Best of the Worst Year Ever Show

Our annual "Best Of" breakdown of the year

By LARB Radio HourDecember 18, 2020

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Kate, Medaya, and Eric look back at a year that many of us can't wait to put behind us. Against the background of the pandemic and the politics, the hosts review the books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and quirky new hobbies that helped them get through this year in their annual best of round-up.

Our Picks

Books

Kate Wolf:
An essay that will soon be a book: Meehan Crist, "Is it Ok to Have a Child" 
Wayne Koestenbaum, Figure it Out 
Harry Dodge, My Meteorite
Percival Everett, Telephone: 
Natalia Ginzburg, The Dry Heart and The Little Virtues
Barbara Browning, The Gift
 
Eric Newman: 
Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji
Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going Through? 
Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown


Medaya Ocher:
Hazel Holt, Gone Away: A Mrs. Malory Mystery 
Sigrid Nunez, What Are You Going Through 
Ottessa Moshfegh, Death in Her Hands
Jenny Offill, Weather 
Elena Ferrante, The Lying Life of Adults 

Movies

Kate Wolf:

Dusty and Sweets McGee, dir. Floyd Mutrux, 1971, shown in UCLA's Film series, "American Neorealism Part One 1948-1984"
Kanopy screening platform

Eric Newman:
Relic, dir. Natalie Erika James
Palm Springs, dir. Max Barbakow

Medaya Ocher: 
Until the End of the World, dir. Wim Wenders (1991)
Time, dir. Garrett Bradley (2020)
Watermelon Woman, dir. Cheryl Dunye (1996)

TV 

Kate Wolf: 
Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You (HBO)
 
Eric Newman: 
Schitt's Creek, Season 6 (Netflix)
The Queen's Gambit (Netflix)
Alguien Tiene Que Morir/Someone Has to Die (Netflix)

Emily in Paris (Netflix)
 
Medaya Ocher:
The Great British Baking Show (BBC/Netflix)
 

Podcasts

Kate Wolf:
You Must Remember This, Polly Platt: The Invisible Woman Archive

Eric Newman:
99% Invisible ("The Address Book," 09/22/2020)
Reply All ("America's Hottest Talk Line," 10/01/2020; "Country of Liars," 09/22/2020; "The BitCoin Hunter," 09/03/2020)

Medaya Ocher:
C-Word, hosted by Lena Dunham & Alissa Bennett (Luminary)