The Long and The Short Of It

Episode 222 - Favo(u)rite Things: 2022

Transcript:

Pete: Hey, Jen.

Jen: Hi, Pete.

Pete: Well, it's that time of year.

Jen: Yes, it is.

Pete: The time of year for us to come together and talk about, and share with our listeners, our favorite things. That's favourite with a "u" in Australia and favorite without a "u" in North America.

Jen: Indeed, it's time for our Favo(u)rite Things: 2022 Edition. This is The Long and The Short Of It.

Pete: Okay, so we have some categories that we've agreed on.

Jen: I think we might have removed one or two as well.

Pete: Yeah. Should we go through what the categories are first and then just dive in?

Jen: Oh, yes. Let's do that.

Pete: Okay, so we have favorite books (fiction and non-fiction), favorite podcast episode (which is both one of ours and one external, I think is what we agreed), favorite documentary/film/TV show (we had to expand that category because we recognized that neither of us had seen any movies), favorite aha moment, favorite home-cooked meal (I thought was a fun addition, by you), and then favorite funny video (just to bring it home with a laugh). So, there are our categories.

Jen: Love it. Shall we dive on in to books?

Pete: We shall. Tell me about your non-fiction habits this year, Jen. What was your favorite non-fiction book?

Jen: I'm sure it doesn't surprise you that I couldn't pick just one, so I have to share two. So I'm doing one artistic and one not artistic. Okay, so the artistic book is called Transforming Space Over Time by Beowulf Boritt, and the subtitle is: Set Design and Visual Storytelling with Broadway's Legendary Directors. So, Beowulf Boritt is this amazing set designer. And in this book, he digs into his process for how he thinks about visual storytelling, and then how his ideas actually get from his head onto the stage through many iterations via collaboration with the director. And I could not get through this book quickly enough. And then, I went back and I read it again. It filled me up in so many ways. Because while it is specifically about set design, it is really about the creative process and what it takes...how much courage it takes to put your ideas in front of people.

Pete: Ooh, I like that.

Jen: Yeah. And the other non-fiction book...I just have to recommend it to everyone...it's called The No Club, subtitle: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work by Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart. And I intend to talk about this book in a future episode so I won't give too much away right now, but I think the title says it all. It blew my mind. And even though I don't work in a corporate environment or an academic environment, I found so many things in here that I could apply to how I'm giving myself dead-end work in my own business.

Pete: Hmm. Alright. Alright, alright...solid additions. Also I should have said at the start, listeners, we're going to put all these resources in the Box O' Goodies for you, so if you don't subscribe already, head to thelongandtheshortpodcast.com. Make sure you subscribe to our weekly Box O' Goodies.

Jen: What's your favorite non-fiction, Pete?

Pete: I mean, I've...the caveat of all of these responses is this is so hard, and I had to just go with what came to me this morning when I started just thinking about this. So I went with Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, Subtitle: Time Management for Mortals. I mean, I'm a, I guess a productivity time management geek from way back. And this one, this book by Oliver Burkeman in particular, he kind of jokes about how he was a productivity geek and is a productivity geek. And he's written a, I guess a slightly contrarian book about our relationship with time and getting things done. And instead of providing a system for us to get more stuff done, he actually questions the whole premise of how we spend our time and what's important, and it had a significant impact on me. Tim Ferriss actually published one chapter called Cosmic Insignificance Therapy and put it on his podcast, such was the impact of that particular chapter. So I'll put the book in the Box O' Goodies, but if you want to just get a sense and hear Oliver Burkeman's amazing narration, I would recommend just googling that and checking out that chapter by Tim Ferriss. It's so good, yeah. It's a perspective shifter, which I always like in a non-fiction book.

Jen: Mmm-hmm.

Pete: What about fiction? Did you read any fiction?

Jen: I read so much fiction this summer.

Pete: Oh my gosh.

Jen: I was going through a book every other day, easily. I mean, I was just a reading machine this summer.

Pete: This is wild.

Jen: So, it's really hard for me to pick just one. But I want to pick a book that did not come out this year, it came out five years ago, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, which I ended up listening to on audiobook because a couple times I had to drive back and forth between Massachusetts and New York. So I listened to the book, which has several narrators. One of them is an actress who I worked with when I was doing Wicked, and actually, when I did Titanic...interesting. Her name is Alma Cuervo, and I just loved listening to her narrate this audiobook.

Pete: Nice.

Jen: And I loved the story, too. I hope they make it a movie. Like, it would translate really, really well, because it is about a movie star. Anyway, highly recommend.

Pete: Alright, I'll check that out. So, my fiction...I, like you, read a few more this year than previous years. (So mum, you'll be happy.) And the one I went with was the one that made me cry.

Jen: Ohhh.

