Sometimes I’m a little late to the party. Often, I just can’t find the time; I am continually making lists of TV shows I want to watch, books I hope to read, podcasts I intend to listen to, etc. Other times, it’s access failure – how many subscription television platforms do we need to purchase, for Pete’s sake?! This was my obstacle to “Ted Lasso.” It got a zillion nominations at the award shows and word of mouth was phenomenal. Finally, just short of having to make a Power Point presentation, we got Apple TV+. Thank goodness!! Have you seen “Ted Lasso?” If not and it’s because you can’t, I get it, I really do, but find a way. Take the plunge, go to a friend’s house, use their password, come to my house – whatever. I love it. I’ve only just finished the first season, but I can’t wait to keep going. It is sweet, optimistic, charming and very funny – it is NOT snarky or mean-spirited in any way. We need a little more of that kind of programming and behavior modeling these days.

I’ve talked about “The Good Doctor” before, I know it’s not for everyone. I recently finished season 4 and there were more than a few stand-out episodes. I specifically want to mention episode 14, “Gender Reveal.” A female Naval aviator has some symptoms that have been ignored for years; both by herself because she wanted to be tough and prove to her daughter that women can make it in a predominately male occupation and by her (male) internist who dismissed them thinking they were due to menopause. The delay in treatment for what turns out to be a not uncommon/cruel disease is detrimental. It was a very powerful episode for me because the symptoms were not that alarming, so that was educational. And the acknowledgement of what women go through in every career and in day-to-day life was really well done. I highly recommend watching.

“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” has won 20 Primetime Emmy Awards since its 2014 start. I assumed it was good because it always bests every other nighttime talk show but I didn’t start watching until last year. Let me preface by saying he curses too much. I know that makes me sound like an old fogey, but he does – I find it unnecessary and distracting. That being said, John Oliver and his writers are brilliant; each show centers around a specific topic and it gets broken down so that you understand every part of it – topics are often political but not always. One show in particular detailed the WHO (World Health Organization) of which I knew nothing. Now I do and I feel much better informed because of it.

Have you listened to the podcast Song Exploder? Musicians break down their songs; explain why they wrote it, why they used certain instruments, what went into the recording, what was going on in their lives at the time, etc. I often don’t know the bands listed which is upsetting (to me) but I do enough of the time to keep me going back. This season in particular the HAIM “Summer Girls” episode and Imagine Dragons “Follow You” episodes were outstanding, both brought me to tears.

I don’t want to make this post too long because I think shorter is better (we’re all busy!) so I’m only going to talk about one book. I have others to recommend so I’ll try to write another post soon, but the one for today is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I saw this book everywhere and I finally read it. I don’t like giving too much away, so I’m just going to say that it’s a real thinker. We all have moments in our life, forks in our road, where choices we made, had we chosen differently, could have led our lives to a different place than where we are now – where we went to college or didn’t, who we dated or didn’t, what job we took or didn’t take, etc. The main character in this book gets to travel down many of the paths not originally taken. It’s interesting to think about and made for great conversations at book club and on a college friends/girls’ trip. 

Stay safe and be well!