Spring has arrived and things are starting to warm up, and then snow, but it definitely maybe is going to be warming up moving forward… My pop culture consumption seems to be as all over the place just like the weather. Here’s what got me through the month…

Reading

My husband and I went on a weekend visit to see our cousins and it was the PERFECT time for Dave Grohl’s memoir The Storyteller to show up from the library on audio! We listened to about a third of the book on our road trip and then I finished it within a few days. I had heard great things and was excited to read/listen to it before we had tickets to Foo Fighters this summer. Now that the show it cancelled it was more bittersweet…

I am now listening to Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman. It is good so far, his voice is oh so calming and clever – hoping for some good time in the car over the next couple of weeks to power through (but you’ll see my podcast list is growing…)

I have had a couple of books from the library that were non starters, and then I picked up Beach Read which was perfect timing with a sunny weekend…

With a flight this weekend to visit our nephews I am hoping to read The Sea of Tranquility the new Emily St. John Martel, who I LOVE.

Listening

Well, I accidentally wrote Lizzo instead of listening incase you’re curious how frequently About Damn Time is on rotation at my house. There’s still a lot of Foo Fighters on rotation and I’ve thrown in some Doobie Brothers during dinner in the last couple of weeks.

Podcast wise, I am loving Tiffany Dover is Dead*. I have been following Brandy Zadrozny for a while now on Twitter and appreciate her writing on misinformation and social media. This podcast is a story I missed along the way. Just listen. It’s great.

I’m still really enjoying Offline with Jon Favreau. I am curious if there will be an “emergency pod” to discuss the latest online news this week…Sway had Jimmy Kimmel on last week and it was a great interview talking about misinformation, pop culture, politics, and sexism.

The May primaries are happening in Oregon on May 17th! I am thankful that  OPB Politics Now has been doing some good interviews on candidates for Governor. I wish there were more options for local/county wide races.

Watching

We’ve decided to do a binge of Ozark with the final few episodes coming out this weekend. We’re almost through S1, so that’ll be a May project between baseball games and elections…

I am LOVING Minx and had hoped to finish it this week but local campaign work and baseball games have taken over my schedule for a few more weeks.

Abbott Elementary had a perfect first season. That show is so funny and smart and clever. Find it and watch it. And then if you haven’t yet, binge The Wonder Years, the reboot is so smart and sweet and there is a fantastic easter egg late in the season that will make you glad you’ve been watching all along.

We finished The Dropout and really liked it. I then binged The Home Edit because organizing is good for my mental health. Not good for my mental health? That first episode of Severance. I’m not sure I’ll be returning to the show any time soon. Good twists but a little too dark for me…

We were socked at how much we loved (and quickly devoured) Bel-Air on Peacock. It was such a crazy good modernization and dramatic interpretation of the comedy series. Starting it the week after the Oscars was weird timing.

What pop culture got you through this crazy weather month as we head into longer evenings and warmer days?

March Madness is in full swing and I couldn’t be happier! Between this and daylight saving time (hooray for this news) it’s hard not to be in a good mood by the end of March. The seasonal transition has made it weird for my reading habits, but my pop culture isn’t lacking, I promise.

Reading

Like I mentioned, not a ton of reading lately, but a sunny weekend helped! Over the past couple of weeks I listened to Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper and loved it! I wasn’t expecting to like it that much but was sort of interested in Cooper’s take on his family (his mom is Gloria Vanderbilt). As I listened to it I started thinking – if you like Bridgerton you may want to try this…It also makes me want to watch HBO’s The Gilded Age next. I also finally finished The Secret to Superhuman Strength a graphic novel from Alison Bechdel. It was good, but the way it was formatted made it easy to put down, which I evidently did since I started reading it in August… whoops!

I finally read The Atlantic’s great article on friendships that I’ve seen pop up over the past month on social media. It was really great and made me think about a lot of relationships. Check it out here. For a complete 180 (okay maybe 90?) this piece about cancelling The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix was really interesting to me (a member of a very specific age demographic here).

Besides books, I also read a ridiculous amount of newsletters each day/week/month. My favorite right now is Culture Study from Anne Helen Petersen. The topics are all over the place but in a fascinating way, and her most recent piece on childcare/eldercare will sit with me for a very long time. Culture Study lead me to Meg Conley and homeculture which is really fantastic as well. The Audacity from Roxanne Gay always has a great wrap up of things she’s reading and tweets that make me laugh and cringe. I recently discovered that the amazing Samantha Irby (read her books they’re all great!) has a newsletter that is so ridiculous you just have to subscribe. It’s not books, but it is pop culture happiness delivered to your inbox!

Watching

Folks, we went to LIVE THEATER this month and it was glorious! My friend Cassie was in a two person world premier play – Svetlana! Svetlana! and it was wonderful! I felt safe in the theater (all masked and vax cards checked) and it was funny and smart and I had no idea the life or story of Stalin’s daughter who escaped to America, but I did immediately find a book from the library to learn more! While the world premier was just two days long, I was excited to learn that the show will be featured in a local theater in the near future.

