CHRISTINE: From the New York Times, you’re listening to The Wirecutter Show.
CAIRA: Hey, everyone. It’s The Wirecutter Show. I’m Caira Blackwell.
CHRISTINE: I’m Christine Cyr Clisset.
ROSIE: And I’m Rosie Guerin. And we work at Wirecutter, the product recommendation site from the New York Times.
CAIRA: Each week, we bring you expert advice from our newsroom of 140 journalists who review everyday products that will make your life better.
CHRISTINE: This episode of The Wirecutter Show is called A Few of Our Favorite (Wirecutter) Things.
ROSIE: Caira, Christine, this is our last episode of 2024. Can you believe it?
CHRISTINE: We made it.
CAIRA: Let’s go.
ROSIE: Let’s go. For me, the holidays are a time when things actually slow down a tiny, tiny, tiny bit. I get a little contemplative. I get a little reflective. I’m only human.
CHRISTINE: Might you be writing your goals for the next year?
ROSIE: “Dear Diary.”
CHRISTINE: Or contemplating what you accomplished this year?
CAIRA: I feel like we have a lot to be grateful for. We’ve hit how many episodes?
ROSIE: 20.
CHRISTINE: This is 20? Wow.
CAIRA: Wow.
CHRISTINE That’s wild.
ROSIE: 20. It’s so fun to work on the show with you. And it’s really nice to be able to talk to our incredibly smart and talented, incredibly talented, hardworking-
CHRISTINE: Super talented.
ROSIE: … coworkers in The Wirecutter newsroom every week. And you guys are okay.
CAIRA: Well, thank you.
CHRISTINE: Thanks. Thanks.
ROSIE: I kid. I’m very, very grateful.
CHRISTINE: It’s been fun. It’s been super fun.
CAIRA: It has.
ROSIE: And so in the spirit of reflecting, today we’re going to do something a little bit different than we usually do. Drum roll.
CAIRA: What is it? What is it?
CHRISTINE: Yes, tell us.
ROSIE: Well, we’re all about discovering ways we can try and make people’s lives a little bit better, right? That’s Wirecutter’s mission, whether it’s through tips like using laundry detergent to pre-treat your stains on your clothes, shout out to episode one, or through just hacks, tricks from all of these experts at Wirecutter we are fortunate to tap into every week.
CAIRA: And outside of Wirecutter, like Sam Sifton telling us that you actually shouldn’t be making appetizers for Thanksgiving.
ROSIE: That’s right.
CHRISTINE: Still very controversial, right?
CAIRA: I didn’t take that piece of advice, but I appreciate it.
ROSIE: Well, sometimes here at Wirecutter, it may not surprise you to learn that we discover products that really truly do make our lives better, and so I thought it would be fun to reach out to our colleagues in the newsroom and ask them what Wirecutter pick they discovered this year or maybe finally took the plunge on buying that really truly improved their lives.
CHRISTINE: Ooh, I love that. I always love to hear what our coworkers are loving because they have a pretty high bar.
CAIRA: They do.
CHRISTINE: And I think they have a very good sense of when something is really good and really worth the money. So I like to know what they actually will spend their hard-earned dollars on.
ROSIE: A discerning crew of people.
CHRISTINE: That’s right.
CAIRA: Yeah.
ROSIE: So in a second we’re going to hear their stories. We’re going to hear from them directly. And then later, of course, we’ll all share ours. Christine, Caira, I know you’ve got something, at least one thing you tried out this year that upgraded your lives.
CHRISTINE: Oh yes, I definitely have one or two.
CAIRA: Me too, me too.
ROSIE: This is going to be super fun.
CAIRA: We’ll be right back.
CHRISTINE: Welcome back to The Wirecutter Show. Today we’re doing something special featuring some of our colleagues from the Wirecutter Newsroom. We have staffers who have covered everything from refrigerators to bug spray, from drinking glasses to wi-fi routers, all the really exciting stuff. And when you work here, you can’t help but turn to your fellow colleagues for recommendations on what to buy.
CAIRA: Yeah, absolutely. They really hate to see me coming in the Slack messages because I always ask about the most obscure things. Now we’re actually going to hear some messages from our staff about what Wirecutter recommended item they purchased this year that really did improve their lives. Like always, we’ll link the items in our show notes, so let’s get to it.
