What’s in Our Queue? Charlotte Day Wilson and More

I’m an economics and business reporter in the London newsroom of The New York Times. It’s a fascinating but intellectually taxing job, wading through policy and untangling crises. Outside of work I like to escape into culture that feels calming yet reminds me of people’s resilience.

Here are five things that I’m enjoying →

Music: Charlotte Day Wilson

I first heard this R&B singer-songwriter’s soulful, powerful yet tender vocals in an “Atlanta” episode a few years ago, and I’ve not stopped listening to her since. She is the soundtrack to all my dinner parties and leisurely Sunday mornings. Her new album, “Cyan Blue,” is full of heartfelt reflections on connection, love and queerness.

Art: ‘The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure’

This exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in London was steeped in history without being depressing, as the portrayal of Black people can be when it centers slavery and racism. There was power and vibrancy in everything from Thomas J. Price’s supersized bronze statue of a woman to Noah Davis’s painting of swimmers in 1970s Chicago.

See more about the exhibit here.

TV: ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’

I’m often extremely late to TV shows, but thanks to this CNN series, I’ve now traveled (from my sofa) to post-Qaddafi Libya, the Congo River and 2014 Moscow. Bourdain’s curiosity and enthusiasm for other people is infectious and a reminder of why I got into journalism. Every episode leaves me smarter. And hungrier.

Book: ‘Small Worlds’

The second novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson (alas, no relation to me) is about love, family, music, food and a boy becoming an adult. Much of the book is set in South East London, where I also live, and I was deeply moved to see this often-overlooked corner of the city get such beautiful literary treatment.

Album: ‘Rose in the Dark’

There’s plenty I don’t want to remember from pandemic lockdowns, but Cleo Sol’s debut album is absolutely not one of them. Part of a thriving British R&B moment, this album still carries me through hard times. I hate flying, and I listen to it on repeat whenever I’m on a plane.

Here are some more favorites: