Highly Recommended

Highly Recommended

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Highly Recommended episodes

  • 55: The Time Loop That Is 2020

    Michelle Rubin and Steve Scheideman share their favorite movies during a summer without theatrical releases.

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Recos

    • Palm Springs (7:45)
    • En El Séptimo Dia (16:17)
    • We Are Freestyle Love Supreme (20:56)

    Related Episodes

    54: Let's Talk About Racism

    50: The Upside of the Worst Month of My Life

    48: A Bevy of Binge Options

    34 min
  • 54: Reco Redux

    From "Central Park" to Hunt a Killer, Michelle Rubin and Steve Scheideman share their latest obsessions and what's keeping them sane this summer.

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Recos

    • AppleTV+ (10:57)
    • "Central Park" (14:56)
    • "Little America" (21:04)
    • Olive & June Into You line of nail colors (25:40)
    • Hunt A Killer (30:14)

    Related Episodes

    53: Let's Talk About Racism

    50: The Upside of the Worst Month of My Life

    48: A Bevy of Binge Options

    42 min
  • 53: Let's Talk About Racism

    Mark Wilson and Michelle Rubin have an honest discussion about racism, including Mark's experience as the only Black student in their predominantly white high school, an open letter he wrote to former classmates and more.

    Intro

    White Fragility by Robin Diangelo

    Conversation

    • Why Mark decided to write an open letter to his "Iowa brothers and sisters" (10:35)
    • Being the only Black student in an all-white school (16:20)
    • The open letter Mark posted on Facebook (21:10)
    • How often Mark gets pulled over by the police (38:48)
    • Part 2 of the letter (and Mark's first day at an all-white junior high) (48:12)
    • The first time Mark heard someone use the word "racist" (1:00:10)
    • Reactions to Mark's Facebook post (1:15:45)
    • Continue the conversation
      • Email [email protected]
      • Post a comment
      • Engage on social media
        • Instagram
        • Facebook
        • Twitter
    • Mark's upcoming podcast, "The Unheard American Voices" (1:38:05)

    Recos

    • Boldly (1:41:15)
    • Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat (1:43:20)
    • #sunshinesongs (1:45:25)

    Featured Episodes

    43: Tales From a Mixed-Orientation Marriage

    39: Like a Boss

    29: The Redhead Unicorn

    Connect with Mark

    Email: [email protected]

    1 hr 49 min
  • 52: State of the Union

    Looking for a fun and simple way to set family goals? Metta West shares a tradition that her family has used for everything from planning more vacations to having more side dishes for dinner. Plus, her awesome meal planning hack and other recos.

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Conversation

    • What is the state of the union? (5:53)
    • When the conversation gets intense (12:16)
    • How Metta and her husband flex the process based on what's going on in their lives (14:13)
    • Checking in and celebrating progress (17:13)
    • The importance of including smaller goals (18:54)
    • Recommendations for others who may want to try the state of the union tradition (27:12)

    Recos

    • Never Have I Ever (30:34)
    • Rotating meal schedules (36:40)
    • Aldi's Sparkling Pink Lemonade (47:36)

    Related Episodes

    49: Care Package

    41: 10 Years' Time

    Connect with Metta

    Instagram: @meditor17

    52 min
  • 51: So You Want to Write a Book

    Independent author Teresa Laurenzo talks about how she turned her late mother's childhood stories into a young adult novel and what she learned in the process. Plus, more binge recos!

    The Grace Girls by Teresa Laurenzo

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Conversation

    The Inspiration for Teresa's book (5:13)

    How an inspiring professor encouraged Teresa to write (6:44)

    How initial negative feedback allowed Teresa to find the right path (8:06)

    Fusing her mother's stories with her own imagination (11:00)

    Formulaic vs. literary novels (14:41)

    Dealing with self-doubt (18:35)

    How she learned about independent publishing (21:34)

    Best advice she received (28:26)

    Researching the era and locations in her book ( 28:53)

    Recommendations for others who may want to write a book (35:22)

    Join a local writer's group

    Michael Hague's Storymastery.com

    Writer's Digest

    Give your manuscript to someone you trust to give you feedback and to someone in the field about which you are writing to check for accuracy

    Recos

    Mrs. America (40:22)

    Here's How the Mrs. America Cast Compares to Their Real-Life Counterparts

    Outlander (47:30)

    Call the Midwife (50:45)

    Endeavour (53:48)

    Related Episodes

    48: A Bevy of Binge Options

    46: Get Out of Your Own Way

    59 min
  • 50: The Upside of the Worst Month of My Life

    Michelle Rubin shares a story of how a challenging time in her life — when she endured a miscarriage, received a cancer diagnosis and got laid off within three weeks — helps her cope with fear and anxiety about what's happening in the world right now. Plus, she and Steve Scheideman share their latest obsessions, including Upload and "Staying in with Emily and Kumail."

