We are officially headed into a guaranteed six months of cozy season. I’m happy for all these people who love the summer, but my dream state is one where as much of me as possible is under a blanket, I can wear an oversized scarf without people thinking I’m cosplaying as a French exchange student, and the weather is bad enough that no one asks why I didn’t go hiking over the weekend.
Whether indoor time is something you crave or not, here is my quarterly round-up of the things I think make it better than ever.
Watching
For watching recommendations, there are basically two buckets: “You Can See Everything” and “British stuff.”
When I found out that Elizabeth Holmes let Nathan Fielder move into her rented Del Mar beach house with her partner, Billy, before going to prison and that he was there with Lance Oppenheim to film a documentary, it was all I wanted to talk about. When I learned this documentary was going to be THREE HOURS, which is, easily, 80 minutes longer than I’m comfortable with, I said “who cares?” When Jeff talked about waiting and seeing it after it was out for a few weeks because of travel and houseguests, I blocked off our calendars on a Thursday and bought tickets for the first available showing, EVEN though the theater was known to be Pepsi-only (I smuggled in Coke Zero, which I felt guilty about, but after watching someone deny far bigger crimes for several hours, moved past).
I love a scammer story, but this is so much more: an exhaustive and innovative study of sociopathy, relationships, and the documentary form itself. I’m pretty convinced that Middle, who first shared the teaser with me, had no idea who Elizabeth Holmes was and just thought Nathan found a woman who never blinked. You should watch immediately.
Pound for pound (pun so intended that I’m chuckling over here), Britbox is the best subscription service around — especially if you love a mystery series. We discovered “No Offence” with Joanna Scanlon, which is a smart, fast-moving Manchester cop dramedy, and then found “Scott & Bailey,” which is also a female cop trio in Manchester but with less comedy and more inspiring leadership / alcoholism. Gill, the boss in “Scott & Bailey,” is officially my favorite woman in a position of power on television since C.J. Cregg.
I’ve plugged “Ludwig” before, but season two is back. Not on Britbox but still British, the new seasons of “Taskmaster” and “Celebrity Traitors UK” are both a great time, and “Slow Horses,” while not so funny or happy, continues to deliver A+ performances, as you’d expect from the cast, budget, and material. We also recently discovered the comedy “Mum” and genuinely think it’s the funniest thing we’ve found on TV in ages. Gemini’s auto-description made it sound like it might be sad: “The show follows Cathy as she mourns the death of her husband and slowly tries to rebuild her life over time, surrounded by her eccentric, often self-absorbed family and her supportive lifelong friend, Michael,” but the writing and performances are incredible. Kelly, the son’s girlfriend, is delivering one of the best female comedic performances I’ve ever seen. Anyway, 18 episodes, all under 30 minutes, and so good you’ll only regret watching it because whatever you see next will be a step down.
Listening To
Having just gushed about “You Can See Everything,” I don’t want to only promote content about women with likely mental health problems committing criminal acts, but the “Love Trapped” podcast was just… nuts. I assumed I knew the whole story from Daily Mail headlines (i.e. woman tells a reality star she’s pregnant with his baby when she isn’t) and didn’t listen when it first came out. When I finally went back to it, I kept pausing to tell Jeff how crazy it all was since the named reality star was only one victim and previous ones all had saved texts and emails from their encounters.
My music tastes are even less interesting because I’ve primarily been on three playlists: Beethoven, Motown & Motown-adjacent, and the Les Miz soundtrack. When I branch out, it’s been country. I know Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” is her biggest hit, but I do love her duet with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me,” which just has such a pleasant old timey sound and I make Jeff dance with me to it even though he’s a terrible dancer.
Reading
I’ve always enjoyed Marina Hyde’s scathing takedowns in The Guardian and on “The Rest Is Entertainment” podcast with Richard Osman, and she’s left The Guardian to do her own Substack/YouTube thing. While her video on the Premier League and epic-level cheaters, Manchester City, is great, her piece on Meghan and Harry with accompanying video is even better. I’ve never been more jealous of someone’s ability to insult. “Reverse-fugitive jam mogul, Meghan Markle” and, frankly, the entire paragraph below have shown me I’m clearly an amateur-level critic:
Anyway, cast your mind back to August when, like all rational humans, you assumed Harry and Meghan would be forever ensconced with the lotus eaters in the rural Californian idyll of Montecito. There they would continue filling their days with things like “experiencing wonder in every moment”, and being the “chief impact officer” of a company that offers tech-based mental health solutions for men who cry in their cars.
I’d also recommend reading John Carreyrou’s book on Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, “Bad Blood,” which I’ve been pushing on people for years. I’m hoping the documentary sends more of them back for the truth. John wrote a piece in the NYT with his thoughts on the movie that I thought was excellent as well.
Otherwise, I have been obsessed with a new (to me) fictional detective, Inspector Bill Slider, written by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. And, like the good elder millennial I am, I have devoured the Emma M. Lion series. All of this has made 2026 the first year that I beat Jeff to reading 50 books, and he says it’s not a contest, but that is what the loser would say, isn’t it?
Making
Fall means apple cider, which means the Charlie Bird Farro Salad again, but if you’re looking for a protein to pair it with, it was great with this Maple-Shallot Pork Tenderloin. I know I push Molly Baz every chance I get, but this Apple Cheddar Pistachio Salad with Creamy Shallot-Date Dressing is so good, it’s going on this year’s Thanksgiving menu (cheddar on the side for the vegan) and, if you know me, that’s a huge compliment because I hate squeezing salad bowls onto the table unless I have to.
For fall baking, I found these recipes by reading the way over-the-top but oh-so-helpful Bake Offs from the Pancake Princess. Both took first place in their respective categories, and both are the best versions I’ve made: banana bread (from Joanne Chang and Flour Bakery) and red velvet cake (from Divas Can Cook?!). Only caveat: that red velvet cake recipe makes too much frosting and you probably don’t want that much red food coloring in your life.
I hope all of these suggestions bring you smiles, or confidence in fictional crime solving, or a sense of relief that whatever relationship you’re in or are not in is better than whatever’s going on with Elizabeth Holmes and Billy Evans.
PS: Was the number of cop dramas set in Manchester during the same years Manchester City started cheating a sign that all was not well there?
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