November has officially arrived. ADE is behind us (barely), Halloween has come and gone, and the city has entered its in-between era: the post-party calm, the pre-holiday haze, where every canal reflection feels a bit more melancholic and every café window seat feels like prime real estate.
We’ve entered dark times, politically, meteorologically, and financially, but we’re making the most of it. It’s the season of long dinners, good reads, and rediscovering comfort in the smallest rituals. Whether that’s a new album on repeat, a film that sticks, or a meal that makes the grey days feel a little less grey.
In this month’s Cheat Sheet, you’ll find what’s feeding our minds, playlists, carts, and appetites, alongside the full lineup of what’s worth leaving the house for, and a few surprises in between.
This month’s special perks include 5x2 weekend tickets to the Supersonic Jazz Festival and 2x2 tickets to the screening of Marc by Sofia on November 18 — plus access to more of our top IDFA movie picks! Check the events section for details on how to apply.
Consider this your monthly companion: equal parts city guide and cultural dispatch.
What keeps us informed
Dutch Election TLDR: The Netherlands went to the polls last week in a snap election triggered by the PVV's government collapse. Despite keeping a majority, the PVV lost 11 seats, landing at 26—tied with social liberal D66, who surged 17 seats to their best-ever result. D66's 38-year-old leader Rob Jetten could become the next prime minister (and the Netherlands’ youngest one yet!). The left suffered losses, with GL-PvdA's decline prompting Frans Timmermans to resign. As coalition talks begin, one thing is almost certain: No party will align with the PVV, pushing Geert Wilders back to his outsider role.
Sudan’s Silent Catastrophe: The war between Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces, now in its second year, has become an escalating humanitarian catastrophe, with millions displaced and suffering intensifying by the day. Over the weekend, an RSF-led massacre in El Fasher was so brutal it was visible from space. According to the UN’s IPC, over 21 million people now face severe food insecurity, making it the world’s largest hunger crisis. With only 28% of Sudan’s $4.16 billion UN aid plan funded, the UN warns that without a ceasefire and urgent humanitarian action, millions more could face starvation in the months ahead. Find more information and ways to help here.
A Karmic Heist? This Halloween’s breakout look: a green traffic vest, some bling, and a dark face covering — a clear homage to the October 19 Louvre heist that stole more than headlines. In under eight minutes, a few small-time thieves made off with eight royal-era artifacts worth €88 million, many tied to France’s colonial past. Four charged, two confessed. A national embarrassment, sure, but maybe just a little karmic payback for treasures that were never exactly earned.
Trump’s (failed) attempt at the Peace prize:The 2025 Nobel Prize winners were announced in mid-October, and despite his loud campaign for the Peace Prize, ironically backed by a nomination from Benjamin Netanyahu 🥲, Donald Trump sadly 🙃 didn’t win. Instead, the award went to María Corina Machado, honored for championing democracy and a peaceful transition from dictatorship in Venezuela. Find all this year’s winners here.
Don’t gatekeep! Like what you’re reading? Spread the joy, forward this cheat sheet to a friend.
What keeps us cultured
Grace Wales Bonner was appointed as the Creative Director of menswear at Hermès, a role she quite literally manifested.
MOMU announced it will open an exhibition celebrating the 40 years of Antwerp Six next year, while the fashion world mourned the loss of one of its icons, Marina Yee.
Paris Photo, the world’s largest fair dedicated to photography and image-based art, returns to the Grand Palais from November 13–16.
And in Amsterdam, Applied Art Forms is opening its first flagship store this week.
What we’re reading
From eerie stories to pieces that made us think, this is what we’re diving into this month.
Anthony Bourdain’s ‘Kitchen Confidential’
What we’re listening to
Aa November Playlist Focus
Thank You for Almost Everything by Headache
I Love You Golden Blue by Sonic Youth
Ostentatious by Montell Fish, dj gummy bear, John Glacier
Berghain by ROSALÍA, Björk, Yves Tumor
Cumulus/Memory by Sampha
What we're watching
Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’
Edward Yang’s ‘Yi Yi’
Werner Herzog’s ‘The Inner Chronicle of What We Are’
The Guardian’s 'Our Genocide: How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza?’
Have tips on what you’d like to see more (or less) of? Any giveaway requests? Wanna rant about the political and economic state of the world right now? Hit reply!
What we’re shopping
We’re getting cozy, so expect warming scents, bags big enough to fit an extra layer or three, and the occasional tool to make you a little sharper. Here’s what’s been catching our eye (and occasionally, our wallet).
Medicube Zero Pore Pad 2.0 24.95€
Phlur Vanilla Skin Body Mist 25€
Balenciaga 90's/00's canvas handbag by Nicolas Ghesquière 250€
Applied Artforms Fingerless gloves 45€
Leeway tools Trypi Chocolate 35€
Clergerie Velvet Mules Size 38 50€
Marithé + François GirbaudShirtSize EU36 40€
What we’re eating and drinking
Flavour is our current love language. From the comfort of a steaming bowl at our forever pho spot (you’ll probably run into one of us there) to the sweet pit stops that make long days feel lighter, here’s a small shortlist of what’s been fuelling us lately.
Omakase at Ken Sushi Bar
Pain Suisse at Saint Jean Deli
Black Sesame and Orange chocolate at Lait de Choco
Cha Cha Sour at Bar San Francisco
Phó at Phó King
& finally where we’re going:
The city is buzzing with parties, screenings, pop-ups and festivals that stretch across disciplines, and we’re ready for all of it.
IDFA returns this month, gathering some of the most moving, urgent and beautifully shot stories from around the world. It’s one of those festivals that makes you sit still and think, or walk out wanting to change something. To celebrate, IDFA is giving Aa readers a few free tickets:
2x2 tickets to Sofia Coppola’s Marc by Sofia (2025) Screening on November 18th
2 x2 tickets to Claire Simon’s Writing Life - Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students (2025) (available screening of your choice)
2x 2 Deming Chen’s Always (2025) (available screening of your choice)
All you need to do is reply to this email with which film you’d like the tickets for + a link to your preferred screening if it’s Writing Life and Always!
Mid-month, one of our all-time favourites takes over Paradiso for three days. Super-Sonic Jazz Festival is back, filling the halls with everything from soulful classics to experimental sounds that don’t need a label. Our friends from the team are giving away 5x2 tickets for the whole weekend. Just let us know which act you’re most excited to see and we’ll take it from there.
Send us your give away entries by November 7th, we’ll be in touch with the lucky ones on Monday November 10th!
Now, scroll on for a selection of events we’ll be heading to this November.
WEEK 1 03/11 – 09/11
07/11 james K | Paradiso
WEEK 2 10/11 - 16/11
13/11 IDFA | Various Locations
14/11 IDFA | Various Locations
15/11 IDFA | Various Locations
WEEK 3 17/11- 23/11
18/11 Obongjayar | Paradiso
19/11 Oklou | Melkweg
22/11 IDFA | Various Locations
WEEK 4 24/11 - 30/11
25/11 Jamiroquai | Ziggo Dome
27/11 Benkel | nachbar
27/11 Snowstrippers | Melkweg
If you’ve made it this far, don’t keep it to yourself: pass it on.
Forward this cheat sheet to someone who’d actually show up.
See you next month!
Xx, Aa