the line “colonial chic” and tone-deaf, with one person suggesting, “If someone wears any of this I would immediately assume they’re MAGA.”
This post followed a vintage carousel of 1900s women advocating for equality. Instead of seeing the user-dubbed “<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZB5WXglJLo/?img_index=16">Suffragette Core</a>” as retail motivation, one former fan posted, “WTF. Just bought my first Selkie dress last month now I won’t EVER buy from you again.”
A subsequent post promoting <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZIja_fmaaM/?img_index=5">queer American flag chic</a> did nothing to tame the outrage. “I dunno if now is the right time to be celebrating America when everything has collapsed into a facist [sic] oligarchy and we have literal concentration camps everywhere,” a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZFrG0AFLLj/?img_index=1">critic</a> warned, seemingly oblivious to this comments suppressive efforts.
As the internet’s No. 1 <a href="https://time.com/5675803/america-flag-threat/">triggering motif</a>, the <a href="https://www.usa.gov/flag">American flag</a> boasts three representative colors for the nation: red for valor and bravery, white to signify purity and innocence, and blue to symbolize vigilance, perseverance, and justice. “<a href="https://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm">One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all</a>,” the Pledge of Allegiance goes. The “for all” part still stands, even if <a href="https://yellowhammernews.com/rep-dale-strong-proposes-law-to-bring-back-patriotism-in-american-schools-receives-support-from-dozen-alabama-school-districts/">no one</a> says it anymore.
Launched after Kimberley Gordon was pushed out of the WILDFOX brand she founded and grew over a decade, Selkie was meant to empower female expression through sumptuous style. As <a href="https://fashionista.com/2022/02/viral-fashion-trend-product-business">Gordon described</a> it, “I had this dream of this dress … like a piece of bubblegum. I wanted to make my first ever princess-y dress that was like a dessert — like a confection come to life for your body.”
The brand gets its name from the <a href="https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-myths-legends-selkies/">mythological mermaid</a> creature found in <a href="https://www.wildernessireland.com/blog/irish-myths-legends-selkies/">Scottish and Irish</a> folklore. Half seal and half human, the enchanting selkie is vulnerable to a restrictive life on land if its aquatic “seal” skin is lost or stolen. Selkie (the brand) aimed to protect its wearer’s soul.  
Breaking from the industry norms of her previous label, Gordon demanded inclusive XXS to 6X sizing for women of all types. Runway shows featured models rolling down the catwalk in <a href="https://youtu.be/WPAcfa2_Yb4?t=237">wheelchairs</a> and being carried by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/d6opd_FXZUE?t=20&amp;feature=share">strapping men</a> like “Anne of Green Gables” romantasy. 
Many of the cupcake-like gowns have rightly been described as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXYdsZvFUuD/?img_index=1">wearable paintings</a>. After debuting in <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/selkie-tiktok-famous-puff-dress-inclusive-fashion">2018</a>, the line found a home with national retailers like Revolve, Anthropologie, Free People, and Bloomingdale’s and earned the celebrity set’s stamp of approval. 
But even a deeply diverse bench of multicolored <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iYnspppTLtc">muses</a> with voluminous curves, splotchy freckles, kinky hair, vitiligo, and full beards couldn’t satisfy the gluttonous fantasies of the solipsistic masses. If we’re naval gazing, it’s certainly not at a star-spangled belly button ring. 
<a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4709465-liberals-have-lost-their-patriotism/">Progressives</a> shall not abide American patriotism, even if it’s upcycled similarly t o the way Amber Rose rebranded “<a href="https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/">sl*t</a>,” Lizzo reclaimed “<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/lizzo-says-her-album-bitch-is-about-reclaiming-who-i-am-after-years-of-criticism-11597246">b*tch</a>,” and <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/when-did-we-all-get-so-comfortable-saying-the-c-word">K-Pop stans campified the c-word</a> on social media. Nothing can shift the “stars and stripes = bad” fallout from what some perceive as a full-fledged <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2023/07/26/liberal-activists-in-the-us-need-to-reclaim-the-american-flag/">co-opt</a> by a certain administration of our country’s national emblem.    
On a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/BrandyMelville/comments/1h9fpmd/comment/m1107rt/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">Reddit</a> post asking if those outside the U.S. would ever wear America’s patriotic finest — specifically, a Brandy Melville sweater stitched with a standard American flag — one person summed up an outsider’s view of “Americore” as fashion: 
“I think it is weird if you are an American haha, it gives patriotism. But if you are a foreigner (like me who lives in a third world country where everyone&#8217;s dream is being American) it goes with the ‘lana del rey americana’ aesthetic of the 2010s.” 
Selkie appears to have pivoted toward a fundraising effort for its new collection, promising to dedicate <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZNXsiAFOIq/?igsh=MW9tMjI2NzFjOXd0bA%3D%3D">100% net profit</a> ($40,000 minimum) to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and UN Women. 
“As a white woman, the idea that we get to decide this symbol can simply be reclaimed feels deeply uncomfortable to me,” plus-size model <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZNXsiAFOIq/?igsh=MW9tMjI2NzFjOXd0bA%3D%3D">Tess Holliday</a> commented. Others piled on. 
But Kimberly Gordon remains unapologetic.
“This collection is, in part, about the pressure to conform under public scrutiny and the way online outrage can sometimes shut down meaningful dialogue,” she responded. “To apologize simply because there is criticism would undermine the very conversation the work is intended to spark.”
Gordon maintains her right to creative liberty over her vision of modern Americana. 
“It was the symbol of the world I was moving to from the UK, it was the symbol of my new life and friends and the kindness of my California peers. It’s a pattern I&#8217;ve played with my whole career in fashion,” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZIja_fmaaM/?img_index=5">Gordon wrote</a> of the U.S. flag. “The thing about choices is that I have them, these collections are my American story.”
In light of the brutal blowback this creative brand got for suggesting that a series of dresses might inspire a little patriotic spirit, one thing remains true. A cheeky Victorian heirloom pinafore may not be for everyone, but the American flag sure is.

