Army Stew, Ballot Drops, and a Message to the Graduates

From Jamie’s Desk:

I am going to throw everyone a curveball, and we are not going to discuss the California midterm elections in this intro. I realize that the primary just happened and there is so much to discuss, process, think about, – and for that, you can listen to today’s podcast, which was all about the LA and California elections. I realize there were primaries all across the country, but let’s be honest, it feels like Spencer Pratt and the LA mayoral race has dominated the news cycle. Anyway, we will have months to discuss these topics – and I can’t wait for substantive debates on policy as we move forward, which is what we have been promised. 

With that being said, today’s topic is graduation. Based on my Instagram feed, the Sunday news shows and much more – it is graduation season. High school, college, and even nursery school, it’s leading to so many emotions — and I know I’m not alone in that. So, I want to highlight a couple of things on the top of my mind. 

First, Lunch With Jamie alum Fareed Zakaria’s recent advice to 2026 graduates, which was on his show GPS. He talked about his commencement speech at Bard, where he was predictably booed after mentioning AI, since that’s apparently the norm now. Mention AI in a speech and duck from the incoming tomatoes. But what Fareed highlighted in his monologue on Sunday was just how amazing the human mind is and why we aren't going anywhere. He talked about the imperfections that make us special, and the extraordinary skills of our 3 lb brain, demonstrated everyday by toddlers learning language, a person reading the room, or Beethoven composing his Ninth Symphony while deaf.

Of course, AI is here to stay. Yes, its ability to analyze data is unimaginable, and the potential to cure disease and solve problems is like nothing we could ever predict. But we also need to remember just how awesome we humans are. As Fareed said, “We should stop imagining human beings as inferior computers, because we are not computers at all”.

It’s impossible to deny that we’re at a turning point for technology, but the idea of such a precipice isn't new. We have heard it before, but we have been told that AI is a new beast entirely. But just think about the printing press, the steam engine, the lightbulb, the internet, and the smartphone – all technological advances that have been frightening. That leads me to another piece of information I just heard on The Daily, where happiness expert Laurie Santos was discussing the toll this change takes on young people. She referenced a Harvard study from the 1970s that she recently unearthed which was focusing on the mental health of college students who were soon to graduate. Before reading, she assumed the study would tell an entirely different tale than we’re living through right now – but she was wrong. The study results could have been from her current students, she said. The anxieties were the same: the uncertainty of the job market, technology, and the desire to stay in bed and not face the world. So that isn’t new. 

I’m not denying that times have changed, and AI is drastically altering the way things are done. The economy is not in a good place, and many young people are struggling to make ends meet. What once was a strong starting salary is now below the poverty line, and the burden of high-interest student loans and healthcare feels suffocating. That’s a reality that this generation is facing, and it’s up to our elected leaders to change that. 

But as the eternal optimist, my advice to graduates is: lean forward. Be curious and attack your next opportunity, whatever it may be. Yes, the world can be scary. Yes, my generation has not done a great job being stewards of our society, but that just makes your opportunity even greater. Of course, this new technology is going to cause real disruption, but with that comes opportunity. The question is: what are you going to do with it?

🎉 Congratulations, Class of 2026!

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Discussed in this issue: A special Lunch With Jamie format and Peking Duck worth driving for.