Besides March Madness and trash talking with my brothers, I caught up on Abbott Elementary which you need to be watching, it’s so great! I loved this season of All Creatures Great and Small, which continues to be just a sweet and nice show that we all need these days. The After Party was hilarious and clever and I’m excited it’ll be back for Season 2!

I loved Inventing Anna and I am really enjoying (probably not the right word…) The Dropout although I wish they would just release all the episodes at once. Top Chef has returned and I couldn’t be happier to have my favorite foodie show back! If you didn’t watch the first season of Upload you should since the second season just start and continues to be clever and enjoyable.

My husband and I watched Race: Bubba Wallace on Netflix last week. It was fascinating. Wallace is the only black driver in NASCAR and the series (just 6 episodes) talks a lot about the Black Lives Matter protests and race discussions that Wallace has pushed and encouraged within NASCAR. You do not need to be a NASCAR fan to watch (because I am not!) I promise!

We are one episode into Severance on Apple+ and we’ll take it day by day, but…woah. I’m going to need to talk about it when we’re finished.

Listening

Besides Anderson Cooper’s book, I have been appreciating What a Day for keeping up on all the current events. I finished listening to The Trojan Horse Affair which I didn’t like as much as I wanted to. I am however loving Offline with Jon Favreau, each week he talks to someone about the relationship with social media and constantly being “on.” His interview with Taylor Lorenz was fascinating to me.

Alright, that’s what got me to spring this year, how about you? What pop culture are you consuming right now? Besides the final season of Ozark what else are you excited for in April?

There’s nothing quite like getting on an airplane and flying away on vacation. It’s been more than two years since we had a real vacation, thanks to the pandemic, and it did not disappoint! We spent our days on the beach reading, then happy hour on the lanai playing Qwirkle and evenings binging TV. Here’s the pop culture I enjoyed this month…

Reading

Finally people, I had time to read some books! And with only one VERY TERRIBLE CHOICE, it was great. I finished Jo Koy’s Mixed Plate on audiobook and it was a really great memoir. His mom is a hilarious character and I know that his new show Josep will reflect that!

My first book of vacation was the beach read I needed, People We Meet on Vacation. It was light hearted and an easy read, exactly what I needed to get me into vacation mode. Then I read the worst book I’ve read in a very long time, and then I finished the trip with Detransition, Baby which is a great book and one that I know made a lot of year end lists in 2021.

I had been meaning to read Kitchen Confidential ever since I found an autographed copy years ago, it’s been on my bookshelf. After watching Road Runner last month (FYI, it’s going to be on CNN in March if you haven’t watched it yet!) I decided to try the audio version which Bourdain reads. It’s hard and also calming to hear his voice. I miss his tone and sarcasm. It’s so weird to remember that he wrote this BEFORE he made it big. If you’re an Anthony Bourdain fan and haven’t read this book, grab the audiobook for your next read.

Listening

Vacation didn’t make for a lot of podcast time, but I did try to keep up on What a Day while we were gone. The Joe Rogan episode of The Daily was really interesting too if you missed it.

There’s a new season of Sounds Like a Cult and the first episode was about Trader Joe’s, I felt seen…

I downloaded The Trojan Horse Affair but haven’t started it yet. Too many audiobooks, might be time for a podcast binge…

Watching

While visiting my niece last month I watched part of Encanto but that kid decided to finish the movie without me, SO a week later I ended up watching again, and it was wonderful. I will always talk about Bruno…

My dad texted me to tell me I needed to watch Encanto (check!) and Coco which hadn’t made my list – we aren’t big movie watchers at my house and my husband really isn’t a cartoon guy. Luckily on our flight to Hawaii Coco was available and you better believe that the movie finished just as we were landing and I am sure my seatmates thought I was crying about the landing, but it was the perfect ending that got me.

Vacation seemed like the right time to finally watch Season 4 part 1 of Ozark. It was dark and crazy and we decided that before the final part comes out, we’ll have to rewatch the series since there are so many moving pieces that we had a hard time keeping track. Back home we finished up Yellowstone which I didn’t expect to like as much as I did. It’s a crazy story with lots of moving pieces, and of course I love the local politics stuff! If you liked Succession or Righteous Gemstones, try Yellowstone, trust me.

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window is the most ridiculous title I’ve ever had to type. Kristen Bell can do no wrong in my book, when I was 2 episodes in and on the fence, my sister in law texted to keep watching. I am so glad I finished this series on the flight home. The over the top-ness of the series and the final whodunit reveal were the exact amount of insanity I didn’t know I would love.

I am LOVING The After Party on Apple+. That every episode is a different movie genre is such a clever idea. There are a ton of great characters, and obviously so far my favorite was the musical ep! For a complete 180* TV experience, I also really enjoy All Creatures Great and Small  – it’s a really sweet show where nothing bad happens and the squabbles are very British. And to continue the boomerang, I loved this season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake, and I am so glad that Real Housewives of New Jersey are back!

Okay, vacation or not, what pop culture did you enjoy this month?