Woke Fashion Brand Discovers Its Fans Can’t Handle The American Flag

Fashion

kimberley gordon

selkie

Weekend Plans is our exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in culture. 
This weekend, evolutionary behavioral scientist and savage satirist <a href="https://www.gadsaad.com/">Gad Saad</a> lends his time to The Daily Wire to discuss his New York Times bestseller “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Suicidal-Empathy-Dying-Be-Kind/dp/0063446537">Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind</a>” and dish the details on the best barbecue, the comic genius behind a happy marriage, setting the tone with &#8217;70s soul, and why this Lebanese Canadian is America&#8217;s “ultimate family man.”
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If the concept of “suicidal empathy” sounds familiar, you can thank Gad Saad. A frequent guest of “<a href="http://jrepodcast.com/guest/gad-saad/">The Joe Rogan Experience</a>,” <a href="https://www.prageru.com/presenters/gad-saad?gc_id=23574368327&amp;h_ga_id=&amp;h_ad_id=&amp;h_keyword_id=&amp;h_keyword=&amp;h_placement=&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=23569095981&amp;gbraid=0AAAAADviHxF_xebQoWC3mxpobAmxlsjUQ&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwof_QBhCgARIsADaMzOezao9xFCYHLrrtgv55CMJRkmUCYlSztz6gkETU30u88dRt0gK3yVUaAo98EALw_wcB">PragerU</a> collaborator, and wearer of the occasional purple <a href="https://youtu.be/f39nBhLZEiU?t=296">wig to prove a point</a>, the man known as “<a href="https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/books/388547/the-gadfather-makes-an-offer-he-hopes-you-cant-refuse/">The Gadfather</a>” coined the term to describe compassion gone wild as he skillfully unpacked the personality trait that became society’s greatest threat. 
In tandem with Gad’s dizzyingly intellectual research on thought pathogens, he finds the sweet spot between academia and meme culture. My hard copy is now decorated with roughly 100 colorful page markers and dog-eared corners. I laughed out loud at “Geese for Foie Gras” as a mirror for civilizational seppuku and the mention of an actual university research grant to &#8220;decolonize light.” 
Gad brilliantly translates scholarly theories into phraseology anyone can understand. But you don’t have to be a genius to appreciate the professor’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06A7A_vfKA&amp;t=155s">profound joy</a>, either. 
His story began in Lebanon. Gad&#8217;s family fled in 1975 at the start of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Lebanese-Civil-War">15-year civil war</a>, finding a new home in Montreal, Canada. Most recently, Gad secured an EB-1A green card, reserved for those of “<a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/gad-saad-joe-rogan-leaving-montreal-united-states/">extraordinary ability</a>,” to relocate his wife and children to the U.S. The idea that the Saad gang might one day become American citizens appears to be running unopposed. 
When I ask Gad what he hopes readers take away from his work, he confirms empathy’s virtue, in moderation. “Adaptive empathy, meaning well-calibrated empathy rooted in an evolutionarily rational calculus, is a noble and laudable virtue,” he says. “We are a social species that has evolved the capacity for empathy. But suicidal empathy, consisting of its hyperactive firing, in the wrong situations and toward the wrong targets, will destroy our civilization if it continues to go unchecked.” 
I quickly flip to my favorite page … there it is: “Be kind as a default value,” Gad writes. But when needed, he says, “Activate your inner honey badger in defending truth.”  
A morning coffee walk-and-talk
“My public life can be intense, hectic, and quite stressful,” Gad confirms. He presently works as a scholar at the University of Mississippi, hosts “<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-saad-truth-with-dr-saad/id1516343565">The Saad Truth with Dr. Saad</a>” podcast, and makes regular public appearances. Outspoken about his views, he’s vulnerable to antisemitic attacks and <a href="https://aristotlefoundation.org/book-reviews/the-road-to-hell-is-being-paved-with-suicidal-empathy/">death threats</a>. “My private life is the antithesis of that, namely, it is calm and serene. I need the protective sanctuary of my private life to be able to tackle all the stimuli that I face in the public arena.”
He’s dialed in a routine that makes getting out of bed totally worth it. “I wake up usually between 7:00 to 7:30 a.m.,” he explains. A steward of sunrises, he enjoys his first taste of caffeine with his number one lady. “On a typical day, I head off to the local café with my wife for our morning coffee cup. I then work on my laptop for three to four hours until I return home for lunch.” During outdoorsier seasons, this affords him the opportunity to get his steps, if he were ever in need of counting them. “If the weather is clement, my wife and I will walk to the café, 30 to 35 minutes each way.” 
The family man’s guide to quality time
I’m amazed that Gad ever has any free time. But he assures me he gets the most enjoyment from hanging out with his favorite people.
“I love to spend time with my wife and children,” Gad says. Maybe the fact that they rarely appear on his social media further clarifies how deeply they are cherished. “I am the ultimate family man.” 
As for the Saads’ favorite activities, the only requirement is that everyone get in on the fun. “We are always together as a family unit. We love to go to restaurants together, but our most frequent outing is to head off to a café to chat. We have wonderful conversations spanning countless topics.” When they’re craving connection with a refreshing change of scenery, they set out to explore the world. They&#8217;ve recently traveled to Portugal, Bermuda, and Israel.
On the chance that Gad finds himself with solo downtime, he nurtures a few passions he’s had since he was a kid. “I love to exercise, to play soccer, and to read and collect books,” he says. He’d beat anyone in a juggling contest (I have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YiGqoLilyHE">receipts</a>).  
The secret to wedded bliss
Even casual followers of Gad know he’s totally in love with his wife. I wasn’t going to miss the chance to uncover why they act like flirty friends who can’t wait to share each other’s company. 
“The choice of a spouse is arguably the decision that will impart the greatest amount of happiness or misery in your life,” he says. “The secret to my happy marriage is that my wife is truly my best friend.” It’s obvious in the way they laugh with each other, decades into their relationship. “We love to spend time together. We have open lines of communication. We never go to bed angry at one another. We are respectful of one another.”
They’ve also nailed down who takes the reins in the kitchen. “My wife is an exceptional cook,” Gad says. “As such, she does all the cooking, and I do a lot of eating!” Reporting that he looks forward to anytime she grills up a juicy ribeye, he adds, “I convinced her to start a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYX0etLWQEi-cpyrpgkOWFg">cooking channel</a>, but then she decided that she did not enjoy being in the limelight even though I never filmed her face.” 
The couple’s easy chemistry might also be attributed to Gad’s congenial vibe. “I am always joking around,” he says. “They say that women love funny men; well, I count myself as a very funny guy so presumably this makes my wife happy.”
Mind fuel from a prominent thought leader
I’m curious about which book from Gad’s massive library might currently live on his nightstand. “A biography on Konrad Lorenz, the pioneer of the field of ethology and co-winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize,” he notes of his page-turner du jour.
Gad’s curious nature inspires him to pursue all sorts of interests. “I am a huge fan of the Philly Sound, a genre of soul music from the 1960s and 1970s. On any given day, you are likely to find me listening to The Stylistics and The Delfonics.” He even developed a friendship with Russell Thompkins Jr., the original lead singer of The Stylistics, who then appeared on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aorkR10oP_s&amp;t=7s">Gad’s show</a>. 
Doling out a little out-of-office guidance to the greater wisdom-seeking collective, Gad taps into his 60-something years of experience. “Life is short and every moment is infinitely precious,” he says. “Do not waste time on silly matters and pursuits.”  
One last thing. “Three additional pieces of advice,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Read, read, and read.”

Punch 5-5 – Fly Me to the Moon-1-1

Weekend Plans with Gad Saad

gad saad

suicidal empathy

weekend plans

The Bright Side: The Happiness Hack Backed By Science, Plus The World’s Cutest Goalkeeper

