We鈥檒l hear no more about ski season or shoulder season or whatever it is you prefer to call this particular time of year. It鈥檚 allergy season, baby! When we can see through our watery, itchy eyeballs, this is what we鈥檙e enjoying.听
What We Read
This听New York Times听piece about听听is a laugh a minute. 鈥淜ind bars are treated as a kind of bumper crop, and the most sought-after luxury is bread, prized for its role as a base for different toppings,鈥 writes Jamie Lauren Keiles. With a lighthearted approach, she considers lunchtime hacks and the ethics of snacking among white-collar workers. Enjoy it over your 鈥渓ittle office mezze platter.鈥
鈥擜li Van Houten, editorial fellow
I thoroughly enjoyed 听by听New York Times听travel columnist听Stephanie Rosenbloom. The book is broken up into four parts鈥攐ne for each season and city听Rosenbloom visited as part of her experiment in spending time alone鈥攕pring: Paris, summer: Istanbul, fall: Florence, and winter: New York. Each part is then further broken down into sections like food, nerve, silence, and home, which house stories about her own experiences, with solid reporting on the science and psychology of solitude expertly tied in. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves travel (and听Eat, Pray, Love) or anyone who has forgotten the art of savoring, and the magic that can happen when we put down our devices and simply walk outside.
鈥擩enny Earnest, audience development director
Heather Hansman鈥檚 new book听听showed up in my mailbox yesterday, and I鈥檓 already three chapters in. She explores, celebrates, and profiles water use in the American West, and听her听inspiring prose about floating the Green River solo is sure to make you weepy.听If you care at all about the history or future of water in the western states, this is the book to read.
鈥擪atie Cruickshank, digital marketing manager
Call me basic, but I鈥檝e been loving , an annual installment of The New York Times听Magazine devoted to great travel stories. The cover story this year听is of travel guru Rick Steves, which you should absolutely read, but there鈥檚 also Caity Weaver , Jon Mooalem听, and听other great stories. The pieces are all presented beautifully online, but it鈥檚 worth it to snag this issue in print. If you missed your chance this year, make a note for the next time around.
鈥擬olly Mirhashem, senior editor
What We Listened To
At midnight on March 1, literally when听Black History Month ended听and Women鈥檚 History Month began, Solange dropped her follow-up album to the seminal听,听and I鈥檝e had it on repeat since then. is like a projection of a dream the singer is having about her hometown of听Houston. Houston is home to lively jazz scene, and it鈥檚 where听听that became a mainstay of southern hip-hop听was invented, and Solange incorporates elements from both. There are lazy bass lines meant to rattle your trunk, synth melodies that change mood and tempo with a jazzy swing, and lyrics that are trancelike and repetitive. It鈥檚 what the听听would sound like if the show had been听set in a hot, humid, and international southern city听instead of a mostly white, rural, and mountainous Washington logging town.听
鈥擱uben Kimmelman, editorial fellow
The new podcast听,听from ABC News,听does a deep dive into the scandal of听Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos. I literally couldn鈥檛 stop listening.听
鈥擪.颁.
Public Enemy鈥檚 Chuck D is a surprising choice to narrate the Spotify podcast听. However, the New York hip-hop star draws some illuminating parallels between his own musical scene and that of the seminal punk band, translating its听origin, success, and ultimate disintegration for an American audience. It鈥檚 full of interesting tidbits, like reggae鈥檚 influence on the band鈥檚 politics and the backstory of its听groundbreaking female contemporaries, the Slits.
鈥擜.痴.贬.
Investigative series听听goes long on听multilevel marketing. (Think of听all those women you went to high school with who are now slinging makeup and leggings on their Facebook walls.)听Host Jane Marie traces the history of direct marketing all the way back to its Mary Kay roots and examines the very fuzzy line between MLMs and illegal pyramid schemes. At one point, the podcast staff joins one of these companies to see how challenging it really is to make a living off one. (Spoiler: nearly impossible.)听I recently binged this on a road trip and was so engrossed that I missed an exit and added 30 miles to my trip. Luckily, I still had plenty of episodes to go.
鈥擜bigail Wise, online managing editor
What We Watched and Otherwise Experienced
If you are a space nerd, I don鈥檛 even need to sell you on . The documentary shows the 1969 moon landing mostly using remastered footage from almost every single moment of the six-day round-trip. It was fascinating (and a little weird) to see the launch spectators, astronauts, and mission-control center in high definition, especially since I was nowhere near alive when it happened. I guess if the wonder of humans in space doesn鈥檛 make you teary-eyed, you鈥檒l still enjoy seeing questionable sixties听fashion choices in full color.听
鈥擡rin Berger, senior editor
Netflix鈥檚 new docuseries听, profiling the people, events, and drama that is singular to Formula One, has turned me into an auto-racing fan. So much so that I even watched the first race of the season last weekend, at 7 A.M. on a Sunday morning before going skiing.听
鈥擪.颁.
This month I saw听, a 15-minute film by Charles Post, Max Lowe, and Forest Woodward.听The captivating cinematography and exciting storytelling create this one-of-a-kind piece. The film walks you through the journey of migrating raptors as they take flight on their annual pilgrimage down south; volunteers and scientists capture, study, and collect data from the birds to protect them听and better understand what鈥檚 going on in our climate and ecosystem.听Sky Migrations听was an eye-opening piece of the outdoors I didn鈥檛听thoroughly understand or know about before and something that happens right in my backyard of New Mexico.
鈥擯etra Zeiler, art director
I鈥檝e been on a documentary kick lately, and I loved 听on Netflix. The seven-part docuseries from CNN breaks down different elements of the early aughts, from the rise of social media to the financial crisis. Having been 6 to 16 years old听during this time, I wasn鈥檛 fully aware of what I was living through or how monumental it was. Being able to watch all of it happen again as an adult really made me appreciate the era I grew up in and have a better understanding of where we are now. Plus, the goofy throwbacks throughout鈥攖he Mac-versus-PC commercials! Napster! Survivor!鈥攎ake for a fond trip down memory lane.
鈥擜bbey Gingras, social media editorial assistant
Still socked in enduring winter weather?听Staying home for spring break to save money but dreaming of traveling anyway? It鈥檚 the perfect time to watch the Oscar-nominated films recently available to stream. My favorite has been听, a Polish love story and tragedy shot in black in white. It鈥檚 a beautiful story, with a beautiful woman and her beautiful voice at its center, but the film鈥檚 nuances and thoughtful construction were what I thought about well after the end.听
鈥擳asha Zemke, copy editor