The Female Invest Summer Culture Guide 2025 - Part 2

We -Camilla and Maiken -are back with part two of our summer recommendations – perfect for lazy pool days, long train rides, or quiet summer nights.

This week, we’re diving into bolder territory with a mix of political picks, timeless classics, and fresh new drops you won’t want to miss.

Haven’t read part one yet? It’s packed with even more great recs – go check it out.

Let’s get into it.

Camilla Recommends: Turning Point - The Bomb and The Cold War

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War is a gripping, deeply relevant Netflix docuseries that unpacks and explains exactly how we got to where we are today.

It unpacks the global tensions shaping our world today and asks the unsettling question: Did the Cold War ever really end?

Directed by Brian Knappenberger, the nine-part series weaves together the long arc from World War II to the present day, using everything from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to 9/11 and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to chart the persistence - and evolution - of Cold War dynamics.

It feels very modern and fast paced and it features voices like Daniel Ellsberg, George W. Bush, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the series connects the dots between past policy and current conflict with clarity and urgency.

If you enjoyed the movie Oppenheimer, which it echoes as a cultural backdrop, you are very likely to enjoy Turning Point. It’s is a powerful, accessible crash course in how we got here - to a world once again haunted by nuclear rhetoric, shifting alliances, and authoritarian power plays.

At a time when history feels like it’s repeating itself, this series could not be more relevant.

Available on Netflix

Maiken Recommends: Mad Men

This next recommendation is an oldie but a goodie.

‍Mad Men may have premiered back in 2007, but in my opinion, it’s a timeless classic that still holds up today.

Set in the 1960s, the show takes us inside the high-stakes world of Madison Avenue advertising - more specifically, the fictional agency Sterling Cooper.

At the center is Don Draper: the charming, creative, and enigmatic creative director who seems to have it all, but is slowly unraveling under the weight of his secrets and personal demons.

As the title suggests (Mad Men = Madison Avenue men), this is a deeply patriarchal industry.

Women in the office are secretaries, not creatives or decision-makers - until, in a quiet turning point (around episode 10, season 1), Don’s secretary Peggy Olson pitches a brilliant copy line for Belle Jolie Lipstick.

From there, her career begins to progress and defy expectations.

The show explores themes like ambition, gender dynamics, race, power, and societal change. It doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the era.

One of the most disturbing moments comes in season 5, when Sterling Cooper is pitching Jaguar. A powerful client makes it clear he’ll only back their proposal if Joan Holloway, the office manager, sleeps with him.

It’s a brutal example of the kind of sexism the characters - and the viewers - are forced to confront.

So why watch Mad Men?

Because it’s a masterclass in character development, visual storytelling, and social critique.

Because it shows women rising in a man’s world.

... and because the acting is phenomenal - especially Elisabeth Moss and Jon Hamm.

All seven seasons are available to stream on Netflix. (yes, that’s 92 episodes in total - so if you love a good binge, this one’s made for you…)

Camilla recommends: Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Next up is the novel, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which is a short, luminous novel set aboard the International Space Station - a book that asks us to look at Earth from a distance in order to see it more clearly.

Told over the course of a single day, through 16 orbits of the planet, six astronauts float above a world that is both heartbreakingly fragile and breathtakingly beautiful.

Winner of the 2024 Booker Prize and now part of the Climate Fiction Prize longlist, Orbital is less about plot and more about perspective. It’s a book about seeing our planet in all its beauty and vulnerability, and about what it means to be human when you're floating far above it.

While the astronauts observe Earth, from glowing salt flats to swirling typhoons, they also reflect on their own lives: the people they love, the things they miss, and the memories that keep them grounded. A photo, a message, a quiet thought. These small details become lifelines to home.

At under 150 pages, it’s a short and accessible read, poetic, reflective, and ideal for those of you who want to be moved and challenged without committing to a doorstop of a novel.

And at a time when the climate crisis can feel overwhelming or abstract, Orbital doesn't preach.

Instead, it quietly asks: Why wouldn’t we fight to protect something this astonishing?

It may not offer solutions, and its dreamlike style can feel distant at times, but this is a novel of wonder - and a powerful reminder that our planet, and our humanity, are worth holding onto.

You can listen to the book in audio format or purchase it from most book stores

Now, it’s your turn…

What are the shows, books or podcasts that have moved you lately?

Drop your recommendations in the comments -  and let’s build the ultimate watch/read/listen list together.