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Best of the Worst Year Ever Show
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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:
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
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)
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)
LARB Contributor
The LARB Radio Hour is hosted by Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf.
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