MEL: Hello. This is Mel Plaut, a staff writer at Wirecutter. I cover pets, and I am calling you from icy-cold Lincoln, Nebraska, where it is currently 12 degrees. So my favorite product of the year is a small portable space heater, the Vornado runner-up pick. This little thing has been a lifesaver, especially over the past few weeks. But it’s also been a little bit of a marriage saver because as much as I like it, my wife likes it even more and carries this little thing around like Linus with his blanket. It’s going upstairs and downstairs and wherever she is, which has reduced the amount of many arguments we’ve had about the house heat, because I like it up. She likes it down. Everybody wants to save money, and so, in fact, I’m cold downstairs while she’s warm upstairs with her mini-heater. She did say that this is quite possibly the best Christmas present I could have ever gotten her, even though it wasn’t a Christmas present. So I have some work to do. All right, see you guys later. Bye-bye.
INGELA: Hey. I’m Ingela Amundson. I’m the supervising editor of Style at Wirecutter, and I think the thing that changed my life most this year among Wirecutter Picks was something that’s kind of embarrassing for me. It’s the Sterilite case of six stacking laundry baskets in white. As somebody who cares a lot about aesthetics, they’re probably the ugliest things in my house by far. They’re literally the only human that keeps my family functioning. It is not a day goes by where I’m not using them to transfer wet laundry or dry unfolded laundry or folded laundry to one of my kids’ rooms. The stackability of them is everything because before I was using a series of IKEA bags that became Russian nesting dolls. I have wrapped my head around the utilitarian hideousness of these things and have come to adore them and depend on them like nothing else. So I would just say embrace the change. Be the change you want to see.
ANNEMARIE: Hi, I am Annemarie Conte, and I’m a deputy editor at Wirecutter, and my absolute favorite pick that I bought this year was a Garmin Forerunner watch. And it was for my husband. It wasn’t even for me. He is a runner and an ultra marathoner, and his watch completely bit the dust right before Black Friday. So it was so nice to be able to buy him a gift that I knew that he would use and I knew that he would love and that he really needed, and I got it on sale, which was just fantastic. And this watch is really great for runners because it does heart rate monitoring, it talks about their speed, it helps them map their roots, and all the little things that their runner heart desires. It just accumulates that data for them to figure out and work on improving or whatever it is that runners do. So I’m completely thrilled that I was able to get this for him and that it’s just a gift that he’s really going to appreciate and think about me hopefully every day as he wears it.
JACKIE: Hi, happy holidays. This is Jackie Reeve, and I am a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. I cover bedding and home linens like towels. The best pick that I bought this year was our runner-up ukulele pick, the Donner Concert Ukulele, for my tween daughter. She took up the guitar a few years ago. My father-in-law is a guitar player, and he bought her a beautiful one. And she played for about a year, but then kind of wandered away from it until her school started a ukulele club after school. And so we had to get her a ukulele, so we bought the dark green version of the Donner ukulele pick, which Brent Butterworth, who wrote that guide, told me is fine. She loved the after-school ukulele club, and she is now back in private guitar lessons with a teacher who teaches guitar and ukulele. So that purchase helped spark her love of music again and has gotten her really excited, and it’s been amazing to see. Thanks, Brent. Thanks, Wirecutter. Love you guys.
BRENT: Hi, I am Brent Butterworth. I’m a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering audio products. And the product that I bought this year that was a Wirecutter pick that I most loved is actually one of my own picks. It’s the JBL Go 4 Bluetooth speaker, and I bought one because the original sample had to off for photography. And I was going off on a trip, and I really wanted a good travel speaker, and this is the one. Usually these little speakers for travel are really kind of bad sounding and not that much worth taking with you, but this one sounds really satisfying.
I use it at home all the time, even though I have bigger and better speakers I could use. It’s IPX7 rated, which means it’s waterproof and dustproof, so you can take it to the beach, you can leave it outside, you can take it in the shower, which I do almost every day. And it’s just a really neat product, and I’m loving it. I actually even had it at a luncheon with a bunch of audiophiles who reviewed things like $20,000 turntables, and they were all pretty blown away, so it must sound pretty good.
