See Ya, 2024. Here’s What We Loved.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Opinions – "See Ya, 2024. Here’s What We Loved"

Release Date: December 31, 2024
Host/Author: The New York Times Opinion
Duration: Approximately 9 minutes

---

Introduction

In the final episode of 2024, The Opinions by The New York Times Opinion reflects on the past year by highlighting cherished moments and personal favorites from the staff and listeners. Hosted by Meher Ahmed, the show embraces a theme known as "keepers"—elements from the year that individuals wish to carry forward into the new year. This episode serves as a heartfelt compilation of hobbies, habits, activities, and personal discoveries that brought joy and solace during a challenging year.

Meher Ahmed's Introduction to "Keepers" [00:15 - 01:54]

Meher Ahmed, an editor for Times Opinion, introduces the concept of "keepers," a tradition now in its second year. She explains that these keepers can range from hobbies and habits to books and movies—anything that provided comfort and enjoyment throughout the year. Meher shares her personal discovery of Fragrantica, an online community for fragrance enthusiasts. She describes how immersing herself in the vibrant and often humorous discussions about scents became a therapeutic escape:

"I kind of discovered this community of fragrance heads talking to each other and describing perfumes and scents in kind of outlandish and hilarious ways... I've managed to shut my brain off in a way that I haven't really figured out how to otherwise." (00:57)

Meher emphasizes the collective contributions from the staff and listeners, aiming to end the year on a lighter note despite the global challenges faced.

Roland on AI Karaoke with Former Presidents [01:54 - 03:07]

Roland, a producer on The Ezra Klein Show, shares his amusement with AI-generated karaoke performances of former U.S. presidents. He highlights the creative fusion of politics and entertainment, where AI brings presidents like Trump, Biden, and Obama to life singing contemporary songs. Roland's favorite instance is a duet of "Love" performed by Trump and Biden:

"My favorite one is Trump and Biden doing a duet of Love." (02:29)

He appreciates how these AI renditions provide a refreshing break from political rhetoric:

"Listening to them sing these songs, it was pretty refreshing to actually hear something coherent come out of their mouths." (02:42)

Laurie Sims on Reconnecting Through Shared TV Shows [03:07 - 05:12]

Laurie Sims from Brunswick, Maine, recounts a significant personal journey in 2024: reconnecting with her sister after nearly four decades apart due to religious differences. The sisters found common ground in watching the TV show Shrinking together. Laurie describes how synchronized viewing sessions and mutual discussions about the show strengthened their bond:

"We try to watch it together... it's a great combination of watching a fun television show, but also just... we kind of share a brain on some of these things." (04:19)

Laurie highlights the importance of shared interests in mending and nurturing relationships despite geographical separation.

Victor Lopez on Urban Gardening [05:12 - 05:54]

Victor Lopez from São Paulo, Brazil, shares his passion for gardening within the constraints of urban living. Residing on the 22nd floor of a high-rise, Victor cultivates fresh herbs and various fruit trees, transforming his balcony into a green oasis:

"I have little mango trees, growing, papaya trees, cocoa trees, all in my balcony... I think gardening is such a powerful way to connect with the world we live in and with ourselves." (05:12)

Victor encourages others to embrace gardening, even in limited spaces, as a means to foster a deeper connection with nature and oneself.

Cornelia Channing on Morning Rituals Without News [05:54 - 06:59]

Cornelia Channing, an editorial assistant in the opinion section, discusses a positive habit she adopted in 2024: eliminating morning news consumption. Recognizing the stress that news cycles can induce, Cornelia replaced her morning podcasts with classical music from WQXR:

"I found that taking 20 or 30 minutes in the morning... putting on WQXR, which is a classical radio station, was a much nicer way to enter the day." (05:54)

She specifically mentions enjoying Chopin's Etudes, which help her start the day with inspiration and positivity rather than anxiety:

"I find that there's sort of a drama to listening to them in a row, and it sort of helps me start the day with a little bit more of a sense of inspiration and awe rather than maybe dread." (06:26)

Sophie’s Culinary Adventures [06:59 - 07:22]

Sophie from New Hampshire expresses her renewed love for cooking, a passion heightened in 2024. She recently hosted her first Friendsgiving, where her apple tarts were a standout favorite. Sophie revels in experimenting with new recipes and hosting friends for baking sessions, finding joy in both culinary creativity and social gatherings:

"I recently hosted my first Friendsgiving and I made these awesome apple tarts and they were definitely a hit." (07:07)

Her enthusiasm for cooking represents a delightful personal tradition she plans to continue into the new year.

