Suggestible - Best Suggestibles of the Year 2021

Episode Date: December 30, 2021

Suggestible things to watch, read and listen to. Hosted by James Clement @mrsundaymovies and Claire Tonti @clairetonti.Links to recommendations mentioned in this episode - available here!Send your recommendations to [e-mail], we’d love to hear them.You can also follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @suggestiblepod and join our ‘Planet Broadcasting Great Mates OFFICIAL’ Facebook Group. So many things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, I'm Jessi Cruikshank from the number one comedy podcast, Phone a Friend, which I strongly advise you listen to. You know what else I suggest you look into? Becoming a host on Airbnb. Did you like that segue? Thank you. I recently started putting my guest house on Airbnb when I'm out of town, and I didn't realize how easy it would be until I did it. If you have a spare room, you could Airbnb it, or your whole place could be an Airbnb. It's a great way to make a little extra money by doing not a lot, which frankly is my mantra in 2024. To learn more, go to airbnb.ca slash host. Bing bong, b-b-bing, bing bong, bong bong. Hello. What? That's the end of the year. Claire, what do you think of that?

Oh God, I'm glad it's over. It's not. We've got this and we've got our Sex and the City recap podcast, which will be out by now. We certainly do. And actually, you know, it's been a bin fire of a year in so many ways, but there's been some good things. Go on. Like this podcast.

I've really enjoyed it. I guess. Do you know one thing? I've loved watching our kids get older. That is true. One of them has a beard now. They do. Yeah. He's One of them has a beard now. They do. Yeah.

He's got a moustache as well. You're meaning to teach him how to shave. Yes, it's not just the beard. It's the moustache as well. It's the moustache that's really bringing that kind of Bush Ranger vibes. Definitely. And the helmet. But listen, people might be wondering if we're taking a break.

Yes. We certainly are. Collings will be editing a Best Of episode together, which will be coming up next week or the week after. But we will be continuing our Sex and the City recap podcast. We will, controversially, over summer, which we never do. Not happy about it. I'm not happy about it either.

I mean, we could just not do it, I guess. No, we can't. We can't not do that. You know what? To be fair, it is very fun. Actually, just in case this is the first episode you're listening to, we are suggestible podcasts, a podcast where we recommend things to watch, read and listen to.

My name is Claire Tonti. James Clemon is here also. We are married. And this is our final episode of 2021. And what we're basically doing is going back through our lists and go, what's our best stuff? What did we love? What did we really love?

That's right. I've broken mine into movies, TV shows, miscellaneous, which is just like books, video games, food. Is that because we didn't read a lot of books this year? I read more than I thought. The ones that I wrote down, I've read at least three books this year. That's many. See, I've probably read maybe four or five,

and that's not very many for me at all. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm really – That's many. See, I've probably read maybe four or five and that's not very many for me at all. Oh, I'm sorry. Really, it's very indicative. Yeah, exactly. No, but I think you found audiobooks this year. No, I didn't find. I've used audiobooks before.

No, but this is the year you really leaned in, right? No, I did more walking this year. That's what I think I did as well. Yeah, with the audiobooks. That definitely helped. It certainly did. Yeah, so the audiobooks. It definitely helped. It certainly did. Yeah, so there you go. What are you up to in terms of what's, should we just go,

you name a thing, then I'll name a thing? Yeah, let's just go in our categories, yeah? Yeah, let's do it. So we're going to do films first. Films. Yes. I have a feeling that you might have this film on your list. So my first list recommendation, I can't believe it was this year,

is Promising Young Woman. Well, I did have that actually and I nearly didn't put it in because it's technically last year. It came out like late December. But I don't think it came out here until early Jan maybe. We watched it on streaming as well. Yeah, and we talked about it in like one of the very first episodes of the year.

Yeah. That might be my favourite movie of this year. Yeah, it is mine. Yeah. I've got others. I tried to sell the premise and I'll just quickly remind people who don't, I can't remember. Yeah, so it's a 2020 American dark comedy thriller film written,

produced and directed by Emerald Fennell. It's her feature directional debut. Now Margot Robbie serves as a producer through her Lucky Chap Entertainment production company, and the film stars Carey Mulligan as the lead, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, and Connie Britton. So, it's just already got an incredible cast. Amazing cast. And that's some of them. There are more people. Exactly. Yeah. It tells the story of a woman, played by Care Kerry Mulligan,

who seeks to avenge her best friend who was a victim of sexual assault. Yep. And so I told that it was my favourite film when I was having a drink with someone. I told them what it was, the premise, and they said, well, that sounds grim. Like they're looking at me like, that's your favourite film? I mean, it is grim.

