Business is Boring is back – Lance Savali on FIRST – New telly
...and other recs this week
Kia ora, welcome to this week’s newsletter.
First things first… FIRST is back this week for a new season featuring some exciting guests! We’re starting off with all-round entertainer Lance Savali, who talks hair dye, Rihanna and instant noodles.
In another return of an old fav, Business is Boring is back this week too! Simon Pound catches up with Brooke Roberts from Sharesies, who was last on the pod back in 2017. Back then they had just ticked over 2000 users – now that number has grown to half a million. Give it a follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to your pods.
Finally, this is my last Rec Room for now! Hopefully it’ll be back bigger and better than ever sometime soon, but until then I recommend signing up to any or all of The Spinoff’s other newsletters, or becoming a Spinoff Member so you can get the monthly Members’ newsletter. Thank you for reading!
–Cal
🎧 New this week on The Spinoff Podcast Network
I was joking last week when I hinted Simon Bridges was going to become the fourth host of Gone By Lunchtime [Apple | Spotify] but then they went and got him on the pod. To be clear, this is not a permanent thing… as far as I know.
The construction industry is overrepresented in the country's suicide stats, but why? And what can be done about it? In the third episode of On Site [Apple Podcasts, Spotify] Jay and Brooke are joined by Raman Lee from Mates In Construction for a very big, very important kōrero around mental health in the trades.
After two decades overseas at the Financial Times and Washington Post, Anna Fifield returned home in 2020 to edit the Dominion Post and soon found herself frustrated by deliberately obstructive communication work from the public service. She tells Duncan Greive about how she’s made it her mission to try and change that culture on The Fold [Apple | Spotify] this week.
Our lizard brains aren’t made to cope with short sharp shocks like petrol prices going through the roof – but we’re going to have to learn to adapt to tackle climate change. Bernard Hickey talked to the experts about it in When the Facts Change [Apple | Spotify] last week.
And of course, The Real Pod [Apple | Spotify] continues to recap all the drama on Married at First Sight Australia. This week, a Nude Photo Scandal rocks the dinner party to its core.
📺 Life & Beth
Sam says: “New on Disney+, Life & Beth stars Amy Schumer as a woman who isn’t quite as happy with where her life is going as she’s willing to admit. After an event completely derails it, she slowly starts to build a life where she can truly be happy. Think of it as the Hallmark version of Better Things – it’s smart and it’s funny without being too heavy, and it’s a great reminder that nobody is better at playing Amy Schumer than Amy Schumer.”
📺 WeCrashed
Chris says: “Between House of Gucci and Morbius, Jared Leto is having a very strange moment right now. It isn't stopping in Apple TV+'s WeCrashed. He leans into the character of Adam Neumann, the founder of Silicon Valley co-working disaster WeWork, with long hair, no shoes, a slurred Israeli-American accent and a glassy-eyed stare. I still don't know if he can actually act, and when he's alongside the mighty Anne Hathaway, it seems like maybe he can't. But seeing him put the work in is hellishly entertaining.”
🎥 C’mon C’mon
Bel says: “Poetic, punch-you-in-the-face-but-also-leave-you-gently, C’mon C’mon is a beautiful watch. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gaby Hoffman, it follows a radio journalist travelling the states with his young nephew interviewing children about their sense of hope for the future. At a time when it feels like that’s been adequately diminished, it leaves you feeling like perhaps everything is not lost just yet.”
📺 Byron Baes
Emily says: “Byron Baes is awful television and I smashed a whole season in two days. Rich people have no real problems – the entire show is just the most minor grievances being amped up to 11. Nobody works. Everybody sucks. I can't stop watching. I won't stop watching. Help me. The Gold Coast is only like an hour and a half away from Byron Bay?????”
📺 The joy of the rewatch
Stewart says: “I rec rewatching good telly. Sometimes you don’t feel like bingeing the latest, coolest show and just want to relive the happy moments from a seven-season sitcom you used to love. I’ve been going back through 30 Rock the last few weeks, streaming on TVNZ OnDemand, and am still finding lots to love about a show I feel I’ve seen a million times. Same with Arrested Development (the first three seasons). Next on the list: Gilmore Girls, because that’s still probably the best show… ever?”
💿 Highwayman
Duncan says: “I’ve recently become obsessed with Highwayman, a cover of a ’70s Jimmy Webb original, updated in 1985 with verses alternated by four ageing outlaw country icons. It presents as a kind of prairie version of a rap posse cut, as each of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson comes on and does a verse bragging about being a merciless killer over this wildly cool country-meets-Dire Straits shuffle of a beat. All that plus the stoned gall to name your band (The Highwaymen), song (Highwayman) and album (Highwaymen) basically the same thing. (Brandi Carlile and friends also gave this song a very good update in 2019 as The Highwomen).”
🍽️ How to dress well
Catherine says: “I wholeheartedly recommend Kewpie’s deep roasted sesame dressing. It makes everything at least 50% more delicious, including rice, noodles, fish and chicken, but I mostly use it to smother green vegetables with. Want to up your veggie intake? Buy this, but get the large bottle – you’ll use it.”
