Currently: Eddie Murphy, Epstein, Kris Jenner, Klay Thompson and Meg thee Stallion, Joyce Carol Oates, Kev On Stage and Issa Rae

Our takes on what’s trending — and what it says about who we’re becoming.

Welcome to Currently!

Our weekly digest — or, if you will, our collective Explore Page — where we unpack the stories, trends, and hot takes that had us (and probably you) double-tapping, debating, or doom-scrolling all week.

Each edition, our editors break down what the week’s biggest moments are really about — and how they connect to the ideas we care about most: leadership, conviction, and becoming.

Politics? Pop culture? Business, beauty, world news, or the latest “did-you-see-this?” viral moment? Nothing’s off-limits here. If it’s shaping the conversation, we’re talking about it — with context, curiosity, and occasionally a little bit of side-eye.

Currently…

...watching Eddie Murphy’s new Netflix documentary with a notebook and pen in hand. I knew there’d be plenty to glean when Eddie finally let someone tell the story of his greatness, and Being Eddie does not disappoint. If you watch celebrity docs for gossip or scandal, this isn’t that. But for those of us who appreciate a breakdown of brilliance, Murphy offers plenty of free game and sharp insight through the lens of his journey to becoming a trailblazer in entertainment. What’s striking is how clear Eddie is about the impact of his work and the uniqueness of his gifts. You see that he understood the vision for who he needed to become from very early on: a kid obsessed with TV and doing voices; a teenager who dreamed of being “funny as Richard Pryor, cool like Elvis, and as big as the Beatles.” SNL was his Harvard, and his transition into movie stardom came from recognizing that he could—and should—be more than one thing. That he could be everything. Breaking barriers and opening doors became his work. He put the “leader” in leading man for generations of comedic actors who credit him as the first possibility model of boundless creativity they saw in someone who looked like them. “What I wound up doing changed the perception of Black actors. They saw me and they saw worldwide success and realized Black could be worldwide… I was the psychological soil that was required for everything that happened after me,” he says. The doc is also a master class not just in making it, but maintaining it. Dave Chappelle notes that surviving being Eddie Murphy may be Eddie’s greatest accomplishment. Everyone else in his class of pioneers who broke the glass ceiling on Black superstardom—Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston—is no longer with us. A sobering reminder of the mental discipline required to sustain greatness. On that Eddie says, “The best thing to pray for, more than money or anything, is a peace of mind. You got that, you got it all.” – Sylvia Obell

…frustrated that the Epstein files are dominating the conversation right now. With so many people suffering – SNAP instability, workers missing paychecks, an economy slowing down, affordable healthcare under threat – this moment feels like another distraction. It has nothing to do with what people are actually struggling with, and it feels like we’ve lost the plot from just a week ago. Don’t get me wrong – I understand why people want these documents released. If a president knew about or was connected to a child sex trafficking ring, the public deserves clarity and justice. But here’s the part that’s hard to ignore: it wasn’t enough that he admitted on tape to mistreating women. It wasn’t enough that he was convicted on 34 felony counts. It wasn’t enough that he attempted to overthrow an election. I would hope deeper involvement revealed in these files would finally be enough, but I no longer have that kind of faithin a system that has already shown its willingness to tolerate this type of leader. The loyalty is so blind, and the structure is so broken, that even the worst information might not lead to meaningful change. So now what? What does this mean for us? For me, it’s the realization that I have to stop expecting the current people in power to do what they’ve already shown me they’re unwilling, or unable, to do. And maybe that’s the permission I want to offer here: to turn down the noise on the latest political drama and turn up the volume on our own assignments. It’s time to stop waiting for accountability from a system that’s already shown us who it protects, and to redirect our attention where it actually matters – the work that keeps calling our name, even when the headlines try to drown it out. – Kevin Stuckey

…watching the world’s wealthiest people celebrate like the country wasn’t literally on fire. Kris Jenner rang in her 70th birthday at Jeff Bezos’s reported $175 million mansion with a guest list that looked like the annual meeting of the Billionaire Boys & Girls Club — and to be fair, the party looked incredible. Good for her. Happy birthday, Kris. She’s built an entire empire (and an amazing life) off strong family values, the appropriation of Black culture, the hyper-sexualization of her daughters, and somehow still managed to charm the world. But the timing hit a nerve: while the government shut down and SNAP benefits were being cut, our faves were clinking glasses under chandeliers. For a lot of people, it felt disappointing, disillusioning, and maybe even a little betraying. Moments like this force us to look at who we elevate, who we trust, and who we give influence to — not based on fame or familiarity, but on alignment, integrity, and demonstrated care. If anything, this weekend was a reminder to be far more intentional about who we platform in this next era, and to stop assigning expectations to people who were never carrying our best interests to begin with. - Maya Watson

