Keep it light: What to stream, read and listen to now

You’ve gorged on the Lindt bunnies and the pickled fish (maybe not together, but either way we’re not judging), now here are some delicious morsels to indulge in that have altogether less calories.

We’ve tried to keep it lightish, and very compelling. We say dodge the kids, the in-laws and the news, and escape into one of these nuggets instead.

Worth the watch

‘Love Story’

In hindsight, we’re not even sure that this new nine-part series was well made, or in any way anchored in reality, but that didn’t stop us binging the TV telling of the love story between John F Kennedy Junior and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

We’ve always been taken with the story of the Kennedy family and their American dream redux of Camelot slowly and tragically collapsing over the decades. John John’s era – which ended in a 1999 small-plane crash – was a big part of the magic. He was handsome, charming, clever and married to the cool, smart blonde. Picture-perfect stuff that this series seems to indicate was anything but.

Love Story is the latest from Ryan Murphy who produced other bad but captivating hits like American Horror Story and Glee. The undeniably good-looking Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon star as the doomed couple, and they’re great.

You’ve also got side stories about Daryl Hannah and Jackie O, loads of 90s fashion and tunes, and a gratuitous shot of JFK Junior’s sizable package (which has gone viral). Honestly, what else could you ask for in terms of somewhat mindless Hollywood nonsense?

‘Dynasty: The Murdochs’

Netflix’s new docuseries, Dynasty: The Murdochs, is a four-part series directed by Liz Garbus, best known for the Emmy-winning What Happened, Miss Simone? This time Garbus turns her focus to Rupert Murdoch, one of the most powerful media figures in the world, and the unhinged family behind his empire.

Through News Corporation (and later Fox Corporation), Murdoch built a vast network spanning newspapers, television and film, including Fox News. He is also known for shaping political narratives, backing conservative-leaning candidates and, well, not being the nicest chap around.

At its core, the series explores the rise of the Murdoch empire, the family dynamics behind it, and the battle of succession. As one line puts it, “he wasn’t raising children, he was raising successors” – or, more starkly, “throwing blood in the water and letting them fight it out”.

A must-watch if you loved Succession, which was heavily inspired by the family. It’s compelling, if slightly overlong, with a somewhat back-and-forth timeline, and a sharp reminder that money can build an empire, but it can’t buy happiness.

Listen up

‘Hoax!’

Given the somewhat dire state of the world, we’re inhaling political podcasts at the moment, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly happy listening. Hoax! is the antidote to that.

We love a good hoax, as long as we’re not the ones being fooled. There’s something endlessly fascinating about them, and Hoax! explores some of the biggest, boldest pranks in history in a light, entertaining deep dive.

Co-hosted by Dana Schwartz and Lizzie Logan, the series covers everything from crop circles and Han van Meegeren’s forged Vermeers to spirit photography.

Standout episodes cover the Piltdown Man – the infamous 1912 “missing link” fossil that turned out to be a fake – and the Cottingley Fairies. The latter debacle involved two cousins who convinced much of the public, including author Arthur Conan Doyle, that they had photographed real fairies. Light, clever and just the right amount of absurd.

‘Wind of Change’

Wind of Change is an eight-part podcast with one of the most unexpected premises. It’s 1990, the Berlin Wall has fallen, the Soviet Union is on the brink, and a West German band, The Scorpions, releases a power ballad that comes to define the moment. Wind of Change becomes the soundtrack to a peaceful revolution and one of the biggest rock singles ever. You may not think you know it, but you do.

Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe, who’s found fame with his brilliant books Say Nothing and Empire of Pain, hears a rumour: the band didn’t write the song. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) did.

What follows is classic Radden Keefe: meticulously researched, measured and deeply entertaining. From concerts in Kyiv to interviews with former CIA agents, the story grows stranger by the minute, with detours into the murky past of manager Doc McGhee and links to Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega. Improbable, compelling and very hard to stop listening.

‘Hoax!’ and ‘Wind of Change’ are available on all major podcast platforms.

Read this

‘The Game Changers’ series, Rachel Reid (Jonathan Ball)

If you haven’t heard of the Game Changers series (which includes Heated Rivalry), it’s time to get out from under your rock. The hit Canadian TV adaptation has tipped into full-blown cultural phenomenon territory, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani reportedly caught up in the hype. The show hasn’t made it to South African screens just yet, but the books on which it’s based very much have.

They’re by Canadian author Rachel Reid, and are ideal for the romance lovers, or even those who’re vaguely romance-curious. So far the series of six books has sold 3.7-million copies across North America, and counting. Heated Rivalry is second in the batch and is currently topping US romance charts as the TV buzz drives a surge in LGBTQ+ fiction. The male/male contemporary yarns follow a group of professional ice hockey players navigating love and rivalry.

Having devoured the books (and gone back for seconds), we can confidently say they’re wildly addictive, though we should note that at least one member of the team is a very committed romance fan, so take that from whence it comes.

Start with Heated Rivalry and The Long Game, which chart the slow-burn, high-stakes romance between Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, then keep going; Role Model and Tough Guy are just as good. Be warned: these are unapologetically steamy reads. But then again, that’s very much the point.

‘It’s Not What You Think’, Clare Mackintosh (Jonathan Ball)

Talk about the clue being in the title, Clare Mackintosh’s new thriller is indeed not what you think. As fellow author Lee Child succinctly put it: “I always see the twists coming – but not this time.” Indeed, Mr Child, indeed.

Fans will know that the thing that sets Mackintosh apart, beyond the ability to keep us gripped and guessing, is that she is a former policewoman, so her crime procedurals carry some level of actual nous.

We loved her DC Ffion Morgan series, which included 2025’s Other People’s Houses, but this new release is a standalone. Without giving anything away, we’ll just say it centres around a main character called Nadeeka who’s certain her partner Jamie is having affair. She flies off home to confront him, and instead finds him lying dead. We’ll leave the rest to you to unravel. 

ALSO READ:

• Keep calm and press play: five British podcasts you’ll love
• The books we loved this year (and why they’re perfect December reads)
• Stream, watch, repeat: Currency’s guide to series and films to watch right now

_{Top image: Rawpixel/Currency collage.}