My Internet: Elena Sheppard
The author and Sunday Reads writer dreads receiving voice notes.
Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci.
Every other Wednesday we quiz a “very online” person for their essential guide to what’s good on the internet.
Today we welcome Elena Sheppard, who writes the newsletter Sunday Reads and will publish The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora on September 30. Elena communes with fellow aviophobes on r/fearofflying, is slowly becoming a Boomer online, and recently watched Boogie Nights for the first time. —Nick
EMBEDDED: What’s a recent meme or post that made you laugh?
ELENA SHEPPARD: More of a nervous giggle.
EMBEDDED: Do you tweet? Why?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I used to tweet but when Elon took over I dropped the platform cold turkey. The only time I’ve missed it is during awards shows.
EMBEDDED: What do you use Instagram for?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I admittedly love Instagram and use it for both business and pleasure. I post a lot about what I’m working on, but also pretty places I visit, books I love, good hair days. As a consumer, I’m a very happy voyeur of other people's pretty moments.
I also have chronic Bell’s Palsy (don’t recommend) and Instagram is a place I’ve connected with a lot of other women who have it and who (like me) got it during pregnancy.
EMBEDDED: What types of videos do you watch on YouTube?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Usually tutorials for how to do mind-bending child-gear related things like how to disassemble and clean my kids’ stroller.
EMBEDDED: Where do you tend to get your news?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I love a newsletter and subscribe to (too) many … definitely a relic from the early days in my career when I was an online editor and spent every morning combing the internet for stories. Every morning I still spend a good deal of time seeing what’s going on via lots of random newsletters plus newsletters from The New York Times, Semafor, Politico …
EMBEDDED: How do you keep up with the online discourse? How important is it to you to do this?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I try, but the rapidity with which everything moves makes keeping up basically impossible … occasionally though there’s something I really lock into.
EMBEDDED: What are your favorite newsletters?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I really love newsletters that give me design inspiration. I care about aesthetics, but don’t trust my taste all that much. For that reason I love a curated rec collection like what’s provided by
EMBEDDED: How do you think Substack has changed media, if at all?
ELENA SHEPPARD: The newsletter-ification of our inboxes has certainly changed things, and as a person who does earn money from their newsletter I think that empowering writers to have control over their work in this way is the future. That said, we’re still seeing how this is all going to shake out … there’s a lot of Substack backlash out there—so much of it from people who use the platform that something’s gotta give.
EMBEDDED: What’s one positive media trend? What’s one negative trend?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Positive media trend: You can really dive deep into your proclivities and find content about whatever it is you’re looking for.
Negative media trend: You can really dive deep into your proclivities and find content about whatever it is you’re looking for.
EMBEDDED: Do you have a take on the “manosphere”? Do you think personalities like Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, and Theo Von have shaped young men’s political leanings?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Rather than give my take, allow me to recommend the book BoyMom by Ruth Whippman.
EMBEDDED: Do you believe that the “artificial general intelligence” and “superintelligence” that many AI boosters have warned of actually pose a risk to humanity?
ELENA SHEPPARD: This is one of those topics that if I think too hard about I totally panic. It’s like thinking about black holes … if I actually really focus on it, I get that pins and needles feeling all over my body. So I think that probably means yes.
EMBEDDED: What’s something that you have observed about the online behavior of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and/or Boomers?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I feel like I’m slowly becoming a Boomer online even though I’m very much a millennial in life. I find myself commenting things like “gorgeous family” on friend’s Instagrams … which is definitely Boomer behavior I made fun of not too long ago.
EMBEDDED: How do you find recommendations for what to watch, read, and listen to?
ELENA SHEPPARD: This is a combo of newsletters (again) and word of mouth. I also keep lists on my ToDoist of recommendations, and particularly with movies I use that list when I’m not sure what to watch. Thanks to that list I just watched Boogie Nights for the first time.
EMBEDDED: Who’s someone more people should follow?
ELENA SHEPPARD: My friend Jason Gilbert (who is a writer for The Daily Show). Everything he posts makes me laugh.
EMBEDDED: Are you into any podcasts right now? How and when do you usually listen?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I’m a big fan of Sexy Unique Podcast (other Pump-heads will know). Their recaps of The Valley are my favorite. I often listen in the shower.
EMBEDDED: Are you in any groups on Reddit, Discord, Slack, or Facebook? What’s the most useful or entertaining one?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Reddit. Shoutout to my fellow aviophobes in the fearofflying Subreddit.
EMBEDDED: What is your Wordle starting word?
ELENA SHEPPARD: S-P-A-R-E or C-L-E-A-N
EMBEDDED: What’s your go-to emoji, and what does it mean to you?
ELENA SHEPPARD: 🫠 this guy. It means: everything is chaos but we’re trying our best!
EMBEDDED: Do you text people voice notes? If not, how do you feel about getting them?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I can’t tell you how much I hate a voice note. I don’t send them, I dread receiving them. They feel like a to do list item and I just can’t take it.
EMBEDDED: Do you pay for a music streaming service, and if so, which one? What’s a playlist, song, album, or style of music you’ve listened to a lot lately?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I do. I pay for Apple Music and tend to build playlists for each season according to what I’m vibing with. The Summer 2025 playlist is a hodgepodge: a little Gracie Abrams, a little Bad Bunny, a little David Byrne.
EMBEDDED: If you could only keep one streaming service for TV and/or movies, which would it be, and why? What’s a show that you’re really into right now?
ELENA SHEPPARD: HBOMax (Max? What’s it called now?). Everything I’ve been watching lately has been there…The Gilded Age, And Just Like That (RIP), Sesame Street for my kids.
EMBEDDED: What’s your favorite non-social media app?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Libby—I take out so many books from the library.
EMBEDDED: What’s the most basic internet thing that you love?
ELENA SHEPPARD: Having ChatGPT redesign my apartment or help me plan a vacation.
EMBEDDED: Is there any content you want but can’t seem to find anywhere online?
ELENA SHEPPARD: This isn’t content, but I have yet to find a project management software that works for me. I wish there was one that is tailored toward writers (if anyone knows of one, let me know!).
EMBEDDED: Do you regularly use eBay, Depop, or other shopping platforms? What’s a recent thing you’ve bought or sold?
ELENA SHEPPARD: I’m a Poshmark person … I sell SO much there. Old clothes, kids clothes, my husband’s clothes…
I also love The Real Real for my own shopping needs.
EMBEDDED: Is there a site you like for product recommendations? How do you decide, for example, which air filter to buy?
ELENA SHEPPARD: It’s a lot of cross-referencing between Strategist, Wirecutter, and Amazon reviews.
EMBEDDED: What’s the last thing that brought you joy online?
ELENA SHEPPARD: This clip of Raul Esparza singing “Being Alive” in Company. His voice is insane.
Thanks Elena! Preorder her book and subscribe to her newsletter.
More My Internet Chris Dalla Riva ∙ Jacob Silverman ∙ Molly Mary O’Brien ∙ Emily Oster ∙ Alyssa Vingan ∙ Paul Krugman ∙ Karen Hao ∙ All
I love this!!!!!
No one has ever described my feelings about voice notes better lol.