Find out what to watch, read, and listen to with personal tips from the BSR team.

Obviously, we wouldn’t be here without our community of readers and subscribers, so we want to include you on the recommendations that our team loves trading with each other. Let’s get right to it, in their own words. As Neil told me when I was working on this email, this list is STACKED.

From executive director Neil Bardhan:

BOOK: A family member handed me the novel Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr some time ago and I’ve finally picked it up. Like many other novels I’ve enjoyed, the structure is several threads that criss-cross and bear similarities. I actually haven’t finished reading it yet so please don’t spoil the ending!

MOVIE: Ultimate Citizens is a documentary that had me laughing, cheering, and tearing up. A guidance counselor in Washington state brings students in a K-8 school together through Ultimate Frisbee, a sport I dabbled in during my own youth. But these kids come from tough backgrounds: refugees who haven’t seen their parents in years, poverty, and numerous other barriers.

TV: Taylor Sheridan’s Tulsa King, available on Paramount+, lets Sylvester Stallone have fun. The organized-crime dramedy drew me in instantly with Stallone as the titular fish-out-of-water mobster. Early this fall, my wife and I accidentally binged the first season and start of the second season, then were delighted to learn we had merely caught up and could watch weekly new episodes.

PODCAST: History Mixtapes is quite new and connects historians with their specific musical interests, including stints as college radio DJs and thematic connections they draw between their research and their recreational listening.

(Image via History Mixtapes.)

MUSIC: Here’s a local creator: Michael the DJ started releasing mashup songs on Bandcamp during the Spring of 2021. I know Michael as a Philly comedian and was blown away with her musical production skills when these dropped. She tightly weaves 1970s rock (think: Yes, The Doobie Brothers, Heart) and 1990s-2020s pop (think: *NSYNC, Lady Gaga) into high-energy tracks. When I get a Bandcamp notification about Michael the DJ, I drop whatever I’m doing and hit Buy Digital Album.

From social-media manager Maya Arthur:

Maya is new to our team this month. She’s taking over for our longtime socials manager Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, who remains in our community. Welcome, Maya!

POETRY: Bluff by Danez Smith. The poet’s latest collection is enlightening, heartbreaking, and thoughtful.

MOVIES: Conclave and The Idea of You. Surprisingly, I enjoyed both of these movies. As a lapsed Catholic student, Conclave brought back memories with its intrigue and politicking. Meanwhile, The Idea of You elevates Harry Styles fanfic with heartwarming performances. As someone who never cared about One Direction, I found this movie great fluff!

Anne Hathaway as Solène and Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes Campbell in ‘The Idea of You.' (Photo by Alisha Wetherill/Prime.)

MUSIC: Brat by Charli XCX and Poetry by Dehd. Brat was a cultural moment. As a longtime fan, I’m happy to see Charli XCX get recognition. Poetry by Dehd is fantastic indie rock; their show at the Foundry in October was amazing.

NEWSLETTER: Ira Madison III’s FRANK. For in-depth Real Housewives commentary, this Substack is a fun and insightful read.

From proofreader Zara Waters:

BOOK: Life, I Swear: Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing, and Self-Trust. I came across this book of essays at Mt. Airy-based shop Vera Doyle, and have found myself returning to the stories of self-love and healing the last few months. "Love After Love" by Chloe Dulce Louvouezo was a highlight and a touching read for anyone finding themselves after heartbreak.

MINISERIES: Scenes from a Marriage. I have watched this miniseries, featuring Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, from start to finish at least three times this year. It offers such a visceral and raw depiction of the complexities around love, marriage, divorce, and family that is at times captivating and other times extremely difficult to watch, but ultimately provides an honest look at the most difficult aspects of romantic relationships. Content note: This series contains depictions of intimate partner violence.

From associate editor Kyle V. Hiller:

ANIME AND MANGA: This year has been quite the year indeed, and I haven't had many chances to engage with what's new this year. One thing that has carried me through this year's various stages, phases, and seasons is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, a Japanese anime and manga series written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe. It tells the story of Frieren, an elven mage who has lived for hundreds of years—and over the last 28, has been mourning the death of a friend she traveled with on a magical pilgrimage—while also teaching a new young human mage on a new journey. This show (and the manga) has some of the most compelling conflicts and magical battles, all rooted in down-to-earth experiences, growing pains, grief, love, and fear. It's also been an incredible mechanism as I've been coping with my own mourning this year, and it's wild to see life, death, and living through the eyes of someone who's been around for centuries. It's really put so much into perspective in my own life. You don't have to be a fan of anime or high fantasy to enjoy this—I feel comfortable enough in sharing this with everyone. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime (also available on DVD and Blu-ray); the manga is available on Bookshop.org.

MOVIE: Okay, so Godzilla Minus One came out at the end of 2023 (just like Frieren). And I know many people aren't as familiar with Godzilla, especially the Japanese films. Godzilla Minus One is a great start for anyone interested in tapping into the franchise. It's got high-stakes action—even though Godzilla is only in the movie for a collective eight minutes. There are also high-stakes emotions: found family in the aftermath of WWII, the complexities of national pride, and seeing people come together in the face of the ultimate destructive fear feels oddly relatable. I've watched it over a dozen times, and I've teared up every time. It's streaming on Netflix and available on DVD and Blu-ray.

