Things that brought me joy

I am blatantly stealing this idea taking inspiration from Joël, but I have also grown tired of social media so this is partially to share cool shit with everyone and partially for me to remember what I may want to revisit in future.

• Star Trek: Discovery, which concluded its third season this week with a final episode that brought hope back into a dystopian universe. It was the feel-good moment I needed, building on a strong season that had a black person lead the fight to save humanity and a tear-jerking portrayal of found family for four queer characters. I would also like to be adopted by Space Dads Hugh and Paul, please.
• Holy Sh!t, a fiction podcast told in a series of WhatsApp messages between friends studying at different universities. So far, so meh, but the show turns bonkers pretty quickly when one of the friends becomes convinced her flatmate is a reincarnated Jesus.
• Fy Fan Sweden, a stand-up show from Al Pitcher – a comedian who moved to Sweden some years ago and who I hadn’t ever heard of before Netflix threw this at me. I’ve long been fascinated by Swedish culture but I don’t think I ever realised just how weird the people can be (obviously this is comedy, but still).
• Kink!, a “podcast” from Audible hosted by sex educator Alix Fox on the history and socio-political contexts of kink. It might be the only time you will ever hear anyone get spanked for science. Some of it is quite devastating – one interviewee embraced kink when he became a widower – so maybe don’t just put it on before going to sleep.
• According to Need, a self-contained six-part series from 99% Invisible about the homelessness crisis in Oakland, the ways in which it could be fixed and all the infuriatingly frustrating reasons why it isn’t. It’s not joyful in the traditional sense, but it did teach me a lot of new things and learning is joy.
• Going bald for Shane is a fundraising campaign by my friend Brent, who lost his dad to cancer a year ago. To honour his memory, Brent’s trying to raise C$2,000 (1,290€ or £1,160) by Shane’s birthday on April 29. He’s just over a third of the way there. Why is it bringing me joy? For one, I am aiming to give more to charity this year (both random acts of kindness and standing commitments), for another I have only ever known Brent with a moustache and that’s coming off when he reaches his goal.

_{Photo by Kayla Farmer}