We could have listed any one of Brene Brown’s five number-one New York Times bestsellers. Or her two podcasts. Or her famous Ted Talk(s) (viral sensation The power of vulnerability and follow-up Listening to Shame). All of which you need to read, view, listen to and spend time with. But here we’re going with Netflix special The Call to Courage which shows just why this academic researcher has so many adoring fans.

We loved this so much we wrote a whole piece about it. Read it here.

“Life is the thing you bring with you, inside your own head.”

— Sally Rooney

A show that went way beyond its one-line joke to become a beloved story of a family on the outs figuring out what really matters in life. Over six seasons, Schitt’s Creek brought us some of the quirkiest characters, the stickiest memes (Ew, David), and a whole new take on crows, wigs, and motels. And though we fell in love with the Rose family and the inhabitants of Schitt's Creek (we even dressed as Alexis and Stevie for Halloween), it’s really about how our connections matter more than all the things.

A coming-of-age tale Booksmart has wisdom for all of us adults too. In Olivia Wilde’s standout directorial debut, best friends Molly and Amy realize the day before graduation that they have done High School all wrong. All the work, and none of the play. They have just one night in which to experience all that the last four years could have offered. Which for these friends—amongst the partying and drugs and hook-ups— means learning that in spite of appearances no one is better, that everyone has value and that they need to check their assumptions about people at the door.

We still go back to this movie, which to us defines a certain innocence of its stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, and of our times, when just hanging out in Tokyo and finding oneself and someone else to brush against seemed enough. Because what really happens here? Two people hang out, slightly confused but content to be seen for a while as they are, maybe falling in love, maybe just holding each other for a while in time and space outside of their regular lives. Plus that karaoke scene?

Really? Connection? The Netflix comedy-drama created by Natasha Lyonne (who also stars), Amy Poehler, and Lesyle Headland, is about many things. We’ll allow you to debate that endlessly. But we think this twisted Groundhog Day-style series — where Nadia keeps reliving the day that she heads to an NYC party to celebrate her 36th birthday and dies, in various ways, again and again — is about figuring out that people bit. At its heart, it’s about learning that not being alone in life is maybe enough to solve even the most mysterious of problems.

Co-created by the people behind Criminal, Lauren Spohrer and Phoebe Judge (who also co-hosts) this podcast takes a broad view of love, and how it intersects with our lives and those with others. Recent episodes have covered cancer and chestnut trees, unrequited love, and making relationships up as we go along. We never really know where these stories are going, but they draw us in with their warmth and curiosity about why we love those we do.

We binge-listened to this the way we binge-watch Netflix. This is Dating follows four people set up on a series of recorded blind first dates. Before each session, the daters meet with a relationship expert, during their recorded date the hosts (listening in) send in questions, and then after the daters are given feedback and the chance of further dates and new partners. We found this fascinating for how we see ourselves, understand what we’re looking for, and ultimately find meaningful connections.

The New York Time’s Modern Love universe – the articles, podcast, TV show, and book – make us think about that line from Mumford & Sons: “where you invest your love, you invest your life”. The stories of the connections we have now, those we have lost, and those which we hope for later, can be gut-punching, tear-inducing, heart-pounding, emotion-drawing out experiences. They always tell us something about our very human relationships, and why we are so occupied with them no matter where we are in our lives. There is always something to learn here.

If you’ve been looking for a way to understand our very divided world, of getting beyond vitriol and hate and misconnections, we recommend listening to Pantsuit Politics. Hosted by Beth Silvers and Sarah Stewart Holland, this podcast offers the news in a way that fits in with our values as humans, with a more ‘grace-filled’ understanding of our political moment. Each episode asks ‘how can we be better citizens’ and gets beyond what we’re fighting about to what might really be the thing that matters. The news doesn’t have to pull us apart and how we talk about it doesn’t have to make us more separate.

I’m not sure we’d say we are huge Dolly Parton fans (sorry!), but we are definitely in love with Dolly Parton’s America, a new podcast from WNYC Studios. Its premise is that here is a person, a phenomenon, who strides all the cultural divides that separate us at the moment. With nine episodes, this podcast ranges widely to show how Dolly Parton’s life and songs can explain how we’re arrived at where we are, and how there might be some optimism that we can bridge those gaps.

We want to tell you that everything we learned about people we learned from listening to Terry Gross interview everybody of note, ever. But we didn’t. Though we did feel smarter and more understanding after listening to her conversations. Gross somehow doesn’t push her guests to reveal too much, but she does somehow sensitively and expertly allow for their vulnerability and for them as real people to show up, whether that’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Zadie Smith.

This wasn’t the magazine we thought it was, but on reading it this was the magazine that we needed. There’s a vulnerability to it, which is odd given that it’s a literary arts and culture magazine out of New York and London so you’d expect some posturing, some high brow with the low. But it turns out co-founders Jacob Barnes (Editor in Chief) and Charlie Lee (Fiction Editor) are all about pushing boundaries; there’s no preconceived idea about who should be included, what should be covered, and what’s to be expected.

We don’t believe in must-reads (who has the time) only loved-reads, and we’d add the literary magazine American Chordata to that pile. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, and photography are approached with a beautiful design sensibility and brave emotional tenor. Make this your company for a while and it will be an interesting company at that. This is a magazine that captures the ‘plurality of human experience.’

What happens to us when we are removed from each other? Marby and Elm founder Eleanor Tattersfield found out when she started Lockdown Secrets during the lockdown of February 2021. Tattersfield invited people to send to her Exmouth Market store an anonymous secret on the back of a blank postcard. What she discovered on her step were stories of food fetishes and affairs, loneliness and hope.

Susan O’Malley was an SF-based artist who used the materials of our human connectedness to create meaningful works that engaged and inspired. This book centers on a single question — ‘What advice would your 80-year-old self give to you?’ — that O’Malley asked people aged 7 to 88. Turns out you should listen to that voice. There are wise words to be heard from your future self if you listen.

This song from Panama Wedding is the indie anthem we all need right now.

Amanda’s playlist for connection over on Spotify. Listen to this if you don’t want to see people, or want to be inspired to be around them again! Either works.