KATIE: Hi, I’m Katie Okamoto, and I am the sustainability editor at Wirecutter. This year I bought myself a lamp from HAY, which is the Matin table lamp that we review in our favorite bedside lamp guide. When I moved into my small apartment a couple years ago, I was thinking I’m not going to invest in the lighting. I’m only going to be here for a minute. But you know what? I’m still here, and so I found this lamp. It’s so beautiful. It’s got a minimalist kind of design, but it also feels warm. It has this really nicely shaped folded paper lampshade. I have mine in this gorgeous shade of a burgundy red. What I really like about it also is that the base is these just really slender brass pieces, and so you can kind of put stuff underneath the lamp and it’s just kind of this hovering shade that evokes a sun parasol or something like that. I am in love. I think it really makes my space feel like mine, and I am really thankful that I could do that for myself. Thank you, and have a great new year. Bye.
ZOE: Hey, I’m Zoe, and I’m a senior staff writer covering style and accessories at Wirecutter. This year I bought yet another of what is certainly my favorite Wirecutter pick, and I might be a little bit biased since I picked it, but it’s the Harper Wilde Bliss Triangle Bralette from our guide to the best bras. I love this bralette so much that I wrote a whole article just about why I think it’s so great. The TLDR is I am very picky about my bras. I don’t like underwires, I don’t like padding, I don’t like anything itchy. I can’t deal with lumps, bumps, bulges. I need enough support to make it up and down the stairs with a modicum of dignity, and I’m not here for the uniboob.
For me, this bra is the answer to all of that and more. It’s a smooth, stretchy pullover style that’s ultra comfy and perfect for lounging, but it’s a great everyday style too. The band is snug and it’s wide enough to provide some good support. It’s got adjustable straps. It has a cute triangle cut, which keeps my boobs nice and separated, and it can hide out under lower necklines. And it’s literally the only bra I wear when I’m not actively testing other bras. Obviously bras are really individual. No bra is going to be the perfect fit for everyone, but for me it’s been a game changer. And it comes in cute colors. Bye.
LIAM: Hey, I’m Liam. I’m a writer at Wirecutter, and I want to talk about the Gordon Multitool, which is one of those folding pocket knife, pliers, screwdriver, tiny scissors things that you fold up and carry around. I’ve never been in the habit of carrying a multi-tool like this, just never seemed necessary. I already have all the regular tools. The prices always seemed a little high, and the culture around them could be kind of dorky in a way that didn’t really resonate with me. But my friend and co-worker, Doug, who writes our guide to multi-tools at Wirecutter, he said, “Hey, Harbor Freight, it’s a discount tool store, came out with a really blatant clone of a popular Leatherman tool that’s been kind of the standard-bearer since the ’90s. It’s really cheap and it’s actually really good. Maybe you could get a good piece out of comparing these two.”
So he sent me both of them to try out for a few weeks to write this story, and now I actually think I get it. I can just keep this tool in that dumb coin pocket all my pants still have. I don’t notice it. Anytime I run into a little situation where I need to dig around for a tool, which is at least once a day at this point in my life, I just don’t have to. There’s a good enough version of that tool in my pocket all the time. Is that worth $120, which is what the Leatherman version usually costs? No, not for me. I’m not going to use it hard enough to feel like that’s justified. But $40 bucks for the Gordon, yeah, that I’ll take. That feels worth it to me. And because the Gordon actually feels like a deal, all those extra tools now feel kind of fun and delightful instead of indulgent, even if I’m only going to use them once a year. So I guess I’m a multi-tool guy now.
ELISA: Hi. I’m Elisa. I’m a senior staff writer for Wirecutter. This year I bought a very silly looking travel pillow called the Trtl. I travel a lot. My friends and family are mostly all on the East Coast, and being out in Denver, I’m on a plane all the time going to visit them. And sometimes the cheapest flight is the one that leaves at 3:00 in the morning, and so I’m sleepy. And I’ve never been able to really comfortably sleep on airplanes before, so I bought this travel pillow. And it took me a long time to actually use it because I was just too embarrassed.
