Another summer weekend approaches, another need for a good podcast, book, TV show or new music.
This summer more than any, we all need escapes. So if you’re looking for ideas on how to pass the time, a new show to get into, or some fresh tunes to put in your earbuds—we’ve got you.
Read on for what the 225 Dine team is into right now.
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For some thought-provoking TV watching
HBO’s ‘I May Destroy You’
“I’ve been looking forward to what Michaela Coel had created next after loving her comedy series Chewing Gum (which you can find on Netflix). I was not at all prepared for I May Destroy You, but I’m even more floored by her writing and acting talents here. This HBO series is getting plenty of critical attention because it centers around main character Arabella piecing together the clues after a night involving a sexual assault. It’s difficult territory, but Coel handles it in a way that doesn’t feel exploitative. Arabella has the support of her East London friends as she navigates a messy road to healing, and we also see how those friends deal with their own experiences where they felt manipulated or coerced sexually. Fortunately, the tone of the show shifts so often from funny to serious to sweet that it doesn’t always feel so dark even with such intense themes.”
—Benjamin Leger, managing editor
For your music mix needs
The Soulection Radio Show’s latest episode
“I don’t know how, but my all-time favorite radio show, Soulection, continues to get better with time. Soulection is an online radio show where new two-hour-long mixes are released every week. This last episode, number 462, was especially timely. The show host, Joe Kay, curated a pro-Black playlist with historic soundbites and classic hits from Black artists. It was the perfect soundtrack to my bike ride on the levee during sunset.”
—Cynthea Corfah, staff writer
For some TV drama
Hulu’s ‘Little Fires Everywhere’
“Whenever I finish binging a show, I plunge straight into an internet deep dive. I want to hear what critics and viewers have to say about the ending, the overall message, etc. etc. On Reddit, one user wrote that the point of Little Fires Everywhere is that we’re not supposed to love any of the characters. And maybe that’s why they feel so real to me. The show follows three families, each fundamentally broken but in different ways. It is set in the ’90s (so it’s packed with millennial nostalgia!) but its exploration of motherhood and race and class issues feel spot on for 2020.”
—Jennifer Tormo, editor
For learning more about food history and culture
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Hulu’s ‘Taste the Nation’
“My husband worked on the set of Top Chef: New Orleans in 2013, and we’ve been Padma Lakshmi fans ever since. But Lakshmi seems more at home and at ease in Taste the Nation than she ever has on Top Chef. She set out to create a show about how immigrants have shaped our country, and as a food writer it makes sense her vehicle would be food. Road tripping from the Big Apple to the desert, she cooks in kitchens with chefs and restaurant owners to learn about their native Persian, Mexican, Gullah Geechee and Chinese food. But this isn’t just a show to inspire a bucket list of restaurants to try. Lakshmi digs deeper, exploring how a cuisine’s entry into the U.S. has bent and twisted it to fit American tastes—and asks whether or not that’s a good thing. We’re nearing the end of our top 10-episode binge now, and honestly? I want more.”
—Jennifer Tormo, editor