It totally is. But it's like darkly funny and cathartic. And also infuriating. Exactly. And, yeah, it is distressing. I mean but there's some really funny moments because really Kerry Mulligan's character feels like she has nothing to lose and kind of pretends to be a drunk girl that gets guys to take her home

and then switches on and really just gives them a serve about what they're doing and makes them think. Yeah, absolutely. And that's the beginning of the film and by the end end of the film, it's taken a massive turn, and I won't spoil it, but it's so satisfying, the ending in so many ways. And it leaves you thinking about it for a really long time afterwards. The soundtrack is so good as well. And it's just really powerful and dark, but and moving and also I think has made a lot of men particularly think about, and women too, but particularly men think about the way

that they have gone about relationships in the past even. And what kind of person they maybe really are. Yeah, that's interesting, right? Like the commentary around the guys in it who think they're the good guys when in actual fact probably are not. Yeah, and they think they are and the hero of the story, which I think is really interesting too. And Emerald Lily Fennell, she's just amazing.

She's an actress, author, screenwriter, producer and director and I can't wait to see what she does next. What, yeah, do we know what she's doing next? So she was the showrunner for season two of Killing Eve in 2019 but I don't know what she's doing next? So she was the showrunner for season two of Killing Eve in 2019 but I don't know what she's doing next. No. She worked on Call the Midknife. Midknife.

Call the Midknife. Call the Midknife. It's the Midknife. What else has she done? She's worked on a – Yeah. Oh, that's right. We talked about this but she played Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown.

Yeah. She did. Yeah, she's excellent. A show that I do not watch. Here's something that I'm going to recommend that I already recommended. It's called The Kid Detective with Adam Brody, speaking of Promising Young Woman. He's briefly in that.

It's about there was a boy who was like an old school kind of detective and he'd solve like who stole the jar of money from the school, whatever, and then he's now an adult and he's a private eye and he'd solve, like, who stole the jar of money from the school, whatever. And then he's now an adult and he's a private eye and he sucks. And he's trying to solve, like, an actual crime because all of his crimes are normally, like, it's cheating spouses and whatever. And he's got all these kind of kid-like techniques that he still uses, like pseudoscience and nonsense, which he still applies to modern-day scenarios.

But he's drawn into a situation which is well above his pay grade and also his abilities. And it's just very funny and very good and also very dark, yeah. So interesting because I still haven't seen that. I remember you talking about it. Yeah, that's true. So I really need to watch that over the summer break, I reckon, because it sounds awesome.

Is it, and it's not a kids' movie though, is it? No, absolutely not. No, so it's not a kids' movie though, is it? No, absolutely not. So it's quite dark and violent? Yeah. No, I wouldn't say it's not violent, but it's just, it's quite dark. And it even, like at the end, and I guess this is a spoiler, after he goes through all the things that he's gone through and, you know, at the end of the case, he's sitting there

and he just like starts crying. And it's quite like, it's like, it like it's I guess like Promising Young Woman. It's like cathartic and funny and dark and you understand why he would be upset because he's not just like, well, I solved the thing. He's just like, that was terrible. That was really overwhelming and it was a lot for me to, you know. To take on, which is a regular human emotion that you have right

after taking on something like that. I thought it was like a wonderful ending and he was very good. As he always is, right? He's like the best thing in everything he's in. Yeah, exactly. He is so good. That's great. So the other movies I have, I just wanted to jump quickly.

Do you remember Moxie, directed by Amy Pooler? I didn't watch Moxie. I meant to watch Moxie. Okay, yeah. It's so good. So it's about 16-year-old Vivian played by Hadley Robinson who starts a feminist zine to empower the young women in her school as they contend with bullying and sexual harassment

and themes of discrimination. And so it has a similar vibe to Promising Young Woman, I think, but I really loved it because it's also like full of kind of that teenage rage and zest for life and that kind of feminist scene. And there was also some really great soundtrack to it. I hadn't heard of Riot Grrrl and the Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990s before I watched this.

And that's a feminist punk rock movement. And so I fell down a rabbit hole of that and looking at the lead singer, Kathleen Hanna, who becomes sort of this inspiration to Amy Pooler's character as the mother. Who directed it. Yeah, exactly. Did you say that? Yeah, she did.

Yeah, she directed it. Yeah. And so I just think it's a really good movie and it's got really kind of really lovely themes. I think it would be a great movie to watch with teenagers, if you've got teenagers, because it opens up those kind of discussions about consent and, you know, all of that kind of stuff. So anyway, I loved that.

That was one of my favourites. And my other favourite movie was Time to Die, the James Bond. It's a good movie. I loved that. Look, we're going to talk about it this week because we do all the blockbuster stuff on the Weekly Planet. I think, and I start to think about it, I think that was my favourite like big budget movie of the year.

Wow, before. In a year where there was, like, a big Spider-Man movie that I really liked and a bunch of other stuff that I thought was a pretty good showing all around. Why? Why that one? I don't know. I mean, I think it's not just a strong Bond movie.

