It’s been a while, huh? How the heck are ya?! I hope you’ve managed to get through the winter so far without catching the dreaded flu. I myself am just on the other side of a horrid cold that stopped just short of flu-territory, but had me holed up in bed feeling sorry for myself for a few days. WINTER EH. WHAT A TIME.

What follows is a bit of moaning about sickness. If that’s your jam, read on. If that’s boring af — no judgement. Skip to the flower emojis.

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The cold started to creep up on me last week, when I was unfortunately away from home - in Auckland to chat with Brodie Kane for her Kiwi Yarns podcast. I was in complete denial about it, assuming it was just the tail end of last week’s bug. I was tired, had a bit of a sore throat, but nothing drastic. I’d be right.

But by the time I hit the airport security line for my flight home, denial was no longer an option. Snot began to pour out of my face at a rate my tiny pack of tissues could not keep up with. As my right nostril bulged to overflowing, I reached for a tissue only to find the packet empty. At the same time, I felt a monstrous sneeze coming on (is sneezing while sick a way for bugs to spread further?? How evil! How efficient!). Suffice to say an item of clothing was sacrificed and — once through security — more tissues and a mask were purchased.

But I am sorry to anyone I might have infected while in my denial state. I’m sorry to my plane mate, who had to deal with me snivelling in my seat. I’m sorry to my Uncle, who I stayed with in Tāmaki Makaurau, who has since sent me a picture of his bedridden self. And if you’re sick from somebody else’s carelessness, not mine, I’m still sorry - because being sick fucking sucks and it’s nice when people feel empathy for your suffering. You poor thing. I hope you get better soon.

Anyway - the sickness is passing, and it feels very obvious to me now that it was somewhat inevitable, given that I haven’t stopped to breathe for months. Of course I was going to get sick the moment I paused! That’s how it always goes!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

As the cold makes its way out of my system, I’m settling in to having a bit more time on my hands again. Time to write newsletters! To see my family and friends. To go to gigs (see below) and movies (the film fest is here!) and the gym and Friday martinis and sauna and to sit in bed with my electric blanket on and a really good book. To put my money where my mouth is and GET SOME REST.

Which means you’ll be hearing from me a bit more often, including more regular Hump Day Dispatches — my Wednesday drop of memes, links, recommendations and personal notes to lighten your inbox and help you power through the week.

Starting with this one right here! Featuring links and anecdotes from my Kiwi Yarns interview (apparently people really wanna hear about poking??), a couple of upcoming gig and event highlights, some VERY GOOD movie alerts.

Enjoy, and see you again very soon,

Love Melody xx

KIWI YARNS WITH BRODIE KANE

To celebrate the end of Season 3 of The Good Sex Project (which I am also in denial about) - I joined Brodie Kane on her hit podcast Kiwi Yarns. It’s pretty weird being interviewed when you’re used to asking the questions, and Brodie informed me that I probably wouldn’t remember much of what I said after the fact. But she was wrong! For example, I remember panicking with the stress of a quick-fire question round and saying my final meal would be … Jerusalem artichokes.

I also recall talking about how my journey into radio began at a Shapeshifter gig on MDMA, and that if I had five items to take to a deserted island, one would be “either my husband or a really good vibrator”.

But I’d forgotten that we talked about poking until a clip turned up online and promptly became the most-watched piece of video I’ve ever featured in.

Just a casual 400k people being introduced to me by way of chats about poking and being eaten out. Cool cool cool.

If you want to hear the full conversation with Brodie, you can listen to it here. If I say other mortifying things in there, I don’t wanna know about it.

Thanks for having me Brodie!

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MOVIE TIME!

It’s NZIFF time baby! One of the best times of the year, coming just when the desire to curl up in a room full of bodies sharing in the joy of a story well told is strongest. I’m annoyingly away for half of it this year - but there are a few I’ll get to squeeze in before I depart.