lemonading

ronaldo the football dog

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
It’s Pride Month, and rainbows gonna rainbow. But the pink, white, and blue <a href="https://www.si.edu/stories/who-designed-transgender-flag">transgender flag</a> is flying higher than ever for Tinseltown’s gender-nonconforming youth.
It seems like literally every celebrity has a trans kid these days. From <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/ben-afflecks-teen-child-fin-204514757.html">Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck</a> to <a href="https://people.com/all-about-liev-schreiber-naomi-watts-daughter-kai-11732147">Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber</a>, <a href="https://people.com/movies/jamie-lee-curtis-and-daughter-ruby-on-journey-coming-out-as-trans/">Jamie Lee Curtis</a>, and <a href="https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/08/26/charlize-therons-kids-jackson-august-daughters/">Charlize Theron</a>, it isn’t hard to find a smiling A-list parent proudly standing by as their child rejects their own God-given body. But is it a symptom of our safe-space era? Or the first raindrops before a torrential storm?
“There has to be some reason why this enormous percentage of Hollywood kids are trans. How many celebrities have trans kids?” <a href="https://middleeasy.com/mma-news/joe-rogan-goes-off-hollywood-celebs-transgender-kids-crazy/">Joe Rogan</a> said. “It’s not a thing that was going on just a few years ago.”
When Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s daughter <a href="https://pagesix.com/2026/05/29/celebrity-news/jennifer-lopezs-child-emme-debuts-new-name-at-high-school-graduation-ceremony/">Emme Muñiz</a> came out as “Oskar Muñiz” last month, the subject resurfaced. “They have ADHD,” Lopez told <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZFr5jnPc79/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Extra</a>, speaking about her twins, Emme (“Oskar”) and Max, who got their father’s unconventional looks. “They’re loving, good-hearted people.” 
The pro-trans campaign among the elite is real and <a href="https://globalphilanthropyproject.org/2026/03/10/fund-our-futures-campaign-update/">well-funded</a>. Just the global sex reassignment surgery market alone is expected to reach nearly <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trends-strategies-shaping-7-5-153400822.html">$8 billion by 2033</a>. But while the situation remains fluid, the larger discussion is hardly open to alternative perspectives.
“I hope you know that you will find yourself,” trans “Baby Reindeer” actor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rW82swvkUks">Nava Mau</a> told &#8220;trans kids&#8221; from the 2024 Emmys red carpet. “You will find your purpose and everything will be alright.”  
Over in politics, Democrat Texas state Rep. James Talarico told “<a href="https://youtu.be/3CligU7twvE?t=2497">A Superbloom Podcast</a>,” “I love … the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity.” 
Softened by the agreeing coos of everyone on set, Marlon Wayans told “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fDYdcEkoeUU?t=4&amp;feature=share">IMO with Michelle Obama</a>” of his own child, Kai, “Their transition really taught me what unconditional love was.” Wayans says he came around to “full acceptance” of the trans thing within a week. 
It’s not completely out of bounds to pin a lot of this on the debauched rules of the game in a left-leaning bubble. Rife with stories of <a href="https://variety.com/2017/film/features/casting-couch-hollywood-sexual-harassment-harvey-weinstein-1202589895/">casting couches</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/16/1238843676/quiet-on-set-nickelodeon">toxic sets</a>, and open secrets about <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/six-things-you-didnt-know-about-clive-davis-194379/">king-making predators</a> in the C-suite, the celebrity entertainment machine holds onto a blurry status quo. 
“These kids are not our accessories. They’re little human beings that need structure,” Sylvester Stallone’s wife Jennifer Flavin told <a href="https://youtu.be/TPV_ArqT6j8?t=896">Katie Miller</a>. Having left California for <a href="https://people.com/sylvester-stallone-jennifer-flavin-palm-beach-florida-home-see-inside-11790540">Palm Beach</a>, Florida, in 2024, Flavin detailed the challenge of raising the couple’s three (tomboy) daughters in the belly of the beast. “Growing up in a Hollywood home, there’s really no structure … you’ve got private planes, you’ve got all these giant homes with chefs and secretaries and assistants and housekeepers or nannies, and there’s just too much of everything.” 
If we’re just living in a trendy popularity contest, it’s almost impossible to nail down why this epidemic is surging among the jet-set. Energetic headlines praise well-known parents for publicly supporting their trans-identifying kids. As <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellendurney/celeb-parents-with-trans-and-nonbinary-kids">BuzzFeed</a> claims, “It really is that easy to love your kids unconditionally!” 
Voices that challenge the narrative are quickly taken out with society’s trash. See Mario Lopez’s apology tour after mentioning in an interview that age three was too young to decide that a child is trans. &#8220;It&#8217;s sort of alarming,” <a href="https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/mario-lopez-apologizes-ignorant-insensitive-comments-trans-children/story?id=64690975">he said</a>. “And my gosh, I just think about the repercussions later on.&#8221; He subsequently pledged his LGBTQ allegiance, emphasis on the T. 
Virtue signaling feeds the fame monster, but it’s not the only reason so many celebrity kids call themselves trans. It’s also not even the most sinister.
To unpack the psychology behind the celebrity push to trans their kids, The Daily Wire spoke with licensed therapist <a href="https://x.com/pgarfieldjaeger?s=21&amp;t=ZAoIkqhiKpZyQayFV_2XbQ">Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, LCSW</a>. Also the author of the children’s book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1665310774">Froggy Girl</a>” and “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1KZVTJ">A Practical Response to Gender Distress: Tips and Tools for Families</a>,” she didn’t need to work with these particular celebrity children to have thoughts. 
“Most people look at the social contagion aspect of it, and I think it&#8217;s deeper than that,” she says. “A lot of these kids are either adopted, or surrogates, or raised by someone other than their primary parents so there are some attachment issues there.”
Noting the potential fallout from any trauma, Garfield-Jaeger also points to the notorious depravity of Hollywood. “Exposure to pedophilia, or just the culture of being hyper-sexualized, can really lead them to want to reject their bodies,” she shares. “It&#8217;s in their zeitgeist.”
The struggle to establish themselves in the shadow of a world-famous parent can also serve as a trigger. “In regular families this happens a lot where the wallflower kid can come out as trans because they have not been noticed or aren’t getting the same kind of attention and praise as the star football player brother,” she says. 
It’s even worse when a parent <a href="https://today.usc.edu/usc-study-celebrities-really-are-more-narcissistic-than-the-general-public/">scores higher</a> on the self-obsession scale than the average mom and pop. “If you&#8217;ve been raised by a narcissist, that&#8217;s also another common factor for people who end up being trans,” Garfield-Jaeger notes. “Perhaps it&#8217;s a way for their parents to notice them, and wield some control or power in a circumstance where they don&#8217;t feel like they have any.”
Elon Musk described being “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/azF7Bo4Nwzw">tricked into signing documents</a>” that allowed his son, Xavier, to transition. The oldest of <a href="https://www.instyle.com/all-about-elon-musk-14-kids-and-their-four-mothers-11940372">Musk’s 14 children</a>, now known as model Vivian Wilson, told <a href="https://youtu.be/R0-eJ79kWks?t=336">Teen Vogue</a>, “I’m financially independent, which, cool, love that for me.” Claiming Musk was largely <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-transgender-daughter-vivian-wilson-interview-rcna163665">absent and cruel</a>, Vivian assured a live audience, “Right now, they’re painting us all as violent mass shooters. I’m not gonna shoot anyone. I’m a model!” 
<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gender-dysphoria/in-depth/pubertal-blockers/art-20459075">Hormone therapy</a> has been billed as a mild intervention, but it has devastating repercussions when administered and tapered off. “Ever heard of roid rage?” Garfield-Jaeger posits. “That&#8217;s basically what it is.” 
Detransitioner <a href="https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/CommitteeDocuments/362/22848/03%2014%202023%20General%20Testimony.pdf">Helena Kerschner</a> described the terror that testosterone wreaked on her body. After repeatedly being admitted to mental hospitals, she wrote, “I began experiencing uncontrollable episodes of rage and paranoia, where I was a danger to myself and others. I lost control over my body.” 
Explaining how hormone treatment affects everything from sexual preference to the ability to maintain committed relationships, Garfield-Jaeger says, “You&#8217;re basically inducing an endocrine disorder into a healthy person when you do this. There are a lot of consequences. The kids are just being celebrated into turmoil.”
“The whole trans thing is really, in my opinion, crazy, because it&#8217;s a symptom of some kind of problem or pain, but yet our entire healthcare system praises it, reinforces it, and medicalizes it,” she says. “We&#8217;re not trying to address what&#8217;s really happening that&#8217;s bubbling under the surface. With trans, all of a sudden it means they have a magical gendered soul that otherwise they&#8217;ll kill themselves, and that&#8217;s not true.”
“Anybody with eyeballs can tell this is not natural. This isn&#8217;t just more people just coming forward after being accepted. If that were true, why aren&#8217;t the older celebrities coming out as trans?” she asks. 
For some famous faces of alt lifestyle trends, the tide may be shifting toward common sense. Riling up his fanbase, outspoken makeup mogul <a href="https://x.com/GypsyPatriot_/status/1965948775236812965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1965948775236812965%7Ctwgr%5E1de02cf895158cf27c74fa50109baa2cd2364e34%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fmedia%2Fjeffree-star-charlie-kirk-nonbinary">Jeffree Star</a> shared on TikTok, “There’s science and there’s facts. You can pretend in your head you’re a cat. You can pretend in your head that you’re this, and you’re that. Good for you. You’re still only A or B.”
But Garfield-Jaeger notes that even doctors and therapists seeking to reverse course on the trans epidemic aren’t exactly sure how to do it yet. “I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a coincidence that all these Hollywood kids are trans. It&#8217;s not because they were born in the wrong bodies,” she says. “The darkness inside of them, the pain, is not being addressed, it&#8217;s being covered up. There&#8217;s something about them that&#8217;s lost.”

GettyImages-2207753419

Why Are Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Raising So Many Trans Kids?