I think it's a strong movie and it does some things that you can't really do in a regular Bond movie because of restraints of like the history of the universe and whatever. But having this as a contained story and definitively being the last of Daniel Craig, there's so many things you can do with it. And I think it's like it's shot beautifully. It's acted really well. It brought in a lot of things from the previous movies that I didn't

particularly like but used them in a way which was really compelling. I just loved it. I thought it was terrific. And I didn't think it would be great. Yeah. I'm so surprised it's on my list, right? That's probably a factor as well.

I didn't think it was going to be great. Yeah, well, I guess you go with low expectations. Yeah. I think one of the reasons I loved it so much is it because it was pure escapism for me. Just you go into this beautiful world of all these beautiful places that we can't travel to and all of these cool outfits and gadgets and like heart kind of wrenching moments as well and great action

but really just like gorgeous blue eyes of, you know, Daniel Craig, all those things. Anna Diamus is really good in it. Yeah, all the female characters were so great and surprising and the script had that Phoebe Waller-Bridge magic in it, which I loved. But really I think purely it was escapism. I was there in that world for however long it went for,

a couple of hours, and that's what I needed this year. A lot of the stuff that I'm recommending I think is stuff that just thoroughly absorbed me in a different time or place from where I am. Sure, that makes sense. I couldn't watch anything that was too close to home. Yeah, absolutely. I didn't watch a lot of Australian drama this year. That's interesting because a few of my things that I've got on here are like

pandemic related or virus related or whatever. Yeah, I wanted to bring up Together which is the James McAvoy. Sharon Horgan. Sharon Horgan. What is it even? It's sort of like a screenplay as a film really, isn't it? Well, I guess all films are screenplays. I know.

Yeah, no, what did I mean? Like a play. A play. Yeah. Yeah. We've talked about this. It's more like a stage play, I guess. It's basically it's residential London during the pandemic.

They're a couple that should be divorced by all accounts. The only reason they're not is because they have a son together and the pandemic. But it's wonderful. I thought it was terrific. Yeah. Oh, look, I did too. And initially because they speak directly to camera,

which is what makes it feel more like a stage show, initially I found that really jarring. Yes. But then it slowly became wonderful and then I was thoroughly along for the ride with that. And, look, it was really great in a way to see not our lives particularly but a snapshot of especially a place that wasn't here because there were big differences with how the pandemic was handled here versus over there. So that was, yeah, really interesting.

I just wouldn't say it was my favourite because I just wanted to get to it. Totally. I completely understand that. It was a great performance. James McAvoy particularly was just great. Yeah, they both had some incredible moments. Yeah, actually both of their monologues,

there's two amazing monologues. He does one direct to camera about what happens to her mother and she does one just as she comes back from the hospital describing what it was like there, both of which were great. And he also, oh, no, they both kind of do ones in relation to the people in charge and he's like, I ordered these like seeds to grow like vegetables thinking that maybe something was going to happen and if I knew that, how was it possible that the people in charge didn't?

And she does a thing on, she breaks down the numbers and why the lockdowns were important and what those numbers equate to if you delay it by days. Yeah. Terrific. Probably not the best time to be watching it but really liked it. No, but really good. Yeah, do you have any other movies?

I've got one more. The Mitchells versus the Machines was really cool. Oh, you loved that. I know you didn't love it but I just thought it was so fun and great. And I think it was a pretty good strong year for animation in general. Yeah. Like Encanto, which I didn't like or love, I'm like it was still really good, you know, and there was a number of things that like I can't even think.

There's a bunch of other ones which I thought like Ray and still really good, you know, and there was a number of things that like I can't even think. There's a bunch of other ones which I thought, like Raring the Last Dragon, really good also. Oh, such a good one. That was one of my favourite kids' movies of the year. You know the other one I loved, Cruella. Okay, yeah, okay. I like Cruella. Yeah, I don't know.

I wouldn't have watched it with our son yet. I think it's a little bit, the themes are a bit off. I don't think you would have liked it anyway. No, I don't think so either. It's probably more like maybe eight, eight or nine kind of thing. But I still really enjoyed it. Emma Stone was really good. Again, I didn't expect much from that as well.

No, but the soundtrack was great. The costumes are amazing. It was super fun. It was fun. I really enjoyed that one too. Here's some movies I haven't watched which I intend to watch, which probably would be on here. Tick, Tick, Boom, Power of Dog, Pig, which is about Nicolas Cage and his pig goes missing,

goes to find it. The Lost Daughter is a new Olivia Colman movie on Netflix that I want to watch as well. So I've got some things which is homework. Yeah, the power of the dog. How do people do this whose jobs isn't to watch stuff? I know. I understand.

I know, my goodness. I'm excited to watch those too. Most of those things are Netflix. Three of those are Netflix movies. Yeah. So The Power of the Dog is a Western, right? Yeah. Yeah.

That's on my list. I've got that. Yeah. I keep saying it and I'm like, I should watch that. Definitely. I don't. Yeah, for sure. Hey, folks.

