hi! i’m still thinking about the dead worm in rfk jr.’s brain. the journey that worm must’ve taken… homer is shaking.
anyway here are the good things this week:
1. hacks season 3 (max)
hacks is back and i am thoroughly enjoying the new episodes. the bit where deborah doesn’t let her writing assistants into the room because they have ‘hazelnut coffee breath’ was a huge BOL. hazelnut coffee is disgusting, sorry!
2. a spiritual retreat via these podcasts
i listened to this first episode at the recommendation of
Haley Nahman
, which introduced me to the guy who is interviewed — christian wiman. he’s a writer and poet, formerly the editor of poetry magazine. his work focuses on themes of faith, doubt, and what he calls a ‘religionless christianity’. he grew up in a baptist tradition and was a self-described reluctant atheist in his 20s. but he made his way back to faith after falling in love in his late 30s and then being diagnosed with a rare cancer.
i’m really interested in conversations around faith and religion from a leftist perspective, and i’m definitely going to read wiman’s books now. he articulates things about faith that i’ve been trying to work out in my brain for the longest time. anywho, i fell down a bit of a rabbit hole and then just started listening to on being eps. if you’re going to listen to just one of these, i think it should be the fresh air episode with wiman or the nick cave one. here they are in the order i listened on my de facto podcast retreat saturday:
3. the jinx: part 2 (max) but more specifically these two guys
the jinx is the best true crime series ever made and if you’ve somehow not watched part 1, go do that. part 2 is a little bit gratuitous, but i’m also eating it up. it takes us through the trial of robert durst, infamous freak who murdered three people and got away with admitting in court to chopping up one of the bodies. durst is the most prolific yapper of all time and part 2 is giving us a lot of gems via prison phone call tape. my favorite part thus far though is these two guys who work for the prosecution and are called ‘the wonder twins’. vulture describes them this way: “two goofy bro-dogs who are essentially John Grisham protagonists run through a Workaholics filter.” every time they are on screen i perk up. need to queen out with them soon.
4. “life is not happening to you, it’s happening for you”
can’t remember where i heard this truism1 but i like the reframe. fortunately/unfortunately, there really isn’t some guy in the sky sending down obstacles or rewards for you like you are a character in mario kart. life happens and then it’s up to you to take action from there. i’ll let you know when i fully internalize this message and stop blaming my bad days on curses from my enemies!
5. bodkin (netflix)
this show is absolutely dragging me and my career to hell but i love it so much. it’s about a podcaster from chicago who goes to rural ireland to investigate a string of disappearances. he’s there with an intern and another reporter, an irish print journalist, who serves as the perfect foil to his starry eyed and cringe ‘search for the story.’ it’s so embarrassingly accurate and funny about some of the tropes of true crime podcasts and podcasts as a genre. i’ve only watched ep 1 but i can’t wait to see what happens.
6. regional accents
something so satisfying about immediately being able to place someone in the world based on their voice. i always get really excited when i guess an actor is from chicago and then confirm it when i google. listen to these brooklynites talk about moonlight. scratches an itch!
(thank you maritza for bringing this video to my attention)
♡good thing from a good person♡
today we have a submission from my new friend anjor khadilkar, who i met at a maggie rogers listening party a few months ago and became instant pals with. she is lovely and i’m pretty confident that our spotifys are mirror images of each other. she’s also got her own substack which you can check out here! this is anjor’s good thing, which i can’t wait to try:
chai-der! Apple cider (preferably a caramel version) + chai (risi chai tea concentrate STRONGLY recommended, and I'm Indian so you know I know my sh*t) + optional non-dairy milk or Chobani does a maple glazed donut creamer and it goes crazy in this. I honestly love this drink so much, I drink it the whole year round. It's good hot and cold but I usually prefer it iced. It costs an exorbitant amount if you get it from Partners Coffee (which is where I first got it) but you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost and it is SO STINKIN GOOD and I will spread its gospel as far and wide as possible. Drinks as yummy and fragrant and delicious as this are one of the reminders we have that life can be good and there are good things around us :)
thanks for reading! this weekend i am going to see the avett brothers at forest hills and hopefully, finally, challengers. will report back with thoughts!
xoxo
1
obviously a tik tok