Jessica Gross on Impromptu Friendships [07:22 - 08:56]

Jessica Gross, an opinion writer and working mother of two, reflects on the value of spontaneous social interactions. Balancing work and family life often makes planned outings with friends challenging. Jessica found that impromptu hangouts—spontaneous meet-ups without extensive planning—provide meaningful and timely connections:

"What I really love about impromptu hangs is sometimes you're going through a hard day and you really need that connection in the moment..." (07:50)

She emphasizes the warmth and reinforcement of friendships that occur when friends are available to connect spontaneously, as opposed to rigid, pre-scheduled gatherings:

"When someone is actually available to connect in that moment, it is so warm and so wonderful and really cements your friendship." (08:20)

Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, the host invites listeners to continue following The Opinions on various podcast platforms. The closing credits acknowledge the dedicated team behind the show, from production to engineering, underscoring the collaborative effort that brings these heartfelt stories to the audience.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Community and Connection: Whether through online forums, shared interests, or spontaneous meetups, building and maintaining connections is a recurring theme.

• Personal Well-being: Adopting new hobbies, such as gardening or cooking, and establishing positive morning routines can significantly enhance personal well-being.

• Adaptability: Embracing changes, whether in relationships or daily habits, demonstrates resilience and the ability to find joy amidst challenges.

This episode of The Opinions serves as a reminder of the simple pleasures and personal victories that can help navigate a difficult year, offering listeners inspiration to carry forward what they love into 2025.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Meher Ahmed [00:57]: "I've managed to shut my brain off in a way that I haven't really figured out how to otherwise."

• Roland [02:29]: "My favorite one is Trump and Biden doing a duet of Love."

• Laurie Sims [04:19]: "We try to watch it together... we kind of share a brain on some of these things."

• Victor Lopez [05:12]: "I think gardening is such a powerful way to connect with the world we live in and with ourselves."

• Cornelia Channing [05:54]: "It was a much nicer way to enter the day."

• Jessica Gross [07:50]: "What I really love about impromptu hangs is sometimes you're going through a hard day and you really need that connection in the moment."

---

For more insightful summaries and engaging discussions, follow The New York Times Opinion on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Host]

This is the Opinions, a show that brings you a mix of voices from New York Times Opinion. You've heard the news. Here's what to make of it.

[Meher Ahmed]

My name is Meher Ahmed and I'm an editor for the Times Opinion. This is the second year that we're doing a story that we like to call keepers. And what it is is it's a list of things that our staff did in their year that they would like to keep and with them into the new year. And so that could be hobby, habit, an activity, a movie, a book, a recommendation, just anything that they really enjoyed and found solace in in their year that they're going to take with them as we turn the page into the new year. One of the things I ended up stumbling into this year was a website called Fragrantica. It's an online messaging board for people to review fragrances and scents. I was just doing research for my next perfume purchase, but I kind of discovered this community of fragrance heads talking to each other and describing perfumes and scents in kind of outlandish and hilarious ways. And the longer I spent on it, the more I realized that I was really not thinking about anything else and had kind of managed to shut my brain off in a way that I haven't really figured out how to otherwise. So we've compiled some responses from our staff, as well as a few of our listeners about what they'll be bringing with them from 2024 into the new year. I hope you enjoy listening to some of these responses. They bring a little bit of light and levity into the end of what for many was a very, very difficult.

[Victor Lopez]

Foreign.

[Roland]

I'm Roland, I'm a producer on the Ezra Klein Show. Something I enjoyed from this year has been watching these AI karaoke versions of former presidents singing. The most common one that I've seen is kind of like a still AI generated illustration of Trump or Biden or Obama. And then you have just lyrics to some karaoke song that the AI has them singing. My favorite one is Trump and Biden doing a duet of Love.

[Host]

V is very, very extraordinary.

[Victor Lopez]

He is even more than anyone that you adore can love.

[Roland]

It's just a classic. In my day job, I have to follow a lot of politics. I listened to a lot of political speeches and, you know, like politicians like this past year, Biden wasn't a great speaker, Trump wasn't. It was kind of incoherent. But you know, listening to them sing these songs, it was pretty refreshing to actually hear something coherent come out of their mouths.