It's Mark Maron from WTF. I travel all over North America doing stand-up and it's always good to know Airbnb is an option when I'm away from home. But if you're away from home, why not take your own place and Airbnb it? Airbnb your whole home to make some extra cash. Or if you have a spare room that's not in use, just Airbnb that. Whether you could use extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. To do TV. Yes, let's do it. All right. So my first one, did you watch It's a Sin? Which one was that? So it's a British drama written by Russell T Davies and it's set from 1981

to 1991 in London during the heart sort of breaking and heartwarming story of the AIDS epidemic basically. Yeah, it follows a group of gay men and their friends. And it's equal parts joyful and life-giving and life-affirming and the performances are excellent and also deeply disturbing, I guess. And it's interesting that it came out at a time when we were sort of re-entering all of the COVID stuff again because I think it really speaks

to a lot of similar themes and the way that, you know, all of the propaganda on HIV was completely inaccurate. Yep. And the blame that it placed on gay men particularly that was absolutely unfounded in the end. And I hadn't even really understood, A, how many young people died, but also how much they died alone or without their friends around them who were ending up as their chosen family because the families

would take them away. There were so many through lines in that that were so beautifully done and the characters were just wonderful. And also the soundtrack again, just glorious. Yeah, 80s London just looks like an incredible place to be and I wanted to visit. That was like, it's like the more I hear about that with the AIDS epidemic and how a lot of people up top took it as like, oh, this is a sign from God,

this is like punishment and really dragged their feet to do anything. And that's not just in that show or in that location. It was, you know, a lot of places of the world. Just criminal, like people that should be in jail for the absolute neglect, you know. Just. Completely. Yeah, barbaric and awful.

Yeah, and I think it really brought home how many young people were so horribly affected. Yeah. And then the joy and the kind of freedom that so many of them had found in 80s London at that time and then, yeah, that kind of undercurrent of how it slowly, the knowledge of AIDS kind of slowly spreads and it becomes this kind of like initially this sort of rumour that people don't really believe and don't think is true.

Anyway, it was a really beloved show. It got rave reviews. It's super raunchy but also Anyway, it was a really beloved show. It got rave reviews. It's super raunchy but also, yeah, paints a really beautiful picture of the time. And Jill Baxter, who's played by Lydia West particularly, is a real character. So it is based on true stories. Cool.

And she was someone who really kind of supported those men during that time when their families had kind of forgotten about them or turned their back on them. Anyway, it's a sin. Wonderful. What about you? Well, I might just rattle through a few, I think, because I've got quite a few here.

Pure escapism, except for the last season, which was about the pandemic. Superstore, which is like an office style show where they work in like a Walmart. And it's ran for like seven or eight seasons just quietly just kind of chugging away. And it's just consistently good with really amazing characters led up by America Ferreira who actually disappears towards the end of that show

and then comes back for the finale. If you're looking for something to binge, well worth it. If you like The Office. Yeah, or Parks and Rec. Or Parks and Rec, yeah. It's got that kind of vibe, doesn't it? I still haven't watched that so much actually that I haven't got to this year that I normally would have but it's just been a year I haven't got to it.

That sounds so awesome. Another one I really loved was I May Destroy You by Michaela Cole. I still haven't watched that. Yeah, I mean that's another one. It's in a similar vein to A Promising Young Woman. It's sharp writing about, it deals again with the same themes of sexual assault, which I know is quite dark and full on, but done in an incredibly moving and smart and kind of darkly funny way.

So, yeah, she's brilliant and I can't wait to see what she does. She also did this amazing speech when she won an award for the show and it was just about how if you're a writer, sometimes it's okay to just go away and be quiet. Yeah, right. And not be on socials and not be doing anything, just go and write the story that scares you. That's the Bo Burnham tactic as well,

just disappear for two or three years at a time. Yeah, yeah, correct. Yeah, exactly. So anyway, I think she's amazing. Catastrophe. Yeah, that was great. These two that we really liked, Catastrophe and Trying, both British TV series.

Yeah, I loved those. Non-pandemic related, more about interpersonal relationships. Trying is like particularly uplifting as well. I think if you're looking for something bright and fun and positive. I agree. That's definitely up there. Yeah, I love trying. I think trying was one of my favourite escapism ones.

Yeah. Totally. It's about adoption if you don't know. On Apple? It's on Apple? Yeah, so that's true. It's funny that it's escapism but also deals with infertility. Yes.

Which is so, so, I guess I'm not very, my idea of escapism is just not about the pandemic. A couple struggling to have children. A couple, yeah, I said I was like escapism and all. I've regularly recommended the things that deal with like sexual assault or infertility and stuff. Sure. I don't know, but it's also bright and fun. It totally is.

And it's set in London and, yeah. Well cast. And it's very funny chemistry between the two leads. It's really good. Do you know the show I also really loved is Bump. Do you remember that? That's back. Yeah, it's very funny chemistry between the two leads. It's really good. Do you know the show I also really loved is Bump. Do you remember that? That's back. Yeah, it is the second season.