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Conversation

    The story of one of the worst months of my life (3:17)

    Three things I learned during one of the worst months of my life (15:18)

    1. Stop focusing on the what ifs (15:51)
      1. My Chemo Manifesto
    2. Feel your feelings (24:03)
      1. Disaster Distress Hotline: call 1–800–985–5990. You can also text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
      2. National Alliance on Mental Illness Resource and Information Guide
    3. Remember that it's all relative (30:15)

    Conversation with Steve Scheideman about one of the worst months of his life (34:05)

    Recos

    I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro (50:24)

    Upload (54:29)

    "Staying In with Emily and Kumail" (23:21)

    The Wallow by Emily V. Gordon

    Related Episodes

    49: Care Package

    48: A Bevy of Binge Options

    47: Navigating the New Normal

    44: Romantic Risks

    1 hr 7 min
  • 49: Care Package

    Jenifer Linder and Michelle Rubin talk about how they're coping with everything going on in the world, their current favorite podcasts and, of course, press-on nails.

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Conversation

    Take things one day at a time (19:05)

    Find one thing to bring you joy every day (24:08)

    Try a virus news-free day (26:39)

    Let some light in (32:01)

    Handwriting a letter to a loved one (35:13)

    Check in with people (38:42)

    Tackle a small project (41:06)

    Recos

    Unlocking Us with Brene Brown (48:42)

    Office Ladies (55:49)

    imPRESS press-on manicure (1:00:38)

    Project 333: The Minimalist fashion Challenge That Proves Less Is So Much Moreby Courtney Carver (1:07:53)

    Be More WIth Less

    Connect with Jenifer

    Email: [email protected]

    Related Episodes

    41: 10 Years' Time

    28: The Podcast Fan

    19: The Cord-Cutters

    13: The Organizer

    03: The Double Cousin

    1 hr 18 min
  • 48: A Bevy of Binge Options

    Have you run out of things to binge while social distancing? On this episode, Michelle Rubin and Steve Scheideman have a few suggestions. They share latest faves and a few throwback recommendations. (Have one to share yourself? Go to the show page and leave a comment!)

    Join the Reco Squad.

    Recos

    "Little Fires Everywhere" (7:04)

    When a TV Adaptation Does What the Book Could Not

    "Brockmire" (12:07)

    "Star Trek: Picard" (14:32)

    CBS All Access free trial (use the promo code GIFT)

    "McMillions" (23:10)

    Throwback Recos

    "The Wire" (26:58)

    "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (32:29)

    "Angel"

    Firefly (39:15)

    Serenity

    Related Episodes

    42: Our Favorite 2019 Recos

    30: The Gladiator

    45 min
  • 47: Navigating the New Normal

    Bess Jacobson and Michelle Rubin talk about their tips for working from home, connecting with others and just trying to deal with the new normal brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Conversation

    Keeping a routine (8:10)

    It's easy just to keep working at the end of the day (9:20)

    Challenges of working from home long-term (11:00)

    Being patient with people (13:10)

    Try to be respectful of poeple's time (15:42)

    Virtual social gatherings (18:39)

    Distractions are good for our mental health (22:15)

    Connecting with others (29:40)

    Finding comfort in things that are familiar to me (33:40)

    It's OK if you're still figuring this out; take care of yourself (34:20)

    Recos

    Coronavirus podcasts (36:25)

    • Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction with Dr. Sanjay Gupta
    • Coronavirus Daily

    Draw Something (41:20)

    The Truth Comes Out (I called it Heads Up in the episode, but I meant this one! We talked about it on this episode.

    Comedy specials (43:28) * Mike Birbiglia: The New One (40:02)

    • Fortune Fiemster: Sweet & Salty
    • Iliza Schlesinger: Unveiled

    Connect with Bess

    Twitter: @BeatriceMarie

    Related Episodes

    32: The 'Creek' Geek

    16: The Valentine Maker

    06: The Hallmark Movie Expert

    50 min
  • 46: Get Out of Your Own Way

    Photographer Molly Wood shares her story of how she regained her confidence, pursued her passion and took her artistic career to the next level.

    The Conversation

    A crisis of confidence (5:17)

    Getting out of her own way (7:12)

    Getting over the crisis of confidence (10:12)

    Why Molly shoots botanicals (10:51)

    Being OK with the work even if people didn't like it (15:39)

    Fear of failure (21:22)

    The myth of not having time (22:27)

    Molly's process (24:48)

    Molly's advice to others who want to pursue their passion (28:00)

    Recos

    Mixbook 35:48

    The Happiness Lab 41:20

    The Maika Commuter Tote 46:08

    Connect with Molly

    Molly Wood Photography

    Instagram: mollywoodphoto2

    50 min

About Highly Recommended

From the publisher's feed

On this "reco pod," Michelle and a special guest chat about their latest obsessions, which, of course, they highly recommend. No matter what it is—product finds, new gadgets and tech, pop culture…