Dr. Juli Fraga

Dr. Juli Fraga is a psychologist who’s written for NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post and VICE. As a creative person, she loves what television shows and movies can teach us about psychological concepts and human behavior. 
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Never Have I Ever

A fresh coming-of-age dramedy, Never Have I Ever depicts how the death of a loved one can impact teens’ mental health, as well as a parent’s wellbeing. Families enduring similar struggles will find relatability and reassurance to know they’re not alone.

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Stepmom

A classic that addresses tough topics like blending families and how to cope with grief, Stepmom can also serve as a kind of road map for how to broach tough topics like a terminal illness.

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Dead to Me (S3)

A form of cinematherapy, Dead to Me’s final season brings a big plot twist, one that can be emotionally provoking as well as a cathartic and entertaining conversation starter.

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In Treatment (2021)

A timely reboot that depicts the vital relationship between a therapist and patient, and the meaningful role it plays in fostering growth and change.

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Maiden

A lesson in surviving childhood trauma, channeling energy into a worthy cause, and fighting to win — even when the majority says victory is impossible.

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Can You Ever Forgive Me?

At first glance a true crime story, the film is actually a look at how poverty, loneliness and imposter syndrome can seduce someone into creating a false reality.

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Inside Out

With so many of us facing unfamiliar, anxiety-ridden situations today, Inside Out can serve as a useful prompt for the entire family to acknowledge our emotional experiences — sparking insight and helping us cope with change.

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Workin’ Moms

When you can’t make it out of the house to attend a support group for new moms, this can be a great substitute. By showing the human side of motherhood, the series helps normalize maternal ambivalence, “mommy guilt,” and the pressure many women feel to be “perfect” moms.

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Serendipity

A lesson in authenticity, the power of friendship, and acting on your gut feeling, even when the odds are against you.

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The Most Relevant Oscar Contenders of 2025

The most relevant Oscar movies of 2025 shed light on timely issues and help us process our current moment, from Wicked’s take on fascist leaders to The Brutalist and Anora’s sentiments on the American Dream.

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Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

With all of the power and percussion of a Louis Armstrong horns ensemble, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is a visceral must-watch that sheds fresh light on an era through an inventive new documentary format.

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The Brutalist

Blending raw emotion, breathtaking cinematography, and a narrative that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit, The Brutalist is a top 2025 Oscar contender and a must-watch for lovers of bold, novelistic storytelling, American history, and cinematic experiences.

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Escape Watch: The Best Historical Drama for Right Now

An immersive must-watch embraced by critics, the new Shōgun brings a new perspective on the epic historical drama about the battle between East and West in 17th century Japan.

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Oscar Contender: How JFK inspired Dune‘s creator

With a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a haul of over $400 million at the global box office, Dune: Part Two continues to draw all new audiences into the science fiction epic based on the landmark 1965 novel.  And the film’s mythic world and timely themes have raised some fresh questions: How did the author

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Suddenly Timely Takes: Lessons from The Diplomat

In the midst of all the hype about a dating show (Love is Blind), a complex political drama that requires undivided attention rose to the top of the Netflix chart in 2023.  At its core, The Diplomat is a series about bureaucratic machinations, yet the show ups the ante with fast-paced action, office romance, high

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The Color Purple

A soaring, historically relevant epic that echoes the many struggles for human rights throughout the mid 20th century, The Color Purple’s musical film is a larger than life reinvention to a revered classic that has shaped three generations. Watch it with someone who’s struggling and in need of hope.

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Rising Star: Our Interview with Dune & The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s Babs Olusanmokun

He is best known for his recent breakout sci-fi roles – from the fierce fighter Doctor M’Benga in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to Jamis – the Freman and best friend to the protagonist Paul – in Dune Parts One and Two.   But Babs Olusanmokun has been acting for two decades. A Nigerian-American who speaks

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Nosferatu

A cinematic experience that earns its many award nominations, Nosferatu (2024) is as much a meditation on the human frailty that leads to doomed obsession as it is a haunting epic about a vampire.

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What to Watch (and Skip) with Thanksgiving Guests

What to watch – and what to skip – if you’re spending Thanksgiving with kids, teenagers, older generations, or all of them under one roof? Your 2022 Watercooler Guide to holiday movies.

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Universal Language

An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.

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Industry S1

Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.

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Minx

The streaming series about the intersection between feminism and smut could endear even the most skeptical. And what it might lack in delicacy, it certainly makes up for in swagger.

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The Sympathizer

Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.

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Robert Redford’s Impact: Four Films to Watch

He was “one of the lions,” as Meryl Streep put it, an American touchstone who changed filmmaking and opened the gates for new generations of storytellers, becoming a central force in independent cinema. To understand the impact his films have had – on previous generations, on our culture, on so many other films – we’ve

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Itaewon Class (Itaewon Keullasseu)

A colorful, ultimately inspiring tale for budding entrepreneurs, restauranteurs, and empire-builders. It also works as a vicarious adventure in Seoul.

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The Back-to-College Binge Watch Playlist

Remember when you could sleep until noon, stumble to class in pajamas, and stay up until 2am watching weird art films? Fall is when many of us become wistful about that bumpy chapter of extended adolescence, when you start to discover who you truly are and make some truly regrettable choices.   In honor of all

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Eddington is a pandemic parable. But what is it trying to say?

Set in May 2020 in a fictional New Mexico town, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix’s new film Eddington draws some parallels to two of the biggest breakout shows of the past decade: The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. It’s a story about a virus that’s less about death and more about exposing the living.

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