The Dating Debate Tearing People Apart

Some women expect a black car. Others find it creepy. Here’s how to navigate the situation.

View in Browser  Wednesday, August 05, 2026 Last week, a tweet about a nuance of dating in the app era unleashed an avalanche of reactions online. It even ignited a clash inside Esquire. The reporter Alyson Krueger talked to single people to find out what they think of the Great Uber Debate. You can read it below. –Michael Sebastian, Editor-in-Chief Plus: The 7 best eyebrow, nose, and ear trimmers for men Ted Lasso just can't help itself. Read our season 4 review. This infrared sauna is the final frontier of at-home wellness Do You Really Need To Send Your Date an Uber? The president is selling Wall Street early access to his brain farts, and in return you get diarrhea from a salad. As if planning a first date weren’t stressful enough, a new expectation for guys has emerged: sending their date an Uber to pick them up. Oh, and it better be an Uber Black! “It’s very weird not to send a car,” declared Madison Campbell, on the social-media platform X, when talking about what she wants for a first date.   Her July 30 post, in which she also said that “every good man I’ve ever been on a date with has sent a car (usually a black one),” became an instant Rorschach test for dating in the app era. Some screamed that demanding such treatment was an immediate red flag, proof that the woman is too entitled. Or, if a dude suggests it, he’s clearly a serial killer in waiting; do you really want a stranger knowing where you live and tracking you?    The Great Uber Debate has roiled the straight dating scene at precisely the time when taking a woman out is already an expensive endeavor. What it reveals is the growing divide across America in which some women don’t even want a guy to open a door for them while others embrace the trad-wife trend, opting for complete subservience to their man.   I know, if you’re a single guy, it’s all very confusing. What is the protocol here—has it suddenly become table stakes to send your date an Uber Black to take her to dinner? READ THE STORY Who are the menswear experts that other menswear experts turn to? Caroline Reilly profiles the fashionable and legendary Churchwell brothers, André and Keith Churchwell.. >> Need an escape? This year's sci-fi films like Project Hail Mary are really out of this world.  Eric Francisco and Josh Rosenberg share the best sci-fi movies of 2026 so far. >> Officially, the Best Water Bottle of All Time For a year or so in my twenties, I had the pleasure of working at an outdoors store in Chicago. The store was called Uncle Dan’s and it was basically a local version of an REI. The time I spent working at Uncle Dan’s made me an expert in outdoor gear. I can tell you why Osprey makes a better backpack than Deuter and recite from memory the specs of an Arc’teryx outer shell. I even know what Gore-Tex is and how it works. But none of that compares to the amount of useless information I have about water bottles.   But ask me which brands made the best water bottle, and I’d be hard-pressed to answer, because they all had issues. The Hydro Flasks leaked; the Yetis were too heavy; the straw on the Camelbak was impossible to clean; and the Nalgenes, though adorable, were impossible to drink from. What I learned from the year I spent hawking water bottles is that there’s no such thing as a perfect water bottle. At least there didn’t use to be. Enter the Owala Free Sip. By Abigail Covington READ THE STORY How the Safari Jacket Became an Enduring Part of American Style If you’re looking for someone to thank for the timeless allure of the safari jacket, you could do a whole lot worse than Ernest Hemingway. America’s long-running one-man adventure story almost single-handedly propelled Africa—or a literary version of it—into the public consciousness in America when he published Green Hills of Africa in 1935. And along with it came the gear. For Hemingway, being knowledgeably equipped was an integral part of the man-of-action persona he carefully cultivated. He ordered his provisions—multi-pocketed safari jacket among them—from leading American outfitters like Willis & Geiger and Abercrombie & Fitch, having them tweaked and adapted to suit his exacting needs.   As functional clothing goes, the safari jacket, albeit without the life-threatening experiences, still has a functional charm about it that is perfectly attuned to the rigors of modern summer travel. What makes it so adaptable is its weight. It’s often referred to as a jacket, but given its lightweight construction—usually in cotton or linen—it’s actually somewhere between a shirt and a jacket. Historically it was often worn with short or rolled sleeves for added comfort. Military origins mean that specific details—including a fitted waist, four pleated pockets, a shirt-style collar (so it could be worn over bare skin), epaulets, and a belt in matching cloth—differentiate it, if you’re a purist, from other functional pieces, like the now ubiquitous chore jacket. By Nick Sullivan READ THE STORY Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779

The Worst People Get Richer

The president is selling Wall Street early access to his brain farts, and in return you get diarrhea from a salad.