Tomorrow I’m heading along to opening night here in Pōneke, to see Big Girls Don’t Cry, a queer coming-of-age story set in rural New Zealand from first-time feature director Paloma Schneideman, which promises to transport us all to small-town 2000s Aotearoa, and to the “lonely aching of adolescence.”

The film received glowing reviews at Sundance and won the Grand Prix at the Biarritz Film Festival (Festival Nouvelles Vagues), where jury president Kristen Stewart said, "I love this film with my whole heart... all of these things happen to all of us, one way or another.”

Tickets to the Wellington screening are sold out, but it’ll be released to cinemas around the country on October 8 - make sure you see it then if you miss it now!

I’m also hoping to make it to Oscar-nominated documentary The Tale of Silyan, the story of a Macedonian farmer and his bff - a stork 🥹

I imagine it’s going to be a bit of a tough watch, given the farmer is suffering through economic hardship and - i imagine - social isolation, as the small village his family has called home for generations is slowly abandoned. But it looks like it'‘ll also be a wonderful reminder of the importance of human connection to the natural world. Plus - bird friend!

I’m also hoping to catch 100 Nights of Hero (ft Emma Corrin,Nicholas Galitzine and Charli XCX), Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant and this awesome looking animated feature Jim Queen, about a viral epidemic that begins to turn gay people STRAIGHT (and which our protaginist Jim Parfait first realises he’s sick with, when one of his 24-pack of abs suddenly deflates).

I will sadly be missing the horny, queer phenomenon that is Teenage Sex & Death and Camp Miasma - but you BET I’ll be watching it while I’m away. A blood soaked sex scene featuring Gillian Anderson AND Hannah Einbeinder??? Are you fucking kidding me?????

If you’re also gonna miss it at NZIFF, keep an eye on the Good Sex Project Instagram page - next week we’ll be giving away a few double passes for the general release (from August 20.)

And if you’re looking for other NZIFF recs, check out this list from The Spinoff which has some goodies on it.

Before I move on from movies altogether - it’s worth pointing out that even aside from the NZIFF there are SO MANY GREAT MOVIES in cinemas right now!

Last week, some pals and I went to see The Invite, which was one of the most fun and awkward and just outrageously good films I’ve seen in so long. Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen star alongside Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton as neighbouring couples in a “comedy of manners” that takes an unexpected turn…. and fuck, it’s so great. It’s hard to pick a favourite because they are all SO great in their roles - but Olivia Wilde (who directed the film) is truly incredible. What a comeback. J’adore, 100%, can’t wait to see it again.

@a24Get the wine. #TheInvite

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Finally - The Odyssey! I know this one has had mixed reviews, but I cannot WAIT to see it. Whereas movies like The Invite will be just as good watched at home, this one needs to be seen in cinemas - so I’m planning a trip to iMax (currently near-booked out for this movie, esp on weekends) so I can fully immerse myself in it.

Fuck yeah.

FINALLY - IRL HANGS / GIGS!

Last but not least - I’m very excited for a few upcoming gigs in Pōneke, a couple of which I’ve been organising!

This Friday, two of the baddest NZ live acts are coming together to play Meow in support of Tamatha Paul’s campaign for Wellington North. I’m talking MOKOTRON and BAD TASTE baby! (Plus Nam Chucks who I haven’t seen but who looks rad af!)

It’s going to be a joyous, at-times-feral and very sweaty dance floor, and when I say this is your last chance to get tickets - I mean it. There are only a couple of dozen left and they’ll sell out between now and Friday…

Come and join the throng with me (& with Tam!) - coz if we don’t put any joy in the tank, we’ve got nothing for the fight. TICKETS $40 HERE

If you can’t make that one, or if you’re more of a chill-and-mind-blowingly-beautiful gig goer, we’re also putting on this wonderful concert for Tam, featuring Oro Ata - the Pōneke-based collective and platform centring young, Brown, queer, independent, Māori, wider Pacific and Indigenous artists.