Hollywood

Jennifer Lopez

pamela garfield-jaeger

Psychology

trans kids

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
There’s an unhinged 82-year-old in the woods of upstate New York, and she’s set to get $83 million from the president. But we may have been bamboozled by this career advice columnist even before she took Donald Trump to the cleaners in court.
Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly opening a <a href="https://abc7.com/post/doj-launches-criminal-probe-jean-carroll-sources-say/19183733/">criminal investigation</a> into whether E. Jean Carroll perjured herself during civil proceedings, while poking into the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-trump-carroll-columnist-ec802c40674fabeefab4dd8ed51aa4b6">nonprofit</a> that contributed funds to her cause. 
In <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/timeline-e-jean-carroll-legal-battles-with-donald-trump-doj-investigation-12002524">2019</a>, Carroll gathered mainstream media behind her as she accused President Trump of a sexual assault that happened 25 years earlier at high-end retailer Bergdorf Goodman. Trump denied that the incident ever happened, but a jury found him liable for defamation and a &#8220;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db">lesser degree of sexual abuse</a>&#8221; (<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-opens-criminal-probe-trump-accuser-e-jean-carroll-rcna347257">not assault</a>), awarding $5 million to Carroll. After calling her “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/she-s-not-my-type-trump-says-e-jean-carroll-n1021331">not my type</a>” in a deposition, Trump continued making public statements claiming <a href="https://youtu.be/Ap93qAgyDKA?t=63">not to know her</a>, adding that she was just trying to sell books. 
First asking for $24 million for Carroll’s “anguish and fear” in light of defamatory comments by Trump, Carroll’s attorney <a href="https://youtu.be/iFOU6SorsLc?t=46">Roberta Kaplan</a> later confirmed her request of the jury: “I said to them … ‘You need to give enough money to make him stop.’” The court granted Carroll $83.3 million. 
While the scales of justice may tilt ever in her favor, Carroll’s sojourn on this mortal coil is supremely unsympathetic.  
Styling herself as a would-be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TuQYYJ0rHKs">Audrey Hepburn</a> in a bizarro “Breakfast at Bergdorf’s,” Carroll described her presence as “the most attractive woman in Bergdorf’s,” telling CNN’s <a href="https://youtu.be/RumPGMUSw2A?t=113">Anderson Cooper</a> that Trump called her “old” just before the incident. But a key part of her interview has since been edited out of the clip: the moment Carroll said, “<a href="https://youtu.be/GDifGkoqFc4?t=21">Most people think of rape as being sexy. Think of the fantasies</a>,” as Cooper fumbled to cut the live feed. 
We’ll never know what really went down in Bergie D’s that day, but E. Jean Carroll’s account may be cluttered by her thirst for a good story. 
Carroll kicked off her campaign against the then-45th president by posing for the cover of <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/president-donald-trump-faces-new-rape-accusation.html">New York magazine</a> in the same dress she was wearing the day she was allegedly attacked. It smacked of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47317701">Jussie Smollett</a> keeping his fake attacker’s rope looped around his neck for the cops to see, in his own busted hoax that happened several months before Carroll’s covergirl stunt. 
After being forensically tested, Carroll’s dress showed <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/e-jean-carrolls-lawyers-request-dna-sample-from-trump">unidentified male DNA</a>, none of which was “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/15/trump-e-jean-carroll-defamation-lawsuit-dna">sperm</a>” (she alleged <a href="https://youtu.be/TNBaRM8sKZU?t=70">penetration</a>). Trump declined to provide DNA samples, and counsel for both sides dropped the DNA issue. Maybe the “unidentified male DNA” was from Trump — or maybe it was from a male assistant steaming the bejesus out of the wardrobe options on the garment rack. Just give her a hundred mil and a book deal. 
Carroll’s “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Not-My-Type-Woman-President/dp/1250381681">riveting</a>” recollection of her rape trial, “Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President,” became a “hilarious, hopeful” New York Times bestseller in 2025, six years after her “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-We-Need-Men/dp/1250215439">darkly humorous</a>” “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal” hit the bestseller list in 2019, just a month after Carroll first published her Trump saga.
Carroll’s complete list of those she dubbed “Hideous Men” was also published in New York magazine, where she recounted <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/president-donald-trump-faces-new-rape-accusation.html">six other alleged attacks</a> that seemingly never saw the inside of a courtroom. Possibly the most prominent figure was CBS exec <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/e-jean-carroll-makes-sexual-assault-claims-against-trump-and-moonves-new-york-magazine-2019-06-21/">Leslie Moonves</a>, whom she never sued. Explaining why, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trumps-defense-grills-e-jean-carroll-old-social-media-posts-trial-rape-rcna82254">she told the court</a>, &#8220;[Moonves] just denied it. He didn&#8217;t call me names and grind my face through the mud like Donald Trump did.&#8221;
In the same magazine, she alleged that Trump got what she called “<a href="https://archive.is/cRjoZ#selection-1511.69-1511.97">grindy-grindy, grabby-grabby</a>” with other women, too. She even offered a regular “Hideous Men” walking tour in New York City, beginning at the north entrance to Bergdorf Goodman. What victim wouldn’t want to retrace their alleged assaults by Bill Cosby, Matt Lauer, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, and Charlie Rose on the first and third Sunday of every month?
Carroll’s mid-&#8217;90s empty lingerie department narrative is riddled with questionable details. First, it’s notable that someone who professionally doled out relationship and sex advice for a living in “Ask E. Jean” waited decades (and most of his first term in office) to accuse Trump of misbehavior. Also, according to her, <a href="https://www.wdsu.com/article/e-jean-carroll-trump-legal-battle/71443238">she was flirting</a> with Trump on an entirely empty floor of Bergdorf Goodman. She says she joked that he should try on a mesh bodysuit she had suggested he buy as a gift. True victimhood aside, where did she think she was driving this bus?
A former <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/nyregion/e-jean-carroll-trump.html">cheerleader and beauty queen</a>, Carroll could have gone semi-quietly into the night, if she weren’t still doing everything she could to feed off the spotlight. Two years before speaking out about Trump, she gave <a href="https://youtu.be/ldP8YNAPlTw?t=31">ELLE</a> a tour of her “Grey Gardens”-esque cabin, where she lives by herself. Carroll declared, “I get up around noon, and I stagger outside … and I throw open my arms and I thank God I don’t have children!” 
She then recounted one advice-seeker who couldn’t get over an obsession with an ex after 22 years. “She and I have a lot in common,” <a href="https://youtu.be/ldP8YNAPlTw?t=198">Carroll said</a>, before showing the cameras how she painted <a href="https://youtu.be/ldP8YNAPlTw?t=316">all the nearby trees blue</a>.
Thrilled to tout her $83 million settlement in the media, Carroll’s <a href="https://youtu.be/iFOU6SorsLc?t=253">warbly elder voice quivered</a> as she recalled facing Trump in court for the first time in almost three decades. She told <a href="https://youtu.be/5rnVUHfZneE?t=50">ABC</a>, “I’d like to give the money to something Donald Trump hates … perhaps a fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump.” 
Later, she told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Y0KL4RzHS4?t=35&amp;feature=share">Katie Couric</a> she would be donating to “women’s reproductive rights,” “voting rights,” and “immigrants in L.A. who are being dragged by the heels into, you know, I don’t know.” She also aspired toward “<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/e-jean-carroll-reveals-she-070013634.html">making sure women can become lawyers</a>,” along with backing the ASPCA “because [Trump] doesn’t have a dog.”
Carroll also joked about other plans for the money. “You and I are gonna go shopping,” she excitedly told <a href="https://youtu.be/plaAkXDAfCg?t=315">Rachel Maddow</a>. “We’re gonna get completely new wardrobes, new shoes … Rachel, what do you want? [A] penthouse? It’s yours, Rachel!” 
Still, maybe Carroll’s intentions had more to do with Trump’s reelection campaign than any untoward Bergdorf’s encounters. “He’s gonna lose the election,” she told <a href="https://youtu.be/aFMmZTiAV9E?t=1">Fortune</a> in early 2024. “He’s behaved like an a** for the last year. It’s not going to fool, uh, enough Americans who are really pretty smart.” 
She has <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/e-jean-carroll-trump-legal-battle/71443238">yet to receive</a> any of the money, but based on how Carroll glows when talking about Bergdorf’s, calling it “<a href="https://youtu.be/RumPGMUSw2A?t=254">posh and cozy … I just love it</a>,” perhaps her next New York Times bestseller should be about a Trump-funded shopping spree.

