Top Picks: The 'Food Chain' podcast, 'Leave No Trace' on DVD and Blu-ray
Presidential history
As the US midterm elections approach, take a look back at other leaders in America’s history with the Washington Post podcast Presidential. Each episode looks at a different commander in chief, allowing you to learn more about lesser-known figures like Grover Cleveland and Calvin Coolidge as well as the more famous presidents. The podcast is available at
http://bit.ly/presidentialthepodcast.
Daily snapshot
The 1 Second Everyday app offers a fun way to create a digital scrapbook of your daily life. Use it to record a one-second snippet of what you’re doing, and the app will chronologically combine all the clips into a movie of your important moments from the past months. It may have you valuing the more mundane moments, too. The app is $4.99 for iOS and free for Android.
Food chat
The BBC podcast The Food Chain explores issues related to what we eat, from how restaurant reviewers do their work to the celebrity status of chefs today. Food writers and chefs like Antonio Carluccio also share their “life in five dishes.” You can find the podcast at http://bit.ly/foodchainpodcast.
Handmade treats
Buzzfeed’s cooking platform Tasty is currently streaming a fascinating food series on YouTube. Made By Hand looks at how various food items are created, from handmade pasta to ice cream to cheese. The interviews, with subjects such as pasta maker Chris Borgatti and chef Michael White, are a highlight of the videos. Make sure you’ve eaten before you start streaming. Check it out at http://bit.ly/madebyhandseries.
Lived-in performances
The film Leave No Trace stars Ben Foster as a war veteran who is living in hiding with daughter Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) in a public nature preserve in Portland, Ore. They are eventually discovered and go to live in a small town. Monitor film critic Peter Rainer writes, “The two lead performances are so lived-in.... Everybody connected to this movie appears to be operating on the same wavelength: They want to do justice to the lives of the people that we see. To a remarkable degree, they do.”
