What's Working: April 2026
What’s been working well in my life - plus a curated list of links to what I’ve been reading, listening to, watching, and cooking.
My dear reader.
First, a quick update on the preparedness microgrants I’m giving away:
Tomorrow is the final day to apply, and all info can be found here. Winners will be chosen on April 9 via a lottery, for which I’ll use a random number generator corresponding to the number of each person’s application.
I have already received more than 30 applications for the 10 grants. If you, like me, are currently in a position of relative financial stability and would like to sponsor a grant, that would be so wonderful! Just email me (newsletter@nicantoinette.com) and I’ll choose an additional winner for each sponsor who reaches out, and then I’ll connect sponsor + winner directly (via email) so that the $250 can be gifted. Hell yes to this kind of direct person-to-person redistribution and community caretaking!
And now, as always on the first Tuesday of each month, I’m here with my free offering for all subscribers: a roundup of what’s been working well in my life plus a curated list of links to what I’ve been reading, listening to, watching, and cooking.
In the comments I’d love to hear what’s been working well for you (even/especially amidst hard times), as well as any of your own recommended links.
Enjoy!
What’s Working
Hour-long standup comedy specials. Laughter more generally, wherever I can get it. The bright purple crocuses sprouting up all over the backyard. Giving myself entire days off when the waves of grief feel all-consuming. Picking up trash around my neighborhood. Giving money away. The smell of granola in the oven. Our new furry family member! The reliable equation of hard exercise = endorphins = better mood. Watching the indoor seed starts germinate and grow toward the light. Staying devoted to how I, too, can grow toward the light in dark times.
Top Recs: Reading, Listening, Watching
I loved this newsletter dispatch from Toi Smith on how precarity fuels ambition, particularly this reflection question she shared: “If my basic needs were secure (healthcare, housing, food, rest), how would my ambitions change?“
I can’t stop thinking about Secret Mall Apartment, a documentary about a group of young artists who covertly built an apartment inside a shopping mall and lived there on and off for four years before getting caught. It’s a story about the apartment, but even more so it’s an uplifting and thought-provoking look at the power of art.
This interview with Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, is hands-down the clearest, most useful, most nuanced and informative conversation I have ever heard on the question of what it would it mean to design AI around human wellbeing rather than engagement, attention, and profit.
One more A+ rec on the topic of AI: Amelia Hruby has been absolutely nailing her series about AI on the Off The Grid podcast over the past few weeks, within which you can find conversations on AI sobriety, 3 reasons you might feel so conflicted about AI, how to write a thoughtful AI policy as a small biz person, and more.
Okay this one is extremely niche, but for my fellow blister-prone endurance athletes: I learned so much about proper foot care from this interview with Dr. Tanya Olson. (And if this lane of media is your thing, I bet you’d also have fun watching Redemption, Hans Troyer’s 30-min race doc from this year’s Black Canyon 100k.)
“You have to stop believing in the logic of extraction for long enough in your week to invest your time and energy into building something else.“ Rosie Spinks with the real talk in this essay!
The attack on trans rights in the US is terrifying and disgusting. In late February, for example, the Kansas state legislature passed a bill revoking driver’s licenses from trans residents. It’s all just so fucked, and now is a great time to increase support of orgs that support trans people. (Related: I loved Margaret Killjoy’s essay on Trans Day of Visibility last week)
I am so grateful to writers like Sarah Kendzior, whose moral compass is matched by deep investigative research and the continual courage it takes to write about authoritarianism and political corruption. Here’s a roundup of relevant articles she wrote on three topics that have been all over the news this year: political corruption, Jeffrey Epstein, and AI.
I am usually the complete opposite of a misanthrope, but the number of people who are gambling on the death and destruction of the Iran war (and so many other tragedies and crises, like famine in Gaza) using platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi makes me want to set shit on fire. (Also: the Substack/Polymarket collab is just… no. No!)
Oof, okay, if you’re in need of a mood-boosting journaling prompt, let this essay by Luca J Davis be your inspiration: Reasons to be alive
And for some much-needed laughter: Ronny Chieng’s Love to Hate It and Mo Amer’s Wild World were my favorite standup specials this past month. Thank god for the comedians right now, honestly.
New podcast series!
I’m delighted to now be joining my dear friend Amelia Hruby as a monthly guest on her show, Off The Grid.
Tune into the most recent episode to hear us talk about:
How we coped when Q1 didn’t go as planned
Financial plans in the turmoil of 2026
How to talk about grief in public
What’s bringing us joy
& more!
Cooking & Baking
My partner is our resident pizza maker, and this South Shore Bar Pizza is so good. +1 for butter in pizza crusts!
I am clinging to soup season even as the weather slowly starts to warm up, and my two recent favorites were tomato gnocchi soup and smoky red lentil soup with spinach.
Your turn!
What’s been working well for you lately? Do you have any reading, listening, watching, or cooking recommendations of your own to share? Tell us, tell us!
<3
Nic
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Comedy specials also working well for me. I loved the Taylor Tomlinson special on Netflix, filmed in my hometown Unitarian Universalist church Fountain Street Church (shout out to Fountain Club!)
Also working for me is : petting my cats, kissing my girlfriend, drinking tea instead of coffee, working on my money wounds , and walking the dog while I listen to you and Amelia on Off The Grid : )
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I love the elk herd I have for neighbors in a place you wouldn't expect an elk herd, and all the returning birds, with particular shoutouts to the sandhill cranes and the meadowlarks!
