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Top Picks: Douglas Gayeton's food and farming book 'Local,' Magic Man's new album 'Before the Waves,' and more

The HBO documentary 'Nixon By Nixon' and PBS's 'Dick Cavett's Watergate' are both interesting peeks at the period in history on Watergate's 40th anniversary, Pivot's new series 'Human Resources' pokes fun at Millennial workplaces, and more top picks.

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PIVOT
Tom Szaky, the Founder & CEO of TerraCycle from the TV show: Human Resources.
  • By Staff

Recycling humor

Pivot, a cable channel geared toward Millennials, is launching Human Resources, a series shot in the faux-documentary style of “The Office.” It follows a fictional business called TerraCycle that’s working to repurpose all garbage. Some of the best jokes focus on the relaxed atmosphere of the Millennial workplace, where yoga sessions and workers’ dogs are the norm. It debuts Aug. 8 at 10 p.m.

[Editor's note: The original version of this article misstated the nature of the company Terracycle.] 

Local food

If you want a better grasp of the sustainability movement and the forces that drive it, Local: The New Face of Food and Farming in America, by Douglas Gayeton, is a good start. With subjects ranging from urban gardens to grassland farmers, multimedia artist Gayeton presents a visually appealing and comprehensive look at alternative approaches to the US food system.

Summer soundtrack

Magic Man, a rising synthpop band out of Boston, has released its first album, Before the Waves, on Columbia Records following their hit singles “Paris” and “Every Day.” New tracks such as “Out Of Mind” help to deliver a perfect soundtrack for being young and free in the summer. 

Life behind bars

The new “POV” documentary 15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story follows Kenneth Young, who was tried as an adult at age 15 for armed robbery and received four consecutive life sentences. After the Supreme Court rules that life sentences for juveniles for crimes that aren’t murder were unconstitutional, it seems possible that Young could be released and he returns to a Florida court. “15 to Life” is directed by Nadine Pequeneza and airs on PBS on Aug. 4 at 10 p.m. 

Forty years after Nixon

Two new documentaries are out the week of Aug. 4 commemorating the 40th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation. Nixon By Nixon: In His Own Words covers Nixon’s presidency using the infamous secret tapes that constantly recorded his conversations and were notoriously peppered with offensive language. It airs on HBO on Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. Dick Cavett’s Watergate examines the scandal from the perspective of “The Dick Cavett Show,” one of the first outlets to tackle the scandal on television. It airs on PBS on Aug. 8 at 9 p.m. 

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