Oro Ata are doing incredible things and are not to be missed. Look at that list of incredible singers! MĀ! Mara TK! Iris Little! Romi Wrights! And if you haven’t yet seen LILA JNR play … be ready to witness an actual angel descended from the heavens.

ORO ATA 4 TAM Sunset Session (aka early gig so home before midnight) is on September 12, also at Meow. Tickets are $30 - here.

Before I run to mahi - a few other things I’m really looking forward to:

Witch Perfect: The Parody Tour - a drag show from RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Tina Burner (also ft Scarlett Envy and Alexis Michelle), which I’m heading to with my 13yo fellow RuPaul obsessive. October 2 at MeowNUI.

Queer Joy: The Gathering, from Critical Signals. This is a gorgeous-looking community event ft music, tarot, nail art, and crafts - because times are tough out there, and there’s no healing in isolation. Entry is by koha and anyone is welcome to drop by (except assholes), but registrations are required for safety reasons. Sep 16 - more info here.

BEFORE I GO - MEME DROP!

Here’s some dumb, silly, funny and inspiring things I saw on the interwebs this week.

First up - thanks to my friend Suni for introducing me to my new favourite artist, the Christchurch-born, Perth-based Aiko Robinson. LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS WORK (this is a slightly censored version - the NSFW/actual paintings can be seen here or here)

Please click through and look/follow. If you’re in Auckland you can also go and see them irl at Gow Langsford Gallery! Lucky buggers!

Hahahaha.

If you’re in the mood for something heartwarming, click through here to see this georgeous meeting of the purest souls - a mama Orangutan & Steve Irwin

Fucking BRUTAL

Alright, off to mahi for me! So nice to be back in your inboxes whānau. See you again very soon xx

When conflict arose in my relationship, I came at it with a gusto previously reserved for high school debates. Hunting for holes in his logic. Waiting for the moment he’d contradict himself. My partner, who needs time to process, never stood a chance. He would flounder, get flustered, misspeak. Hand me exactly the opening I was l…

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I hope this post finds you cosy, well-rested and not too overwhelmed by the general state of things. I am one of the above (cosy - thanks to my electric blanket), as today marks day 1 of RELEASE WEEK… which means my to-do list contains more tasks than is humanly possible to complete. If you see me out IRL and I look like this - 🫠 …

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Before we get started, let me warn you, I am not in the best of moods.

It’s not just PMS, though that won’t be helping.

It’s not just because I’m the only NZ queer who didn’t get to bow at the feet of Chappell Roan last week (all because I was stressed and booked flights IN THE WRONG DIRECTION then couldn’t afford the $600 correction).

I…

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I’m baaaaaccccckkk! Fresh off of a VERY MUCH NEEDED break. I hope you’ve also had some rest? A spot of adventure? Some vitamin d? Here’s a pic of my ass, after I got way too much of it at the beach the other day.

OUCH.

Let me start by acknowledging that fact that, towards the end of last year, I …

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ACCOUNT NAME: MELODY THOMAS
NUMBER: 38-9010-0496979-18
REFERENCE: SABREEN

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… when I stumbled upon a little lodge.

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Happy hump day and happy 10 DAYS LEFT TIL SPRING!! Thank f***ing christ, we’ve nearly made it out the other side of another freeze-your-tits-off winter (unless you’re a hardcore astronomical calendar stan, in which case you’re looking down the barrel of 30 more winter days. Might I suggest my delulu caleruru as a happier alternative?)

Of course Pōneke follows its own seasonal calendar, and while winter is generally followed by the warm lil’ window of Spring 1, Shitsville comes hot on its heels - bringing the big tides, epic winds and pouring rains down on our overexcited heads.

So it’s probably best not to put away the winter coats & electric blankets just yet (case in point: today’s forecast, 7 degrees but FEELS LIKE 3, requiring 4 layers of clothing.)