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Yasss to the sandhill cranes and meadowlarks :)
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Yay, I'm so stoked that you and Amelia are continuing your chats - the content is thought-provoking in a warm way. 💜
Speaking of comedians, my husband and I thoroughly enjoy watching Dropout.tv - their shows are hilarious, independently made, a lot of improv comedy. There are many recurring comedians and it feels like a warm, caring group of people. Some of our favs series on there are Dirty Laundry, Make Some Noise, Game Changer, and Gastronauts.
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What’s working for me is finally getting approved for iv iron after years of having symptoms. Yay for modern medicine! Also finally feeling more financially safe after a year of not having enough. Also clinging to soup season!!
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Birding walks that feel like what church should actually feel like, standing in the afternoon rain, Mary Oliver's poetry, less television and more reading, knowing my daughter will be going to a safe school next year, taking out a second mortgage to consolidate debt, giving myself a break from hard conversations for a bit, letters from love, step ten check ins with my sponsor, and doggy snuggles.
Thanks, Nic!
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Obsessed with watching YouTube vloggers living on the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands - seeing the wild landscape, cozy living, history of the area, watching their dogs explore the great outdoors, crazy weather. Two of my favs are Living The Skye Life and Caroline McQuistin.
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I watch a Skye one too, Amy Spires. She lives in a teeny caravan with her husband and dog, and weaves, and rides bikes, and goes on hikes. Not a whiff of "lifestyle" about it.
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I started indoor cycling and it has done wonders for my mood. I actually look forward to a fitness activity - which is totally new and awesome. I've been making a lot of digital art - for some reason analog art feels less accessible so I'm going with the flow of ease. I'm reading more and I just started binging Falling Skies on netflix, which is strangely comforting.
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Ummm thank you for bringing the Kansas legislation and Substack / Polymarket collab to my attention because what the fucking fuck????????
Drinking from the fire hose that is the 24-hour news cycle is overwhelming but hearing highlights in this newsletter from someone with similarly aligned values has highlighted things I've missed that feel super important to me.
Gonna end on a positive note with a rec of Come See Me In The Good Light documentary (if you haven't seen already!). Very life affirming. But proceed with the utmost caution and tenderness because it might be too much right now given the grief you are holding. But at the same time it could be very therapeutic? But when you feel ready, it was really impactful for me!
If it is too soon, then reading Andrea Gibson's poetry will be a good window into their world, starting with Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps which makes me cry every time I read it.
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I'm reading the Lord of the Rings book for the first time (currently halfway through Two Towers), planning to watch the movies once I finish. I've somehow managed to get to 41 without knowing much of anything about it and now I'm the person starting every conversation with: "have you heard of this thing Lord of the Rings?! It's actually SO GOOD."
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New furry family member?!!! What species?
I really appreciate your writing here, even if I no longer comment often. Looking forward to the podcast too.
What is working for me: Going dancing, full days of no work or life admin, writing fiction, therapy, music playlist on repeat, staring at the leaves and flowers growing, daily stretches, protein-rich snacks and breakfast, colourful button-up shirts. This quote my friend Lexxie shared: “Your best is what you do without harming your physical or mental health. Not what you can accomplish when you disregard it.”
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The Secret Mall Apartment is SOOOO good. I saw it last year at a film festival and couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks.
You can't just say "new furry family member" without telling us about them! I wholeheartedly respect your choice of privacy and not putting your entire life (+ pictures) on the internet anymore...but, also, I selfishly want to know EVERYTHING about all your furry family members and see every picture. ;-)
Speaking of furry family members. That's what's working. My cats are the best thing on the planet. Two weeks ago, we celebrated one of my cats one year anniversary of recovering from FIP. That was a big day. We also have a bird feeder on our balcony, and they are super excited that more and more birds are coming with the weather getting better.
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OMG every time you share something i wrote, I feel like I won the lottery :-)
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Tending to my garden of seedlings on my porch is my favorite part of my day. Recognizing I need help before I let something (ie garden bed prep) crash and burn and actually asking for it has also made my spring.
Excited to hear about your sheep! We’ve got a few milkers expected to lamb for the first time this spring and I’m having so much fun learning about the process.
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Working for me: starting a vegetable garden and reminding my 12 month old that it is magic that she and I are together on this earth.
in blister news: um, there was a time when I was doing your half-marathon training program and you literally offered for me to send you a picture of the blister I was dealing with for advice (I hope I didn't take you up on it) and just wanted to let you know I'm still here, following along with your evolution, over a decade later <3
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Got to see a mama sheep give birth to 4 lambs!!!!! Holy moly... raw and beautiful ..... and yes Dr. Tonya is awesome. She saved my feet in my 100 miler.... and thanks for the heads up about David and Megan's podcast, so hilarious even if I don't care about alot of the science of bicarb and ketones... and run slow. If you haven't see Tara Dower's documentary I highly recommend! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--r6XB3o9QE
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What's working is letting myself feel sad and crying, which was not okay in my family of origin, crying, did I mention crying, letting my face get all contorted when I cry, daily journaling, dancing in my living room to the continued disapproval of my cats, remembering I am traveling through my feelings and life experiences and physical pain and they are not who I am, reading research articles to tickle my big brain, singing aloud, biscotti every damn day, indulging my keen sense of the ridiculous, the new infusion for rheumatoid arthritis (this is HUGE!), so much water, vegan protein powder, potatoes, the particular redwoods outside the living room and bedroom, and oh, I might shed a tear now and again. 😉
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