Have you watched it yet? No, I haven't. I'm going to though. So the first season, it's written by the same people that did Love My Way, which is one of my favourite Australian shows. And this is just about sort of a teenager who didn't realise she was pregnant and has a baby and Claudia Carbon plays her mum and it's sort of the fallout from there. It doesn't sound like it would be so fun and joyful but it is

and it's just really moving as well. I really enjoyed it. It's on Stan. Excellent. And probably something else in the US. Yes. Something grim but I really liked Black Summer, zombie apocalypse, very good.

Anybody could die at any minute, horrifying, really good. If you like The Walking Dead but wish it was better, this is that show. Midnight Mass was terrific, Mike Flanagan. Yeah, you loved that. Yeah, about religious and religions and monsters and like real monsters and metaphorical monsters, very good. The one that I'm watching at the moment I might save for next year because it's only five in.

It's on HBO in the US but it's on Stand Here. It's called Station Eleven. It stars Mackenzie Davis who I really love. She's in that episode of Black Mirror where it's the 80s but they're all stuck in a computer or whatever. Yes, I remember that. She's also in the newest Terminator movie as like the protagonist, like the Kyle Reese character.

In this one it's a virus in New York and also the world. It's a very deadly flu and it's set kind of in the outbreak and also 20 years after and she is an actor, like a child actor, and then 20 years later she's part of this travelling like Shakespearean theatre company which basically tours the communities that are left via horseback performing. And so it's about kind of art in the new world, like in the remnants of the old world and people are starting

to forget how it was and it's so good. And again, maybe it absolutely bottoms out but it's terrific and I'll talk about that more when it's finished. But well worth it. That sounds really good. I'm just going to rattle off a few more TV shows. Mare of Easttown with Kate Winslet. Come on, that's on the list. So good.

I mean everyone raved about her performance in that particularly. It's really great. It's a murder mystery and she plays the kind of tortured detective but she plays it really well. So that's really excellent. I've got this list. Oh, my gosh. And the other one that I've really loved,

I think one of my favourite TV shows, This Way Up, with Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan. Oh, yeah, I didn't finish that. Oh, it's so brilliant. And it's written by Aisling Bea and it's sort of her brainchild and the relationship between her and Sharon Horgan is just so brilliant. They play sisters and it deals with themes of mental health and comedy, fatherhood and motherhood and, you know, sisterhood and what it means to be someone who really cares so

much about everything but also has mental health challenges. And I just loved it. She's brilliant. I just love Aisling Bea. I just think she's one of my favourite actresses at the moment. I just love her. Yeah, and the other show that I really thought was excellent, again, not escapism.

I'm going to take that back to what I said. I've really watched a lot of dark shows this year. Made. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was Netflix. Yeah, that's on Netflix and it's based on a true story about a woman who becomes a writer but was a victim of domestic violence,

basically is left with nothing, just her and her daughter with no money. That's the one that you said had the counter on the screen of how much money she has, right? Correct, yeah, and it's just awful because you just know that she's got like $0, less than $0, and she has to get her child fed and somehow put gas in the car and get to a friend's house to be able to sleep on their couch. But it's done so well. You were escapism.

And by that I mean no pandemic, right? Yeah. But I think so many of my friends keep talking about that show. Oh, really? Yeah, because she started writing about confessions of a house cleaner basically and that's how her writing kind of took off and then everything went from there. But it really does make you think about why women stay

in relationships like that, how they get into it. Particularly it deals with emotional abuse rather than physical, which I think there's been a lot of discussion about this year and what coercive control means. Yeah. And it's just done so beautifully. I think the same as I May Destroy You, it puts you right in the shoes of the woman who's, and Promising Young Woman does the same thing, who's experiencing the world in that way. And it shows it in a different way, which is what I guess I loved about this year. I just felt there were so many women's stories in particular that were being written and told in new and interesting ways.

By women. By women. Exactly, by women. And by diverse women as well. And I think that's what we need. We just want more different stories from different people and it allows you to build more empathy, which I think in turn can help with social change. It's like for me, I know a lot of my friends have said things

like I'd never thought about what it would mean to literally have no one to turn to. And I think we're so lucky so many of us have these networks of people but there are people that don't have that and what it must be like in the world and then where do you go and what organisations are there actually catching people in those moments and then what are the problems from a social point of view.

Anyway, it was great. Cool. Escapism, pure escapism. Pure escapism. Here's some miscellaneous stuff. All right. Oh, just before you do that, kids' shows? Do you have any kids' TV shows? I've got a kid's game thatin-ish stuff. All right. Oh, just before you do that, kids' shows? Do you have any kids' TV shows?