Because winter is not only climatically miserable but also a harbinger of every virus known to man, I’ve been singlehandedly keeping the household together through Influenza B over the past fortnight. Somehow I managed to avoid it myself (possibly due to psychotic consumption of Viralex, though my doctor says it has no evidence of working) but the nursing left me royally wrung out and well over my entire family.

Thankfully, I’d had the foresight to book tickets to a pumping queer club night, and on Saturday I danced my way back to good spirits. Thank you Nympho!

A quick work note:

(paid subs, feel free to skip to the memes below the paywall!)

We’re thrilled to have NZ On Air backing us for a third season of The Good Sex Project!

I’m SO VERY grateful we get to keep going .We’ve decided this will be the final season of the pod in its current format - which is a narrative, documentary-style that’s super resource and time-intensive (don’t worry though - we’ve ideas for continuing on afterwards in a slightly different way).

Which also means that over the coming months, you’ll get a glimpse into the process of how the podcast is made, and behind the scenes info about what stories to expect.

Right now, we’re in pre-production. This is the ideas and organising stage, where we plan the episodic themes and then look for stories to suit (or tweak the themes if those stories aren’t forthcoming). I talked about it with Jesse Mulligan on RNZ Afternoons recently - you can listen here.

Once we’ve found everyone we need to, we hit play on the production stage. This is probably my favourite part of all, because it’s the part where I get to TALK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR SEX & LOVE LIVES (without worrying about how I’m going to weave it all together - that’s a problem for later). This stage reminds me that all the hard (often painstaking) mahi is worth it, because I get to experience in real time the power of human connection. Of how debilitating feelings like shame cannot withstand being brought into the light and met with empathy… and of watching the relief and gratitude of this transformation happen right in front of me, as I simply sit and listen.

On that note! We’ve had quite a few people reach out to talk with us, but we’re still actively looking for a few specific people/couples:

• Couples who’ve gone through a period of “rupture” and managed to stick it out (I’m especially keen to talk to couples who have worked through infidelity, and I’m curious to find a couple where one person has transitioned and the relationship continued)

• Someone who’s developed a close, possibly romantic, attachment to a chatbot

• Men / young men who have suffered through periods of loneliness, but who have managed to find community and connection eventually - esp with other men

• Sex workers making money in slightly less-traditional ways - possibly also clients? (ie findoms, sugar babies/daddies)

• People who are having truly next-level, toe-tingling, mind-expanding, magnificent sex… who can share vulnerably and reflectively about how they managed it.

If any of these sound like you - read the post below or fill in our google form. Or send it to a friend you think would be great!

AND IF YOU WANT TO TALK BUT YOUR STORY DOESN’T FIT IN THESE THEMES!

Please do reach out! There are still ways we can include you, and we’d LOVE to hear from you.

Because I’m keen for our call-out to reach as many people as possible, I’ve left most of this HDD above the paywall. But paid subscribers can read on for some stupid ass memes and personal TV & book recommendations that are going straight into the ❤️‍🔥 BANGER VAULT ❤️‍🔥

If you’d like access to that but can’t afford the subscription, please reach out so I can gift one to you.

Talk soon friends, and stay warm!

Melody xx

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My name’s Melody, and this is Truly, Melody, Deeply - a newsletter exploring love, pleasure, connection, advocacy, self-compassion, art … all the juicy stuff that keeps us human in increasingly inhumane times.

I’m also the creator and host of The Good Sex Project - an internationally award-winning podcast about good sex, good relationships an…

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Happy hump day you sexy motherfuckers,

How the fuck are ya? Hopefully high and dry from all the rain that’s rolling in? Fingers crossed you’re safe & warm.

This edition of HDD finds me a bit nihilistic / down in the dumps / with a dose of the morbs, but it’s my own fault! This past weekend was mine and Paddy’s 10 year anniversary, postponed month after month due to life and illness and then grief… only to land on a perfect winter’s weekend, which we spent very wastedly frolicking & fornicating in Te Horo.

