Staff picks for 2025!

Here are our (once again belated—we’ll be on time one of these years!) staff picks for the books, movies, shows, and podcasts we loved in 2025!

Mel Burns, Peace Program Coordinator

Serious: Civil resistance: what everyone needs to know by Erica Chenoweth. This super-accessible and well laid out book will help folks understand what’s needed beyond “protest” to create systems-level change. A great resource for those following the ‘No Kings’ protests/movement and wanting to understand more about what actually makes civil resistance effective in the face of oppression.

Entertainment: The show Pluribus is a limited series about the whole world getting infected with a ‘happiness’ virus and one curmudgeon who is somehow immune and needs to find a way to save them all. It’s a fun twist on apocalyptic sci-fi and has many poignant moments and deep messaging. One of those shows you want to watch a second time through!

Matthew Legge, Communications Coordinator

Serious: Gender and our brains: how neuroscience explodes the myths of the male and female minds by Gina Rippon. A very thorough and engaging look at how centuries of junk “science” have promoted a lot of mistaken ideas about inherent gender differences. Part three on the differences in how babies are treated—even from before birth!—is particularly thorough and informative.

Entertainment: Dirk Gently’s holistic detective agency by Douglas Adams. I read the Hitchhiker’s guide series a long time ago but in 2025 read the Dirk Gently series and really enjoyed them.

Jennifer Preston, General Secretary

Serious: Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown. I enjoy her deep thought-provoking insights on how we engage with ourselves and others.

Entertainment: Wild: from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. This is about a journey—more than one really—and is relatable in oh-so-many ways. This is my entertainment pick as I could get so lost in the book, I was walking with her.

Priscila Recinos, Bookkeeper

Entertainment: The show I really enjoyed was called Lost. A plane left Australia to LA and ended up crashing on a beautiful and mysterious island with 48 survivors. I love the blue ocean and sky, and the green mountains. Everyone was very confused and fighting to survive and hoped to be rescued. Lost was one of the best shows ever. I just watched the whole series again after 14 years with my daughter, and it was just as good if not better the second time. I caught a lot I had missed before. Now as the last episode just ended I find myself in tears again.

Karen Ridd, Transformative Justice Program Coordinator

Serious: Defund: Black Lives, Policing, and Safety for All by Sandy Hudson. Much of the material on defunding police is written solely from a US perspective, but Hudson was born in Toronto and weaves in plenty of Canadian content. It’s an engaging read.

Entertainment: I’m not the best one to get material for this category. I watch/read/listen to non-fiction in my “down time.” But I recommend the podcast Heavyweight with Jonathan Goldstein. I find it moving and heartening. It’s about resolving things in our past: picking up lost threads, making amends, finding old friends, and second chances.

Sandra Wiens, Government Relations Representative

Serious: Sandy and Nora talk politics. I love this podcast because I enjoy listening to their takes on all of the current political topics from a very community- and human-centered perspective.

Entertainment: Down cemetery road. This short mini-series was a thriller that I found interesting. I really enjoyed the curveballs. The acting was great and the premise, while a bit over the top, made sure I watched all the episodes whenever I had a spare hour.

Jeremy Vander Hoek, Indigenous Rights Program Coordinator

Serious: The good whale podcast tells the story of Keiko the orca that starred in the movie Free Willy. Through six episodes we hear from many of Keiko’s caretakers, all of whom argue they have the best intentions for Keiko. However, many of them disagree with one another. The story is very much about human hubris. It also explores whether we can truly know what an animal is thinking or feeling.

Entertainment: The album Thrill of the arts by Vulfpeck. It’s full of fantastic funk music that is fun and approachable. It has been a real source of joy for me since it came out.