I've got a kid's game that I could talk about. One of my favourite video games from this year was Super Mario 3D World plus Bowser's Fury, which is actually a reissue of an older game with a bonus bit kind of tacked on. That's probably the game I played the most this year with our son, and I probably would have played it regardless because it's really terrific and it's a fun multiplayer game and it's good because you can play with your kid and you can kind

of teach them some mechanics and you can kind of help them through it as well. Also sometimes you'll get a whole lot of power-ups and then they'll just burn through them and then you're like, oh, I need that raccoon suit and you just put it on and then dropped off a cliff. But that's, yeah, because I was thinking about new games this year and what I got and I didn't really get like a lot of the major new titles. I think all of them I didn't play but I did play a lot of like Nintendo

Switch this year. Yeah. Like we're doing some Sonic games at the moment, aren't we? I know. I'm sure you're well aware. But it's so cool. It's actually really lovely. I know that I've talked before about how I worry about video games, and I do, but I worry about all screen time in general,

and I worry about everything in general. That's me. But it has been really nice to see you guys sharing something together, and I know it's sort of hard for you sometimes playing when you're teaching him at the same time, but it is really beautiful. We did cover it. We were talking about this because we were playing Sonic Colors, and he gets really frustrated the other day.

It is like a particular bit, and he's like, why can't I do this? And I'm like, this is because this game maybe isn't very good. Yeah, yeah. Some games aren't very good. It's a surprise. Yeah, and that's what's been really cool. Actually, I walked into a room and I just hear you guys discussing, like having a mini podcast about Sonic Colors and like our son just giving

his opinion and you giving your opinion and it's just, yeah, it's really great. It's so funny. Yeah, because we were discussing the difference between, like, Super Mario 3D World Plus Bowser's Fury and Sonic Colours. I'm like, see, mechanically that's a very tight game and the levels are designed in a specific way, but Sonic Colours is just like, whatever. He's got pretty good at it, though.

Yeah, there's not effort put in it, but they're just differently kind of designed games and one is clearly crafted better, I feel, than the other. Anyways, Woodstock 99, Peace, Love and Rage was a really good documentary about that. Oh, yeah. I loved that about, yeah, Woodstock 99 and how it was the worst. Oh, my God. It sounded like the most incredibly awful thing.

It reminded me of Fyre Festival. It was very much like that, yeah. Yeah, God, crazy. One other TV show I wanted to mention, We Are Lady Parts. Oh, yeah, you love that. Yeah, about geeky biochemical engineering PhD student Amina Hussain becomes the unlikely lead guitarist of Lady Parts, which is an all-female Muslim punk band.

Yeah. And it's just great and it's funny and the music's cool and it says some things. And Nita Manzoor is a British television writer and director and she also directed two episodes of Doctor Who. So it's just awesome. Cool. I think I've watched a lot of British TV this year as well.

Clearly I really like British TV. Stuff. And actually when we're talking about docos, my favourite one of the year was Misrepresented by Annabelle Crabbe. Oh, yeah. Yeah, where she looks at the past 100 years of women in politics in Australia. I saw bits of that as you were watching it. Very good.

And really informative. And I think so often this year I think a lot of us have again remembered how short a history it has been that women have had the rights that we have. Yeah. And so I think she did a really good job of reminding us of that. I mean, women didn't have bathrooms in our Parliament House until like 1970s or something. Shock.

Crazy. Shocked. Like that. You'll be happy to know We Are Lady Parts has a second series commissioned. So it is on the way. Oh, I'm so excited. Oh, it's really great. Gosh. Anyway, yeah, misrepresented. way. Oh, I'm so excited. Oh, it's really great.

Gosh. Anyway, yeah, misrepresented and it has an accompanying podcast as well. Yes. Which was really excellent. What were the podcasts you listened to this year? Did you have many? I mean, not really, to be honest. I mostly, I did more audio books and like YouTube and stuff like that.

But a couple of books that I really liked. I liked The Dry, which I think you recommended. I also like the movie, but I think the book, we talked about it. Is better. Is better. Yeah. And paints a better picture of, because it gives obviously more time and et cetera. I'd give My Marriage a Year, another recommendation from you,

which I think you read like last year or the year before. I did, yeah. Flowers for Algernon, which is an older book that is about a man with a mental disability. I'm not sure what the correct term for it. And they use very outdated terms in the book as well because it's from, like, the 50s who is given a treatment where he becomes hyper-intelligent and then the ramifications of that and, like, maybe he's not happy, you know, with his newfound knowledge. And Project Hail Mary, which is a more recent sci-fi book that I read,

which was Andy Weir who did The Martian. So what about you in terms of podcasts? Okay. So podcasts, I love Sentimental Garbage, which is just the Sex in the City recap show. Well, well, well. By Donnelly Alderton and Carolina Donahue. It's just hilarious.