Pete: I had to just like...I was like, "Oh, that's right. That book made me cry." So, Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is, ah, it's phenomenal. It's a book about a scientist who is tracing the migration of a certain type of bird, and it's kind of set a little bit in the future in terms of the impact that the climate crisis, I guess, has had on the migrations. And it's phenomenally well written. And just by the end, I was bawling my eyes out. You know?

Jen: Wow.

Pete: The kind of book where you finish it and you look up, and you're like, "No one has any idea what I just went through."

Jen: I love that kind of a book.

Pete: Everyone's just going about their day, and I'm like, "You don't know what's going on over here. I'm having a real moment." So yeah, Migrations, definitely recommend.

Jen: I love that. Okay, Pete, what about favorite podcast episodes, starting with The Long and The Short Of It? What was your favorite episode we recorded this year?

Pete: I went with the episode called Give More F's...Give More F*cks, I guess we have to call it that.

Jen: Me too. That was my favorite.

Pete: I had to go with that one. Because we recorded in front of a live audience. It was so much fun. We were in the same room in New York City, at your studio. We had a room full of amazing listeners who were there and laughing and asking questions and enjoying...I think, enjoying what we had to say. And also it was, even without all of that, it was an episode that was totally left field. You just like dropped a bunch of swear words all of a sudden, and it ended up being really fun. So, that was my answer.

Jen: Yep.

Pete: You too?

Jen: For all the reasons that you mentioned, it's my answer as well. I loved that episode. I actually think it might be my favorite episode we have ever recorded.

Pete: What about non-Long and The Short Of It? How did you go with that one?

Jen: Oh, so hard...so hard.

Pete: I know, it's impossible.

Jen: But I really enjoyed...it wasn't just one episode. I enjoyed the whole podcast of The Dropout, which was essentially excellent reporting on Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal. And it is just so well done. And then actually, that podcast was the inspiration for the TV show on Hulu, which was also amazing. So, if you're not Elizabeth Holmes-ed out and you want to hear some great reporting on it: The Dropout.

Pete: Yeah, I've watched the show. I didn't actually know there was a podcast initially. I've got to check that out.

Jen: Mmm-hmm. What about you?

Pete: I mean, this is so odd. I went with the one...I guess I'm going for like most impactful. So, I got a text message off my sister. We both subscribe to this podcast called The Imperfects, which is an Australian podcast where they sort of share stories and get guests on about how we're all just imperfectly flawed human beings. And they often get, you know, household names. And the punchline is kind of, "Look, this household name that we have on a pedestal is just an imperfect human. Here's a bunch of vulnerable stories," and, you know, so it's a great podcast. And then, I think once a month they get on a psychologist, Dr. Em. And my sister texted me one day, "Oh my god, have you listened to the latest Dr. Em episode?" And I was like, "No." And so, I listened to it. She said, "I've listened three times already." I was like, "Oh my gosh." It was called Harmony vs Truth. And I listened to it, and then immediately listened to it again. And I've never felt so called out so many times in an episode of a podcast than this particular episode, in a good way. Like, she's a psychologist, and she talks about behavioral quirks that we have that we pick up from, you know, when we're children, and specifically relating to, "Are you someone who seeks harmony? Or are you someone who seeks truth, and speaks truth?" And just the way that conversation unfolds, the stories they tell, I was like, "Oh my gosh."

Jen: I can't wait to listen to that.

Pete: Yeah, it's good. It's good. Hmm.

Jen: Mmm. Love it.

Pete: Alright. What about, oh, documentary/film /TV shows/what else did you consume?

Jen: Okay, so I have a TV show and I have a documentary. I really did not see enough films this year to offer something in that category, but I can offer a TV show. My family and I, we went down the rabbit hole of British crime TV. We have all the subscriptions to all the British streaming services. And my favorite is called Line of Duty. There are many seasons. It is incredible. The acting is amazing. The writing is amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. When we got to the last episode...but there's another season coming, don't worry. But when we got to the last episode, my husband and I were like visibly upset. We did not want it to be over. It's so good.

Pete: [laughing] Oh my god.

Jen: The documentary is actually Taylor Swift's documentary, Miss Americana, which I watched many times with my daughter. And it's my favorite because after watching that, my daughter picked up the guitar and she has not put it down since. My daughter is suddenly a guitar-playing, Taylor Swift-crazed person. And I just have to say thank you, Taylor Swift, for making my daughter a musician.

Pete: I love it. I think I caught some of that, when I was there...I don't think it went off. Or is it recent?

Jen: No, no, you're right. While you were there, meaning in my house with my daughter, yes.

Pete: Yes. I feel like the only thing that was on TV was Taylor Swift at any one time.

Jen: That is absolutely right. And also, it's a really honest and vulnerable documentary about her own relationship with herself and a lot of her self-loathing, and her relationship with food, and her relationship with fame. And it's pretty raw.