View in Browser  Tuesday, August 04, 2026 Have you heard about Truth API, which sells Wall Street firms early access to Trump’s Truth Social posts? It’s all very sketchy and will enrich the president even more. What does it mean for everyone else? Dave Holmes’s column today will make you laugh about it (before you cry). –Michael Sebastian, Editor-in-Chief Plus: 11 sleeper sofas your guests will actually want to sleep on Here’s your complete Ted Lasso season 4 release schedule How to pick the perfect pair of Levi's With Truth API, Everyone Gets Rich! (Except You.) The president is selling Wall Street early access to his brain farts, and in return you get diarrhea from a salad. You may have missed it, but this past Saturday, August 1, 2026, two culturally significant events went down: 1) MTV celebrated the 45th anniversary of the day it launched on a handful of cable systems, and 2) the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) went live with Truth API, a new subscription service offering users early access to our President’s Truth Social posts. That’s right: for a low, low monthly fee, the President’s biggest fans can be among the very first to learn how he fared on the golf course, feast their eyes on the AI-generated image of him as a skinny version of ‘70s Elvis, or find out whether he’s about to tariff bananas or bomb Iran.   In this case, his biggest fans are the institutional investors who can afford the $100,000 monthly fee, or $60,000 if they commit to a multi-year contract, to use the service. What they will do with that information is shift huge sums of money around the stock market to capitalize on its fluctuations related to the announcement they just got milliseconds before anyone else. Everyone profiting from this—including Trump and family—are hoping you are too distracted or too fatigued by the onslaught of Big Stupid to care whether the president should be selling early access to his brain farts. READ THE STORY The Japanese watch brand, Citizen, offers luxurious looks for less than you’d expect. Josh Osman rounds up the best from their selection. >> Republicans are pushing for Todd Blanche to enter the Senate Judiciary Committee. Charles P. Pierce thinks he's an unqualified hack. >> Men, I Beg You: Stop Doing This One Annoying Thing at the Cocktail Bar Finally, you get the bartender’s attention at the trendy new spot in town. So what do you order? Probably something tried-and-true that you know you’ll like, right? A martini or Negroni, maybe a tequila soda? After you’ve managed to take a sip to lighten your mood, ask yourself: Did I even look at the menu?   But I know what I like, you’re probably saying to yourself. And yes, your bartender will smile and nod and make the best damn tequila soda you’ve ever had, because their job is to serve you your drink the way you want it. However, the order itself isn’t the problem; the problem is ordering without even considering the menu. Mixologists spend months developing a culturally relevant, epicurean cocktail menu before meticulously infusing liqueurs and fat-washing and hand-making garnishes, only for you to order a two-part mixed drink. By Sirena He READ THE STORY How Dior Created the Boldest Sauvage Cologne Yet Just over a decade ago, when Dior created Sauvage, the world of men’s fragrance was far simpler. Usually, an eau de toilette would do the trick. Things have changed—rather drastically. Scents have become more concentrated, notes more varied. No one knows this better than Francis Kurkdjian, perfume creation director for Dior and one of the industry’s most revered noses.   This year, Kurkdjian was tasked with pushing Sauvage—a modern classic, and one of the most popular fragrances on the market—to its limits. The results is Dior Sauvage Extrait ($205), a new expression that utilizes oud for the very first time and steers the scent into unexpected, sexy (dare I say kinky?) territory.   Sitting down with a master like Kurkdjian to talk about how Sauvage Extrait came to be, I’ll admit I was a little nervous about asking the wrong questions. But, he assured me, “It’s about perfume. You cannot be right or wrong when it is about perfume.” By Alfonso Fernández Navas READ THE STORY Runner’s World Wants to Hear from You We’d like to invite you to participate in our important research that explores your love for running and how it impacts your lifestyle. TAKE THE SURVEY Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779