I just listen to hours and hours of those two women tell the most ridiculous stories and make fun of Kerry for being a terrible vapid human. Yeah. So I loved it. I just loved it. It was such an unexpected bubble of joy. The other one that I loved is We Can Do Hard Things by Glennon Doyle. It's just one of those shows that is so helpful and has had so much thought

put into it for people who are going through emotional stuff. And it's just funny. And I think particularly for women does a lot of talking out loud about things that are difficult and hard. Those three women, she does it with Abby Wambach, who's her wife now and is like that famous soccer player in America and also with her sister, Amanda Melton. It's just for if you are someone who needs some great deep conversation in your life and either don't have the energy, don't have the friends in your life to have that, those three women are that.

And there's just topics in there for everyone. So I've just really enjoyed that podcast. And Dr. Becky Goodinside as well. She has an Instagram account I've talked about before. But if you ever have any parenting dilemmas and you're really unsure of what to do, she's someone to go to. And the other podcast that's got me through is Mamma Mia Out Loud. Ah, an oldie but a goodie.

Yeah, that's been going for years. And those three women, Jessie Stephens, Mia Friedman, and Holly Wainwright are equal parts hilarious and funny and they talk about kind of the high and low of things. And they've been great when the High Low podcast with Dolly Alderton finished. Yes. I felt like they have great recommendations for things as well and they do a kind of zip around of the hot topics.

So, yeah, those podcasts have really got me through. I've barely read anything. The two books that really I loved this year that I kept going back to were Dolly Alderton's Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love. And both of those I just had by my bedside because I just needed comfort food this year. And I feel like maybe I watched a lot of grim TV, but the books, I kept dipping into her books because they were a pre-pandemic kind of world. Yeah.

And there's something funny and comforting about her writing. So, and the other book a friend gave to me, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Oh yeah. That's, you've been gifting that to people as well. I have. I've been gifting people that Left, Right and Centre by Charlie McKeezy and his Instagram account. It's one of those ones where you mention it to someone,

they click on it, they look at it and they're drawn to one of his drawings and the little quote and there's no pressure. It's not one of those self-help books or something where you have to read the whole thing or like a 12-step program for anything. It's just really gorgeous illustrations that remind you of Winnie the Pooh with some really deep truths that help you get through. So, yeah, those are my books. It's like learningick except good.

It would be a good way to put it. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a weird creep. Well, you know, just know if anybody at any point is, it turns out to be a weird creep, we don't endorse that. No. We might not bring it up because it doesn't come up, but we officially distance ourself from anybody who turns out to be a weird girl. Yeah, exactly.

Oh, gosh. All right. Yeah, so that was my year, I think. Do you have anything else? A teacher. I watched that. That was from last year, but I watched it this year, about a student-teacher relationship, which starts off kind of,

it's framed romantically, but then it's like, oh, wait a minute, this is awful. Is Anna Kendrick in that? No, she's from House of Cards, the intern person at the start. She's from the terrible Fantastic Four movie. What is her name? Can we look it up? I can't remember. And the other guy's called Nick something.

He's from Jurassic World. Yeah, Kate Mara. Kate Mara. Kate Marica and Nick Robinson, yeah. So she's a teacher and he's a student and it's like, oh, isn't this lovely? And then it's like, no way. Oh, it's not. It's not lovely at all.

Well, it's never like, isn't this lovely? It's kind of, well, I've talked about it. It's fascinating and awful. Yeah, but look, also I hope everybody's had a terrific year and, look, if you've had a terrific year, maybe you could celebrate that by reviewing this podcast. Because we've all had a terrific year, maybe you could celebrate that by reviewing this podcast. Because we've all had a terrific year, I'm sure. It's just been a ray of sunshine.

Hey, you're still there. You're still hanging in and that's something. If you're listening to this, then you're still around. This podcast has been such a place of fun for me this year. Me too. And I've just loved hearing all the voices of everyone too and people writing in and just reviews and all the things. It's just a joy to feel like we're not just the only ones

slogging it out. Yeah. It's good to know that everybody else is like. Life is bloody every day, am I right? It's like, boo, this sucks. Anyway, you can do this in app. So many people do it and it helps so much. This is from a stew, as in a stew you brew.

Stupid zombie. Suggestible, more like suggest a whoa. The fact that this podcast somehow made its way to a 20-year-old single African-American male living in Philadelphia is amazing. The show is a hidden podcast treasure and is like one of two podcasts that I listen to while working at the butt crack of dawn. Take a guess at the other podcast. I couldn't possibly, maybe the one about Sex and the City. Anyways, hope this makes the show.

You two are amazing. My suggestion, play Guitar Hero on the PlayStation 2. I played a bit of Guitar Hero back in the day. I was never very good at it. And also part of me was like, I could get really good at this. I could get really good at the guitar. Or neither. I don't do either of those things.

What about you? All right. So you can write into us at suggestapod.gmail.com with your recommendations or just anything you want to tell us. And I wanted to read this letter because I think it's really beautiful. And anyway, I'm just going to read it. So this is from Philip. Hello, Claire and Mason, I guess, James.

