The Best of Pipe Dreams 2024
From gabagool dreams to offline schemes—your 2024 chaos recap and a toast to unplugging in 2025.
Hey everyone,
Is it just me, or did 2024 feel like absolute chaos? It’s like one minute, you’re dreaming of a steamy summer by the Jersey Shore—blasting Bruce Springsteen, drowning in gabagool, and wondering if two people from opposite sides of the river can beat the odds and make love last. The next, you’re somehow embroiled in a social media argument about society’s collapse that was a fight you probably shouldn’t have picked when, really, all you want is for everyone to calm the fuck down and be normal.
No wonder the hot trend for 2025 in New York City is ditching the internet entirely—my dream for the past six years. Board game clubs are the thing right now, and honestly, I think it’s a trend worth copying. (Credit where it’s due—the lesbians definitely revived it, just like making Carhartt jackets and woodworking hot again). Personally, I’m diving into the offline vibe with a trip to the Catskills for some much-needed R&R in a cozy cabin outfitted with a fireplace, a hot tub, and minimal Wi-Fi. Heaven.
Anyway, while you were busy doomscrolling or pretending not to care about trending topics, I was out here producing so much content in 2024 that somehow didn’t break the internet, so it might’ve slipped right past you. And, honestly, who could blame you? But now’s your chance to reclaim your attention span and dive into some of the best stuff I put out there this year.
Podcasts
Red Eyes, Full Hitters, Can’t Lose
Dispatches
On the Road to Spannabis Part 1 and Part 2
Another Incredibly Easy Getaway in the Hudson Valley & Catskills
Features
I Joined a Cult and It Was Fine
Why Does Modern Hospitality Suck So Much?
Why Do People Think They Can Still ‘Make It’ In Food and Travel Writing?
Pride Was A Riot, But It Shouldn’t Be
What Did Everyone Order at ‘Caligula: The Ultimate Cut’?
Three and a Half Hours of Brutal Assimilation
Gen Z is Doing the Best They Can, They’re Just Scared of Turning 30
Consumption Lounge
Thanks for sticking with this newsletter through all its chaos—and mine. Here’s to a much better 2025—may it be offline, cozy, and filled with board games, bud, and bliss.
Stay lit,
Carly