If that’s TMI for you then NEVER FEAR, the rest of that story is below the paywall along with a bunch of excellent memes and posts collected over the last fortnight…

In the meantime, for all subscribers here’s:

THE 5 ROM COMS WE WATCHED FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND DURING VARIOUS STAGES OF INEBRIATION, RANKED

1. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

   Directed by Rob Reiner, with Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal & Carrie Fisher. Screenplay by Rob Reiner & Nora Ephron.

   Inebriation level: 2 (tiny bit stoned)

   It’s a classic for a reason! What a movie, what a cast, what a script. I must've watched WHMS when I was younger but remember nothing beyond that iconic fake orgasm scene—so there’s a chance I only saw snippets. Anyhow, this was by far the best of the rom-coms we watched, largely because Meg Ryan is a goddamned onscreen angel.
   

   As an elder millennial, I missed Ryan at her prime, only catching her later films. She’s still great in those—but she’s something special in this (and, I imagine, everything she did at the time). Her charming little mouth! Her warmth and intelligence! No wonder she was the queen of rom-coms. Harry, however…
   
   What an intolerable asshole. YES he grows on you, and by the end you’re rooting for him—but Nora Ephron really puts you through your paces first (I’m starting to suspect this is a hallmark of 80s/90s rom-coms: the truly insufferable male lead we’re meant to find charming after the female lead spends all their energy chipping away at the turd to reveal a vulnerable, loving diamond underneath...)

   

   If you can get past that, you’ll love it! Fucking loved it.

2. Palm Springs (2020)

   Directed by Max Barbakow with Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg. Screenplay by Andy Sierra.

   Inebriation level: 0.5 (hungover)

We’d already seen this, but I remembered it being so charming and funny and comforting it felt like the perfect rewatch for our tender, tired minds. As the male protaginist Nyles (Samberg) explains, it’s about “one of those infinite time loop situations you might’ve heard about,” where two cynical but charming characters get caught in the same loop at a family wedding in the desert.

Palm Springs is a sarcastic, super enjoyable ride, made totally delightful by its two leads. It’s full of laugh-out-loud moments, great, simmering chemistry, and because it’s endlessly re-watchable, it’s there for you whenever you need a lil’ pick-me-up.

3. You’ve Got Mail (1998)

   Directed by Nora Ephron, with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

   Inebriation level: 8 (alcohol, and two other substances I won’t name in case this is ever used against me in a court of law.)
   

   This is where the list gets a little wonky. Propelled by our newfound infatuation with Meg Ryan, and this ranking of Nora Ephron films, we decided to watch You’ve Got Mail. We were quite drunk and high at that point, and it’s hard to know if that or the movie itself is responsible for us being in bed passed out 10 minutes after it started.

   
   However, the next day we tried again (inebriation level maybe 3 just based on what was probably still in our system) and, wouldn’t you know it, we finished it! It was great. You had to get past a couple of things, like the super cringe late 90s internet-isms… AND ANOTHER insufferable male lead in Tom Hanks, who withholds the truth, side-steps boundaries and low key manipulates his way into the heart of sweet, gorgeous angel Meg Ryan... Though by that stage he’s kinda charmed you over too and - god damn it - you find yourself rooting for them.

4. Enough Said (2013)

   Directed by Nicole Holofcener, with James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

   Inebriation level: I can’t remember. So I guess 4?

   I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I loved her in Veep. I loved her in Seinfield and You Hurt My Feelings. I also love the late James Gandolfini, as does everyone, and watching him in this was super bittersweet 💔 But they made SUCH a charming pair. This about sums things up for me: “Enough Said is about what love means in middle age and what it means to decide that some other divorced person is The One, or rather The New One, when the rational side of you knows that this person must surely be culpable, at least in part, for the death of their previous relationship. They must have awful habits that sunk the first marriage – habits that will only become clear once you have made a commitment to them. And by the same token, you too must have relationship-killing tendencies. Is the triumph of hope over experience a viable thing to wish for, the second time around?”

