Rec. #815: Highlights of Side by Side by Susan Blackwell

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I rock out my dinger eight times a week in that show." (Will Swensen)
"You smell good."  "Thanks, it's lady deodorant." (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
"I hate everybody." (Andrea Martin)
--- with Will Swensen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Andrea Martin (2010)





"This is my personal heaven. Feeding goats with Jonathan Groff."
--- with Jonathan Groff (2011)

"If you can explain the rules of cricket to me before I get bored, you don't have to scrub my toilet."
[cut to Radcliffe scrubbing a toilet]

--- with Daniel Radcliffe (2011)
(Rec. #454)

"Are those Broadway.com-approved words?"

--- with Audra McDonald (2012)

"It was Rosh Hashanah ... I was making my one phone call, but everyone was at temple, so I couldn't get out of jail."

--- with the cast of Falsettos (2016)

Connections to previous Wreckage: See Rec. #328 for much more about Side by Side by Susan Blackwell (which has now been going for 10 years!).

Rec. #814: Assorted British Nonsense

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy!

"I mean, you might have another name, well done, but in my mind: 'Ferret.'"

--- "Does Claudia Winkleman label every person she meets as an animal?"
(Rec. #502)

"I've got an egg in my hand for the first time in my life."

--- "MasterChef at No10"
(Rec. #434)

"It's like a bunch of white people drowning in milk."

--- Richard Ayoade's "Travel Man: Spa Days"
(See also Rec. #396, Rec. #592, List #63)

"You've cut your hand on the toilet flush?"

--- "QI: Pre-Show Pandemonium"

"Go on - tell Jodie Foster that story!"

--- Greg Davies on The Graham Norton Show
(See also SSoW #5)

[dances like Kate Bush]
--- "Noel Fielding Does 'Wuthering Heights'"

(Rec. #447)

Rec. #813: Alexis and David videos

I so thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the Amy Poehler/Natasha Lyonne shenanigans (Rec. #812) that this whole week is going to be all about short, mood-booster videos. Enjoy! 

"I didn't 'go missing', David -- the FBI knew where I was the entire time."

--- "Alexis Rose: International Woman of Mystery"

"Ew, David!"

--- "Alexis Says 'David'"
(Rec. #595)

"And it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, babe"

--- See Rec. #733 for the whole constellation of videos around David and Patrick and "Simply the Best"

"Dead silence. Is it a Yoko Ono song?"
--- "Dan Levy & Annie Murphy Play Jam or Not a Jam"
(Rec. #490)

Connections to previous Wreckage: For more Schitt's Creek, see , Rec. #680, List #59, List #63, and List #65.

Rec. #812: Amy Poehler Attempts an Impression of Natasha Lyonne

What: This video has given me so much joy recently. I have already watched these three minutes more than 20 times (a very restrained estimate).

The whole thing is eminently gif-able.

A few top moments:

Connection to previous Wreckage: Russian Doll is really, really good (Rec. #775).

How to get it: On YouTube. It's basically a commercial for Netflix and I don't even care.

List #92: A Bunch of Podcasts

This list was across several parts, so a wrap-up might be useful!

A reminder of the parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.



Part 1: Produced Nonfiction Segments (3)

Part 2: Narrative (5)

Part 3: High-Concept Chat (6)

Part 4: Stuff Going on in the World (4)

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 4

[In thanks to a friend.]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.

Previous Categories:
Produced Nonfiction Segments
Narrative
High-Concept Chat



Today's category: Stuff Going on in the World

[yeah, yeah, national holiday, but also we're on fire]
 

Front Row

The coverage: This is definitely the show in this category least likely to make you depressed and/or furious. It covers what's going on in arts, literature, film, media, and music.

The hosts: One host per episode, from a large stable of talent. Read all about the most frequent hosts ("presenters") here. I like them all except John Wilson.

The frequency: Every. Single. Weekday.

Learn more/get it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qsq5

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #425

Gaslit Nation

The coverage: "A deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs."

The hosts: Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, two experts on authoritarian states. They keep accurately predicting events here in the U.S., which is horrifying.

The frequency: Weekly

Learn more/get it: https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/

It's Been a Minute

The coverage: Sam Sanders and his guests cover the week in news via three-word summaries, rounds of "who said that," and some deep dives.

The host: Sam Sanders, a fan favorite from NPR Politics

The frequency: Weekly Wrap episodes, plus additional topic-specific episodes throughout the week.

Learn more/get it: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510317/its-been-a-minute-with-sam-sanders

Standard Issue

The coverage: "The magazine for ears. By women. For women. About everything."

