Top Picks: 'Wonders of the Sea 3D,' the podcast 'Proof,' and more

Pastry chef Claire Saffitz reverse-engineers chemical confections (such as Twinkies or Gushers) using whole-food ingredients in the series ' Gourmet Makes,' screen legends Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin star in the Netflix series 'The Kominsky Method,' and more top picks.

Gourmet treats

Bon Appétit magazine has made its mark on the YouTube scene, mostly thanks to the charming pastry chef Claire Saffitz in the series Gourmet Makes. In each episode, she wades amiably into the finicky process of reverse-engineering chemical confections (such as Twinkies or Gushers) using whole-food ingredients. Expect to learn a few culinary secrets along the way, like the role of pectins in setting liquids. Find “Gourmet Makes” and more at youtube.com/user/BonAppetitDotCom.

Sea wonders

If the cold is getting to be too much, escape into the ocean with Wonders of the Sea 3D. The movie stars Jean-Michel Cousteau and his children, charting their travels to places like the Bahamas and Fiji. It’s being shown in select theaters through Fathom Events. Check out the Fathom Events website (www.fathomevents.com) to see if it’s playing near you. 

Food trends

America’s Test Kitchen brings you the new podcast Proof. The podcast explores food in culture, such as why celery used to be more popular and the ubiquity of bowls today, from grain bowls to smoothie bowls to various other permutations of the trend. Go to www.americastestkitchen.com/proof to find episodes of the podcast. 

AP
Alan Arkin (l.) and Michael Douglas

Method acting

Screen legends Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin star in the Netflix series The Kominsky Method, which tells the story of an acting coach (Douglas) and his best friend (Arkin). The first season is streaming on Netflix.

Sweet rom-com

Another of Nick Hornby’s novels is adapted for the screen with Juliet, Naked, which stars Rose Byrne as museum worker Annie, whose boyfriend (Chris O’Dowd) manages a fan blog for musician Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). When Annie slams Tucker’s work on the blog, Annie and Tucker begin corresponding over email. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes that the movie is “rather sweet and unprepossessing. Unusual for a rom-com these days, it actually manages to be both romantic and comedic.” It’s available on DVD and Blu-ray and is rated R for language.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Top Picks: 'Wonders of the Sea 3D,' the podcast 'Proof,' and more
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Arts/2019/0111/Top-Picks-Wonders-of-the-Sea-3D-the-podcast-Proof-and-more
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe