Media Reviews

By Erika Glover

Ten Percent Happier

Find it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

There is a great divide between money and happiness. We have been asked the ageold question, “Would you rather be rich or happy?” as a common mindfulness exercise. The answer is (or should be) that of desired happiness, not wealth. On his podcast, Ten Percent Happier, author and ABC news anchor Dan Harris explores the ins and outs of happiness in all its forms, origins, and explanations.

In the over 350 podcast episodes, Harris interviews experts from all walks of life, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Western thought leaders, scientists, and celebrities. The episodes explore topics such as social anxiety, cultural bias, creativity, pain management, productivity, relationships, and many things in between.

Harris is real and relatable in sharing with his audience that he once suffered a panic attack on live television, and he delves into the depths of mental health and the journey to happiness and wholeness. While this podcast isn’t explicitly religious, it does explore the science behind what happiness is and how we can train our minds toward calm, generosity, compassion, and connection. Listeners will leave with tangible ways to apply these practices in their lives.

Listening to Ten Percent Happier has exposed this reviewer to many different philosophies and worldviews, equipping me with knowledge I wouldn’t have otherwise. As a recent college graduate, I was able to relate to the topics and reflect while listening, especially because of the down-toearth nature in which Harris

An important asks his questions. topic explored in Listeners might especially the podcast is the enjoy recent episodes about difference between empathy and compassion, self-compassion, the idea of goodness, and the science of happiness. An important topic explored in the podcast is the how we can be difference between empathy happier by be- and compassion, how we can ing more com- be happier by being more passionate and compassionate and connected, connected. what we misunderstand about love, and a more scientific definition for that culturally loaded term. The podcast has been met with great success, finding its way into millions of households with a legion of followers. In fact, last August, Harris left his post at Good Morning America to focus on this podcast and its greater mission. The community, dubbed the “Ten Percent,” has a mobile app with resources ranging from meditations to teachings and recordings to promote peace, happiness, and stress reduction. Find out more at TenPercent.com.

ICONS

By Christopher Heffron Naomi Osaka

Netflix

In Case You Missed It

These new and hidden gems are also available on Netflix for autumn streaming.

THE MOVIES THAT MADE US

Beloved classics Back to the Future, Pretty Woman, Jurassic Park, and Forrest Gump made over $2 billion in box office receipts. But it’s their cultural influence that matters. This raucous series looks at how these four movies changed the cinematic landscape—and us as well. • TV-MA

Japan’s Naomi Osaka is a dichotomy. On the tennis court, the four-time grand slam champion is a terror, with a blistering serve and punishing groundstrokes. Off the court, however, she blends into the wallpaper. And for sports fans, that is a disconnect we cannot easily reconcile. We want our heroes to always be “on.” But Osaka, we’re learning, isn’t wired to be a celebrity, and that is the narrative thread throughout Netflix’s three-part docuseries.

Osaka, 23, made headlines last May during the French Open when she withdrew from the tournament over what she felt were harmful press conferences following matches. Seeking to protect her mental health even further, she withdrew from Wimbledon a month later. In the tennis world, perhaps in all professional sports, this was unheard of. Elite athletes aren’t designed to crack under pressure, right?

Wrong. As this docuseries illustrates, Osaka, Tom Brady, Nelly Korda, Kevin Durant—any athlete who performs on the world stage—are not machines. They have valleys. They can break. But rarely have we seen a marquee player step out of the game entirely to tend to his or her mental health. In that respect, Osaka is a trailblazer. In fact, gymnast Simone Biles followed suit and pulled out of several events in the Tokyo Olympics last summer for the same reason. Both women show that when your spirit is hurting, your sport is secondary.

The docuseries takes a measured look at Osaka off the court and addresses her upbringing, her blended heritage (her father is Haitian; her mother is Japanese), her friendships and family, and her grueling touring schedule. What we learn is that family, consistency, and authentic inner peace are paramount to Osaka.

“For so long, I’ve tied winning to my worth as a person,” she says in the first episode. By the series’ end, what we are witnessing is not a study of a woman recoiling from the limelight but the rebirth of a battered spirit in full bloom. • TV-14

DOWNTON ABBEY

Finally! PBS’ impeccable family drama about an aristocratic family in Yorkshire and the servants who work for them is available to binge on Netflix. The upstairs/ downstairs drama is good (if exhausting) fun and is anchored by a career-defining turn from Maggie Smith. She steals every scene. • TV-14

MURDER AMONG THE MORMONS

This docuseries looks at the life and crimes of Mark Hofmann, a con man and convicted murderer who forged historical documents connected to the Latterday Saints. Murder Among the Mormons takes a bold look at Hofmann’s crimes and how their ripples still reverberate today. • TV-14