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My Joy List: Mary H.K. Choi

The Emergency Contact author shares her favorite Carpool karaoke bit, a classic piece from The Onion, and the podcast that “pacifies [her] cortisol levels.“

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Think back to the last time the internet brought you joy. We want to put more of those moments at your fingertips—whether it’s a favorite podcast episode, heartwarming personal essay, or reliably fantastic recipe. So we’re introducing a series of Joy Lists from writers, artists, and people we admire.

Chances are, writer, author, and host Mary H.K. Choi, has written something that made your Joy List. Maybe it’s one of her books (including her newest, 2021’s Yolk), her letter of recommendation for La Croix seltzer in The New York Times, or her deeply loving, never-saccharine ode to her mother in Aeon.

So we were thrilled when Choi agreed to share her own Joy List. Read on for the videos, podcast episodes, and iconic articles she comes back to, again and again.

Mary H.K. Choi

Mary H.K. Choi is the New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact, Permanent Record, and Yolk. She is the host of Hey, Cool Job! a podcast about jobs and Hey, Cool Life! a podcast about mental health and creativity. She lives in New York.

She’s sharing her Joy List in support of Heart of Dinner, an organization that combats food insecurity and isolation within NYC’s elderly Asian American community. They deliver hot meals and groceries as well as handwritten and illustrated letters to our elders in Chinese or Korean.