August 07, 2026

Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photo: Jack Sanders, Joe McKendry

Today, we’re trying something a little different with our “What I Can’t Live Without” column. Instead of interviewing a celebrity as we normally do, we’ve invited Amanda Dobbins — host of podcasts The Big Picture and Jam Session, and an unabashed Strategist superfan — to write her very own list. 

“I’ve tried to include a range of categories here: home, food, fashion, beauty, kid, and brain,” she says. “I also made the controversial decision to exclude every single product I discovered from the Strategist.” At the top of her list are two books by Tina Brown (“I’m trying to live my life like Tina Brown and Dua Lipa in equal measure, so it’s important to study the texts”). Some more highlights: Campari, the highlight stick she wears every day, and the jean short she claims “is the only piece of clothing that I can confidently say works on everyone.” Read about everything else she can’t live without here.

Also on the site:

STRATEGIST SAVED

1. Criterion Channel One-Year Subscription: The Criterion Channel seems like a good replacement for TikTok now that I've deleted that off my phone. It was one of the things Mark Duplass said he can’t live without earlier this year.

2. Muji Gel Ink Cap Type Ballpoint Pen 0.5mm: Per a reader recommendation, I'm looking to add some Muji pens to my budding stationery collection — I still need a good, easily replaceable pen.

3. Ninja CREAMi Scoop & Swirl Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine: My family has been hooked on the Ninja Slushi this summer, but soft serve's more my thing, so I'm saving up for the CREAMi Scoop & Swirl.

If you’d like to save items like Jordan does, it’s pretty easy. You’ll notice there’s now a small heart icon in the upper-right corner of all product images on articles. To save a product, just click the heart. It’ll change color, which means it’s been saved. All saved products will then be stored in the “Saved for Later” tab of your account, so make sure you are logged in to access this feature. (And you just need to submit your email to create an account — no payment required.)

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