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1930: Pirate Ship With Sails All Set (for Blackbeard)
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You’re Dead to Me


Greg Jenner is the mastermind—author, historian, and consultant—behind the beloved kids’ program Horrible Histories. In You’re Dead to Me, his mature podcast, Jenner similarly balances facts with humor as he explores a new historical figure or era each week. (Past episodes have focused on witch burnings, warrior-queen Boudicca, and Blackbeard the pirate.) The series has been rightly hailed as a history podcast for people who don’t typically enjoy the subject. It’s a roundtable of sorts, with a fresh expert joining Jenner every episode to edify listeners, as does a guest comedian for a pinch of levity. (bbc.co.uk) —Bridget Arsenault

30 ROCK – Season: 5 – Pictured: (l-r) Tina Fey as Liz Lemon, Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy – Photo by: Art Streiber/NBC
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30 Rock


If you unaccountably missed watching 30 Rock in real time, as I did, there’s no better opportunity to make amends to the comedy gods (and have a fine time doing it). You have, just sitting there, 138 episodes—what are you waiting for? (What was I waiting for? No idea.) The remarkable Tina Fey, the show’s creator and star, and the fantastic Alec Baldwin are both hilarious, but the entire cast is great, the guest cameos are a kick, and the quality of the writing is consistently high. For most people, 30 Rock ran from 2006 to 2013. For me, when I look back one day, it will have run from March 2020 till April. So what? Same number of laughs. (hulu.com) —George Kalogerakis

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Can Opener


Japanese gadgets are known for their aesthetic and utilitarian elegance, and this Futaba can opener is no exception. A sophisticated upgrade from clunky Western models, it’s lightweight, made from stainless steel, and has two delicately engraved leaves for its handle. The petite tool features a pair of strong blades for different-size cans as well as a bottle opener. One leaf has a small hole, through which a cord may be threaded for enhanced access and portability while, say, hiking up Mount Fuji and wanting a can of Kikusui Funaguchi sake at its peak, or just for lazing in Central Park with some cold beers. ($19.50, jinenstore.com) —Zoe Dubno

Workout

Melissa Wood Health


A symptom of sheltering in place, the home-workout renaissance has seen our apartments infiltrated by virtual trainers who range in character from maniacally enthusiastic—these command hopping about, known to some as “cardio dance”—to blissful and, possibly, ignorant. Both moods are informed by “wellness” and embody a vaguely cultish character (like the suspect serenity of Esalen, or a pep rally); each strikes me as somewhat deranged and inelegant. And so, in search of something a little more normal, I found Melissa Wood Health, a practical Pilates-ish program featuring moderately paced routines of the perfect length from health coach Melissa Wood-Tepperberg. While falling on the namaste side of things, Wood-Tepperberg’s workouts are designed to optimally tone with very few ideological or material frills: there is no music, no necessary equipment, and many of the videos are shot in what appears to be her very nice living room. ($10 per month, melissawoodhealth.com) —Clementine Ford

Issue No. 39
April 11, 2020
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Issue No. 39
April 11, 2020