I want to reach out to you with my gratitude. A week ago, I lost my wife of eight and a half years in a very sudden accident. The days since have been some of the most painful and confusing of my life. The word grief doesn't seem to begin to describe the tempest of emotions I'm working through, but this is all becoming compounded by what is most likely post-traumatic stress response from the accident. I don't want to suggest that the outpouring of love from family, friends, and the local community around me has been anything other than an absolute godsend. I've had abundance of people to talk with and unburden myself. And I'm also planning to talk

to a therapist with whom I've worked with before. But what I do want to do is thank you for fulfilling another need of mine with the wonderful podcast that you create and that flourish because of you. The quiet moments that have been some of the worst for me, when I find myself alone with my thoughts, especially when I lay in bed, distraction is one of the few ways I can find to stop myself from unhealthily dwelling on what has happened and what lies ahead. So one of my saving graces has been my earbuds and your podcasts. In a lot of cases, you and the Do Go On crew as well have provided some much needed laughs. And also I say this in the best possible way. I've only been able to find sleep while listening to the Weekly Planet and book

cheat. Oh, nice. Yeah, so thank you. I've been listening to you all for years, starting with the Weekly Planet during my commute within the first couple of years of my marriage. If there's been a soundtrack to my late 20s and early 30s, it heavily features James' increasingly exhausted and raspy rants, Claire's bing-bong intro, and Mesa's incomprehensibly coherent ramblings. Thank you for giving me joy through both the best years and darkest years of my life.

Sincerely, Philip Martin. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. That is just awful. That's like the worst thing to happen. You know, I can't, yeah. I know. I know.

And there's nothing really you can say other than that bloody life is a series of ups and, like, massive troughs. Crushing. Crushing troughs. And I just wanted to say to Phillip and to anyone who's listening because sometimes this season can be really difficult and we just feel really privileged to be able to be just in your ears, hanging out. Absolutely.

And if we can help in any minor way, being a distraction, we're glad that you could find that. Yeah, exactly. Because at the end of the day, right, it's just nice to feel less alone in your humanness, right, more than anything. And I think that's what this podcast has given me too. And what I love about podcasts, right, because it's kind of like having friends in your ears.

It is. You don't have to do anything. There's no pressure. You don't have to say anything back because coming up with things to say back is really hard. You have to review. Everybody knows that. But other than that, yeah, you're right.

It's all right. Yeah. No, and we appreciate, you know. Yeah, thank you so much, Philip, for that beautiful email and for writing in to us and for all the years of listening. And we're just so sorry. Yeah. Life is a series of challenges.

It certainly is. Peaks and troughs. Totally. And like you said, sometimes really like the trough is significantly, I don't know the words for this. I don't know. Yeah, just terrible. Yeah, I think you just said it.

Anyway, we're sending you lots of love, Philip. Thank you so much for writing in. All right, that has been us for 2021. Wow, we did it. We made it with all the highs and all the lows and all the things in between. Who knows how bad 2022 will be. Stick with us and find out. Let's strap on in for suggestible in 2022.

The COVID numbers are going off at the moment. Good. Excellent. Which is fun. But I am looking forward to taking a bit of a break because I am, as I've said before, I'm fucking cooked, mate. Yeah. So am I.

Yeah. Oh, my God. I'm so cooked. I just need to not do anything for a bit. Yeah. And except for Suggestible in the City recaps. Except for Suggestible in the City recaps, yes. And one more episode of the Weekly Planet which I'm yet to record.

Crawling over the line. Yeah, that's right. All right, have a wonderful Happy New Year or just let's just say a new year, shall we? Yeah, just get through it. Just get through it. Do the new year. Life is every day.

Yeah. Let's just get through it. And thank you, everybody, for listening this year and all your thoughts and letters and recommendations and reviews. And even if you did none of those things and you just listened, that's awesome too. Exactly. We couldn't do it.

Thank you, Claire. This has been a blast. Oh, thank you, James. You've really kept me sane this year. I can't wait to not do it though. For a long time. It will be like end of Jan-ish I guess. Yeah, we will.

Yeah, we're taking a break. Cool. Okay. On Collings, of course. He edits these. Thank you, Collings. Wonderful human being. Wonderful, solid Collings who just constantly shows up and puts up with all

of our stuff and edits all these rambles into something coherent. All our stupid ideas. Yeah. So thank you to him too and just to everyone. Good ideas. Yeah. So thank you to him too and just to everyone. And hopefully let's look at 2022 and hope that we're all still here.

Yep. All right. There's nothing else. That's right. Okay. Thanks, everyone. Until next time. Bye.

Bye. This podcast is part of the Planet Broadcasting Network. Visit planetbroadcasting.com for more podcasts from our great mates. I mean, if you want. It's up to you. It's winter and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get snowballs on Uber Eats. But meatballs, mozzarella balls and arancini balls?

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