My favorite non-book media & stuff of 2022
This year I did a few things other than read, so I’m sharing my fave podcasts, TV, and anything else I want :)
Best podcasts of 2022
I fell out of listening to podcasts, and then Normal Gossip came on the scene. Now I’m jumping right back in. (Also, I saw a meme that was like “are people who don’t listen to podcasts just out there rawdogging chores?” and yes, yes, I was. Not anymore.)
Normal Gossip: If you have talked to me this year, then you already know about this podcast and YOU BETTER BE LISTENING. (I styled my gingerbread house after it!) Host Kelsey McKinney and producer Alex Sujong Loughlin have put together the perfect storytelling experience. They take stories sent in by listeners (friends of friends) and tell the story to a guest in an Encyclopedia Brown manner (what would YOU do at this point in the story when someone discovers a hot dog in the toilet) and hilarity ensues. I’m a paid subscriber, which I have never done for a podcast, and went to see it live and it was better than I could have dreamed. Seriously, listen to it, and you can start with Steampunk-Ass Murder Mystery so we can immediately gossip about the gossip.
Left: Me, host Kelsey McKinney, and Elizabeth at the live show after party; Right: AWARD-WINNING and Instagram famous gingerbread house!
All the Books: if you want the book recs from Liberty Hardy (my fave book human) in real time, this comes out every Tuesday, and she and a rotating co-host share their favorite books coming out that week. There’s also good cat content, if that’s your jam.
Good Inside with Dr. Becky: GAH, I love Dr. Becky. She gives practical parenting strategies and recognizes how fucking hard parenting is. I also follow her on Instagram and love the bite size pieces of guidance or pep talks she gives there.
Honorable mention: We Can Do Hard Things: some of the episodes are REALLY good, some feel a little preachy (it comes out twice a week, so I just listen if I think the guest is gonna resonate - not surprisingly, the one with Dr. Becky is the best!
Best TV of 2022
I’ve watched more TV this year because every other week the kids are at Grant’s, and my house is very quiet. I asked Elizabeth for some recommendations, and she put together a whole notes doc for me, and I’ve been working my way through that delightfully! Here’s what I will pass on:
Reservation Dogs (Hulu FX): Elizabeth didn’t have to recommend this to me :). I LOVED season 1 even when I wasn’t really a TV watcher, and season 2 was even more spectacular. I felt seen on the screen, as did so many of my Native friends and family. It’s hilarious and hard and real and just so so so good, and the soundtrack is phenomenal. This season there are two scenes that will stay with me for a long time: one with Willie Jack visiting someone in prison, feeling the power and heart of her ancestors, and one with all of the reservation dogs in the waves of the ocean. Just picturing them as I’m writing this has filled my chest and grounded me. It’s written and directed by Sterlin Harjo, and I will go to my grave telling everyone how once we did karaoke together.
Mare of Easttown (HBO Max): Kate Winslet is fucking amazing in this as Mare, a detective in a small town. She’s investigating a crime and her own life is falling apart. I watched the first episode and wasn’t sure, and then got sucked right in.
The Bear (Hulu): I only want to watch shows with heart, and this delivers. It’s a little dark, but it’s so, so worth it. Carmy, a young esteemed chef, returns home to Chicago to help run his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop after his brother dies by suicide. The season finale was perfect. Yes, chef!
Mythic Quest (Apple+): I only started watching this because the new season of Ted Lasso is still not out, and Elizabeth said it was Ted Lasso-esque. As per usual, she’s right! It’s a workplace comedy with an awesome lead engineer, Poppy Li. I LOVE HER.
Abbott Elementary (ABC, Hulu): I love having a weekly show that I can’t binge, so I look forward to it every Wednesday. It’s hilarious, and I think each week I have a different favorite character. It’s a mockumentary in a Philadelphia, predominantly Black elementary school. I think it’s a must watch show for EVERYONE.
