May 2026 Bright Spots
An accidentally (mostly) anglophilic round up of good things
Back in late January, I promised these bright spot posts would appear a few times a year (and was non-committal on timing, as is my prerogative). February was the Olympics, then I had to focus on dominating my March Madness pool (even if my winning bracket was an unplanned submission), and then in April I had to catch up on what I missed in February and March!
The joy of being a predominantly indoorsy person who is happiest on a couch is that fun stories, indulgent food, and even cozy blankets have no season. So it’s May, the world is still crazy and here’s what I’ve been using to entertain myself of late:
Watching
A lot of my favorite things are new seasons of known entities or older programs I’m just now getting to but I won’t let that stop me. For a good time, I have to recommend “Last One Laughing UK” on Amazon Prime. Two seasons but only six 30 minute episodes in each where British comedians try to NOT laugh for a period of time. The result is me laughing harder than usual and a lot of fun hijinks. Also for actual laugh out loud moments, the new season of “Deadloch” (an Australian parody of the typical police murder mystery show also on Prime) is absolutely wonderful and we’ve been enjoying “Shrinking” (Apple TV) which includes laugh AND cry moments.
“Taskmaster” (YouTube) is back and this season features Kumail Nanjiani and just the happiest crew of people ever. “The Pitt” (HBO RIP Max) is back with a decidedly unhappy crew of people but that’s to be expected when you’re stuck in the ER in Pittsburgh. For traditional mysteries, Jeff and I went back to our Britbox subscription for “Endeavour” and “Vera.” We also enjoyed “Stumble,” (Peacock) the parody of “Cheer” that felt very “30 Rock” and “Ponies” (Peacock) which got a little too intense for me despite the general light tone of the show because being a female spy in Soviet Russia was pretty intense.
On the reality front, Bravo nailed it with the new cast on “Ladies of London,” and while you might be rolling your eyes in judgment, please note that The New York Times did a fabulous profile of Martha because she, frankly, is the only culture I want to talk about. Fine, they also covered “Summer House” which I’m not going to touch on although am assuming the reunion will be “must see.” Lastly “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” is absurd in a light and positive way. Everyone’s having affairs, everyone looks the same, everyone has an accent, and one woman brings crackers everywhere and doesn’t drive because “[she] ran over a woman.”
Listening To
Whatever Owen Cutts suggests on “Old Music Friday” on Instagram/his radio show. Through his recommendations, I’ve become obsessed with David Ruffin’s “I’ve Got a Need for You,” learned the full story about The Chords’ “Sh-Boom,” and fell in love with the original 1982 recording of the Joubert Singers’ “Stand on the Word.”
Apparently “No Such Thing As a Fish” has been around since the dawn of podcast times BUT it’s new to me and I love it. British quiz show researchers share fun facts they’ve learned and discuss them and while an episode is an hour, it’s easily done in 15-minute chapters. Half the time I immediately share what I learned with the next person I talk to. For example, did you know in the time it takes to listen to the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), the International Space Station travels 500 miles, then 500 more? Or that Churchill looks grumpy on the £5 note because the photographer who took the picture had just removed his cigar? Think about how much more entertaining you’ll be if you listen.
Also, I started a podcast! And since I’m all about efficiency, it’s short and sweet, which felt like the least I could do. You can listen to “Okay, Actually” wherever you get your podcasts (Apple, Captivate, Spotify) but I wanted a place to talk about the things I spend more time on professionally: how do we do the right things better? How can we waste less time on things that don’t matter? If you listen and enjoy, please do give it five stars — apparently early ratings/reviews matter more for the algorithm which feels arbitrary but here we are.
Reading
I will read anything Patrick Radden Keefe writes: in a book, in The New Yorker, elsewhere if I know about it. His latest book, “London Falling” is a total page turner and a fascinating tale for the age we live in. Basically a London teenager’s body turns up in the Thames and his parents try to figure out what happened to him, only to discover he was living a double life where he told people he was an oligarch’s son.
And on the other end of the fraud spectrum is Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, the “daredevil” French archaeologist who helped save countless priceless Egyptian artifacts between World War II (and potentially being a spy for the Resistance?) and the need to move the Temples of Luxor to avoid flooding. “Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction” tells her story in an inspiring and exciting way that gives really healthy perspective on what it means to make an impact.
I started “Theo of Golden” with a lot of eye rolls — it’s saccharine in ways I normally can’t abide. And, to be honest, wouldn’t have finished if Jeff didn’t make me, but I am ultimately glad I did. The book is about a charismatic and mysterious stranger who comes to a small town in the south and shows how he interacts with people, finds community, and attempts to make a difference. It is cheesy but it’s lovely and I cried through the last 40 pages or so.
Making
Without young kids at home and loving to cook, I recognize I am in a different position than many as I have both time and ability to make pretty much whatever I want (that caveat is for you, Sarah). Although even when I had more constraints, I have never been a 30-minute meals kind of cook. However, there have been some quick and easy recipes of late that are worth a highlight. Namely, the NYT’s Chicken Pesto Meatballs (delicious AND we’re about to end up with so much pesto once our CSA starts up), the NYT’s Creamy Tortellini Soup (kind of a Zuppa Toscana but with cheese tortellini instead of potato), and Alison Roman’s Pasta with Sausage, Brown Butter, and Broccoli Rabe (am pretty sure this is my favorite pasta at the moment thanks to really crisping up all the sausage in the browning butter).
If you want to get kind of fancy, Ina’s Chicken with Morels is one of the more indulgent things I’ve ever made at home (but ignore the comments because all these people seem to not know how to reduce a sauce and wildly misrepresent how much you end up with — some of them are talking about having enough leftover to make soup and I didn’t have enough leftover to fill a thimble).
While I haven’t made it yet, I’m on the hunt for the perfect Brazilian carrot cake. There’s a recipe in Ham El-Waylly’s new cookbook but it has no orange and I want something orange-y enough that I can make it for Youngest who requested a chocolate orange cake. If it’s good, you’ll see the recipe next time around (so get excited for 3-4 months from now!)
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Oof. I could feel the withering and glacial Mainliner gaze peering west as you wrote "that’s to be expected when you’re stuck in the ER in Pittsburgh." More like Pity-burgh.
As someone who spent a rotation at a summer hospital internship working in the ER, I can confirm that the stress level is real and the desire to see patients treated humanely is a universal feeling. Even if they're from Pittsburgh. ;-)