List #94: Best of 2019

The Allusionist: Best Language About Language, Rec. #855

The Art of Process: Best Art About Art, Rec. #863

Be Prepared: Best Reason to Stay Indoors, Rec. #851

Come From Away: Best Reminder That Not All of Humanity Is Terrible, Rec. #852

 
David Tennant Does a Podcast With ...: Best Listener, Rec. #847

The Guardian Blind Date: Best Vicarious Dating, Rec. #865

Knives Out: Best Time at the Movie Theater, Rec. #856

Nothing Like a Dame / Tea with the Dames: Best Overheard Conversations, Rec. #860

Alexandra Petri: Best Way to Reflect on the Year, Rec. #866

"Quite Good, Considering [Rosalind's a Nightmare]": Best Earworm, Rec. #858

Russian Doll: Best Worst Day, Rec. #846

Simone (The Good Place): Best Outfit for Any Situation, Rec. #854 

Superstore: Best Season-5-and-Going-Strong, Rec. #848

This Way Up: Best Depictions of Relatable Human Emotions, Rec. #862

Three Identical Strangers: Best Ripped-from-the-Headlines, Rec. #864

Alie Ward: Best Campaign Promise, Rec. #859

Wine Country: Best New Endless Rewatch Potential, Rec. #850

Rec. #866: Best Way to Reflect on the Year

Alexandra Petri's columns for The Washington Post are hilarious in a surreal, stab-you-in-the-neck way. Like much of 2019!

See Rec. #661 and Rec. #807 for a sampling and see her WaPo page for the full archive of her nearly 200 (!) columns from this year.

Rec. #865: Best Vicarious Dating

Every week The Guardian sets two people up as part of its Blind Date recurring feature. These are their stories ... more than 500 of them.

(Rec. #767)

Rec. #864: Best Ripped-from-the-Headlines

Three Identical Strangers starts uncanny, gets strange, takes a detour into farce, swims around in mystery and conspiracy for awhile, and then unexpectedly settles on a contemplation of how our humanity is shaped.

It's a wild (and true) ride.

(Rec. #829)

Rec. #863: Best Art about Art

Aimee Mann and Ted Leo are very talented musicians and, as it turns out, very thoughtful and insightful people. 

On The Art of Process podcast, they thoughtfully and insightfully interview other thoughtful and insightful people about their creative output. It's great.

(Rec. #779)

Rec. #862: Best Depictions of Relatable Human Emotions

This Way Up, created by and starring Aisling Bea, gives us small awkwardness, big loneliness, humor as a coping mechanism, and many other ways people balance internal emotion with external human connection.

Also, Sharon Horgan, Aasif Mandvi, Tobias Menzies, and Indira Varma.

Streaming on Hulu and well worth it.

(Rec. #831)

Rec. #861: Give Money to Electric Literature

Electric Literature is "a nonprofit digital publisher with the mission to make literature more exciting, relevant, and inclusive."

It began as a quarterly journal in 2009, became a nonprofit in 2014, and has truly blossomed under the editor-in-chief reign of Jess Zimmerman (which began in 2017).

See the Electric Literature website for info on how to support its work.

For an example, see Rec. #616.

Rec. #860: Best Overheard Conversations

Nothing Like a Dame (UK title) / Tea with the Dames (US title) brings together Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Joan Plowright, and Dame Maggie Smith for a series of chats.

It's delightful.

(Rec. #778)

Rec. #859: Best Campaign Promise (or at least one of the top ten I've heard)

Alie Ward, host of the podcast Ologies, tweeted this plan:
"I'm excited to announce my candidacy for president here is my speech: all the golf courses become dog parks"

I mean, I'm in.



(I somehow haven't recommended the Ologies podcast yet, but it's very good!)

Rec. #858: Best Earworm

The show Taskmaster is very funny -- both the UK and US versions. Many of the full British episodes are being added to YouTube by an official "Taskmaster" channel (finally!).

In one such episode, people are tasked with writing and performing a song for a stranger.

"Quite Good, Considering [Rosalind's a Nightmare]" is one of the gobsmacking results, and I've now had it stuck in my head for ... literal weeks. 

And I don't even hate it yet!

(See also Rec. #696 and Rec. #731)

Rec. #857: Give Money to Fair Fight

Fair Fight's mission is to "promote fair elections in Georgia and around the country, encourage voter participation in elections, and educate voters about elections and their voting rights."

You can donate directly to the "Fair Fight 2020" effort here. 

Rec. #856: Best Time at the Movie Theater

I loved Knives Out. A lot.

Rec. #855: Best Language About Language

The podcast The Allusionist is such a good mix! It's accessible and erudite; interesting and intelligent; snarky and serious.

Host Helen Zalzman is very good at this.

(Rec. #773)

(List #92)

Rec. #854: Best Outfit for Any Situation

Because what else do you wear when your synapses are randomly firing in the millisecond after your death?

The Good Place is really good, and it's about to end, but I'm sure that will also be amazing.

(See List #68)

Rec. #853: Give Money to Dr. Brittney Cooper

... by buying her most recent book, Eloquent Rage.

To see more new/recent/upcoming books to buy, go to List #93: PAY Ten Women and Keep It Going.