Sunday Paper Recommends—Week of June 9, 2024

This week at The Sunday Paper, we're sharing a podcast episode, book, series, newsletter, and recipe that move the needle and spark inspiring change. We hope these suggestions open your heart and mind and encourage you to come together for meaningful conversations!

What We’re Listening to

We loved this episode of The Doctor's Farmacy Podcast in which Dr. Mark Hyman interviews Maria about health, functional medicine, caring for ourselves, preventing illness, and more. The two covered a ton of ground and went deep, starting off with Maria sharing family health anecdotes, her efforts to close the research gap, and Maria even shares her own Function Health test results which revealed Maria's "biological age." This a mighty conversation we're sure you'll enjoy.

The full episode airs this Wednesday, June 12th and The Sunday Paper was lucky enough to get an exclusive sneak peek. Enjoy!

Function Health is the first-ever membership that includes the cost of 100+ lab tests—comprehensive across heart, thyroid, hormones, metabolic, toxins, nutrients, autoimmunity and more. Use our exclusive access code MSHRIVER100 to skip their waitlist and join Function Health today.

What We’re Reading

Prentis Hemphill is a revered embodiment facilitator, therapist, and the author of the new book, What it Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World. In the book, Hemphill offers readers a beautiful invitation to follow them on their path to healing and realignment with one's soul. What It Takes to Heal is so needed today as it recognizes the need to listen to our body's sensations and habits so we can make lasting change and heal trauma not only for and in ourselves but also for and in our communities. This is a stunning book about healing, connection, and love.

A Newsletter We’re Loving

At The Sunday Paper, we love a great story, whether it’s illuminating, moving, or just plain entertaining. Which is why we’re so grateful for The Sunday Long Read.

Each week, The SLR curation team—led by Pulitzer Prize recipient Don Van Natta Jr. with help from more than 100 contributing editors—selects the best stories from dozens of sources, delivering them in a beautiful, free(!) email newsletter. Receiving it on a Sunday morning brings back the feeling of getting your hands on your favorite weekly magazine, stuffed with interesting pieces.

In today's world of infinite clickbait, The Sunday Long Read's mission is to celebrate the great journalism actually worth reading, and ensuring you never miss another great story.

You can join us and nearly 30,000 other readers and writers here.

What We’re Watching

Sometimes we come across a series so eye-opening, we see it as a cautionary tale. Such is the case with the new Netflix docuseries Dancing with the Devil. It follows the story of various TikTok dancers who join a management company and its adjoining church, the Shekinah Church. Revealing alleged instances of control and brainwashing and weaving in the modern spectacle of social media and wanting to belong, this limited series covers a vast ground of grave topics relevant to the zeitgeist.

Our Sunday Dinner Recipe

Dr. Uma’s Brain-Food Granola

From page 234 of Calm Your Mind with Food

Vegetarian, gluten-free

Packaged granola tends to be high in added sugars and processed ingredients, but it’s very easy to make your own healthy, delicious granola at home. My version is packed with nuts, seeds, and spices, and it’s great served with yogurt, to add as a topping to chia or basil seed pudding, or even eaten alone as a snack. I like to make a big batch, which lasts about a month stored in a sealed glass jar. To make this plant based, use your choice to replace the honey.

Servings: 20
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons raw honey or manuka honey
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup crushed walnuts
1 cup crushed almonds
2½ cups rolled oats
2 tablespoons flaxseeds
2 tablespoon hemp seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Heat the oil in a medium pot over low heat. Add the honey and spices.

In a large bowl, mix the nuts, oats, and seeds. Pour in the oil, honey, and spice mix. Mix thoroughly and spread out on the sheet pan.

Roast for 1 hour, until golden brown, stirring the granola mix every 15 minutes to prevent it from burning. Cool and serve.