Risikat reads, and watches, and listens, and--

TV, books, podcasts - I'll take it in any form! I just love media. I enjoy being plugged in because most of my personal time is spent in solitude. I don't dwell in a basement furiously penning unhinged manifestos or anything like that, but when I think about the amount of time I spend in the physical company of others, I come up dreadfully short. The nice thing is that media really connects people. Here are a few things I've taken in over the past few months. Check 'em out:

The New Norm
​If you haven't been listening to Invisibilia, clear your schedule. You're in for a total treat. I like to listen to this episode, The New Norm, when I want to remember that Minnesota isn't the beginning and end of the world. The episode includes two stories: one, covering a group of hardcore oil rig workers who had to learn how to express themselves, and another about the culture shift that took place when McDonald's came to Russia in the 1990's. 
​

---

Giovanni's Room
I picked up Giovanni's Room the last time I was in Paris. ​I'd never read anything by James Baldwin (awful, I know), so I wasn't quite sure what I would get. It's a short read, but the prose will move you:

"I looked down at him. I wanted to do something to his cheerful, hideous, worldy face which would make it impossible for him ever again to smile at anyone the way he was smiling at me. Then I wanted to get out of this bar, out into the air, perhaps to find Hella, my suddenly so sorely menaced girl." 

---

The Holistic Psychologist
Are millennials the "therapy" generation? Beats me, but I'm all about getting therapeutic nuggets throughout the day - whether through traditional therapy or via social media. Dr. Nicole LePera, aka The.Holistic.Psychologist's Instagram provides bite-sized truth bombs that will change your whole outlook. 

---

Derry Girls
I had a decent school experience - not too many bullies, minimal school lunch debt shaming, and passionate educators. But there was a TON of material missing from the books, namely, any information about Ireland. I can't recall learning anything about the country beyond a paragraph or two on immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. So I was surprised when I tuned into Derry Girls - a show set in the 90's during the conflicts of Northern Ireland. At first I thought the show was cashing in on hyperbole, but when you look into it, life for young Irish Catholics during the 90's was freaking bananas. Watch the show, enjoy the chuckles, then dive headfirst into the sobering rabbit hole of history. You'll be glad you did.  

---

Finding love a block from home
​For a curmudgeon, I sure have an enduring love of love stories. I came across this little gem by Graham Kar, and had to share. It's a short story. REALLY short. In fact, it feels more like a poem. Kar's writing has this off-kilter vibe, like a fever dream. I like this quality very much. Give it (and his other work) a spin. 

---

Johnnyswim
I'm usually not up with the trends in music, but when my friend Alyssa invited me to the Basilica Block Party, I thought, "Why not?" ​And boom! I was blessed with the dulcet, jazzy sounds of Johnnyswim. I am so in love! 

Check out my favorite song of theirs - Marietta. 

---

The body keeps the score
This book is...a lot. I listened to it in fits and starts because the material was so intense. If you're interested in the physiological effects of trauma on the body, give this book a good read. I prefer the audiobook version because the text gets a little dense in sections. It is well worth the listen, taking you from Holocaust survivors to those who have endured sexual violence to people who have lived through severe child abuse. The science is compelling and the stories will surely stick with you.