It’s officially hot. I’m staying inside and walking in the shade. But I somehow got suckered into a hot yoga class. I didn’t hate it. I did sweat like a lawn sprinkler, however. My work deployed me to Kansas City for a conference. I resigned myself to being held captive in the hotel. To my great fortune, I learned Kansas City has a free streetcar that runs through downtown and a stop was walking distance from me. This opened up the city and treated me to a surprisingly vibrant food scene and many excellent coffee shops. So the trip wasn’t a loss. But I was very glad to return home.

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This month’s playlist:

Sorry, Baby

The best writing I’ve encountered this year. Expertly weaves hilarity with heaviness for grounded, human moments--the way we laugh and joke to cover our hurt and grief. Thoughtful, sorrowful, hopeful. Incredible debut. I’m seated for whatever Eva Victor does next.

The Amber Spyglass

The best of the trilogy. But not as magical or profound as I remember as a child, though it still made me tear up at moments. Love the world. Love Lyra and Will. My heart breaks for them. This novel remains a special, formative book for grade school me.

The Bear

Christopher Storer’s creative choices continue to frustrate me. Season four is an improvement over three. It has some forward motion instead of spinning its wheels (though that may have been the entire point of season three). Dialogue swings from excellent to annoying multiple times per episode--scenes from earnest to cloying. One subplot meant to be comedic falls completely flat. A widely uneven season.

But Ayo Edebiri’s episode is a delight. And Jamie Lee Curtis’ performance is simply incredible. Her scene attempting to make amends with Carmy is the highlight of the season. Excellently written and crafted.

The Retrievals

I listened to Serial like everyone else when it debuted, but immediately stepped off the true crime train before it got a full head of steam. The first season of The Retrievals I consider true crime adjacent. What kept me listening is it doesn’t feel voyeuristic. It’s educational and humanizing. The final episode has an emotional slap that left me in a funk for the rest of the day.

Undeterred, I rolled right into the second season, which made surprising creative choices for delivering the narrative. It framed much of the story as a TV show script--specifically a medical drama--woven with interviews and professional reporting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of true events being recounted this way. It’s unique and immersive. The season was as emotionally dense as the first, but it wasn’t all grief and hurt and anger. The most moving element was community working together to correct a wrong and beginning to make a difference. The work is difficult and long, far too long, but seeing the first, small sprout of change is overwhelming. I’ll be listening to whatever story Susan Burton tells next. Probably with tears in my eyes.

Wet Leg

This band has been popping up in my Pandora stations for a few years. Welcome contributions, but they didn’t latch onto my brain until this month when I ran across their Tiny Desk performance promoting their new album, moisturizer. I will be picking up their entire catalogue this Bandcamp Friday.

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This month was also partially dedicated to preparations for Travelogue, which ends today. Learning how a newsletter platform works, copyediting, formatting, linking, embedding, scheduling. Outside of that, I’ve been taking some photos for friends, experimenting with infusions, and working on a long-overdue music video.