What’s Been Making Me Happy: DECEMBER 2023
PODCAST
Pop Culture Happy Hour
〰️
Pop Culture Happy Hour 〰️
I’m have to admit that I’m not a very consistent podcast listener. In true ADHD fashion, I will usually hyperfixate on a particular podcast for awhile (currently “Maintenance Phase”; formerly “If Books Could Kill” and “You Must Remember This”) before abandoning it, at least temporarily, for the next shiny thing.
Not so with Pop Culture Happy Hour. This 5-days-a-week water cooler style discussion on all things pop culture is pretty much my go-to for what I should be watching or paying attention to. Every episode feels like a lunch table discussion with friends to me, and I’ve made some really great finds because of it (looking at you, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend!) They also do a regular “What’s Making Us Happy” feature which often leads me to new discoveries and which inspired this very feature of my newsletter, which I hope do to do with every issue.
This year, my favorite episode was probably the one on Naked Attraction, which had me cracking up in the airport security line — not usually a place of high enjoyment.
TV SHOW
Bob's Burgers
〰️
Bob's Burgers 〰️
I have a category of beloved TV shows that I call “comfort shows”; they are the macaroni pie and pelau of television programming. These shows provide a soothing sense of dependable quality and familiarity, characters I enjoy spending time with, and usually a good amount of laughter. “Comfort shows” for me include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Parks & Recreation, and Call the Midwife, but this year I realized that my ultimate comfort show is probably Bob’s Burgers, an animated half-hour sitcom that has been around since 2011 and recently entered its 14th season on FOX.
If you’re not currently watching this show, I don’t know what to tell you except “Start.” I could wax poetic about this often beautiful, always funny slice-of-life adult animated comedy about a working class family of lovable weirdos who live above their burger restaurant, but why bother when this article in GQ by Keith Phipps says it perfectly for me?
I rewatched all 13 seasons this year and often just shuffled around to random episodes in addition to that, and I never tired of it. Favorite episodes revisited this year include:
“Sacred Cow” - S1E3
“Bob Day Afternoon” - S2E2
“Topsy” - S3E16 (can I ever write a better lyric than “They’ll say ‘Aww, Topsy’ / At my au-topsy”?)
“Turkey In a Can” - S4E5
“Bob Actually” - S7E9
“The Plight Before Christmas” - S13E10