Also, British.

The hosts: Mickey Noonan, Hannah Dunleavy, Jen Offord. All of them clever and dryly hilarious.

The frequency: Multiple times a week

Learn more/get it: https://www.standardissuepodcast.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #584

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 3

[In thanks to a friend.]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.

Previous Categories:
Produced Nonfiction Segments
Narrative



Today's category: High-Concept Chat

Answer Me This

The concept: "A monthly comedy podcast by Helen Zaltzman and Olly Mann in which they answer questions submitted by the general public."

The chat: Helen and Olly are old university friends and are joined by Martin the Sound Man (aka, Helen's husband).

Olly's a bit of a prick, but Helen (heard also on The Allusionist) is aces.

Learn more/get it: https://answermethispodcast.com/

Dr. Gameshow

The concept: "Jo Firestone and Manolo Moreno play original listener-created games with their comedian friends and callers from all over the world."

The chat: Listen to Jo slowly lose the will to live as her hosting is thwarted at every turn by her sidekick (Manolo, passive to a fault) and the listeners (who insist on voting for games that have never been played).

Jo Firestone is a comedy genius. The episode where Janeane Garofalo guested was one of the very few times I felt true joy last year.

Learn more/get it: https://www.maximumfun.org/shows/dr-gameshow

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #585, Rec. #719

Make Me Like It

The concept: "We're Kelly Hudson and Dan Klein. We don't like a lot of stuff. So we have our funniest friends come on our show and convince us to like the stuff they like."

The chat: Hudson and Klein know lots of West Coast comedy people, including writers for The Good Place, so those are the kinds of guests they have.

Megan Amram convinced them of the glories of The Cheesecake Factory. At a Cheesecake Factory.

Learn more/get it: https://headgum.com/make-me-like-it

Nobody Panic

The concept: "Your guidebook to being a fully functioning adult without screaming all the time."

The chat: Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin are British and very charming and right on the verge of breaking out. Listen so you can say you knew them when.

Learn more/get it: https://play.acast.com/s/nobodypanic

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #795

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The concept: "Freewheeling chat about the latest movies, television, books, comics, and music."

The chat: Linda Holmes hosts very skillfully, usually supported by her buddies Stephen Thompson (best thing about him is his partner Katie Presley) and Glen Weldon (best thing about him is his plan for surviving the apocalypse [don't]).

The "4th chair" is filled by various interesting and nice people.

Learn more/get it: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #571

The Poscast

The concept: "Sports, drafts and nonsense with Joe Posnanski and The Good Place's Michael Schur."

The chat: Do you know how little I care about sports? Very, very little. I do, however, like hearing Mike Schur rant about stuff and --- it turns out! --- I also really enjoy the episodes where they do random drafts, like 1980s movie crushes, office supplies, and sandwiches.

Learn more/get it: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nbc-sports/the-poscast

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 2

[In thanks to a friend]

The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.


Yesterday's category: Produced Nonfiction Segments


Today's category: Narrative

"The Body Genius" (on The Truth)

The story: A dark comic mystery about a Hollywood personal trainer.

How many episodes: 5

Learn more/get it: http://www.thetruthpodcast.com/story/2019/4/3/the-body-genius

The Bright Sessions

The story: A therapy practice for ... atypical clients.

How many episodes: Four seasons, roughly 10-20 episodes per season

Learn more/get it: http://www.thebrightsessions.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #587

Bubble

The story: A small band of monster killers operate in the gig economy of a corporate pseudo-topia.

How many episodes: 8

Learn more/get it: https://www.maximumfun.org/shows/bubble

Victoriocity

The story: A detective mystery comedy set in an alternate, steampunkish Victorian London.

How many episodes: Two seasons, 6/7 episodes per season

Learn more/get it: https://www.victoriocity.com/

Welcome to Night Vale

The story: Community updates for a small desert town. A contemporary surrealist classic for a reason.

How many episodes: 150 so far

Learn more/get it: http://www.welcometonightvale.com/

Previous Wreckage: Rec #303

List #92: For Half of Last Month's Me-Specific Rescue Squad, part 1

Thanks, friend. You know how much that meant to me. And, here, in gratitude -- a list!


The parameters of this list: Podcasts! No interview-style shows (not your jam). No true crime shows (not my jam). Still so much good stuff.



Today's category: Produced Nonfiction Segments (à la This American Life)

The Allusionist

The concept: Helen Zaltzman investigates language.