It’s essentially like this fleece scarf that has a plastic insert, and the plastic insert sits against the side of your neck so that way you can lean your head on it as a pedestal. And it looks really, really silly, but the first time I used it, I slept for like three straight hours, which unheard of for me on an airplane. So I don’t care anymore, and I do get looks sometimes because, again, it’s a very silly looking pillow. But it works. And honestly, my comfort and actually getting some shut-eye before getting to my destination is worth the crazy stares.
ALEX: Hi. This is Alex Aciman, lead editor on Wirecutter’s discovery team. I’m a long time textile nerd and clothes horse, and I’m super picky about the garments I buy. So I had really low expectations when I bought a t-shirt at the last minute while visiting my grandparents in Wisconsin. But the shirt in question is the Comfort Color 1717, and it immediately became a new favorite. These 100% cotton shirts are really thick and beefy, so they drape well, and they have a little bit of weight to them, which makes them feel just slightly high end. And they’re made of a really nice ring spun cotton that’s comfortable against your skin all day.
And the fit is relaxed, but it’s not boxy. It’s a very flattering fit with drop shoulder seams. It lets you move freely, but you still look sharp. I think what I like most is that their garment dyed, which is a way of dyeing the garment after it’s been sewn together, and this gives them an incredibly soft, washed out, vintage t-shirt-like feel. And they’re only $10. I usually dress like a cartoon character, so of course now I’ve got a whole drawer full of them. And I love opening my dresser and seeing a row of identical t-shirts, and I love that if they ever wear out or get stained, a replacement is literally just a click away.
KATHLEEN: I’m Kathleen Squires, and I’m a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter in New York City. I never know what to get people for special birthdays. So as a food writer, a really nice bottle of champagne is my usual go-to. But last month when a friend celebrated milestone birthday, she invited me on a trip for the occasion, so I wanted to gift her something especially thoughtful and personal. I broke out of my gifting comfort zone and I purchased the New York Times premium custom birthday book. It’s a beautifully bound collection of front pages from the New York Times for every year of the birthdays in her entire life. She’s truly the woman who has everything, so to see her delight at such a unique and personalized gift really brought me joy. And now I know exactly what to give for anyone’s big birthday. Big shout out and thank you to my gifting colleagues at Wirecutter for taking the stress out of milestone birthday gift decision-making for me at least for a while.
JULIA: Hi, it’s Julia Bush. I run the social and community team at Wirecutter. The Wirecutter product that changed my life this year was a pair of Super Shoes. They’re these running shoes with a carbon plate in the bottom, so you run all bouncy. And they have this super stacked sole, so they’re squishy under your feet. I am a super, super slow runner, but I agreed to test them. I think I was probably the slowest most casual runner in the testing group. I didn’t think I would see very much difference in my running speed, but they ended up shaving almost 45 seconds off my mile time, which could be entirely placebo effect. But even then running sub nine minute miles for the first time in years made me so much more excited to go running, and it was so fun to feel like I was flying around Prospect Park in my little tank sneakers. I loved them so much, and I’m so excited to run in them next year too. Okay, that’s it. Thanks. Bye.
CLAIRE: Hi, I’m Claire Wilcox. I’m a travel and outdoors writer here at Wirecutter, and one of my favorite Wirecutter recommendations I’ve bought this year is the Blue Lizard Sensitive Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. I live on Oahu, and I spend a lot of time in the water surfing, swimming, just exposed to sun for sometimes two, up to three hours. And I’ve really struggled to find a sunscreen that lasts in the water, and my skin has definitely taken a bit of a beating since I moved here about five years ago. So the last time I went to my dermatologist, she recommended that I find a physical sunscreen, which I had already been using. Physical sunscreens are sunscreens that use minerals like zinc and titanium dioxide instead of chemicals to protect your skin.
But she also recommended that I find one that was made in Australia specifically. So I looked on Wirecutter, and lo and behold, the top pick was an Australian made physical sunscreen. So I had to try it. I’ve been using it for about four months now, and it’s been working really well for me in terms of performance. It goes on really easily. It doesn’t smell. It doesn’t get into my eyes. It also doesn’t leave too much of a white cast, so I don’t look like a ghost in the lineup, which I appreciate. In terms of performance, it’s definitely one of the best sunscreens that I have tried. Thank you so much.
