Sunday Paper Recommends—Week of October 5, 2025
This week at The Sunday Paper, we're sharing a series, a new album, a book, and a recipe that we believe will add inspiration to your days. We hope these suggestions open your heart and mind and encourage you to come together for meaningful conversations.
What We're Watching
Black Rabbit is an emotionally layered drama that explores intense family dynamics in the midst of New York City nightlife. When the owner of one of NYC’s biggest hotspots, Jude Law, allows his troubled brother, Jason Bateman, to return to the family business, chaos ensues. If you're looking for a new series to binge, this thrilling eight-episode saga is worth the watch.
What We're Listening To
Taylor Swift may have "girlbossed too close to the sun" with her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which released on October 3rd, making history with the most single-day streams for an album in 2025 on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. Swift reunited with hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, who also contributed to "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "22," for her post-Kelce pop album, just short of 18 months after releasing The Tortured Poets Department. This album, much of a pivot from TTPD, theatrically invites listeners into Swift's whirlwind life of love, friend betrayal, performance, and her hope for a more secluded, possibly suburban future.
What We're Reading
In Strong Ground, Brené Brown delivers a bold and needed field guide for leading with courage in complex times of uncertainty and change. Drawing on six years of global leadership research with over 150,000 leaders in 45 countries, Brown gives readers necessary tools to thrive in today’s workplace. This is not just a book about leadership; it’s a call to return to what makes us fully human: connection, curiosity, and the courage to stand firm in the storm.
What We’re Making
Eggplant Parmigiana
The traditional Neapolitan way, gluten free
SERVES 9 TO 12
Ingredients
3 large eggplants
3 tablespoons sea salt
2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (or any brown rice flour)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups Marinara Sauce
4 cups Cashew Ricotta
4 cups Cashew Mozzarella
1/2 cup Macadamia Parmigiano
16 large fresh basil leaves
Directions
- Peel the eggplant and cut it lengthwise—top to bottom—into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices.
- Sprinkle the salt evenly over the eggplant and let it rest for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the eggplant should be covered in water. Wash the eggplant completely and gently pat dry.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the flour to a medium mixing bowl and dredge the eggplant slices in it.
- Brush the olive oil on a large cookie sheet or sheet pan. If all the eggplant doesn’t fit, use two pans.
- Bake the eggplant in the prepared pan for 12 minutes. Cool.
- In a 9 by 13-inch baking pan, layer the ingredients in the following order:
- Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce in the pan. Add one layer of eggplant slices, overlapping the edges to completely cover the sauce. Spread 2 cups of cashew ricotta over the eggplant, then spread 1 cup cashew mozzarella over the ricotta. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup macadamia parmigiano. Top with 8 basil leaves.
- Add another layer of eggplant slices. Spread another cup of marinara sauce evenly over the eggplant. Spread another 2 cups of cashew ricotta on the marinara sauce, followed by 1 cup of cashew mozzarella. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of macadamia parmigiano. Top with another 8 basil leaves.
- Add a final layer of eggplant slices, 1 cup of marinara sauce, and 2 cups of cashew mozzarella.
- Increase the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Cover the eggplant with a lid or foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 10 minutes. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Excerpted from VEGANA ITALIANA by Tara Punzone. Copyright © 2025 by Tara Punzone. Used by permission of Rodale Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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