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.
Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, on Hulu: This new documentary about my former colleague was both fascinating and slightly traumatizing for me to watch. It was shocking (although unsurprising, really) to see how badly bullied Barbara was by her male colleagues. It was like something out of Mad Men. (By the time I arrived at the network, the atmosphere was slightly kinder, but not by much. Barbara herself once told me, upon hearing I was writing a book about meditation, “Don’t quit your day job.”)
The film—which was directed by another former colleague, Jackie Jesko—is an unflinching character study. It covers Barbara’s heroic side, including her ability to brazen through the bullying (and also unfair criticism of her coverage of celebrities) and forge a path for women in broadcast journalism. But it also covers her bottomless ambition, which led to fraught relationships—with her daughter, the men she dated, and her rival, Diane Sawyer.
Warfare, available to rent/buy via streaming. Also riveting—and slightly traumatizing. It’s a film about an ill-fated US military raid in Iraq in 2006, a time when I was also in the country. Incredibly well acted and crafted. In Hollywood, they often talk about making your protagonist(s) likable by having them save a cat in the opening scene. The way the filmmakers pull that off in this movie is creative and delightful. But after that? Buckle up.
Oh, one last thing… I’m doing an IRL retreat October 24-26 with my pals Sebene Selassie, Jeff Warren, and Ofosu Jones-Quartey. It’s at the Omega Institute, which is north of NYC. We call it Meditation Party. We’ll meditate a little, eat good food, hang out. It’s a good time. You can sign up here.
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Well, I just went down a little rabbit hole trying to find out what these birds are called. There's particularly striking video of a parrot doing the same thing. Beautiful. 💚
That Mama bird isn't just nailing the mothering thing ~ she looks fabulous doing it!😍