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📍San Gabriel Valley: Bistro Na's
Cuisine: Chinese
Crew: Alex Tse, Andy Wang, Anthony Jacobson, Ben Hundreds, Chad Gutstein, David Nathanson, Eli Meyer, James Ponsoldt, Joseph Varet, Jordan Okun, Kate Burr, Matt Karatz, Paul Zucker, Rachel Halilej, Eater, Michelin Guide, The Infatuation, The LA Times
Good For: Large Group, Michelin Star
Pro Tip: You must order the duck at least 1 week in advance. You need 1 duck for 5 people.
What to Order: Okra in Seasoned Dressing, Na's Spicy Chicken, The Peking Duck, Crispy Shrimp, Manchurian Peppered Lamb Chops, Diced Black Pepper Honey Angus Beef, Tofu, Pea Sprouts, Fried Mixed Mushrooms with Rice Cracker Bites, Na's Secret Tofu, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Pan Fried Beef Buns
Notes: There are some restaurants that just sit above the rest, and this is one of them. However there are some disclaimers. First, it is FAR from everyone reading this – so you really need to plan when you are going to make the trip to Temple City (near the Santa Anita Race Track). However, it is worth every minute you will be stuck in traffic to get there. As someone who did their semester abroad in China and Hong Kong, it is the closest thing you can really experience to walking into a Fine Dining restaurant in Beijing. And the menu lives up to that. The majority of dishes will seem very foreign, not like the Americanized Chinese restaurants you’re used to, but I can promise you every bite will be better than the next. This is a place you go with a big group (Ideally 10-12 and you get one of the private rooms, but 6 is also fine). I wouldn't recommend a smaller group. There are a ton of options for all types of eaters on the menu and they will all be memorable. However, right now there is one thing on the menu that is arguably one of the best in the world – and that is their Peking duck, perfectly prepared by Chef Tian Yong. This duck is meticulously sourced, the chef likes them to be a specific age range when he gets them. The process of cooking and preparing them takes up to 15 days. They only serve 10 a day, so they must be reserved in advance. It is far and away the best Peking duck I have ever eaten, and although I can't call myself an expert I have eaten my fair share of duck, from Beijing to Hong Kong to NY to Vancouver to LA. If you aren't a Peking duck person, there are still so many choices on the menu. I have now been 3 times and have barely gotten through 1/2 the dishes I want. The next time your kids have an east side soccer tournament, you are heading to Palm Springs or you just want one of the best Chinese meals of your life, head out to Bistro Na's. Just please check the traffic, Saturday night is probably your best bet.

This week, I tried something a little different for Lunch With Jamie. Not even 24 hours after polls closed in California, I was joined by a panel of some of the most knowledgeable voices in Golden State politics. 

It was an impressive line-up: kicking off with Jessica Yellin, who I’m sure many of you know from News Not Noise. She gave her initial thoughts on the results, and shared her analysis of how the news media fits into the Spencer Pratt hype. We then went to Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at LMU and founding director of StudyLA. But the good news is he’s tenured – so not afraid to give his official, unfiltered prediction. Alex Cohen, an Emmy-award winning journalist for Spectrum News, was also on. Julia Wick, former LA Times journalist and co-founder of LA Material, was clear that while at the time of filming, it appears that the run-off will be Bass vs. Pratt —Nithya Raman might see an increase as we get the final vote tallies.

I won’t spoil this panel, because it was truly informative and you should all watch. I’ve added an updated intro to better reflect what we know, but this is obviously a fluid situation. Still, the conversation holds up, as we focus on the big picture of what we’ll likely see in November and how the media comes into play.

You can listen to the full conversation on Youtube, or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and Amazon.

Aaron Michaelson, Aaron Stern, Adam Saper, Adam Smith, Alex Tse, Andy Wang, Anthony Jacobson, Ashley Sawyer, Ben Hundreds, Blake Lively, Bobby Kim, Brian McGinn, Chad Colby, Chad Gutstein, Chris Rice, Condé Nast Traveler, David Gelb, David Katzenberg, David Nathanson, Evan Funke, Eater, Eli Meyer, Food & Wine, Goop, Kristina O’Neill, Iman Dakhil, Infatuation, James Beard Award, Jason Spivak, Jerry Greenberg, Jeremy Smith, Jerrold Son, Jessica Alba, Joe Varet, Jon Buscemi, Jon Alagem, Jon Shook, Jordan Okun, James Ponsoldt, Kate Burr, Katie McNeill, Kelly Sawyer Patricof, The LA Times, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lloyd Sacks, Marc Rose, Marc Mezvinsky, Martha Patricof, Matt Haimes, Matt Karatz, Max Chow, Max Shapiro, Max Winkler, Michael Kives, Michelin Guide, Nicole Richie, Neal Moritz, The NY Times, Paul Zucker, Peter Goldwyn, Phil Rosenthal, Phill Ettinger, Rachel Halilej, Riley Patricof, Sawyer Patricof, Shu Chowdhury, Todd Steinman, The Hungry Tourist, The Infatuation, Vinny Dotolo.

Today’s email was brought to you by: Jamie Patricof and Michaela Sullivan