[Laurie Sims]

This is Laurie Sims from Brunswick, Maine. My greatest joy in 2024 was watching the eclipse with my sister. Religion has kept us apart for almost 40 years, but lately we have found we have so much more in common than we have differences. I'm Michelle Cottle, and I cover national politics for Opinion. So one of our happy places during what has been a really, really unpleasant year politically is my oldest friend in the world. Not infrequently bullies me into watching a TV show that she's watching so that we can text each other, call each other, obsess about this together. And one of the things she has me watching is the television show Shrinking. And it is about a therapist whose wife dies and he's grieving, and he gets really involved with his patient's life. It stars Jason Segel, but it also stars an old Harrison Ford.

[Host]

What kind of a person hugs and tells?

[Laurie Sims]

So, being a child of the 80s, I am all about loving me some old Harrison Ford. But what makes this fun is that we try to watch it together. We try to either synchronized watch it, or if one of us is ahead of the other, then we text each other while we're watching it. Whoever watches it first is not allowed to send spoilers. And it's a great combination of watching a fun television show, but also just, you know, we've been friends since we were in seventh grade, and we kind of share a brain on some of these things. And so it's fantastic to just have something that we can obsess over together, even though we live several states apart.

[Victor Lopez]

My name is Victor Lopez. I speak from so Paulo, Brazil. And what really brought me joy this year was gardening. I live on the 22nd floor of an apartment building in the heart of the city. I grow fresh herbs to cook with, and I replant the seeds of everything I eat. I have little mango trees, growing, papaya trees, cocoa trees, all in my balcony. And after it gets too big, I replant it somewhere in the city, helping to make it greener. I think gardening is such a powerful way to connect with the world we live in and with ourselves. So my message is that next year, everyone should give it a try, even if your space is limited.

[Cornelia Channing]

My name is Cornelia Channing, and I am an editorial assistant in the opinion section. One of the habits that I developed in 2024 that I want to take with me into the new year is basically that I don't listen to the news in the morning anymore. I used to wake up and listen to podcasts and dive in immediately into the day's news. It was kind of a harsh way to start the day, particularly with the news cycles that we've had this year. So I found that taking 20 or 30 minutes in the morning and instead of listening to the news, putting on wqxr, which is a classical radio station and sort of starting my day with was a much nicer way to enter the day. I was listening to Chopin's Etudes. They're just gorgeous piano pieces. I find that there's sort of a drama to listening to them in a row, and it sort of helps me start the day with a little bit more of a sense of inspiration and awe rather than maybe dread.

[Host]

My name is Sophie, I'm from New Hampshire and something that brought me Joy in 2024 that I'm definitely bringing into the new year is my love of cooking. I recently hosted my first friendsgiving and I made these awesome apple tarts and they were definitely a hit. So I just love experimenting in the kitchen and having my friends over to bake.

[Jessica Gross]

Jessica I'm Jessica Gross and I am an opinion writer at the New York Times. What I would like to take from 2024 into 2025 is impromptu hangouts with my friends. I am a working mom of two kids and whenever I need to or want to hang out with my friends, it takes so much work. We have to look at our schedules. We have to say like, oh, is my partner here to do the childcare? Does somebody have a volleyball game? And we end up planning something three months in advance that someone inevitably has to drop out of because something comes up, a kid is sick, or, you know, they have a deadline that they can't miss. And so what I have found is it is much easier to just call up a friend on a random Saturday at 2pm and say, can you hang out right now? What I really love about impromptu hangs is sometimes you're going through a hard day and you really need that connection in the moment, not three weeks from now. And when someone is actually available to connect in that moment, it is so warm and so wonderful and really cements your friendship.

[Host]

If you like this show, follow it on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is produced by Derek Arthur, Sophia Alvarez, Boyd Bishaka Durba, Phoebe Lett, Christina Samulewski and Jillian Weinberger. It's edited by Kari Pitkin, Allison Bruzek and Annie Rose Strasser. Engineering, mixing and original music by Isaac Jones, sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carol Saburo and Afim Shapiro Additional music by Amin Sohota. The Fact Check team is Kate Sinclair, Mary, Marge Locker, and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta, Christina Samulewski, and Adrian Rivera. The executive producer of Times Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Dresser.