MinnPost staff’s year-end recommendations

Watch

“Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.” I had no expectations for this film on Amazon. Reading the blurb didn’t help gauge what it was about. I watched it anyway and I’m still not sure I can describe, at least not in fewer than 1,000 words. Domestic comedy meets multiverse? Chinese-American immigrant only wants to save her family but ends up defending the universe?

— Peter Callaghan, state government reporter

“Summer of Soul.” It was immediately followed by the “Slap Heard ‘Round the World,” so few paid much attention, but the Oscar for Best Documentary went to Ahmir Thompson, better known as Questlove of the Roots, for his archival capture of the long forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.

“Summer of Soul” is a masterful lookback at a golden time in music at the epicenter of the Black Renaissance, Harlem, New York. Featuring performances by Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, The 5th Dimension, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King and others, “Summer of Soul” not only presents wonderful concert footage, but offers the story behind the concerts (taking part over six weeks) and the show’s producer, Tony Lawrence. “Summer of Soul,” the best thing I watched this year, is available on Hulu.

— Harry Colbert, Jr., managing editor

Listen

Articles of Interest, Season 3. A lot of my favorite writing (and OK, podcasts) take something that feels obvious — something you’ve never really thought about — and digs into its origin story to unearth something really interesting. That’s what Avery Trufelman did with the third season of “Articles of Interest,” a podcast about what we wear and why. This season is about the history of “preppy,” the look that has come to define American, and in many ways, global style. As Trufelman said in an interview about the podcast, “I really thought in examining these clothes, I would be going to interview, you know, old white people in Kennebunkport. The story is really Black, really Jewish and really Japanese. So much of like punk style came out of this street. Style came out of this. I promise. It’s like the weirdest, most interesting topic that you could think of in fashion.”

— Greta Kaul, associate editor

Sold A Story. I’ve been reporting on schools for a decade, so of course my rec is education-related. The podcast Sold A Story is the latest in a mind-blowing thread of reporting by Emily Hanford and her colleagues at the St. Paul-based APM Reports. Long story short: The way many schools are attempting to teach millions of children how to read is completely wrong — or at least, not supported by neuroscience research. Maybe that sounds like dry subject matter, but there are Beyoncé references, Vietnam War stories and compelling tales of the haves and have-nots in our schools. No wonder Hanford’s work has already prompted a reckoning. Worth a listen, whether you have kids or not.

— Kyle Stokes, incoming metro area reporter

Play

Blue Kazoo Puzzles. NERD ALERT The best puzzles on the market (arguably) are from Blue Kazoo, a company based right here in St. Paul. I’ve bought [number redacted] puzzles from this year alone, and they’re all fantastic. Beautiful artwork, thick-but-not-too-thick pieces, easy to snap together but doesn’t completely fall apart every time you try to move a section, and they offer a range of difficulty levels. The quality is superb, the company is local, the puzzles are unique — what more could you ask for? If you want easy and satisfying, go with one of the rainbow ones. If you want something harder, but stunning, I recommend Pillars, Earth, or Microlife III. If you’re a masochist but want a pretty puzzle, get some extremely good lighting and tell me how many times you think you’re missing a piece (and/or swear) when you do Sun or Moon.