5 From Fitch: December 2024

You know those friends you have who always offer great recommendations for books to read, movies to see and places to go? That’s us! Every month, our intrepid writers will share five recommendations based on their current favorite things. Have you read a riveting book lately? Seen a movie or show that deeply affected you? Eaten a new take on an old classic? Check out any interesting art installations? Please drop us a line in the comments!

Liz Wishaw

Watching: PBS Passport, an app available for all platforms?

What is it?

For $60 a year (and a tax-deductible donation), I get access to live shows, the back catalog of iconic PBS series and embargoed episodes of shows before they are available on public stations.?

Why I love it.?

Lately my brain has been a bit ADHD-ish (daylight saving time and recent political turmoil have contributed) and I can scroll through the app and find something to keep me interested. Just a few that I have recently watched:?

? Music concerts (P!nk, The Rolling Stones, New Kids on the Block and multiple concerts via “Austin City Limits.”)?

? International mysteries (“DI Ray,” “Guilt” and “Marlow Murder Club”) and dramas (“Annika”)???

? A slew of documentaries featured on “Frontline,” “Independent Lens” and “POV”

Deborah Blumberg

?? Seeing: “Suffs” on Broadway

What is it?

Shaina Taub’s new Broadway musical about women’s suffrage movement leaders, telling the story of historical figures like Alice Paul, the fight for women’s suffrage and how women ultimately got the vote.

Why I love it.

Suffs did an amazing job telling the story of the long and laborious struggle for women to get the right to vote in the U.S., bringing suffragists to life in an entertaining show. Not only were the singing, dancing, acting, costumes and music top-notch, but taking my two daughters to “Suffs” — their first Broadway show — during an election year was meaningful. To boot, the Music Box Theatre was so welcoming. The manager gave my daughters “My First Broadway Show” stickers, while actors at the stage door graciously signed autographs in the rain and thanked us profusely for supporting the arts.??

Kristin Kloberdanz

??Reading: “Long Island Compromise” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

What is it?

An engrossing novel that poignantly (and often quite humorously) describes the haunting intergenerational trauma that lingers in an American family, long after the initial devastation.

Why I love it.

Brodesser-Akner (author of “Fleishman is in Trouble”) does a brilliant job getting into the minds of the wealthy Fletcher family who have been reeling for decades from their patriarch’s kidnapping. Based on a true story in Long Island, New York, this novel particularly delves into how children manifest familial tension and its oversized effect on their adult trajectories.

Becky Oliver DiGenova

?? Watching: “Shrinking” (new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV+)

What is it?

Jason Segal plays Jimmy, a father, friend and therapist at his wit’s end after his wife’s sudden and tragic death. With the help of his longtime mentor Paul (Harrison Ford) and a few close friends reeling him back from the brink, Jimmy begins to repair his relationship with his teenage daughter and embark on a renewed mission to help his clients navigate their own tumultuous lives.

Why I love it.

“Shrinking” is a hilarious and heartfelt testament to the idea that absolutely no one has their life together, including the folks we trust (and pay) to guide us through our most inhospitable crossroads. While radical honesty hardly ever works as Jimmy envisioned it, “Shrinking” reminds us that surrounding ourselves with people who promise to have our backs can give us the tools we need to rebuild our lives — as long as we know we’ll have to jimmy the pieces to fit.

Jeremy K. Spencer

??Eating: Messy Deliziosa Burrata Insalata

What is it??

A variation on a theme that I’ve been making for a while now, and this is what my daughters and I call it — in an outrageous Italian accent, naturally. Because it is messy. And delicious. And molto Italiano, with a centerpiece of Burrata, a big ball of Puglian cheese made from mozzarella and milk, with a solid shell that bursts forth stracciatella and clotted cream when you lay the broad edge of your fork into it.

Why I love it.

It began as just another way to enjoy real sunshine-and-soil-grown heirloom tomatoes, which can be pretty finicky (thus precious) here in the Pacific Northwest. On late-summer Sundays, we literally run to snag a haul from the farmers’ market catty-corner from us, across a little park. But now it’s become a year-round staple in our home, and any tomatoes on the vine will do.?

It benefits from a wing-it recipe, so you can adjust as you go if you like: Throw a diced tomato or three into a bowl, spoon some cannellini beans on top and enwreathe with freshly plucked basil, then plop a Burrata in the midst of it all. Sprinkle some fancy salt on there, hit it with fresh cracked pepper and finish with a nice long drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. Buon appetito!