Pete: Yeah, more than just, "Here's how I write songs." Yeah, love it.

Jen: Exactly.

Pete: Hmm.

Jen: What about you?

Pete: So like, I couldn't think of a movie. I actually couldn't even think of a documentary, even though I know I've watched quite a few documentaries. So, I went with just a TV show. And for me, it was Ted Lasso. Which, I guess I was a little late on to the Ted Lasso bandwagon...I know it came out during the pandemic. Tracey and I did our version of binging, which is like, you know, like one episode every three days kind of thing (which is a big deal in our household), and just absolutely loved it. It's heartwarming. It's funny. It's also like deeply meaningful, if you look at it for long enough. I think maybe I over-analyzed some aspects, but it's also, as someone who studies and spends most of his days thinking about and helping others be better leaders, it's like a masterclass in good and bad leadership, and just is such an easy TV show to watch. So, Ted Lasso was my favorite.

Jen: Alright. What about favorite aha moment of 2022?

Pete: Yeah, this was tough. I have two. One is, I think, recency bias, but it's still a big aha moment. The other one I'll go with first, which is a little more whimsical. And that is that pasta can be a first course. It sounds ridiculous. But I, Tracey and I, we got married in Italy this year. And the primi, the first course of pretty much every restaurant we went to, was some sort of pasta. And in Australian culture, I guess, or maybe just the way that I grew up, pasta is like a main meal. You don't have anything else except for maybe a salad on the side, when you have a big bowl of pasta. And so, the delightful aha moment I had when I was in Italy was like, "Oh, I can have pasta and then have pizza afterwards? Like, what the hell? This is great."

Jen: Wow. I guess that does make life a whole lot better, doesn't it?

Pete: It was a fun, like I said, it was a whimsical aha. I guess my more recent, slightly more intellectual aha moment was...I don't even know how to articulate this. But it's sort of like, the human connection within companies is going through a really fascinating transition, is broken in many contexts, and is in need of a lot of intentional effort. So I spend most of my time helping leaders within companies, and running leadership development workshops, doing keynotes, doing executive coaching. And in recent times, in the last six months in particular, what that's looked like, like I've run sessions where the main takeaway was, "I learned the names of my colleagues." And that required me, an external person, to come in and create the space for them to give themselves permission to all come together to run a leadership workshop, of which they learned some things about leadership, for sure. But like, the main takeaway was, "Oh my god, but I've not spent time with Jen before. And I learned who Jen is."

Jen: Wow.

Pete: And so the aha I guess I've had is, I can have a intellectual conversation and a practical conversation about how to be a better leader, but at the moment, I feel like the conversation is actually like (and the support is), "How do we connect as humans, as colleagues, first?" And that's been kind of wild and fascinating and, yeah, just bizarre. It's an unrealized effect of COVID, I think, that still we're all working through: How do we be together again? So yeah, that's my aha.

Jen: Wow, wow.

Pete: What about you?

Jen: My aha is that I can take time off and rest.

Pete: Yes.

Jen: You know, I had an extremely challenging end of 2021 and like, really, first four or five months of 2022. And I was so spent by the end of that period, and I was like, "I cannot ask of myself what I typically ask of myself. I just need to give myself time to like sleep in some days, take some time off from work, leave more white space on my calendar." And it was truly out of necessity, Pete, but now on the other side of that, I'm like, "That's a better way for me to live." So, I have been working in more periods of rest. And it's really...it's really good.

Pete: Nice. I love that one. Yeah, I've noticed you have intentionally put more slack into your life, which is great. Hmm. And nothing broke.

Jen: Correct, nothing broke.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: In fact, things healed.

Pete: Right. Mmm.

Jen: Okay...favorite home-cooked meal. Now, I added this category and at the time, I thought it was going to be about like a recipe I found somewhere, because I did so much cooking this year.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: I guess I've decided I'm going first.

Pete: Go first, please.

Jen: But when I actually thought about it, a friend of mine from college, his name is Adam Kaokept (I'm going to put his Instagram in the Box O' Goodies), during the pandemic moved from the States to Thailand, where he has been studying Thai cooking, and he started sharing videos of how to cook these Thai meals on his Instagram channel. And each time he would post one, I would go collect the ingredients and make the meals for my family.

Pete: Wow.

Jen: And first of all, I love Thai food.

Pete: Me too.

Jen: So, that worked out really well. But it made me feel like I was vicariously living his adventure with him. So all of my Adam Kaokept, Cooking With Adam, meals are my favorite home-cooked meals, and I can't wait for our listeners to follow him and try his very simple recipes.