The E. Jean Carroll Rabbit Hole Goes Deeper Than You Think

criminal investigation

Donald Trump

E. Jean Carroll

ELLE magazine

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/weekend-plans">Weekend Plans</a> is Upstream’s exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in culture. 
This weekend, 27-year-old country singer and political commentator Alexis Wilkins stops by Daily Wire HQ to talk about splitting time between Nashville and D.C., her strategy for flying above the fray, and why dating FBI Director Kash Patel might be the most normal (and perfectly aligned) chapter of her story.
***
Alexis Wilkins arrives wearing a relaxed button-down and silver jewelry, offset by her dark hair, which she tucks behind her ear. She offers me a warm smile and a big hug. I’ll bet you $1,000 no one would ever peg her as an NRA board member. “Hiiiii!” she trills. I immediately get why those who know her love her. 
I’m not going to be that girl who asks when Kash is finally gonna put a ring on it (yet), or whether the relentless stream of rage-bait headlines and credible death threats freaks her out. Instead, I go with, “How does it feel to be hot enough that people think you&#8217;re a spy?”
Alexis laughs. “I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s ever been framed that way, and I love it.”
She grew up Orthodox Christian, mostly in Arkansas, raised by her Armenian mother who was a financial consultant and her father who was top brass at Gillette. 
Still, some allege she’s a “<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kash-patel-girlfriend-alexis-wilkins-conspiracy-israel-mossad-b2945596.html">Mossad honeypot</a>.” Alexis essentially rolls her eyes. “My poor mom&#8217;s digging in our basement for my baptism certificate, like, ‘Wait, but this doesn&#8217;t make any sense.’ I&#8217;m like, ‘Mom, they don&#8217;t do common sense.’” 
“If I wasn’t doing a good job, nobody would attack me,” she adds. “So I will continue to do my work.”
Alexis doesn’t come off as anything close to a flash-in-the-pan opportunist. Hey, New York Times, she built a career of her own long before Kash. 
Alexis wrote her first song when she was seven years old and recorded it in Nashville at the ripe old age of nine. “I started writing when I was really young because I read an article in a Smithsonian magazine about <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/fire-in-the-hole-77895126/">coal fires</a> in Pennsylvania,” she says. (Wait, she was reading Smithsonian at seven?) “It was just one of those ‘bored is not allowed’ things,” Alexis confirms. 
“I asked my mom if we could donate all of our money, and she was like, ‘No, that&#8217;s not how that works.’” Instead, her mother suggested she use her talents to fundraise for the cause. “I went on my American Girl doll tape recorder, and I recorded a song. And I&#8217;m like, I&#8217;m gonna put it on the new iTunes thing that’s out, and we&#8217;re gonna raise money with this song.”
She later took on Christ-focused <a href="https://www.independentwomen.com/people/alexis-wilkins/">Belmont University</a> when an activist professor gave her an F in comparative politics because he didn’t jive with her conservative values. His mistake was messing with a straight-A student who doesn’t take kindly to being silenced.
She also describes leaving the American flag icon on her social media and continuing to work with veterans despite pressure from the music industry to tame her patriotism. Pointing to her parents and a close circle of friends, Alexis says, “My support system is really great. That&#8217;s why I started speaking up.” 
About her music, tracks like “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm8fSgu6Wgc&amp;list=RDvm8fSgu6Wgc&amp;start_radio=1">Grit</a>” and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7BQayn516w&amp;list=RDA7BQayn516w&amp;start_radio=1">Country Back</a>” are as fire as her favorite <a href="https://www.sigsauer.com/p365-380-rose.html">Sig Sauer P365-Rose</a> and as country as cowboy boots. Luckily, Alexis is still following her gut and staying true to herself.
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The rare off-duty day
Alexis hits the stage most weekends, but on the occasion that she’s in D.C. with a little downtime, she says she and Kash prefer “no plans” plans. “We just hang out, honestly,” she says. The U.S Intelligence life involves constantly being on-call, but the couple unplugs when they can. “We settle into the house, see people, cook, ask, ‘What do you want to do today?’ Things that we don&#8217;t always have the luxury of doing. It&#8217;s such a blessing.”
Back in Nashville, a free schedule features the same emphasis on living in the moment with the people she cares about most. “I would go to breakfast with my mom, and go antiquing or something … find an estate sale. I just love old things.” 
A curated place to call home
Architectural Digest’s “<a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/video/series/open-door">Open Door</a>” home tour series is missing out on a brilliant gem. Alexis describes the interior of her Nashville home as “old Roy Rogers,” AKA the cowboy decor of any Western fan’s dreams, which her mom helped her DIY.
Part of the vintage curioscape involves a mid-century RCA turn-dial TV they rigged to stream nonstop Westerns, and a gorgeous bannister they built from salvaged wood and rugged rebar. “I collect old books,” she explains of her museum library-like collection of secondhand treasures. “I am literate, contrary to popular reporting.” 
But once she utters, “I have a taxidermy squirrel that has a cowboy hat and a holster,” <a href="https://woodlandcreekfurniture.com/gunslinger-squirrel-whimsical-taxidermy-mount-anr-sqbandit.html?gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=20086237438&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD_a_Z1yVuMnIduE_wQkkqjsbbsUH&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjw8uTQBhAdEiwAVvtJyvC0Tx-TOfxA_lYxkrx09I-MdfQWSFKI1E6gBiBN0SHu1b5wbbyyBxoCS0oQAvD_BwE">I’m sold</a>. As for music? “I listen to Gene Autry, like very, very, very old Western country. It&#8217;s a theme in my house.”
Rejuvenating in the midst of chaos
For Alexis, the biggest difference between her public and private life is the way she’s portrayed in the headlines. “People would be surprised that I&#8217;m just not very serious,” she says. “I&#8217;m just kind of a normal person … God forbid.” 
She can often be found reading over policies, researching, and even teaching herself to code, so zoning out with a little beauty routine is her favorite way to unwind: “sitting in front of my red light, on my <a href="https://higherdose.com/products/higherdose-infrared-pemf-on-the-go-mat?variant=42731166498987">PEMF [pulsed electromagnetic field] mat</a> on the grounding setting, watching reality TV.” When we talked, she had just finished part one of the “Summer House” reunion. 
Also a fan of Pilates, light strength training, and a peaceful walk outdoors, she wants to form a regular hobby that doesn’t involve a screen. Still, we’re both low-key looking forward to “Love Is Blind” Season 11 this fall.
Cooking up a family connection
Keeping it simple in the kitchen, Alexis preps basics like chicken cutlets and <a href="https://www.goodles.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq2xGaj7J-5ctFvNc5uSwlkqO9vZTvqx-eA7V1IyPOWi6ayampi">Goodles</a> mac and cheese for herself. “I am such a boring eater,” she jokes. “I&#8217;m making chicken Caesar wraps all the time.” But when Kash hits the jackpot during hunting season, she says, “We have a lot of wild game to work with. I&#8217;ve been cooking stuffed peppers with elk recently.”
Always down to learn something new, she also enjoys discovering a few tricks of the trade from the Gujarati Indian side of the family. “[Kash’s] mom teaches me how to cook,” she says, noting how the same dish might be seasoned differently depending on a family’s preference. “I&#8217;m in the kitchen with her, I&#8217;m asking her questions, I&#8217;m taking pictures of how much spice she uses. It&#8217;s such a fun privilege to get to learn these things.”
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<div id="attachment_1104731" style="width: 393px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1104731" class=" wp-image-1104731" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-1500474725-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="383" height="216" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-1500474725-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-1500474725-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-1500474725-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-1500474725.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px" />Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images</div>
A casual meet-cute 
Alexis and Kash met at a Truth Social party at country singer John Rich’s house, where Kash tried to hit on her by complimenting her jacket. But first things first, what the heck was that jacket? 
“You&#8217;re the first person to ask me that,” she smiles. “Fun fact. It&#8217;s actually a men’s jacket: the <a href="https://www.filson.com/products/mackinaw-wool-cruiser-jacket-red-black-plaid-1">Filson Mackinaw</a> wool plaid jacket, black and red.” She later bought one for Kash as an inside joke. Alexis proudly maintains “boring,” “straight-laced” professional boundaries, so it took a minute before she accepted an invitation to dinner at E3 Chophouse in Nashville with the then-adviser to Donald Trump. But this serendipitous connection almost didn’t happen.
“I wasn&#8217;t gonna go to that party because I had lost my dog like 10 days before,” she recalls. Deep in grief over her 16-year-old Bichon Frise, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CjKKj29OmDN/">Bizou</a>, Alexis reluctantly took her mom’s advice … sort of. “My mom literally kicked me out. She was like, ‘You have to get out of the house.’ I was like, I&#8217;m just wearing jeans. The joke is I wasn&#8217;t dressed up.”
Kash has <a href="https://youtu.be/QJZz4hI-KZE?t=696">spoken</a> publicly about an imminent proposal, but the dedicated couple remains intentional as they navigate uncharted territory. “We had no idea, obviously, what challenges lay in store for us,” Alexis says. “But everything is an adventure. I&#8217;m so proud of him.”
Advice for the next generation
Alexis offers front-line wisdom for those just beginning to find their voice. “I think that being who you are does turn into a superpower,” she says. Stepping out confident in your values requires some guts, but she confirms, “It&#8217;s the same thing as someone saying you have to go to these parties in high school and do drugs to be cool. We all look at that like, ‘Oh, that&#8217;s peer pressure.’ You don&#8217;t have to be in rooms that you don&#8217;t want to be in.”
This high-value apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. She says her grandpa — a first-generation Armenian who worked in an ice cream factory, sold newspapers, shined shoes at age five, and went on to become an aerospace engineer — often quoted historian Thomas Babington Macaulay: “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”
“My mom always said don&#8217;t settle,” she adds.
I tell her to waitlist me for a “Mossad honeypot” tee if she ever launches a line of satirical merch. But before we part ways, I invite her to share what most often occupies her thoughts.
“Am I making a good impact, and am I showing up for my friends and family, and am I being myself in all of this noise?” she says. “Is God proud of me? Is my mom proud of me? Okay, cool.”

