2025 Recommendations Part 1
Movies, Podcasts and Baby Animal Joy Wrap Up!!
Here are a few of the podcasts, films, and random joys that kept me going, stuck with me and/or distracted me this year. Whether you’re looking for history, escape, or a little bit of both, I hope these can help!
Empire Podcast - Ireland, Canada & Greenland Episodes: Longtime readers know I adore this podcast for its deep dives into empires past and present. This year, their set of mini-series on Ireland, Canada, and Greenland added to this love. These episodes were the perfect mix of history, politics, and “wait, how did I never learn this?” First episode of each series is below, and all are short enough for listening to over a few walks or drives!
Movies
It was Just An Accident (Apple TV): Iconic Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s new film is extraordinary and was filmed in secret on the Tehran streets over 25 days! The film gives former prisoners under an authoritarian regime a chance to take revenge on their warden. I winced and laughed throughout this movie. If you want context, his art and having also been imprisoned for his work, the Vulture profile is a must-read.
Flow (HBO): I watched this Oscar winning Latvian animated film twice in January because it soothed my soul even though it’s about surviving a climate disaster. Not a single word of dialogue, just a black cat navigating a massive flood with other animals, rendered with eerie accuracy of the animals and their personalities!
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (Netflix): This was a lovely movie and so very French and British. You don’t have to know Jane Austen to love it, and you can think she’s overrated (The Horror!) and still enjoy this sweet and funny movie.
No Other Land (Online Rental US): 2025’s Oscar-winning documentary about the people of Masafer Yatta, over 30 ancient Palestinian villages, is a vital document of Israeli backed forced expulsions, home demolitions, and of Palestinian survival. One of the film’s participants, Awdah Hathaleen, was murdered by an Israeli settler in July 2025. The filmmakers, one of whom (Hamdan Ballal) was assaulted and detained by Israeli forces weeks after winning the Oscar, were not able to secure a United States in theater distribution deal for this film.
The Queen of My Dreams (Online Rental US): A Canadian gem I saw last year and is finally available in the US. Amrit Kaur gives a remarkable performance as a queer Pakistani-Canadian woman returning home after her father’s sudden death, and also as her own mother in 1960s flashbacks. It’s funny, tender, heartbreaking, and filled with English/Urdu dialogue that made my desi heart happy. The soundtrack? Perfection.
Sing Sing (HBO): Colman Domingo shines (as always), but the magic is in the ensemble of men who actually participated in the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program inside the prison. If you’ve ever done theater, you’ll recognize the energy instantly: the ego, the nerves, the intimacy. Except here, it’s happening inside one of the most brutal carceral systems in the world.
Sinners (HBO): #NotMyGenre, but Ryan Coogler + Michael B. Jordan? Yes! And worth seeing on the big screen, one of the few I went to this year. A supernatural horror film rooted in the real histories of the Mississippi Delta, Black communities, the blues, Indigenous Mississippi Choctaw history, and Chinese American Southern history. It’s layered, ambitious, has a great soundtrack, and was sometimes too gory for me, but still a great and fun film! Worth noting: Sinners had the biggest opening weekend for an original (non-IP) film since the pandemic.
Thursday Murder Club (Netflix): A cozy British mystery with a killer cast directed by Chris Columbus? Yes. Fun, charming, and I’m already hoping they adapt the rest of the popular book series.
Baby Animal Joy
Look, 2025 has been a lot. That’s why we have to have baby animal joy! A few of our 2025 favorites (with some 2024 star cameos) are below. There are many more of course, but these are the ones that got into my feed and part of my rotation for joy! If I missed any cute babies, post in the comments!
Ume: Malayan tapir calf, Port Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Takoma, Washington, USA
Remi: baby Bonobo, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Zoo
Cheetah Cubs: In 2025, so many cheetah cubs were born in the zoos! Five in St. Louis, six in Richmond, four in the Smithsonian!
Lion cubs: In 2025 four lion cubs in Denver, two lion cubs in Fort Worth, three in New Orleans!
Three endangered clouded leopards in Nashville!
The Pygmy Hippos are still around!!! Poppy in Richmond, Anuket in Montgomery, Mars in Kansas, and Hugo in Michigan!
And the OG Moo Deng is 1.5 years old and is grown, but still cute!