Come to think of it, there’s a chance I enjoyed this one more than You’ve Got Mail, but I suspect it’d all come down to what you’re in the mood for.

5. Knocked Up (2007)

   Directed by Judd Apatow, with Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl, Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd and all that crew…

   Inebriation level: 2 (tiny bit stoned)

   We found this on this list of 200 Best Rom Coms Of All Time and you CAN NOT TRUST THAT LIST because it SHOULDN’T be on there. It’s the only movie that we never actually finished. I WISH I LIKED IT. I actually like Seth Rogan. I really enjoyed Platonic (also ft Rose Byrne) and Long Shot (ft Charlize Theron), and there was a video of him rolling a joint once where his hands looked so STRONG and CAPABLE that I realised for the first time that I’m hot for hands (not this one but one like it). I also love me a Judd Apatow film. Esp one with Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd in it! But Jesus Christ… The chemistry between Heigl and Rogan is so fucking non-existent it had me wishing they’d just had an abortion and called it a day.

So there you have it! The 5 Rom Coms We Watched on Our Wastey Anniversary Weekend. Next up, we’re thinking His Girl Friday coz apparently it’s one of the best and the first 5 minutes is totally charming, as well as everything else Meg Ryan ever made. Plus - Nora Ephron wrote a movie featuring CHER??

As always, top recs will be compiled in the very sexy ❤️‍🔥 BANGER VAULT ❤️‍🔥, available to all paid subscribers for eternity.

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But winter also offers something vital: an opportunity to gather close with the people you love. To fill your belly, your soul and your heart. And thanks to the foresight and …

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You may or may not have noticed that I’ve paused paid subscriber billing.

I’m dealing with a family emergency (I still can’t share much about it, but will at a later date) and am not making it to my computer very often. So to ease some stress about making sure paid subscribers get value for their $$, pausing subs feels like the best move. Wha…

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I’m not sure how to start this one off so I’m just gonna jump right in: I’m currently going through some rough personal stuff. Proper rough, the kind that leaves you raw like an exposed nerve, taking up every ounce of mental space & most of the oxygen in the room. I can’t talk about it here yet, but at some point I will.

In the meantime, I’m…

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When the only shopping options were Just Jeans and Glassons, and the only cut was low rise?

Nowadays it’s a content jungle, and while it’s AMAZING to have so many choices on offer… navigating them can be a bit f***ing overwhelming.

Which is where ❤️‍🔥 BANGERS ❤️‍🔥 comes in!

In this series, you’ll read handpicked lists of books, podcasts, recipes, products, and other things worth your time, chosen by experts — writers, reviewers, foodies, podcast makers — who sieve through the cultural silt, leaving you to enjoy the gems 💎

This time:

📚 Spinoff books editor and author Claire Mabey

🎙️ Popsock Media podcaster Kirsten Johnstone

🍲 And enthusiastic foodie and Head of Content for Re: News Anna Harcourt

🌨️ With books, podcasts and recipes to help get you through the cold months 🌨️

Please enoy! x

FYI — ❤️‍🔥 BANGERS ❤️‍🔥 goes out to all TMD subscribers, but as a bonus, paid subscribers get access to the ❤️‍🔥 BANGER VAULT ❤️‍🔥, a mega spreadsheet (colour coded!) where every book, film, podcast, recipe and product mentioned in Truly Melody Deeply is filed - for when you can’t remember the name of that rad-sounding movie, or you want a to know what tf to cook tonight.

🔗 Paid subscribers, request access to the ❤️‍🔥 BANGER VAULT ❤️‍🔥 here 🔗 If you’re a free subscriber who would like access, please upgrade your subscription first!