Three recent episodes: "Polari," "Alter Ego," "The Future Is Now?"

Learn more/get it: https://www.theallusionist.org/

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #773

Mystery Show

The concept: Starlee Kine investigates mysteries you can't solve yourself and can't solve online. (It's quite similar to Heavyweight. But it was first. And better.)

Three key episodes: "Video Store," "Belt Buckle," "Vanity Plate"

Learn more/get it: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/mystery-show

Previous Wreckage: Rec. #403

99% Invisible

The concept: Roman Mars investigates the unnoticed design and architecture that shape our lives.

Three recent episodes: "Life and Death in Singapore," "The Automat," "Depave Paradise"

Learn more/get it: https://99percentinvisible.org/

See You in July!

I'm taking a break from The Daily Wreck for the month of June.

This blog does have more than 1,400 posts (!!), though, so why not click around the index/tags/archive and explore a bit?

Rec. #811: Slow Burning Crimes

What: "Slow Burning Crimes" is from the band East Hundred's 2009 EP (Passenger), but it feels like it's from about 15 years earlier -- in the best possible way. Listen and tell me it doesn't sound like something off the Reality Bites soundtrack.

Representative lyrics:

I waited long ago this time
In the cold and rain
So tell me what the time is now
Before I figure it out

How to get it: Watch the music video on YouTube or Vimeo.

Have a good weekend, all. I wish you excellent hipster blanket forts, if that's the sort of thing that rings your bell.

Rec. #810: Crosstalk

What: There are many Terrible Truths about the world today. Once of the less horrifying ones is that no one knows how to direct screwball comedies anymore. Luckily, Connie Willis at least knows how to write them. Such a snappy pace that I read all 500 pages of Crosstalk in a weekend.

Representative quote: "That's the great thing about telepathy. You can talk to people anywhere. At any time."

Connections to previous Wreckage: Connie Willis has been all over this blog before, with All About Emily (Rec. #266), Bellwether (Rec. #218), Blackout/All Clear (Rec. #355), Lincoln's Dreams (Rec. #248), and To Say Nothing of the Dog (Rec. #100).

Rec. #809: Twelfth Night

What: It's getting to be Shakespeare in the Park time, and if you have no access to such a thing, make your own. 

Twelfth Night is an excellent start, as it's perhaps the rompiest of Shakespeare romps. Mistaken identities galore, screwball-level drunk scenes, and lots of attractive people hooking up.

This particular adaptation (1996) features a killer cast, including Helena Bonham Carter flapping about endearingly, Toby Stephens in full rawr mode, Imogen Stubbs trying to remain rational, and Richard E. Grant being posh and drunk. Good fun.

Connection to previous Wreckage: If you do have access to Shakespeare in the Park, probably thank The Public Theater (Rec. #710). If you want behind-the-scenes Shakespeare, see Slings and Arrows (Rec. #127, Rec. #191, Rec. #287).

Also: Lincoln Center did an a-MAZ-ing adaptation of the play in the late '90s as well. If you were lucky enough to see it in person or on your PBS station, you got to enjoy Helen Hunt and Kyra Sedgwick being geniuses and Paul Rudd being ridiculous and hot and wet.

Rec. #808: #StopTheBans

What: If you can't make it to a protest in person today, do set aside some time and mental energy for the clarity, resolve, and righteous fury of pieces like these ---

"The Messiness of Reproduction and the Dishonesty of Anti-Abortion Propaganda," Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker

"Anti-Abortion Lawmakers Have No Idea How Women's Bodies Work," Jessica Valenti, Medium

"The Harm Done for White Men," Jamil Smith, Rolling Stone

"Our Fury Over Abortion Was Dismissed for Decades as Hysterical," Rebecca Traister, The Cut

Representative quote: "And still those who are mad about, have been driven mad by, these injustices have been told that their fury is baseless, fictional, made of chewing gum and recycled copies of Our Bodies Ourselves." -- Rebecca Traister

Connections to previous Wreckage: Jia Tolentino, Rebecca Traister, and Jessica Valenti were all part of List #66: Public Voices to Pay Attention To. See also Traister's "When the Muzzle Comes Off" (Rec. #663) and Good and Mad (Rec. #737).

Rec. #807: When Life Begins and Ends, and Other Recent Pieces from Alexandra Petri

What: Alexandra Petri is an expert feelings-puncher. You start with a knowing chuckle, a moment of "ooh, that's a good line," but before you know it, Petri has ducked in and punched that bundle of emotions you'd been trying to keep protected.

