The age of Netflix: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. As I’m sure any fellow binge-watcher can attest, there is almost no better feeling than curling up with a cozy blanket and the first three seasons of any TV series. Too much of a good thing can be dangerous, however, and I’ll be the first to admit that finding out whether Mr. So-and-so gets the girl can often come at the expense of other, ahem, more educational activities (that next episode button is just so conveniently placed!). On a recent snow day I was feeling really guilty about all of the brain cells I had killed staring blankly at a screen, so I decided to search for something to watch that would actually enrich my knowledge. I stumbled across the documentary section of this fateful website and was immediately surprised and pleased. Now, I know what you’re thinking: documentaries are meant to be watched when you need something to help you fall asleep and usually fall into the category of vicious animals/cool nature, Americans are fat, or semi-inspirational biographies. In reality, there are hundreds of films about almost anything you can imagine. I watched just three of the first few options that I saw, and am so glad I chose to open my eyes up to the world we live in rather than indulge in the trash TV shows I could have wasted my time on. Here are a few of the documentaries I would recommend:

Girl Rising

This 2013 documentary was directed by Academy Award-nominated Richard E. Robbins and follows the stories of nine girls around the globe as they fight the oppression they face in their society. The girls themselves are featured, and their stories are told by actresses including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez. As HHS seniors learned when they watched the movie here last fall, each of the girls faces her own unimaginable challenges. Sokha in Cambodia was born an orphan and grew up picking through the village dump for scraps of metal. But when she receives an education, Sokha works to teach other girls in her community and attends youth leadership conferences around the world including Washington DC. Wadley is just 8 years old when her native Haiti is struck by the huge 2010 earthquake that forced half the population to live in tent camps and shut down her school. But Wadley refuses to give up her education and starts a school in the tent camp itself. Suma in Nepal is forced into bonded labor at the age of 6 to help support her family, and spends her childhood working for a variety of “masters.” When Suma is taught to read, however, she glimpses a brighter future and makes her way to helping herself and other girls to freedom. Yasmin in Egypt is sexually assaulted but rather than hiding in shame she tells her story to the world to illuminate a problem, and Ethiopian Azmera refuses to marry at the age of 13 in order to continue her studies. A girl named Ruksana in India lives with her family on the streets so they can afford an education, while Senna in Peru uses poetry to bring beauty to her desolate mining town. Mariama lives in war-torn Sierra Leone, but stars on her own radio show and helps girls with real-life problems. Finally, Amina in Afghanistan is a child bride but pushes the limitations of a male-dominated society. Each of these stories is true, and all are equally amazing.

The Dark Matter of Love

Fourteen year old Cami Diaz and her family live in a suburban Wisconsin town not too different from good ole’ Hanover, MA. The Diaz family has always wanted more children, but after being unable to conceive for over a decade, they decided to adopt Masha, 11, and twins Marcel and Vadim, 5, from an impoverished area of Russia. Having never experienced parental love, it is unclear whether Masha and the twins will be able to reciprocate the love the Diaz family plans to give the children. The family works with developmental psychologists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine to learn more about the bond parents and children share to help these children to know they are valued and cared for. This documentary is about the psychological and scientific explanations of love, but also follows the orphans as they experience a collision of cultures and become part of a family for the first time.

Food, Inc.

Did you know that the average American meal travels 1,500 miles before reaching your plate? Would you believe it if I told you there was some form of corn in every meal you ate? Food, Inc. focuses all about the corporate side of American food consumption. Almost all of the chicken we eat comes from one of two huge corporations, and cows, pigs, and poultry are being genetically engineered as we speak to provide customers with more bang for their buck. The documentary features interviews from farmers to CEOs, and even gives viewers a glimpse into meat-packing factories, industrial hen houses, and Midwestern farms. I found this movie fascinating but also pretty terrifying . . . let’s just say I only ate salads for a few days after watching. If you’re really big on meat, I’d steer clear of this one, you may never want to look at a filet mignon again!

These days, it seems that listening to the radio can’t really compare to listening to music on your phone.  With iTunes, Pandora and Spotify letting you choose the songs and eliminating obnoxious commercials, the radio can be an annoying alternative. It is much easier to enjoy a song when you are not dreading the upcoming chant of “K-A-R-S cars for kids.” (donate your car today)  Honestly, I would agree with all of these statements, if not for the exception of one radio station.  Despite the long commercial breaks, 92.5 The River provides a better listening experience in my opinion than any other music medium.

The River is on a mission, a Blues Brothers-esque “mission from God,” to provide us with good music.  No one is paying them to play certain things, or advertise products during the talk show.  There are no high-level executives dictating what they play.  They play songs because they are good and for no other reason.

