Friday Fixations

What I'm into right now

Happy Friday, my fellow suffering beings. Each week, I share two things I’m digging right now (books, TV shows, movies, music, and the like) plus one online video of nearly zero cultural merit.

• Wolf Hall (on PBS): One of the psychological services that historical fiction can provide is to put your problems in perspective. Watching this fascinating yarn about King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) and his mercurial advisor, Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance), reminds me that the most engrossing, blot-out-the-sun dramas of my own life, and of our contemporary world, will someday just be stories. The acting, the storytelling, the set design—they all make this a must-watch.

• Where Have All My Deep Male Friendships Gone? I highly recommend this compelling, first-person narrative about the briar-patch of loneliness into which too many American men are falling these days. (I promise I had earmarked the story to share with you even before I got to the part where the author references me.)

• This is a ninja-level example of messing with your spouse.

Agree or disagree with these recommendations? Subscribers can comment on this and all other posts. You can also chat with me, my staff, pod guests, and one another. And there’s lots more: ad-free versions of my podcast; cheatsheets for every episode (which include time-stamped highlights and full transcripts); and twice-monthly live video sessions where I guide meditations and take questions. Join the party.