Upstream-Wilkins-2

Weekend Plans With Alexis Wilkins

Country Music

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.
Soft-launching sentimental summer 
Autumn’s got a reputation for being the most nostalgic of the seasons. But sweater weather, crunchy leaves, and hot cocoa can’t hold a pumpkin spice candle to the playful sentimentality of summer.
I was teleported to my childhood in Pennsylvania the other day after seeing a lightning bug for the first time in 15 years. (I recently moved from Los Angeles to Nashville. Even though fireflies reportedly exist <a href="https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/lightning-bugs-5-things">west of the Rocky Mountains</a>, they’re not as into the bioluminescent thing, so who knows where they are in the dark.) The memory was so vivid, I could almost hear the soft hiss of lawn sprinklers and my Huffy bike chain jangling with every jumped curb. As kids, we also loved decorating smooth rocks from the creek behind my grandparents’ house and “selling” them to neighbors. If only we could have painted them like Junior Mints and McDonald’s hash browns, à la <a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/elizabeth-salokas-painted-rocks/">Elizabeth Saloka’s</a> odd-sized-brick art, we could have made a fortune.
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Feeling seasonally snacky? This summer’s viral “<a href="https://thedotcakes.com/products/asap-dotcups-copy">dot cake</a>” trend brings “candy caviar” energy with its throwback topping of analog nonpareils. But for lovers of frozen cherries and grapes in warmer weather, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nytcooking/video/7548162895536835871?_r=1&amp;_t=ZP-96hHROV1unu">sweet and salty frozen grapes</a> feature a sweet lemon dressing pepped up by chili flakes and salt. Shake everything together in a zip-top bag, freeze, and bank a brand-new summer memory.
Okay, but is this really the best decade of music?
The <a href="https://www.theamas.com/2026/05/winners-announced-for-the-52nd-american-music-awards/">52nd American Music Awards</a> happened in Las Vegas on Monday. But before the Artist of the Year trophy went to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/lists/2026-amas-winners-list-american-music-awards/genre-neutral-categories-2/">BTS</a> and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” won best album, a few industry icons revealed their opinions on “the best decade of music.” Wu-Tang may be “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRtJsvZg6zI">Forever</a>,” but playlists featuring Britney, *NSYNC, Nirvana, and Snoop Dogg make the &#8217;90s the top choice every day of the week. Sorry not sorry, we’re never letting go of our obsession with this decade.
The &#8217;80s and early 2000s followed close behind. As early &#8217;90s choreography queen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wAMI4g2s5hA?t=24&amp;feature=share">Paula Abdul</a> declared, “The &#8217;80s was great for music, but not fashion and not hairdos.” She obviously has no idea what she’s talking about. Pass the hairspray — these frosted wings aren’t gonna feather themselves over the shoulder pads of my color-block windbreaker. 
Human life in 60 seconds
Just before the neighborhood affair-slash-crime of passion was solved on “20/20,” my delulu Hulu court proceedings were interrupted by an Etsy commercial creatively ticking off mile markers of the average human life. I was gently smacked into reality by the emotional swell of handmade crafts. 
According to the ad, we get 76 summers. And most of us probably barely remember the first 20. Pour me a frosé and slather me in Hawaiian Tropic; it’s time to start appreciating the moment!
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zo6GykyjB6Q?si=aJz_l7SZrSPhUwPG" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
But there were other calculations to math. How many of us will work the average 12 jobs in a lifetime or experience 10 “fresh starts”? Can you already count more than six best friends, four “best dog friends,” and 15 “great loves” across your closest relationships? There’s something bittersweet about “three broken hearts” and “1,205 firsts.” As each of us gently marches toward our estimated 2.5 billionth heartbeat, fingers crossed, we all land above average on the things that matter most.
America’s soft spot for cheese
Doing the Lord’s work, vital research sponsored by <a href="https://talkerresearch.com/survey-finds-americans-turning-to-cheese-for-taste-versatility-and-protein/">Undeniably Dairy</a> has revealed that 52% of America is “cheese-obsessed.” (FYI, it’s 100% if we’re just surveying my apartment.) And out of all the stinky, melty, crumbly options out there, our national favorite cheese is cheddar, followed by mozzarella and Parmesan.
Clearly training for <a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-cheese-day-june-4th">National Cheese Day</a> on June 4, Wyoming, Illinois, and Alaska make up the top three cheese-eating states (even though the top cheese-producing states are <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cheese-production-by-state">Wisconsin</a>, California, and Idaho). And the cheesiest demo is Gen Z. Of course, everyone’s invited to the cheese party, no matter your age or emotional support dairy of choice. But someone please tell me where to sign up for Cheese Survey &#8217;27 because I’m gunning for Gruyère.
The comic genius of wildlife
I should confess that I’m a lifetime “America’s Funniest Home Videos” fan. Original host Bob Saget seemed like he could be everyone’s dad, and the corny jokes felt wholesome and perfect for Sunday night TV. Almost four decades into the series, I’d trade all of TikTok for the old VHS footage of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7X54cJvVUk">the little boy who was scared of a life-size Eeyore</a>. Bless his heart, that kid’s probably a grandpa by now.
Having recently spent five uninterrupted minutes filming a squirrel hauling a slice of pizza up an electrical pole (follow me for more inspirational cinematography), I was delighted to discover that there’s an actual award for funny wildlife videos. (Real ones, not Temu <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UPXUG8q4jKU">pizza rats</a>.)
In the comic animal kingdom, it’s just another day in the wild as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdxD7FMCKzI">grey heron surfs a hippo</a>, a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgG0ymK-jCg">penguin ditches his friends</a> when the water’s too cold, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xzsPcilEA">two lions bro out like synchronized swimmers</a> on land. All captured by lucky onlookers.
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If you’re wondering why we think it’s hilarious to watch a <a href="https://youtu.be/W23u30bhw2g?t=108">kangaroo</a> scratch its chest like it&#8217;s playing air guitar, founder Tom Sullam says, “This ability that we have to recognize either ourselves in the images, or our friends or loved ones, is why these pictures are so intriguing.” Founded over a decade ago as part of a conservation effort, the 2026 <a href="https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/">Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards</a> are open for submissions through June. But the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niBeb0oGsRU">chipmunk shoving peanuts into its mouth</a> already won my heart.
So glad you’re here! I always love reading your comments (you can <a href="mailto:lbair@dailywire.com">email</a> me too). I hope lighter news like this brings some sunshine to your day! — Lauren