Claire Mabey (Books)

Claire Mabey is writer, founder of Verb Wellington, LitCrawl Wellington and books editor at The Spinoff. Her first book The Raven’s Eye Runaways (2024) won an NZ Booklovers Award, and the sequel is set to arrive in 2026 (I cannot f***ing wait to hang out with Lea, Getwin, Buckle and Sharp the one-eyed raven again!)

She’s also a killer karaoke companion, an incredible supporter of other writers and a top-tier book recommender!

CLAIRE’S 3 BOOKS THAT WILL GET YOU THROUGH WINTER 🌨️

1. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)

“I recommend this book every time I'm asked to give a recommendation. It's my favourite novel of all time and I read it every year on the onset of Winter because it makes me see the transformative potential of the seasons. This is a novel that fully understands the mindfuckery of feeling alone in a maddening world that won't respond to what is happening to it (the book was published in 1926 and is, in a way, a response to World War I). The magic of this book is that the central character, Lolly, lives in her frustration and indulges it until she is compelled to turn away from that that won't change, and change herself, instead. She follows her instincts (and a few signs) upends her life by relocating and thus transforms how she spends her days, her time. And mostly she spends them alone, in nature, doing what she wants, and when. It is a funny, gentle, odd book and I adore it.”

2. Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

“If you're in need of a hefty series full of magic and mystery and giant cats and a hotel room that responds to your moods then this is the series for you. There are four books so far (of nine): the latest, Silverborn, just came out and they get better and better and bigger and bigger. The protagonist, Morrigan Crow, is like Wednesday Adams meets Lyra Belacqua: she has a wicked dry sense of humour, a stunning reserve of courage, and has to navigate some deep, dark, delightfully compelling conundrums.”

3. The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

“The Chidge is so good. And for me, this latest book (out 8 May) is her best. It's set in an alternate England in the 1970s and is about the lives of three identical twin boys who are looked after by Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. Their dreams are written down in The Book of Dreams, they learn from The Book of Knowledge, and their misdeeds are recorded in The Book of Guilt. You're thinking 'WTF?' Yes. Correct. Read it and find out.”

Kirsten Johnstone (Podcasts)

Kirsten is my partner-in-crime at Popsock Media. She listens to more podcasts than anyone I know, and has INCREDIBLY HIGH STANDARDS, so you know you can trust her recommendations - especially when it comes to long-form, narrative pods, like the kind we make.

Kirsten can also play the flute and the banjo, and throws a mean pot.

KIRSTEN’S 3 EXCELLENT PODCASTS THAT AREN’T TOOOO DARK 🎙️

1. The Good Whale (New York Times)

“You already know the main character of this series - he's the most famous orca in the world. Keiko rose to fame as ‘Willy’, the captive, unhappy killer whale in the 1993 blockbuster Free Willy. In the film, a teenage boy named Jesse helps Willy leap over a breakwater and swim off into the sunset to rejoin his pod. But when audiences - especially kids and animal-rights advocates - learned that the real-life Keiko was in captivity, sick, and living in a too-small pool in a climate far too warm for an orca, a global campaign began to truly “Free Keiko.”

But unlike the movie, the real story isn’t so simple.

Keiko had been taken from the wild as a baby. He never learned to hunt, or speak Orca. And by all accounts, he loved his human caretakers with the loyalty of a golden retriever. Releasing him into the wild wasn't a triumphant moment - it was a slow, complex, and deeply emotional process for the people involved in the transition.

Produced by the Serial team and hosted by journalist Daniel Alarcón, The Good Whale explores Keiko’s (re)wilding with empathy and nuance. As Alarcón puts it, we may never truly know what Keiko thought or felt during his long journey back to the ocean. But in episode five - when Keiko is alone in the wild waters off Norway - the series makes an unexpected and moving attempt to imagine his perspective, in the form of a sea-shanty-ish musical.