…loving that Megan Thee Stallion has chosen a man who does not play about her. The photos and TikToks of Megan and her new boyfriend Klay Thompson have been cute, but what’s really sealing the deal for me is watching Thompson defend his rapper girlfriend as the public once again tries to blame her for the actions of a grown man. This time, the men in question include former NBA players Patrick Beverley and Jason Williams, who made lewd comments about Megan on their podcast while insinuating that she was somehow responsible for Klay’s rocky performance this NBA season. Unlike Tory Lanez—who had no problem trying to shift his own guilt onto her—Klay isn’t having it. The four-time NBA champion commented under a clip of the segment, writing: “How would y’all feel if I referred to your wives in such a way? @patbev21 … Do better fellas. Very disappointing.”

There’s something genuinely heartwarming about seeing Megan experience this kind of protection and covering from a man after everything she’s been through. And honestly, her decision to be with someone like him feels like evidence of her growth and an increased sense of self-worth. It seems she let the pain of her assault and the trial that followed sharpen her clarity about the kind of people she should allow into her life. Klay comes across as kind, humble (he drives a Toyota!), and absolutely head over heels for our girl. Whether they last forever or simply enjoy a beautiful chapter together, the respect and care he’s shown her is a bar I hope she keeps moving forward. Shoutout to the hot girl captain for showing the girls what it looks like when you choose a softer place to land. – SO

…loving KevOnStage’s new podcast, Not My Best Moment. His premiere episode with Issa Rae reminded me of something we noticed when Emma Grede interviewed Diarrha N’Diaye (founder of Ami Cole) who opened up about her business failing: we are in dire need of leaders who are willing to tell the truth about what’s not working. We learn so much more from failures than from shiny wins. The fatigue around success stories isn’t because we don’t have things we want to aspire to. It’s because we rarely hear the part that’s actually relatable – that behind every great moment is a journey that’s messy, imperfect, and held together by equal parts resilience and genius. Listening to Kev and Issa, I heard stories about Issa’s false starts, the investments in herself that went wrong, and most importantly, that she still struggles to see herself as a success. We often imagine success as a destination, but watching when Issa admits she feels like “nothing” without a show on air, reminds us that even the people we admire struggle – so we should be kinder to ourselves and not doubt our own greatness when things don’t unfold the way we thought they would. This show was an instant subscribe for me. – KS

…listening to Summer Walker’s catalog and thinking about her impact. Summer has built one of the most important music catalogs for women figuring out love, healing, and self-worth in real time. In her now 3-part album trilogy, which was completed with the release of her new album Finally Over It on Friday, Summer has brought us through each stage of her journey with vulnerability and brutal honesty. As women, we are taught to take our losses quietly. Summer breaks those rules and gives us her raw emotions about messy breakups, stepping into motherhood, and learning to put yourself over everything else. She takes her personal shames and turns them into anthems and cautionary tales for other women. The trilogy isn’t just music; it’s a story of a woman coming of age and telling girls what she wishes she had known at 19 when she started this journey. In a culture where Black women’s pain is turned into entertainment and made fun of, Summer has flipped hers into empowerment and transformed her vulnerability into a superpower. Hers is a story that reminds a generation of women that pain is inevitable and that they will get over it. - Michelle Elysse

…marveling at how Joyce Carol Oates, armed with nothing but curiosity, humbled a billionaire on his own social media app by casually demonstrating that wonder, not wealth, is the real flex in this life. Oates simply asked how someone [Elon] with unlimited resources could still seem unaware of the love of a dog, a book, a sports team, nature, or anything that exists outside the algorithm. In one gentle observation, she exposed the whole glitch in this era: how many people with power have everything except the ability to be present in their daily life. Her comment wasn’t (just) a drag. It was a reminder. You can build rockets, run platforms, and buy influence, but if you can’t slow down enough to actually notice the life you’re living, what’s the point? She reminds us that curiosity still counts, simple pleasures still matter, and influence isn’t proven by followers — it’s shown in whether you’re awake to the world around you. - MW

Quote of the week: “So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates— scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favorite team; references to history. In fact he seems totally uneducated, uncultured. The poorest persons on Twitter may have access to more beauty & meaning in life than the ‘most wealthy person in the world.” – Joyce Carol Oates