Pete: Nice. Nice. So I don't know if I cheated a little with this one. I went a slightly different direction with this one. I found it difficult to pick a home-cooked meal, like a dinner, because Tracey is such a phenomenally good cook. I could pick basically any weekday dinner and say, "That was my favorite." Like, they're always so delicious. So instead, I went with...I feel like the answer to this question is, you know when Brene Brown asks on her podcast, "What's an everyday snapshot into your life that brings you joy," or something like that? Like, "Take us to a moment that brings you joy into your day."

Jen: Mmm-hmm, yeah.

Pete: My answer would be the same, which is, in the morning, I get Tracey and I a coffee after we've done our little morning routines, and then she makes...she makes...she toasts two bits of sourdough, fresh sourdough, and just lathers peanut butter on them. And I get the coffee, she gets the peanut butter toast, and every single morning we just have this like moment of, I don't know, five minutes. And it's like the most blissful moment of peace, of calm, of connection with her and I, we have our little notepads there and we do some writing, but we just have this moment every morning with PB and toast and a coffee. And I know it's like not the most nutritious and healthy way to kickstart your morning with a piece of bread, but the joy that we both get from it outweighs any potential nutritional deficit. So, that moment is something we both look forward to every day.

Jen: I love that. And...I think I know the answer to this question....where does the peanut butter come from?

Pete: Well, for a little period of time, we made our own.

Jen: Oh, that's what I thought the answer was going to be.

Pete: Yeah, we did. We tried that during COVID. And then we kind of got sick of making it ourselves. It became quite cumbersome. So, we now just buy it from the supermarket. We have a particular brand that we like.

Jen: That's so funny. That's so funny.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: I remember when you bought Tracey a Thermomix, and I lost my mind because I had never heard of a Thermomix and I had to know everything about this crazy machine.

Pete: It's still the prized possession in our kitchen.

Jen: Yes.

Pete: Alright, final category. Jennifer, this is something you and I often like laughing about.

Jen: Yes.

Pete: You are usually pretty good at coming up with good funny videos. What was your favorite funny video of 2022?

Jen: [laughing] I'm already laughing about it. Okay, there are...I'm going to share two. So, one is actually a video of me that I share once a year on the same day in October. So I'm like, on the one hand, so excited to share it with our listeners. And then, on the other hand, a little loath to share it more than once a year. Because there are people who tell me they look forward to it every fall. And it is a video of me in class, going to sit down in a chair, and the chair breaks. And one moment you see my head, and then the next moment you see my feet. And it's just so funny. So I'm going to share that video in the Box O' Goodies. And then, because it is the end of the year, this video has been making the rounds. And I don't know why I find it so hilarious, but I do. It is a bunch of opera singers and a full choir and a full orchestra singing George Michael's Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart. And it's not supposed to be funny. But hearing a pop song sung in this style of singing, I just find so hilarious that I can watch it ten times in a row and I will be crying with laughter because I just find it so funny. So, I can't wait to share that. What about you, Pete?

Pete: I love it. I had a hard time with this one. I feel like so many of the videos I find funny are such moments in time. Like, I was probably delirious and tired, and someone sent it to me when I needed a laugh, and I just like broke down. So, I hope maybe this brings people joy in the same way it brought me so much joy. It's so random, and I don't even know why it was so funny, but it was. So there's an Instagram video, and I saw it as a series of Stories in real time and then someone compiled it and put it together in a post, which I'll share in the Box O' Goodies, obviously. And it was titled The Detroit Death Slide. And basically, what appears to have happened (I don't know the full story) is someone built this enormous slide, I'm guessing in Detroit, as like a service to the public, like, "Get on this slide, and get in like a hessian sack, and go for a ride down the slide." And like, it was meant to be quite fun and joyful. And there's just compilations of videos of people going down there and it's like, and falling out of the sack and tumbling down the slide, or like getting way too much air and then like slamming their bodies on the ground. No one was harmed in the making of this video, I promise. But there's something about the absurdity of, "Who thought this was a good idea?" It looks so dangerous. And in the caption, it said something like, "It opened on the," I'm making these dates up, but like, "it opened on the 20th of May and it closed on the 21st of May," because they realized how dangerous it was. I don't know why, but it brought me so much joy. And my brother and I were watching it unfold in real time, like sending each other Stories. And someone compiled them all, and it's...I don't know why, it just brings me so much joy. Just watching people go down a treacherous slide, I found very funny.

Jen: Ahh. In honor of a recent episode of ours, that's a bit of schadenfreude.

Pete: Yeah, exactly.

Jen: Well, listeners, as Pete mentioned, all of the resources that we talked about today will be in the Box O' Goodies, which you can subscribe to at thelongandtheshortpodcast.com.

Pete: And I guess, to close out, thank you all for listening this year, Year 2022. Hope you're having a happy, and safe, and festive holiday period. And we'll see you next week, as we always do.

Jen: And that is The Long and The Short Of It.