Activist Noah Wyle is back at it

The Pitt season two is currently filming—July 4 chaos here we come!!—but producer-writer-star Noah Wyle took a break to go to Washington and urged Congress to act to better support healthcare workers in the US. He published an op-ed about it this week in USA Today. He’s working with healthcare apparel company FIGS, makers of the cute scrubs seen all over social media, to advocate for three tenets of healthcare worker support: mental health support, relieving administrative burden, and easing financial strain on medical practitioners. Wyle writes, “Our message is simple: Without a supported, protected and fairly treated workforce, there is no patient care.”

You may not know it, because despite starring in one of the most popular and long-running dramas of all time Noah Wyle’s profile is kind of low, but he is an activist. Like a for-real, “raised by California peaceniks and artists” activist. He was arrested on Capitol Hill in 2012 protesting Medicaid cuts. Thanks to The Pitt, he’s highly visible in pop culture once again—maybe more visible than he was even in his early ER days, which was just before the internet took off, and way before social media. But now it means Noah Wyle Protest Antics will be front page news again, and this time, all of it is documented online. Bring it on! We stan an activist king. 

Also, bless the photographer who knows what the people want: Dr. Robby taking his glasses off.

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What else happened today…

With Materialists in theaters, matchmaking is in the spotlight. Apparently, Gen Z is turning to professional matchmaking to make “intentional” connections. Honestly, it makes sense. It’s the delegation of an app but with a human touch and sensibility. There’s a feeling the matches are vetted—they might not be! Materialists has a whole subplot about that—and thus, more authentic. I know people who have made long term, very satisfying matches online, but the face-to-face connection of matchmaking has its appeal, too. (Popsugar)

The Tribeca Film Fest is ongoing, and celebrities are In Public, Wearing Things. I love Ethan Hawke’s velvet blazer. I don’t love that it’s still cool enough in JUNE to wear a velvet blazer. I also love Orlando Bloom’s little dog! Not sure about the furry, though. (Go Fug Yourself)

Oh, so the Satanic Panic is FULLY back. Bummer for everyone but especially Goths, witches, and proud weirdoes. (Celebitchy)

Em dash controversy! Apparently, generative AI programs like ChatGPT love to use the em dash, leading Gen Z to distrust anything with em dashes in it, calling it the “ChatGPT hyphen”. I guess I’m a robot, then, because I use em dashes ALL THE TIME. There are multiple instances in this post alone! 

It makes sense, though, because a lot of writers (me) love em dashes and use them liberally (also me), and since gen AI programs like ChatGPT are trained by hoovering up other people’s intellectual property (like mine), it makes sense those programs would then copy-paste em dashes everywhere. But we cannot cede the em dash—my beloved little punctuation friend!—to AI. We must defend the em dash. AI cannot have it! Silly rabbit, em dashes are for people! (Salon)