The Good Whale is beautifully crafted, and family-friendly. But fair warning: it doesn’t end with a jump into the sunset.”

2. Strangers on a Bench

“This podcast does what it says on the box - the host, singer-songwriter Tom Rosenthal, talks to strangers on park benches in London. What starts - every time - with the same pretty banal question (‘what’s your favourite day of the week?’) often escalates quickly into deeply personal admissions, the sort you can only really tell a stranger. Tom is a good listener, and backs up my belief that “tell me about your parents” is the best interview question you can ever ask, but the icing on the cake is at the end of each episode where he spins the conversation into a small, perfectly formed song.

In a world where Individualism, busyness, and divisiveness keep us apart, it’s refreshing and hopeful to hear conversations that connect on a very human level.'“

3. Levittown (Bloomburg)

“Billed as ‘A real-life horror story for the AI generation’ Levittown tells the story of a group of teenage girls who are shocked and horrified to find themselves naked, on a website where men fantasise about violent and degrading acts towards them. Horrifyingly in the case of one victim, it’s her father that finds the images. In some cases the girls are stalked and harassed as a result of being on the site.

The twist? These aren’t real photos. They’ve been scraped from social media and digitally stripped using AI ‘nudify’ apps - leaving police, lawyers, and tech platforms scrambling in a legal grey zone. At the time the images emerged, there were few laws capable of addressing what had happened.

The series highlights the need for urgent law reform in the face of AI, and for parents and their teens it’s an unsettling wake-up call. Lock down your profiles, and beware of incels - you may even be friends IRL with some.

Though it’s produced by U.S. media giant Bloomberg, Levittown has strong New Zealand ties: it’s hosted by NZ-born journalist Olivia Carville, and features a NZ victim, investigator, and police officer.”

Anna Harcourt (Food)

Anna Harcourt is the Head of Content at Re: News, an avid foodie and burgeoning gardener. She has I M P E C C A B L E taste, and her recipe recommendations — which she shares on her Instagram stories — are always delicious, and nourishing for both soul and belly.

ANNA’S 3 GO-TO WINTERY RECIPES 🍲

1. Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter, 101 Cookbooks

“This soup has so much flavour, far beyond what you’d imagine from the simple ingredient list. It calls for green lentils but I basically never see those in the supermarket so I use brown ones. I also add a bunch of spinach right at the end. It’s so tasty that I’ve made it without the coconut milk and it’s still delicious, without the paneer and it’s still good - but you can’t make it without the curried brown butter, that’s key.”

2. Assortment’s Miso Roasted Cabbage

“The first time I tried cabbage like this, I was changed. Big wedges of cabbage are charred in a hot pan, then covered in a miso maple sauce, then baked until melty and delicious. Honestly will change how you see cabbage.”

3. Shockingly Easy No-Knead Foccacia, Bon Appétit*
   (*Bon Appétit has a paywall but the first couple of recipes you look at are free)

“Literally the perfect easy focaccia. Because it’s no-knead, it needs time to develop so you need to mix it the night before - but it’s so easy, literally just dump all the ingredients in a container, mix it and leave it in the fridge overnight. Obviously you can make this year round, but it’s so good in winter to cut off a big chunk and dip it into soups and stews.”

Thank you Anna, Kirsten and Claire for sharing your recs with us!

All of these ❤️‍🔥 BANGERS ❤️‍🔥 are listed in the ❤️‍🔥 BANGER VAULT ❤️‍🔥 - which paid subscribers can request access to here.

On a separate note: if you haven’t fed back on the draft Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) framework, you have a couple of days left (submissions close Friday May 9).

Revisit this post for pointers and additional info.

Thank you for taking the time to support Aotearoa’s young people - especially the trans, non binary and takatāpui whānau at risk of erasure in the new draft — to access to the sex & relationship ed they deserve!

Talk again next week,

Melody xxx