From editor-in-chief Alaina Johns:

NEWSLETTERS: For the uninitiated, Substack is a platform gaining popularity with journalists, essayists, podcasters, and other creators. It’s similar to the blogging revolution of the early 2010s, but Substack has a built-in newsletter function, so you can read the work of your favorite writers right in your email inbox if you subscribe. I will recommend three that are essential going into 2025.

Abortion, Every Day by Jessica Valenti. Similar to her latest book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lives, and the Truths We Use to Win, Valenti uses her daily newsletter to track the latest in reproductive freedom (and the lack thereof) across the US. The info is tough but essential, and Valenti tracks judicial and legislative threats as well as trends in anti-choice rhetoric before any other journalist catches on. She also explains victories for reproductive rights.

News Not Noise by Jessica Yellin. I’m going to keep recommending political journalist Jessica Yellin, a former CNN White House correspondent who launched her own nonpartisan news platform with the tagline “We give you information, not a panic attack.” When I am on a news diet for my own mental health, I can read Yellin’s newsletters for balanced, concise, well-reported updates on the national and international news I need to know.

Erin in the Morning by Erin Reed. We must commit to supporting our trans community in the coming years (including our BSR colleagues), and Erin Reed is one of the country’s top journalists tracking judicial and legislative threats and victories for trans people. This is info we need for the many looming fights over Constitutional rights for trans people (and everyone else).

BOOKS: Look out for my list of micro-reviews of my top reads of 2024.

TV: Hulu’s What We Do in the Shadows about a house of vampires on Staten Island. Taika Waititi is an executive producer, and I will watch almost anything he develops, including Our Flag Means Death on Max, in which he stars as Blackbeard the Pirate. Both shows are some of the funniest and most tender TV I’ve ever seen.

MOVIE: Netflix’s Woman of the Hour. Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut is tense, confident, stylish, and dynamic. But more than that, it captures something I have rarely noticed onscreen: the reality that violence against women does not happen just because of lone bad actors, but because of the societal structures that fail over and over again when we try to get help. In light of that, the solidarity and genius for survival on display here are all the more exciting and poignant.

Anna Kendrick as Sheryl and Daniel Zovatto as Rodney in Neflix’s ‘Woman of the Hour.’ (Photo Credit Leah Gallo/Netflix © 2024.)

We hope you enjoyed our staff picks! For the first time, we are also bringing you picks from a few of our monthly donors (our Friends of BSR). If you enjoy BSR as much as they do, you might like their recommendations (a newsletter exclusive!).

From Alex Hillman:

PODCAST: My recommendation is Jamie Loftus's podcast Sixteenth Minute which dives deep into the context and history of various different "main characters of the Internet", ranging from Philly's own "Chicken Man" to William Hung to Left Shark and more. It's a mix of deeply researched historical context for the moments that these characters showed up on our feeds, to remarkably charming interviews with (most of) the subjects themselves. The recent episode about the "Wicked Witch of the East, Bro" is a TRIP but they're all a fun, quirky bit of Internet nostalgia!

From Gwen Rhodes:

BOOK: I like to write. I am writing three memoirs. I recently discovered author Dani Shapiro, who also has a blog and podcasts and has led retreats. Her book Still Writing (one of many!) inspired me to sit down in front of my computer to begin writing again.

From Lawrence Souder:

PODCAST: I'd like to recommend my podcast "Amateur Science in Five Minutes," which tells the real and imagined stories of an amateur scientist. These stories include my memories of playdates in a toxic waste dump, conversations with dead scientists, recreational electro-convulsive therapy, and not a little science. It's part memoir, part travelogue, and part reverie, and it features persons and places from the local histories of science and art.

From Catherine Hawkes:

MOVIE: This year I discovered the movie What We Did On Our Holiday starring David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, and Billy Connolly. I found it to be an endearing, funny, and heart-warming story. I have recommended it to many friends and they have loved it too. It’s available to stream on Prime.

And finally, recommendations from Friends who are ALSO BSR WRITERS! They are really going above and beyond.

From SaraKay Smullens:

MOVIE: In this time of societal burnout, where we have been overwhelmed and overloaded by discord, division, rage, and a power-hungry charismatic sociopath who has seduced millions into believing he cares about them, I found the film Wicked: Part One to be an uplifting, brilliant experience—all 160 minutes of it. Here’s my review in The New Social Worker (no spoilers).

From Anndee Hochman:

BOOK: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life: A Memoir by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This quirky memoir, arranged in alphabetized entries and replete with lists, tables, and line drawings, captures both a particular life and an era (Krouse Rosenthal was born in 1965 and died, too soon, in 2017).

MOVIE: Problemista. Written and directed by (and starring) Julio Torres, this feature about an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador battling a Kafka-esque US immigration system is hilarious, fantastical, and biting. Tilda Swinton co-stars as an eccentric art-world outcast.

What did you add to your list?

I'm already checking out many of these picks for myself. We hope you enjoy them! If you know someone who needs them, forward this email to friend and encourage them to subscribe to BSR. There’s never a paywall. And if you appreciate everything the BSR community brings to you, from our coverage to quality recommendations straight from your fellow art-lovers, have you considered supporting us? We can’t keep publishing without your help. Huge thanks to everyone who has already given this year!