The Playlist: Vancouver Author and TV Writer Meredith Hambrock’s Cultural Picks

The Soundtrack

Hellmode

I keep rotating between Jeff Rosenstock’s Hellmode when I want to listen to something punk and rude and cool and Katie Gavin’s beautiful new folk album What a Relief, which has some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard.

The Podcast

What Happened Next: A Podcast About Newish Books

Nathan Whitlock is a winning conversationalist who asks all the right questions and has found a way to cleverly catch writers when they aren’t on the PR grind. Episodes with Ainslie Hogarth and Anuja Varghese are some recent faves.

The TV Show

The Studio

I’m loving the first few episodes of Seth Rogen’s new show The Studio, an ode to the insanity of show business, the film The Player and the risk involved with making art that resonates.

The Page-Turner

Margo’s Got Money Troubles

I read Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles late last year and I now need to read her backlist. She brings a tender vulnerability to heroes in tough circumstances. Halle Butler is another favourite. We’re around the same age and she has an incredibly caustic sense of humour and writes voice-driven literary novels that I buy immediately, every time they come out.