What to Watch and Listen To in 2025
12/30/2024 02:34PM ● By Jennie Lay
Jennie Lay, Steamboat Magazine's media editor, shares her top picks for what podcasts to listen to and what shows to watch in the new year.
First up: listen.
"How Wild"
As we round out 60th anniversary celebrations of the Wilderness Act (and the centennial of Gila, the world’s first official designated wilderness area), hit pause fora thoughtful podcast that pokes at the existential root of “capital w” Wilderness. “How Wild” has its heart in nature while it bristles at some well-worn traditional thinking. What does untrammeled, undeveloped and solitude really mean? Who framed the picture of what’s natural? Do thousands of dollars of ultralight camping gear and cell phones still meet the mark for primitive recreation? Trail-savvy NPR reporter Marissa Ortega-Welch takes listeners on a journey from remote California sequoia groves to intensely loved Colorado trails, traveling with rangers, scientists, her lifelong hiking buddy, environmentalists, disability activists and tribal leaders to look at how wilderness is changing on a warming planet, and ways we might adjust how we look at concepts of wilderness altogether.
www.howwild.org.
“Breaking the Bubble: How an Idyllic Ski Town is Combating Hate”
Last spring, Steamboat Springs High School’s Students for Social Justice Club set out to report, write and create a podcast about STAND, the Steamboat Team Against Antisemitism and Discrimination, a community organization that has stepped to the forefront in combating discrimination and hate in the Yampa Valley. Along with their sponsor, American and AP literature teacher Jenny Shea, the students bet that a podcast from their rural hometown would have statewide or nationwide appeal and might give other communities inspiration to start something like STAND. Now available for listening on Spotify, the single episode podcast “Beyond the Bubble” invites listeners to “Join us as we explore the impact of proactive education and community solidarity in transforming our small mountain town for the better."
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/students-for-social-justi
Then, watch. Netflix and chill with a documentary (really, these are only on Netflix).
“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa”
Award-winning director Lucy Walker gives us an unforgettable heroine’s journey in “Mountain Queen.” Lhakpa Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to climb Mount Everest. Now, this documentary follows her remarkable journey to make a tenth summit and stake her claim to a new record for female mountaineers on the top of the world. Lhakpa has conquered a lifetime of challenges, from sexism in the rural Himalaya as she pursued her young climbing aspirations, to the heartbreaking obstacles of being an immigrant confined to Connecticut as a single mom and survivor of spousal abuse. The inspiring story of Lhakpa and her daughters stole audience hearts and won Best Adventure Film at 2024’s Mountainfilm in Telluride.
First up: listen.
"How Wild"
As we round out 60th anniversary celebrations of the Wilderness Act (and the centennial of Gila, the world’s first official designated wilderness area), hit pause fora thoughtful podcast that pokes at the existential root of “capital w” Wilderness. “How Wild” has its heart in nature while it bristles at some well-worn traditional thinking. What does untrammeled, undeveloped and solitude really mean? Who framed the picture of what’s natural? Do thousands of dollars of ultralight camping gear and cell phones still meet the mark for primitive recreation? Trail-savvy NPR reporter Marissa Ortega-Welch takes listeners on a journey from remote California sequoia groves to intensely loved Colorado trails, traveling with rangers, scientists, her lifelong hiking buddy, environmentalists, disability activists and tribal leaders to look at how wilderness is changing on a warming planet, and ways we might adjust how we look at concepts of wilderness altogether.
www.howwild.org.
“Breaking the Bubble: How an Idyllic Ski Town is Combating Hate”
Last spring, Steamboat Springs High School’s Students for Social Justice Club set out to report, write and create a podcast about STAND, the Steamboat Team Against Antisemitism and Discrimination, a community organization that has stepped to the forefront in combating discrimination and hate in the Yampa Valley. Along with their sponsor, American and AP literature teacher Jenny Shea, the students bet that a podcast from their rural hometown would have statewide or nationwide appeal and might give other communities inspiration to start something like STAND. Now available for listening on Spotify, the single episode podcast “Beyond the Bubble” invites listeners to “Join us as we explore the impact of proactive education and community solidarity in transforming our small mountain town for the better."
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/students-for-social-justi
Then, watch. Netflix and chill with a documentary (really, these are only on Netflix).
“Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa”
Award-winning director Lucy Walker gives us an unforgettable heroine’s journey in “Mountain Queen.” Lhakpa Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to climb Mount Everest. Now, this documentary follows her remarkable journey to make a tenth summit and stake her claim to a new record for female mountaineers on the top of the world. Lhakpa has conquered a lifetime of challenges, from sexism in the rural Himalaya as she pursued her young climbing aspirations, to the heartbreaking obstacles of being an immigrant confined to Connecticut as a single mom and survivor of spousal abuse. The inspiring story of Lhakpa and her daughters stole audience hearts and won Best Adventure Film at 2024’s Mountainfilm in Telluride.
“Skywalkers: A Love Story"
This danger-strewn recommendation comes with a serious vertigo warning. Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus are two lovestruck daredevils who take the Instagram sport of rooftopping to new heights as they sneak into the world’s tallest skyscrapers and scale building pinnacles sans any sort of safety gear – then pose for cinematic selfies at the peaks of the spires. Suspense looms in their intricate planning for each audacious feat, coupled with illicit break-ins, romantic quarrels, and infinite levels of mutual trust. In “Skywalkers,” the artistry of their summits is both astounding and squirm-worthy.
“Will and Harper”
Will Ferrell and Harper Steele share a deep, meaningful friendship that everyone can admire – and their film, “Will and Harper,” is a genuine demonstration of allyship to which the world should aspire. Friends since their earliest days working together on “Saturday Night Live,” ultimately landing as head writer and on-screen superstar, their relationship took an unexpected twist when Harper came out as a trans woman. Harper has always been a diehard long-haul road tripper, so together they drive across the good, bad and ugly of America, reintroducing Harper to the country as her true self. Filmed with intimate candor and just the right sprinkling of humor, they share a personal and communal journey through friendship, family, mental health and self-discovery that every viewer will grow from.