A League of Their Own (Prime): I cannot overstate how much I love this show! It’s better than the movie, so delightfully queer, so real, and just phenomenal. I stayed up way too late binge watching my way through this as fast as I could.
Claim to Fame (ABC, Hulu): I can’t believe a reality show is making this list, but here we are. Hosted by two Jonas brothers, the premise of this show is that relatives of celebrities compete against each other to figure out the identities of each other’s more famous relative. I just googled the show to see what it aired on and someone called it “bizarre yet captivating” and that about sums it up.
Honorable mentions: White Lotus (HBO Max), Hacks (HBO Max), and right now I’m pretty sucked into Home Economics (ABC, Hulu) and just started Emily in Paris (Netflix) season 3!
Also can we play six degrees of Jason Sudeikis or something to see if anyone knows him, and we can peer pressure him into RELEASING SEASON THREE OF TED LASSO ALREADY? Some of us are having hard times, okay, and we need it back. 2022 without any new Roy Kent hijinks really fucking sucked.
Best Family TV of 2022:
If you’re at my house, my kids are either watching TV with headphones on (because I C-A-N-N-O-T handle the noise of youtube), or you’ll hear me say: “let’s watch something we ALL want to watch.” Below are the only two shows that make that list.
Wednesday (Netflix): Ox said he DID NOT WANT TO WATCH THIS, and then he loved it so much he was sneakily watching episodes in the morning before Birdie and I got up.
Big Shot (Disney+): There are two seasons of this show, and at least once a week Birdie asks when the next season will be out (no news). John Stamos (Uncle Jesse!) is a big shot college basketball coach who throws a chair during a game and has to go pay his dues by coaching a high school basketball team. It worked for Ox because #basketball, for me because it actually has a plot, and for Birdie because TEEN DRAMA.
Best Music of 2022:
Special album by Lizzo, especially About Damn Time and learning and doing the dance with Birdie. AND THEN WE WENT TO HER CONCERT IN DC - B’s first concert - and it was so empowering and wonderful. We are lucky to live in the same world as Lizzo.
Left: Birdie posing with Lizzo on the big screen in the background; Right: Birdie and me and red lip stick for Lizzo!
Big Energy by Latto. I first heard this on Michelle Buteau’s Instagram, and was instantly hooked. I think it’s my new walk on song. (Also she opened for Lizzo in DC which was so perfect.)
Bam Bam by Camila Cabello. I love finding hopeful and happy (but still real) break up or divorce songs. This is one of the best.
Made You Look by Meghan Trainor. I guess I get a lot of my music from Tiktok. Birdie and I drive Ox bananas playing this song over and over. We still haven’t learned the whole dance.
Anti-hero by Taylor Swift on her Midnights album. I’m not a Swiftie or a hater, but these lyrics “it’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” live rent free in my head.
Josh’s Song by Jacob Tovar. I swear sometimes the music on Reservation Dogs is just as good as the show. Last year, I held on to season 1’s I Don’t Mind by Sturgill Simpson, and this is my song from season 2. I mean, look at these lyrics: “I thank God for every moment I got with you, and I hate it but I curse him too. And I know it’s not a fair world, but damn I miss you.” Sterlin Harjo just finds talent anywhere.
Best Board Games of 2022:
Grown ups:
Wavelength: this feels like codenames, because you are trying to get your team to guess where on a spectrum something should fall between two opposites (like hot and cold). I love it for the “WHY WOULD YOU SAY COFFEE IS THAT HOT WHEN LAVA EXISTS?!?!?!?” type of shenanigans that happen when you’re playing it.
Gah I only have one game on the grown ups list - I need an adult game night.
Kids (and not so boring that I want to stab my eyes out):
KLASK: This is like a small magnetic air hockey game. If it’s out, I play, the kids play, anyone who stops by plays. Super easy to learn, and it’s just fun!
Catan Junior: thank goodness Birdie likes to play board games and LOVES to play this one. I’m priming her for the non-Junior version :). Ox will see us playing this sometimes and want us to scooch over and make room.