The Bright Side: The Viral Wildlife Awards Stealing America’s Heart

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

cheese

comedy wildlife awards

dot cake

elizabeth saloka

etsy

fireflies

Music

summer

sweet and salty frozen grapes

the bright side

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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All eyes may be on the bride, but this summer’s wedding guest style trends are tailored for the time of your life. Here’s how to stand out from the crowd without stealing the spotlight.
It’s easy to save the date for a party a year away. But the plot thickens when you realize 2026 is now, and holy Zola.com, your cousin’s wedding is next Saturday. Chuck a few bucks into the soonlyweds’ honeymoon fund; we’re going shopping.
It costs most of us about <a href="https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-guest-cost">$600</a> to attend a wedding, when it comes to travel, lodging, and gifts. But if you plan on memorializing the moment in photographs, that budget must also include your wardrobe: a dress for the ceremony, a shawl, shoes, jewelry, and a clutch to hold the necessities. And if you’re one of the average <a href="https://www.zola.com/expert-advice/the-first-look-report-2026">150 guests</a> also stopping by the welcome party or next-day brunch, you add those outfits to your tab, too.
To save us from another Pinterest board scroll that turns into random Amazon purchases, The Daily Wire sat down with Jovani Fashion design director Julie DuRocher for a bit of runway-ready inspiration befitting dance floor devotees and bachelorette babes. 
Hey, gorgeous guestie, you’re looking at several wedding weekend events and a long night of chatting up oddball distant relatives and doing “The Electric Slide.” And that’s before you remember that six months ago you selected the herb and parmesan-crusted salmon, not the filet mignon on everyone else’s plates. Better get comfy in a fashionably feted fit.
Decode the invite
Summer &#8217;26 pops off with <a href="https://www.whowhatwear.com/living/wedding/wedding-guest-outfit-ideas-2026">bold florals</a>, fun textural details, chic jumpsuits, and <a href="https://www.whowhatwear.com/fashion/trends/wedding-guest-outfit-trends-2026">bright colors</a>. But while “overdone” maximalism may have trended in the past, this season’s aesthetic feels as easy and minimalist as a &#8217;90s silk slip dress. “People tend to be a little more conservative right now,” DuRocher explains. “I think less is more.” 
But before you go straight for the vintage Calvin Klein, check your invite. Whether it’s an elaborate snail mail “<a href="https://www.minted.com/wedding-invitation-suites?utm_content=18_wed_nco20&amp;utm_medium=sem&amp;utm_source=google&amp;utm_sub=text&amp;utm_campaign=G_S_Wedding_WeddingInvitations_Consolidation_USA&amp;utm_custom_a=WeddingInvitations&amp;utm_custom_b=Consolidated&amp;utm_custom_c=Text&amp;utm_int=b&amp;utm_keyword=wedding%20invitation%20suite&amp;utm_device=a&amp;AudId=kwd-10682754706&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gad_campaignid=67598045&amp;gbraid=0AAAAAD8Upgvm6_6M9WDPH7S38FgksY3eH&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwidXQBhAZEiwA4egw6K8U6_b4xVA3-W793dpy9wzKZ9v555bdzelYT2JTY16-migglOy8MRoCV7MQAvD_BwE">invitation suite</a>” or a low-key Paperless Post, it’s your guide to stylish wedded bliss. If a dress code isn’t clearly defined, consider the season, time of day, and event space for clues on what to wear. “Read carefully. The location determines how formal to be dressed,” DuRocher says. A beach might mean you’ll need to pay extra attention to your hair. An outdoor venue signals block-style heels so you don’t aerate the landscaping with stilettos. No matter what, bring layers to handle a blasting A/C or an unexpectedly cool sea breeze.
Bring the party in color
Your most colorful presence is cordially requested. This summer, guests are rocking everything from lipstick reds to midnight blacks. “Greens and pinks, reds and fuchsias — beautiful colors that are summery are wonderful,” DuRocher notes. 
But there’s something for anyone who isn’t the technicolor type. “I wear black to summer weddings,” DuRocher says of her favorite color. But she offers an option that’s just as fierce. “I think all-red is very nice because red is a power color and it makes you feel good.”
Of course, don’t wear white. We love a chic look, but nobody wants to make the same “expensive and gorgeous” mistake as Alexis at her brother David’s wedding on “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/z4z8awApK8I">Schitt’s Creek</a>.” She nails the black and white theme, but her silk floor-length gown muddies the message. “You’re walking me down the aisle in a wedding dress,” David says. “Everyone’s gonna think we’re getting married to each other.”
There are exceptions. “When I got married 100 years ago, the whole bridal party was white, including my mother, my in-laws, my bridesmaids, and my maid of honor,” DuRocher says. Still, unless you’ve cleared your white gown with the bride, stick to way-off-whites like champagnes and beiges in prints. “I think you have to respect that the bride should be the one shining in the light color.”
Mix it up with patterns and prints
For warmer weather, prints and patterns rule. Bring on the bold florals, soft watercolor washes, and intricate wildflower details of <a href="https://www.glam.com/2178298/trends-wedding-guest-looks-2026/">meadowcore</a>. 
Contrasting the buttoned-up energy of cold-weather events, summer fabrics are easy and breezy with plenty of stretch and interesting textures. Burnout velvets and sparkling paillettes add glam without adding weight. “Chiffon dresses, chiffon with ruffles, or chiffon prints are beautiful,” DuRocher explains. “A strapless black dress with a beaded flower belt and pleated skirt on the bottom gives you flowiness, and the structure still shows off your body.”
Smash that stunning silhouette
Unless you’re floating in a sea of ball gowns at a white tie wedding, this summer’s buzziest silhouette feels decidedly streamlined. “A column dress is a very sleek, new look. It’s straight with a slit either in the back or the side of the leg,” DuRocher explains. “It usually goes to the floor or ankle, which is very chic, because then you can show off your beautiful sandals.”
Not feeling the skin-skimming candlestick vibe? No problem. Mid-calf tea-length and fit-and-flare dresses are also on trend. “A fit-and-flare dress is somewhat dressy, but it&#8217;s fun. Usually you can get something with a detail like two beaded bows on the hip, something to give the dress a little pizzazz.”
A go-to for every occasion
This is your sign to jump on the jumpsuit bandwagon. It’s fashionable and comfy, and you can reenact the final scene from “<a href="https://youtu.be/6BH5TWdvviI?t=284">Dirty Dancing</a>” without flashing Table 14. If you’re a little unclear on what the dress code is asking for, jumpsuits understand the assignment. 
“They&#8217;re not always the easiest,” DuRocher admits. Even so, she often opts for this silhouette. “Sometimes the invitation is a little ambiguous. I find if I wear black, and I wear a jumpsuit, it&#8217;s kind of the best of both worlds.”
Just double-check that <a href="https://wildconnectionsphotography.com/bridal-jumpsuits/">the bride</a> isn’t wearing one for the reception because jumpsuits are trending everywhere this season. 
The nitty gritty
Got multiple weddings in a row? Dressmaxx this season by repurposing the same gown for multiple events. Different accessories and layers social media-proof the strategy, but you can also level up your look with alterations. “Maybe it&#8217;s a long dress and you turn it into a shorter dress for a less formal wedding,” DuRocher advises. Go maxi to mini for less than it costs to buy a whole new outfit. 
And don’t forget to shower your plus-one with main character energy. It’s a simpler situation for men (pants, dress shirt, jacket, TBD tie), but the real maneuver is having him try on his usual suit before the minute he needs to wear it. 
“Just to make sure he knows where everything is,” DuRocher says. “[Guys] don&#8217;t like to get dressed way in advance so you just have to have everything ready.” Colors fade, stains happen, and waistbands gonna waistband. When you know what you’re working with, you can replace missing cufflinks or fix sagging hemlines in plenty of time. 
Lastly, your personality is your greatest accessory. As you put the final touches on your look, may this season’s wedding guest dress code guide you on your journey, but never limit your fun.

