In a year like no other, we had more time than ever to consume media. Below are some shout outs from the Aspen Ideas staff. Some of our faves are heady and serious, others are unapologetically escapist! In no particular order—and with a nod to some oldies that helped to smooth our frayed 2020 nerves—we hope you’ll enjoy this quirky and not so comprehensive list.
Books
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Born a Crime Trevor Noah
An Indigenous People's History of the United States Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Overstory Richard Powers
A Promised Land Barack Obama
Home Body Rupi Kaur
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America Ijeoma Oluo
Midnight Library Matt Haig
Naturally Tan Tan France
The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein
Churchill: A Walk With Destiny Andrew Roberts
Eleanor David Michaelis
The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels Jon Meacham
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Isabel Wilkerson
A Burning Megha Majumdar
Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead
These Truths: A History of the United States Jill Lepore
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz Erik Larson
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy (Audible version read by Maggie Gyllenhaal)
TV Shows
The West Wing (HBO Max)
Schitt’s Creek (Netflix)
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
Explained (Vox)
Coastal Elites (HBO)
Derry Girls (Netflix)
Atypical (Netflix)
Seinfeld (Hulu)
Movies
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (Netflix)
AlphaGo (YouTube)
From Our Family to Yours (Disney+)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
13th (Netflix)
Game Changers (Netflix)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Elf (Hulu)
Podcasts
According to Need 99% Invisible
Guns, Germs, and Steel Context with Brad Harris
Explained: How a Candidate Officially Becomes the President The Lincoln Project
How Do We Add States? Civics 101
Before The Shot In the Arm Planet Money
Rebecca Traister Is Still Good and Mad Undistracted with Brittney Packnett Cunningham
The Case of the Missing Hit Reply All
How Immunity Works Social Distance