Although many stations boast their variety, this station actually has it.  They do not commit themselves to one style of music.  They just play songs that they feel have value to them.  You may hear “Uptown Funk” played in the same hour as a Bob Dylan song, and then maybe they’ll play an acoustic version and then a live version.  No matter how diverse the playlists may be, the DJs always have an artistic ability to align the music so that each song flows nicely into the next.  Even if the genre or age of the songs are vastly different, there is never a jarring transition as they change.  The diversity of these playlists suit those who pride themselves on liking all kinds of music, but benefit the majority of us who have only been exposed to the music of our friends or our parents.  The River opens you up to kinds of things you have never heard, and never would have heard if not for this station.

Another annoying aspect of listening to the radio is having to hear the trivial squabbles of the DJs.  It seems they are either telling everyone a fake account of their weekend or promoting a product that they are paid to advertise.  Thankfully, the DJs on The River don’t seem to follow the actions of their neighboring stations. Before a certain song is played, the DJ will provide interesting background that makes you notice more things while listening than you would have otherwise.  They discuss an artist’s writing process, the meaning behind the song, or even their personal thoughts on the song.  When they build up a song, they do it so genuinely that it makes you eager to listen and share in their excitement.

I would even argue that listening to The River is good for you.  It opens you up to new things and broadens your horizon.  It reminds us what radio DJs are supposed to do and what radio executives are not.  It teaches us that broadcasting should be independent, so the only motive is to benefit listeners.  In this case, the benefit to listeners is providing them with diverse, genuinely good music.

Whether you’re a fan of their genre of music or not, everyone likes at least one song by Imagine Dragons. It could be “It’s Time,” “Radioactive,” or “Tiptoe,” but when Imagine Dragons released its first album Night Visions, it became one of the biggest selling albums of 2013. With a response like that, the pressure was definitely on for the band to make a follow-up album just as awesome as the first. And in my opinion, they succeeded.

Their new album, Smoke +Mirrors, is astounding, with strong melody writing and captivating lyrics. My favorite song from the album right now is “I Bet My Life.” This album will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Smoke + Mirrors has a whole range of musical styles that anyone can appreciate including mellow melodies, guitars filtered with alternative-rock, powerful bass or beats, and floor drums.

It’s hard for me decide if this album is an improvement over the last because the sound is different. With saying that, a lot of reviews comment on how it doesn’t sound anything like their first album and they want the old Imagine Dragons back. But here’s my question for you if you think like that: Iif a band stuck with the same old sound for every album, wouldn’t it get rather boring? I mean they only have one other album, so it’s perfectly reasonable if a band wants to change up their sound and try something different. Dan Reynolds, lead vocalist, said while making this album, “We embraced a lot of hip-hop influences with Night Visions, but I think the next record will be more rock-driven.”

The rest of the reviews have all been really positive, some calling it a “modern pop-rock gem.” I recommend this album for anyone; even if you’re not a huge rock fan, Smoke + Mirrors will be sure to rock your mind. (Wow, I ended the article with a really bad pun, good job me!)

Since ancient times, there has been a lot of thought about what happens when we die — if we are drawn to a bright light, reborn as a stinkbug or sacred cow, or ascend to some version of heaven. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, explores not just what happens after we die, but what goes on as we are dying and imagines we have a choice on whether to hang on or let go.

Mia is a 17-year-old musical prodigy who enjoys a pretty happy life with her hipster parents, 8-year-old brother and budding rock star boyfriend. All of that changes on a snowy day when a family road trip ends in a terrible car accident. Thrown from the car, she is plunged into a coma, which allows her spirit to escape from her body and witness the scene unfold. With her parents dead and her brother critically injured, she watches as doctors work on her battered body and as her family and friends gather at the hospital. She becomes aware of the choice she has to make: fight her extreme injuries and the grief of losing her parents to survive, or give into the sadness and let go. When she seems ready to give up, her body experiences complications and she is rushed back into surgery. When she is hopeful, her body seems to grow stronger. Taking such an emotional journey with Mia was heart-wrenching, and I agonized with her as she waffled between wanting to live and giving in to death. It reminded me of the whispered conversations I had with my own mom in the last hours of her life: stay because I want you here, but if you’re too tired to fight anymore, it’s okay if you go.

The book takes place in the span of one very long day, with flashbacks interspersed to tell us more about Mia’s family, boyfriend and future hopes and dreams. The flashbacks made her feel like a real person, one whose decision I really cared about. I never saw the recent movie made from the book, so I can’t compare the two. But the book was an engaging, fast read that I had a hard time putting down.