Twin Peaks Rewatch podcast
I’ve been a big fan of the folks at Idle Thumbs for a long time—listening to the thoughtful video game discussion of their original podcast during commutes to college, mourning the death of the show in 2010, and Kickstarting its revival a few years later. Its hosts went on to create some incredible games, like the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Gone Home, and Firewatch, and the original podcast has since expanded into a network of shows covering all manner of games and other media. Chris Remo and Jake Rodkin, two members of the core Thumbs and now Important If True crew, lead their Twin Peaks Rewatch show, so named because it began with them watching and analyzing each episode of the original run, although they’ve since pivoted to covering The Return as it airs. I’m sure there are tons of great Twin Peaks podcasts out there, but I’d be surprised if the conversations were as insightful and varied as Rewatch’s. Remo and Rodkin do an excellent job weaving together discussion of the show’s plot points, Lynch’s filmmaking techniques, and the themes that emerge from both, while peppering in just enough speculation about the show’s supernatural elements and riffing on its oddball humor to keep things lively. It’d make a particularly good companion for anyone who’s considering jumping into the show from the beginning, but it’s also been essential listening for me every week as I recover from each trip inside Lynch’s psyche. [Matt Gerardi]
Urban Artifact Keypunch Gose beer
In the decade and a half that has passed since I left Cincinnati, Ohio for college, the city has changed in ways I never could have anticipated when I was just a surly teenager who thought she was too good for the Queen City. (I’ve since repented.) One of the most dramatic changes I’ve seen is in the city’s craft beer scene, which has blown up exponentially in the past five years or so and is currently dominated by Rhinegeist. I like a lot of Rhinegeist’s beers—although I dig its rosé taste-alike Bubbles, which is now blessedly available in cans, most of all—but frankly, based on the number of Rhinegeist T-shirts and grocery store displays I saw on a trip home last weekend, they don’t need my help. So I’m going to highlight another brew to which my craft-beer-loving sister recently introduced me: Urban Artifact’s Keypunch Gose. Generally, I hate flavored beers. They’re just too sweet. But this particular variety starts from a sour gose base, then adds key lime juice and sea salt for added pucker. (It also features coriander seed and vanilla, but you can’t really taste those.) The final product is like a refreshing salty margarita, light and biting at the same time. You’ll have to visit Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, or Tennessee to get your hands on some, but like I said, Cincinnati’s a pretty cool place to be these days. [Katie Rife]
Paint By Sticker books
This time of year, as summer winds down and I try to make the most of my rapidly dwindling leisure time, I tend to seek out relaxing screen-less activities like puzzles and card games for the kids and me. Our latest family obsession combines stickers, puzzles, and paint-by-number projects: Paint By Sticker. It features detailed portraits filled with slots for numbered stickers, and then pages of the numbered stickers themselves. We received the Music Icons book here at The A.V. Club, and on my kids’ last visit to the office they dove right into the Madonna portrait (there was even a little black sticker for her mole). After Prince and Cher, the Dolly Parton portrait resulted in an impromptu music appreciation lesson, and I’m looking forward to the Bowie Aladdin Sane image pictured on the cover. Other Paint By Sticker book subjects include travel, birds, and masterpieces, resulting in the perfect project for a late summer/early fall evening, preferably on a screened-in porch somewhere idyllic. [Gwen Ihnat]