Saying Goodbye to 2021: Our Struggles, Our Triumphs, and Some Sources of Refuge
Including Brief Reviews of Selected Podcasts, Books, Music, and Shows
Our Struggles
2021 was something of a blur, rich in turmoil and contradiction. Its pace was dizzyingly fast and excruciatingly slow. Those of us attentive to the deadly virus in our midst hung on every word of every public health expert who found a new career giving interviews to daily news shows. We exhilarated in the belief that the worst was behind us, only to sink to despair as new variants emerged. Many rebelled against the science and its restrictions, while others grew frustrated with those whose rebellion only prolonged our collective vulnerability and invited new and more contagious strains. We mastered the art of virtual conferencing, while longing for a return to personal contact with family, friends, and colleagues. Children’s learning was put on hold, flight crews were attacked, workplace re-openings were repeatedly delayed, and healthcare workers were driven past the point of exhaustion. The year ended as it began, with overcrowded hospitals, remote-only college classes, and rapidly spreading infections that had yet to be contained.
The constant strain of a raging pandemic took its toll on our mental health. Some succumbed to anxiety, some to depression, some to denial, and some to surrender (believing that infection was inevitable, so why fight it?). Many of us remained separated from loved ones, some lived in near-total isolation, and some stood by helplessly as family members passed away alone. And when we weren’t despairing about the contagion, the assaults on our democracy and the unrelenting threat of climate change were always there, vying for our attention.
Our Triumphs
So where was the silver lining? Where the cause for hope amidst the ruin? I’ll take a stab at answering those questions, first from a broad perspective, then from a much narrower, personal one.
Broadly speaking, all of humanity saw suffering, yet we also witnessed a great deal of human triumph. Technology, itself a human invention, allowed us to stay connected despite our physical separation. Who knew even just two years ago about the power of connectivity platforms like Zoom, Teams, and FaceTime? Unlike any other era in human history, people separated by distances large and small could continue not only to talk to each other, but also to see each other while doing so, to conduct meetings together, even to share documents while conversing. Friends could connect with friends, family members could connect with each other, businesses could go on with their meetings, worship services could proceed safely, public proceedings could be held, and classes could continue. Sure, connecting remotely was not the same as being physically present with each other, but it beat the alternative of connecting only by phone, social media, or email.
Then there was the generosity of the human spirit. Although it was disheartening to witness those who acted out violently in response to necessary public health measures, there were so many more who quietly went about the difficult and often dangerous work of caring for the sick, teaching the young, feeding, clothing, and housing the poor, keeping our streets safe, defending civil rights, administering justice, responding to and rebuilding from natural disasters, and on and on. The past year’s extraordinary losses inspired an even more extraordinary response from those workers and volunteers on the front lines on whom we all, whether we know it or not, depend.
Let’s also not forget advances in medical science. Never before has medical research provided us with safe and effective vaccines so rapidly, and life-saving treatments are well on their way. Despite the irrational obstinacy of the anti-vaxxers, we all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those whose work has brought us to this place where we have been able to quickly secure desperately needed protection from the coronavirus scourge.
Yes, our lives have been interrupted, many have been lost, and we have experienced bumps in our routines and our supply chains, but the wheels of society keep turning, and life, albeit in altered form, goes on.
My Sources of Refuge
And so, moving from the universal to the personal, where did I find refuge in 2021?
Like many of us, I found it in the love and support of friends and family, in the beauty of nature, and in the comfort and calling of my faith. I also found hope in the creative arts. With that in mind, here is a partial list of the podcasts, books, music, films, and television series that brought me joy in 2021.
The Podcasts
For me, 2021 was the year of the podcast. There are a lot of good ones out there, and I listen to quite a few on walks, in my car, or just sitting at home. Some of my favorites are political, some philosophical, and some faith-based. And so I will mention a few.
My favorite this year was “On Being with Krista Tippett.” Ms. Tippett does an excellent job of interviewing guests on topics ranging from religion and spirituality to nature and culture. I place her right at the crossroads of the religious and the secular, as she and her guests appeal to and inspire a broad base of listeners spanning the spectrum of belief and unbelief.
Honorable Mentions go to “The Daily” (a news roundup published every morning by the New York Times); “Pod Save America” (insightful political commentary by former Obama folks; too much time spent on commercials, but even so, they manage to make the commercials pretty funny); “The New Yorker Radio Hour” (I don’t listen to this one nearly enough, but always enjoy it); “This American Life” (another one I need to listen to more often); #SistersinLaw (women lawyers and law professors, including Joyce Vance and Barb McQuade, commenting on the most newsworthy legal and political issues of the day); and “Everything Happens with Kate Bowler” (another podcast with a spiritual bent and good guests - most recently writer David Brooks).
Beyond listening to podcasts, though, 2021 was also the year that I launched one. If you’re not already familiar with it, it’s called “Higher Callings.” I interview lawyers and others who have devoted their careers or volunteer service to the public good. In 2021, I recorded 10 interviews, and hope to exceed that number in this new year. My aim with Higher Callings is to inspire listeners, but my enjoyment derives primarily from spending time with my guests (all of whom in 2021 were friends and colleagues), and learning more about their various forms of service to humanity. If you’d like to check it out, you can find the podcast website here. You can also find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other platforms. A special shout out to my son, Brian Frederico, who provided invaluable assistance in getting the podcast going.
