Culture Club: Everything the Narratively Team Is Loving This Rainy August

From a short story collection about queer love in Nigeria to a hilarious and refreshing film podcast, these are some of the things we can't get enough of right now.

Photo Courtesy Pramod Tiwari

It’s always a pleasant surprise when someone shares that they’ve taken something you recommended and tried it — possibly even loved it. So, when contributing editor Shawna Kenney told me this week that she got turned on to the show Shrinking from our last Culture Club post, and a friend mentioned they just ordered The Guest after being inspired by that same post, I was elated. Sure, you can see which links people click in the stats section of the site, but what you can’t tell is if they’ve covered their eyes while watching the movie you recommended, cried while reading the book you suggested or if your new favorite podcast is now their new favorite. I find cultural recommendations genuinely helpful — they’re usually just the push I need to try something I’ve been thinking about, or even better, something new to check out that I’ve never heard of at all — so I’m glad others appreciate them, too. With that, please find below a fresh list of all the things we’re listening to, reading and watching right now. We’d love to hear from you with any of your own recs in the comments. (If anything ends up sticking, we may even include it in the next Culture Club post!)

1. Podcast: I Will Teach You To Be Rich Hosted by Ramit Sethi

Photo: Apple Podcasts

In this pod, millionaire and personal finance expert Sethi counsels people and couples in financial trouble on — not only how they can fix their dilemmas — but also how they got there in the first place. A real eye opener, and I say this as a non-finance person. Warning: This podcast is about, and marketed to, people who make (and lose) more money than 99 percent of us, but if you can get over that hump, there are lessons in there for everyone. – Farah Mohammed, Contributing Editor 

2. Book: God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu

Photo: Kirkus

I savored this collection of short stories, about queer love and life in Nigeria, like a piece of chocolate I didn’t want to finish devouring. Long after I was done with the book, I couldn’t help but continue to think about these people I’d just finished reading about; some of the stories I’m still trying to fully digest. If you love reading short stories, read these. They jolt, sting and tell you something real and important. – Banchiwosen Woldeyesus, Submissions Reader