LW Recommends

PODCASTS

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Wiser than Me: Spotify

There are numerous fantastically interesting, touching and funny interviews conducted by the irrepressible Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld fame. She talks with icons and then has a chat with her ‘Mummy’ about what she heard. Top recommendation is the interview with author Isabel Allende but there are so may to choose from.

Uncharted with Hannah Fry: BBC Sounds

Hannah Fry is a Professor of Mathematics, best-selling author, and an award-winning science presenter. This series looks at how to analyse statistics and gives an insight to the oddities that can be gleaned, such as the phenomenon of an increased birth rate of sons after wars, and visiting a convent to investigate ageing with grace.

READING

Virginia Mendez on gender stereotypes and toys (fawcettsociety.org.uk)

This is an entertaining and well-researched piece on the ‘pinkification’ of toys and the campaign by the advocacy group Let Toys be Toys. Home - Let Toys Be Toys

The Future by Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman is the prize-winning author of The power and follows it up with a similar strong title: The Future. Its an intriguing comment on our world as the richest tech CEOs receive the secret news that the world is about to end; they prepare to head to safety and the novel explores what happens to them and everyone else. If you’re quick you can get an audio version for free on BBC Sounds.

FILM

Mona Lisa Smile

This is a 2003 film well-worth re-watching with excellent performances from a star studded cast: Julia Roberts as an university Professor at a prestigious all-female Wellesley College in the 1950s along with Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal as some of her students.

Despite the intellectual qualities of the students most are focused on finding ‘Mr Right’ to the exclusion of all else. Along the way are sumptuous settings and brilliant observational details from the era.

Anatomy of a Fall

There are so many reasons to recommend this film! It is a riveting to see the ebb and flow of a court trail with a backdrop of snow and beauty. How realistic the trial is we have no idea but it makes excellent viewing and introduces real drama.

The German actress Sandra Hüller is accused of killing her husband – the circumstances are mysterious and her sight-restricted son has to give crucial evidence.

The dialogue is wonderful; here’s just a couple of quotes:

‘Somebody said, of course money doesn't make you happy, but it's still better to cry in a car than in a subway.’

Sandra Voyter

‘Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos and everybody is lost. Sometimes we fight together and sometimes we fight alone, and sometimes we fight against each other, that happens..’

Sandra Voyter