Quite a streak she's had recently, too.

"When Life Begins and Ends"
"We should be able to view this scientifically. Science is very good these days. We can identify the species that human activity is driving to extinction with more accuracy than ever before."
(See also "I'm a State Legislator and I'm Here to Substitute Teach Your Biology Class")

"Other Questions to Go With 'Which Candidate Would You Like to Have a Beer With?'"
"Which candidate would you like to bite you gently on the arm?"

"You Have to Think About Electability"
"I just think people — again, not me, I’m on board, just … people — might not vote for this candidate. Because the candidate is a little, well, you know."

"Some Math Problems for Donald Trump's Tax Returns"

"Q: It costs $0.08 to buy a banana. You have -$0.05. Can you afford to buy a banana?
A: I don’t know, let me ask Deutsche Bank."

"Bill Barr Goes to Hell. And Finds a Client."

"Here, do you want the remnants of the credibility of the Justice Department? If not, I’m going to toss it next to the little chunk that is all that remains of John Kelly’s soul."

How to get it: Alexandra Petri is a columnist for the Washington Post. Find her there. 

Connections to previous Wreckage: See also Rec. #661 ("Some Impersonal Verbs, Conjugated by Gender"). Petri was also on List. #66.

Rec. #806: Worlds Spins Madly On

What: "World Spins Madly On," by The Weepies, is broody without preciousness and resigned without bitterness. It's a tricky balance and also pretty much exactly how I feel every single morning.

Representative lyrics:
Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed

Connections to previous Wreckage: Other songs along similar lines include "All the Umbrellas in London" (Rec. #530), "Damn These Vampires" (Rec. #681), "Endless Imitation" (Rec. #642), "Friendly Ghost" (Rec. #568), "Invisible Ink" (Rec. #579), "Novocaine for the Soul" (Rec. #787), and "Yodel" (Rec. #777).

Rec. #805: From Pulp to Pulp Fiction -- Musical Book Jackets

What: Enjoy dozens of songs reimagined as vintage book covers. Despite the title of The Guardian's gallery, not all of the covers are "pulp fiction" style.

Other styles include comic book ...

And romance ...

And Penguin Classics ...

How to get it: The Guardian had curated a selection of these images. They're also available on the creator's Instagram.

Rec. #804: Marguerite

What: The film Marguerite came out a bit before Florence Foster Jenkins, and it tells roughly the same story (wealthy woman loves to sing, sadly not great at it, doesn't realize this) in a very different way.

In this version, no one is saintly or evil. It centers on the nature of art and taste, adds in the beginnings of jazz, and--crucially--makes Marguerite herself a fully realized character instead of a joke.

Also, peacocks.

How to get it: Marguerite (2015) is available to stream for free via Kanopy. You can also rent or buy it through several other streaming platforms.

Rec. #803: The Library Book

What: Talented nonfiction writer Susan Orlean spent several years in a library-related research binge sparked (ha) by the devastating 1986 fire of the Los Angeles Public Library. In The Library Book, she dips in and out of spaces and times to look at the (public) library universe from a variety of angles, including the expansive future, the character-driven past, funding (always), who even are librarians anyway, and what a book looks like when it's burning.

Any one of these topics could be (and is) enough for a book of its own, but Orlean trips across them dashingly, pinning certain ruminations in place with some particularly well-turned phrases.

Now do academic libraries, please.

Representative quote: "Destroying a library is a kind of terrorism. People think of libraries as the safest and most open places in society. Setting them on fire is like announcing that nothing, and nowhere, is safe."

Comparable to: The documentary The Great Museum takes a similarly multifaceted approach to another cultural institution -- the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Connections to previous Wreckage: The Great Museum was Rec. #763. Other excellent books by Orlean are Saturday Night (Rec. #15) and The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup (Rec. #126).

Rec. #802: Britain's Best Home Cook

What: The existence of Britain's Best Home Cook is one of the rippling effects of The Great British Bake Off leaving the BBC. Beloved national treasure Mary Berry landed here as a judge, with Claudia Winkleman (who is charm personified) as host.

As I mentioned on Twitter, I don't understand the point of the two additional judges. Go away, Kyles (can't manage to learn their actual names, sorry/not sorry). More time with the Berry/Winkleman double act, please.

How to get it: Britain's Best Home Cook is available to stream on Hulu.

Connections to previous Wreckage: See more on the post-original-flavor-GBBO content explosion in Rec. #717. See more of Claudia Winkleman being a goddamn delight in Rec. #502 and Rec. #434.