How To Be This Summer’s Most Stylish Wedding Guest

wedding guest style

weddings

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/weekend-plans">Weekend Plans</a> is Upstream’s exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in culture. 
This weekend, NASA Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch sits down with The Daily Wire to chat about her 29-minute morning routine, family moments that are too sacred for Instagram, and how getting comfortable with failing — in surfing and rocket science — made her one of the most inspiring astronauts of our time.
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Christina Koch settles in for our chat, wearing a royal blue NASA bomber jacket, decked out in official patches. Under that, I catch a glimpse of what looks like a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/F-1-Engine-Schematic-Graphic-Shirt/dp/B07PJQZJPH?customId=B0752XJYNL&amp;customizationToken=MC_Assembly_1%23B0752XJYNL&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1">concert tee</a>, but instead features the schematics for an <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/rocket-engine-liquid-fuel-f-1/nasm_A19700271000">F-1 rocket engine</a> — you know, the kind that successfully powered six Apollo-era missions to the moon. 
I feel intellectually underdressed. But Christina’s laidback personality is refreshingly disarming. “I am here to underwhelm, trust me,” she says. I almost fall out of my chair. She’s so beloved, the internet spontaneously combusted with <a href="https://www.etsy.com/market/christina_koch_nasa_artemis_shirt">merch</a> featuring her quotes (“<a href="https://people.com/artemis-ii-astronaut-christina-koch-message-for-earth-after-historic-flight-11948205">Planet Earth: You are a crew</a>”), her likeness, and the Artemis II team. 
In light of all the hubbub around her latest mission, I wonder what she misses about Earth when she’s <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-artemis-ii-crew-eclipses-record-for-farthest-human-spaceflight/">252,756 miles</a> away. 
“I miss my family and my good friends. If they could come with me, I would probably never come back.” She doesn’t need creature comforts, but I immediately realize I’ve taken the “earthy things” she mentions for granted. Having lived on the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/christina-koch/">International Space Station</a> for 11 months, she recalls, “I was never thinking ‘A latte would be great right now,’ but I missed things like wind, the feeling of the breeze on your face, the smell of the ocean, the blue sky.”
When she isn’t exploring the galaxy, she misses that too. “I miss everything. I miss floating. I miss the teamwork; being a part of a crew where you are working towards the same mission the whole time and you&#8217;re spending your off hours together, you&#8217;re supporting each other in every possible way … selflessly, with intention.”
While the crew remains intact for post-flight engagements and tasks, Christina can feel the energy shifting. “We&#8217;re having to face the fact that it won&#8217;t last forever. We will move on and we will have different goals. A part of me already misses my Space Bros.” 
“The views are great,&#8221; she says, &#8220;but it&#8217;s the camaraderie and teamwork that would bring me back every time.”
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<div id="attachment_1100585" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1100585" class="size-full wp-image-1100585" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c.jpg 800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/9632739182_fce698f450_c-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Credit: NASA</div>
But first, coffee
So what’s Christina’s personal rocket booster? “I am a black coffee person,” she says. “One cup of black coffee in the morning. Even if it were decaf, it would just be the ritual of it for me.”
“We had coffee in space, thankfully, so we could all have that ritual. You can&#8217;t smell it, though, in space. It&#8217;s in a pouch.” I suddenly feel like we’re best friends planning NASA’s next manned mission. I suggest that they start pumping the smell of coffee into the cabin. “Yeah, we need some coffee essential oil.” (“Houston …”)
When she’s home in Galveston, Texas, Christina’s out the door before her husband, geographic information systems engineer Bob Koch, gets out of bed, thanks to her longer commute. Bob handles their pup Sadie’s breakfast, but Christina’s morning routine might be more streamlined than anyone’s. 
“My breakfast is a protein bar in the car on the way to work every day. The time from the alarm to the car is about 29 minutes for me, including a shower.” I suggest that she brand this bare-bones AM groove. She laughs. “It&#8217;s called ‘setting the bar very low.’”
Someone to come home to
Fans&#8217; hearts melted at Christina’s reunion with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXDONqmkceJ/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">her dog Sadie</a> post-mission. (The couple’s “LBD,” or Little Brown Dog, was also ecstatic about <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hMY8HJF6k/?hl=en">Christina’s return from the ISS</a> in February 2020.) But apparently, Sadie doesn’t hold back on the LBD affection. “She just loves people, so she probably would do that to you as well if you got down on the floor and let her lick you to death.” 
Despite the global interest in Christina’s every move, not every emotional moment makes it to social media. “To be honest, the real tearjerker was me saying goodbye to her. That will not be on Instagram because that was a lot.” Sadie has a sixth sense for when Christina’s heading out on a mission. “I travel a lot these days, so she knows when we pack that something&#8217;s up. Dogs know your vibe; they know when you&#8217;re sad. So she knew when I said goodbye that it was a serious one.”
For this family of scientists, the bond with their four-legged rescue is real. “I had a long, heartfelt goodbye with her this morning because she was just extra cute.”
The ultimate view of nature
Christina’s social media teems with jaw-dropping POVs from space, the kind of once-in-a-lifetime cosmoscapes that someone else might ironically tag “view from my office.” But I was curious as to whether these types of views might make nature on Earth feel a little lackluster. Luckily, that’s not even close to being the case.   
“For me, it helps me appreciate it and see it in a different light,” Christina assures me. I think of her shot of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7RAMfDJql_/?hl=en">Raglan, New Zealand,</a> from the ISS; it reveals a sweeping aquamarine coastline that even the luckiest among us will only ever view from sea level. “I look at the ocean, or look up at the blue sky, or look at a forest and literally imagine how it looks from the universe, and it just makes it so rich. There&#8217;s just so much there.”
Hanging ten
There’s no better advocate for the great outdoors — whether it’s your backyard or the dark side of the moon — than Christina. But instead of strictly being a favorite way to decompress, her passion for catching a wave aligns with the physicality of her more high-profile ventures. 
“The one thing that is the same is having to take in a lot of inputs at once, process them, and then react. Especially when you&#8217;re first learning surfing, this idea of when do I pop up, when do I set my line, when have I caught the wave, when do I paddle harder, when do I paddle less … There&#8217;s so much happening all at once.”
“We have this saying in human spaceflight about growing your world,” Christina says. “At first, your situational awareness bubble is very small and you can maybe only take one input and have one output. But as you grow that bubble, you can take in multiple inputs and have multiple outputs. That&#8217;s what you&#8217;re working towards.”
Having surfed exactly once and barely stood up on my board, I ask if surfing offers a budget version of weightlessness. “It doesn&#8217;t really feel like floating, but there are those takeoff moments that are very beautiful.”
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<div id="attachment_1100589" style="width: 809px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1100589" class="size-full wp-image-1100589" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c.jpg" alt="" width="799" height="533" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c.jpg 799w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/46608515535_f59f1aa160_c-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 799px) 100vw, 799px" />Credit: NASA</div>
Trusting the journey 
Looking at Christina Koch now, it might be hard to picture a time before she became a star of the U.S. space program. But when she first began her journey to become an astronaut in <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people/christina-koch/">2013</a>, she says the energy was more like “I&#8217;m really bad at it and it&#8217;s really hard.” Still, she went full-send on that daunting learning curve. 
“When I was a baby astronaut, I used to say that my job was to show up at work and learn new things and be bad at them. And I truly was,” she explains. “You just have to accept that you&#8217;re bad at a lot of things when you first start, and you just have to keep trying and trust the process and know that you&#8217;ll get there.”

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Lauren Bair