Getting cabin fever? Running out of things to do? Here are some suggestions for at-home activities to keep you busy while helping stop the spread of COVID-19.
Streaming Shows & Movies
Stuck at home and you’ve already binged through all of your must-watch shows? Here are a few of our recommendations:
NETFLIX
- Halt & Catch Fire
- Schitt’s Creek
- Santa Clarita Diet
- Sherlock
- Dead to Me
- The Good Place
Try out the Netflix Party Chrome extension to stream a same show/movie at the same time with friends for a watch party: CLICK HERE
HULU
- Superstore (Plus, a fellow LAOUT member James Renfroe directed an episode or two!)
- Drunk History (the Hamilton episode with Lin-Manuel Miranda is a must-watch!)
- The Masked Singer
- Killing Eve
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- Raising Hope
AMAZON
- Hunters (Plus, Remy Schor’s brother is in it! It’s violent though, so be warned)
- The Americans
- Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
- Modern Love
- Fleabag
Here’s a link to a list of movies that will be coming to streaming services early: CLICK HERE
Sling is offering free streaming TV: CLICK HERE
Podcasts
- My Dad Wrote a Porno — a man and his two friends read an erotic novel his dad wrote. Each episode is a chapter where they read out loud and make fun of the terribly, but hilariously, written world of Belinda, a pots and pans sales woman, who is unstoppable despite never really selling anything. It’ll make you glad you’ve never found your own parents’ erotic novels
- Root of Evil — True story of a family that finds evidence about the Black Dahlia Murderer in their own history and how it’s shaped their lives
- Reply All — a podcast about the internet, but sometimes ventures off into somewhat related topics. Fun episodes: #140 The Roman Mars Mazda Virus (about a bug in Mazdas that won’t play 99% Invisible Podcast), #117 The World’s Most Expensive Watch (about an instagram ad for a very cheap but nice-looking watch) , and #44 Shine On You Crazy Goldman (about LSD micro-dosing)
- Experts on Experts — episodes pulled from Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Experts where he interviews actual experts on specific topics
- Hardcore History — very looong episodes that detail everything you don’t know about history. Don’t worry. You’ve got the time.
- Slow Burn — each season covers a specific event in modern history that you probably don’t know as much about as you think you do. So far, they’ve covered the Clinton/Lewinski scandal, Watergate, and this latest season dives into the rivalry between Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.
Books
Support LA local bookstores with online orders through Vromans and The Last Bookstore. Both have online ordering for physical books to be mailed to your home. Vromans also has ebooks for purchase. And Libro.fm is an audiobook service that allows you to purchase audiobooks and select a local bookstore to support in the process.
Fiction
- Sign of the Cross by Chris Kuzneski — Adventurous novel that is similar to DaVinci Code (or so I’m told, haven’t actually gotten around to reading that) with lots of Religious references that he blends so well with fiction it’s hard to know what is truly pulled from the Bible vs what he makes up for the multiple person adventure that spans the globe but draws the characters together to stop an evil plot
- Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton — Choose your own adventure for adults – I mean who doesn’t want to end up a VooDoo Priestess?
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card — Science Fiction set in a world where the government selects the best and brightest young children to be trained in Battle School to fight off alien invaders. Whatever you heard about the movie, forget about it. The book is 10x better, as usual.
- Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple — Comedic adventure of a missing mother, precocious daughter and a family trip to Antarctica. Made into a movie just last year staring Cate Blanchett.
- Bunny by Mona Awad — Mean Girls meets Stephen King. It’s weird. You’ll love it.
Non-Fiction
- Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach — Everything thing you never knew about your digestive system explained in a light-hearted and fun way.
- Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell — An examination of our interactions with strangers and why they often go wrong. It’s a great audiobook with the production value of a podcast series. It’s read by the author and includes excerpts from his recorded interviews, archival audio, conversations re-created by actors, and even music.
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb — A fascinating look at therapy as told by a therapist explaining what it’s like to treat people, as well as what it’s like for her on the other side of the couch when she goes to see her own therapist.
YouTube Channels
- Taskmaster — A British game show with all comedians
- Bon Appetit — Start with the Gourmet Makes series where Claire recreates popular snack foods – most recent one is making Girl Scout cookies, OR check out Chris Morocco reverse engineers dishes that he can only smell, taste, and touch but never see.
- Hot Ones — Celebrities interviewed while eating hot wings that start mild and get increasingly spicier. Be sure to check out Paul Rudd, Shia LaBeouf, Kristen Bell and Issa Rae.
- My Drunk Kitchen — a cooking show and comedy series of short videos by Hannah Hart
- Wizard People, Dear Reader — an unauthorized, alternative soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, written by Brad Neely, a comic book artist.
- Yoga with Adriene — excellent yoga videos for any occasion. Most videos are in the 20-30 minute range. Check out playlists made for specific topics like Yoga for Uncertain Times or a 30 Day Yoga Challenge.
Brain Candy
Looking to learn a new skill in your free time?
- Yale’s most popular class ever is available free online — and the topic is how to be happier in your daily life.
- Tour museums and archives online through Google Arts & Culture plus more virtual tour options here: click here.
- LinkedIn opened some courses with tips to help adjust to remote work.
- 6 perks you can get for free with a LA Library Card. And you can get a digital card online here!
Staying Healthy
Here are some ways to get some movement in while we’re on an ultimate break.
- Go for a walk. Take a bike ride. But practice safe social distancing! Staying home all week and then going on a hike at a crowded park doesn’t help anyone. Just pretend like it’s 2nd grade and everyone has cooties.
- Do 8-10 burpees between each episode of your Netflix binge. Get some pushups and squats in throughout the day. Find some workout videos on YouTube. Start a 30 day challenge with some friends. We know you have time.
- Make sure you’re getting a good balanced diet and staying hydrated even when you’re not working out all of the time.
- And if you really can’t resist picking up the disc, here’s a video for some throwing drills you can work on in the comfort of your living room.
Have you been secretly interested in trying out meditating but thought it might be a little too hippy-dippy? You do know what people say about Ultimate, right? Here are some meditation resources for the brave and curious. And they’re all FREE!
- Headspace – A popular app/site for mediation with a new section dedicated to uncertain times.
- 10% Happier Corona Virus Sanity Guide – NBC news anchor Dan Harris started this site (plus podcast and a book) after he had a nervous breakdown on live TV. They’ve since added a FREE section for how to maintain sanity in these times.
- Kristin Neff’s Loving-Kindness – free mediation video on YouTube
- Bedtime with Babish – Your favorite YouTube host from the cooking series Binging with Babish has a podcast where he reads bedtimes stories for grown-ups. One of the most recent episodes is a guided meditation.
Coronavirus Resources
It can be easy to want to burry your head in the sand when it comes to all the latest news surrounding this pandemic. But here are a few helpful resources:
- Here’s a blog from a trained infectious disease specialist who’s also an ultimate frisbee player!
- Sign up for Notify LA and receive text updates when new announcements are made regarding city of LA.
- COVID-19 Q&A video with Steph Curry and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- The New York Times has all of their Coronavirus coverage free of charge so you can stay up-to-date on the latest news.
Miscellaneous
- Look out for some artists you like doing live, free DJ sets. Like Diplo- has been doing hour long sets almost every day on both instagram and youtube at different hours. you can have a personal concert at home. Other artists doing live sets include Coldplay and John Legend.
- Catch up on your favorite furry animals via wildlife cameras
- Check out the game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for your next video chat with friends.
- Now’s the perfect time to really see what sparks joy in your apartment. Check out the KonMari method for organizing your home and getting rid of some of the clutter you’ve been holding onto for too long.