In 2021, I also hosted and appeared as a guest on several episodes of “Common Questions,” a podcast of the Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee of the American Bar Association which I co-host with committee co-chair and California class action attorney Adam Polk; appeared as a guest on a podcast called “Counsel to Counsel,” hosted by legal career coach Stephen Seckler; and in 2020, appeared as a guest on a show called “Titans of Transition,” hosted by leadership and career coach Joe Miller. All of those podcasts serve worthy purposes, and all of my experiences with them helped me to develop and hone my podcasting skills. As you can probably tell, I’m hooked.
The Books
In addition to the pleasure of listening to and engaging with brilliant, inspiring, and funny people in an oral medium, I continue to find joy and hope in reading. After a slow start at the beginning of the year, I am now 46% through Tolstoy’s great novel, “War and Peace.” (I know the percentage because the “Goodreads” app calculates it when I enter the page number I’ve reached.) It is as good a read as I had always heard, though it does take a long time to wade through it. I hope to finish the masterpiece in 2023. Other books I read in 2021 that I would recommend are “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro, “Morality,” by Jonathan Sacks, and “After the Fall,” by Ben Rhodes.
My favorite books, and the ones from which I’ve derived the most inspiration, have been two audiobooks in the same series, “The Book of Joy” and “The Book of Hope.” Both are presented as interviews of inspirational figures, conducted by Douglas Abrams. (I just discovered he has a website, which you can find here.)
I finished “The Book of Hope” first, listening to it in my car during a long trip. Abrams’ guest was famed primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall, who spoke about nature, climate, and the matters that give her hope despite the grave challenges facing the planet and its creatures. She brings a calming yet concerned voice of reason and experience to the critically important topics the interview covers.
I’m still reading (that is, listening to) “The Book of Joy,” which features interviews of the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The publisher explains that the two esteemed guests “looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?” I thought the book got off to a slow start, but now that I am deeper into it, I marvel at the richness of the wisdom it presents, even more poignant now that we have lost the good Archbishop.
There is so much insight packed into each of these audiobooks that I plan to listen to them again once I get through “The Book of Joy” the first time. If you’re looking for sources of inspiration in 2022, I can’t recommend them enough.
The Music
One thing that makes these last two books work so well is that we get to hear the guests in their own voices. In a similar vein, if you’re a music fan, you might want to check out Malcolm Gladwell’s and Bruce Headlam’s audiobook, “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon.” Like the Abrams books, it is presented in the form of an interview, only this time with one of the most renowned songwriters and musicians of our time. Gladwell begins with the premise that Paul Simon was the most important songwriter of his generation, an intentionally controversial statement given that many of us would consider Bob Dylan to be the obvious choice. Again, the audio format is instrumental (pun intended), as we not only hear Simon’s stories in his own spoken voice, but also his live guitar strummings and clips from some of his recorded music. As I listened, I began to understand why Gladwell places Simon above Dylan, but he still did not persuade me.
In the same category of revisiting musicians who got their starts in the ‘60s, I’d also recommend “Get Back,” the new documentary on Disney+ about the Beatles’ recording and only performance of songs from the “Let it Be” album, as well as the Hulu documentary featuring Paul McCartney entitled “McCartney 3,2,1.” If you’re a diehard Beatles’ fan like me, you’ll enjoy all three episodes of “Get Back.” If you’re a more casual fan, I’d recommend skipping to the third episode, which has more music and less video of the Fab Four hanging out in the studio during the long gaps between takes.
And moving from past to present, my vote for artist of the year goes to Bonny Light Horseman. If you haven’t heard them, check them out.
The Shows
So yes, I found refuge last year in podcasts, books, and music. I also found it in the pockets of resilience and continued creativity that can be found, if you look hard enough, in television and film. I especially enjoyed another season of “Ted Lasso,” but also Apple TV’s “The Morning Show” (and found it creepy but enthralling to watch season two’s depiction of the early days of the emerging pandemic in New York City), HBO’s “Mare of Easttown” and “Succession,” Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” (a hilarious show with brilliant performances by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez), and the end-of-year arrival of Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up” (an absurd science fiction satire that disturbingly mirrors the extremes of contemporary human folly). I’m sure there are other television series and films that I could recommend, but these are the ones that come to mind.
The Seagulls
Well, that’s it for now. If you are a subscriber to this newsletter, thank you for your interest. If you are not yet a subscriber but like what you see, please subscribe and tell your friends. Please also consider leaving a comment with your recommendations for podcasts, books, music, shows, or other creative sources of inspiration from 2021 that you think other readers and I might enjoy.
And to close out the first calendar year of this newsletter, the photo at the beginning of this newsletter is from a walk I took in late December. There were a lot of seagulls (sadly, the picture doesn’t do them justice), and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. Maybe someday I’ll figure out how to post the video I took. Anyway, Happy New Year to my feathered friends and to all of you!