Lounge Loves: Palestinian content creators, Psych on Netflix and more

Remember to breathe

I have lately started tuning in to Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s health podcast Feel Better, Live Free, where the British physician and author features stories, tips from health experts and personalities. While it can be tough to find takeaways from every episode, a bite-size version of Chatterjee’s conversation with natural lifestyle coach and endurance athlete Tony Riddle left me with a new understanding of breathwork and how it can help manage stress. The 16-minute clip is from a longer episode with Riddle. But it still has enough on the physiology of stress, including a simple breathing exercise that Riddle takes the listener through in real time. It’s a simple daily habit, says Riddle, that can help an individual calm their fight-or-flight system—our body’s response to how we deal with stress and danger in our environment. —Nitin Sreedhar

A happy throwback

The premise is simple. Shawn (James Roday), a man with extraordinary observational skills—so good that he can trick people into believing he’s psychic—helps cops solve crimes. The American sitcom Psych first aired in 2006, so rewatching its first season in 2024 (it’s now on Netflix India) is a nice reminder of a time on TV when crime and comedy could meet with a casual lightness; and most sets and shots were well-lit. The first few seasons make for a delightful time capsule of the 2000s—in rose-tinted retrospect, a carefree time when we wore half sleeved T-shirts over full sleeved ones, our trousers almost always grazed the ground, and shows could take things seriously without trying too hard to look like they were. Psych epitomises all of it. —Vangmayi Paraka

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Resilience from the war zone 

Two Palestinians boys, Mohammed and Omar, most likely in their early 20s, upload a reel a day on their Instagram page @omarherzshow. Each video chronicles their daily life that include everything from collecting food parcels and playing football with children to organising chess tournaments—all against the backdrop of buildings ravaged by Israel’s attack on Gaza. They also take on paid gigs, like teaching video editing online. There’s a makeshift café in the neighbourhood where they meet to hang-out with friends and to charge their phones and laptops. These videos are a testament to their resilience and indomitable spirit. —Jahnabee Borah

A summer draw 

It’s been five years since it launched, but I recently rediscovered Cards vs Sanskaar over Bengaluru’s record-breaking summer. With nowhere to go and nothing to enthuse us, my friends and I found the game lying forgotten at home. A sort of Indian version of the American Cards Against Humanity, this game is full of contextual humour for Indians. It has 75 prompt cards in black and 305 response cards in orange. Once we cracked it open, there was endless laughter that languorous afternoon—at one point, the prompt “What does Sharmaji’s son excel in?”, was matched with response cards that said “Fake accents” and “An argument with Arnab.” The set also includes 12 blank response cards for inside jokes. With its risqué cards and simple rules, this game was minimum effort but maximum fun. — Ghazal Chengappa

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