JON: Hey, this is Jon Chase. I am the editor for the Smart Home section. My favorite Wirecutter pick this year is the least high-tech thing I can think of. It’s the Channel Master FLATenna, which is a TV antenna that enables your TV to pull in over the air wireless signals like old-timey television. I live in New York City, and it’s impossible, bizarrely, to get anything on your TV, and I don’t have cable. And so in order to see, I don’t know, things like the Super Bowl or Oscars, the World Series, all these things, it was impossible trying to do it using a set top box or having to subscribe to things when this stuff is broadcast for free. Anyway, I plugged it in, went to the settings menu, I was able to tune the channels. It ran for, I don’t know, a minute or two, and next thing you know, I’m watching the Yankees lose the World Series. So thanks, Channel Master.
LAUREN: Hi, I’m Lauren Dragan, senior staff writer, covering headphones and hearing aids at Wirecutter. And this year I wanted to treat myself to a nice apron. I do a lot of baking, especially around the holidays, so I wanted to get something that was breathable because I live in Los Angeles, so it can get kind of hot in the kitchen. But I still want to keep flour off of me. So I got the White Bark Workwear full cross-back apron, and that thing is so soft. I love it. It feels like it sort of melts into your body when you put it on, which I know sounds weird to say. I love that it has a lot of little pockets, so there’s a place for a Sharpie and my phone and whatever it is I might need to carry around with me.
All in all, I just love wearing it, and I love that it’s going to be part of all of these memories going forward. And I know it sounds silly, but it hangs in the corner of my kitchen and every time I see it, I smile because it just sort of reminds me of all the family celebrations. I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Bye.
DORIE: Hi, I’m Dorie Chevlen. I’m a staff writer here at Wirecutter based in Los Angeles, and earlier this year I bought our Wirecutter recommended best waffle maker, the Cuisinart Round Flip Belgian Waffle Maker WAF-F30. I am just sorry I didn’t buy it sooner. I think that as a lover of all breakfast foods, obviously waffles have been on my mind. It is the perfect breakfast food. It is a tiny little vessel for flavor and delight, and I just had never bought one for myself because it felt like something you do when you have a family. But it just always felt like something that as a person who lives alone was sort of, I don’t know, silly to get or maybe impractical in some way.
But then earlier this year it went on sale, and I went for it. I thought it’s going to be no cheaper than it is today. I may as well just take the plunge, and I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to wait for your life to look a certain way to have a waffle maker. You can just have a waffle maker. If you make two waffles because the recipe can’t be divided any smaller. You can just eat two waffles. It’ll be fine. You can also just put that waffle in the refrigerator for later, and I just wish I had known this sooner because it’s great to have waffles.
CHRISTINE: Waffles are truly for everyone. I think that’s the message from Dorie there.
CAIRA: That’s really nice. I do get it though, because then when you make too many waffles, what are you going to do, eat them for the rest of the day into tomorrow?
CHRISTINE: No, you freeze them. That’s what we do at our house. We make a big batch of waffles, and then we freeze them on a sheet pan. Go back to our food waste episode. We’ll talk about sheet pan freezing.
CAIRA: Okay, plug.
CHRISTINE: Yeah. And that’s how we have waffles throughout the week. Our kids just pop them into the toaster, and it’s quite delightful.
CAIRA: That’s actually… I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. It seems so common sense. Amazing.
CHRISTINE: Yeah, love that.
CAIRA: I really liked Brent’s little snippet because I find it really funny that our audio expert actually doesn’t use his amazing sound system more than he uses his little portable speaker. That’s great.
CHRISTINE: Well, it speaks volumes for the speaker. If he is into it and he’s happy to listen to his music on it, then that’s great.
ROSIE: I was particularly delighted by Jackie Reeve’s ukulele pick and her daughter getting sparked with the inspiration to play music again. I taught myself how to play the ukulele many years ago, and it brings me a lot of joy, and I loved to hear that it brings it to Jackie’s daughter too.
CHRISTINE: When will you be bringing the ukulele into the studio?
ROSIE: Never. Not ever.
CHRISTINE: Not ever? I really love Alisa’s recommendation for this Trtl pillow, this travel pillow. I’m going to get it. I don’t have a good one, and I’m going on a big trip in February.
CAIRA: Yeah, how long is that flight to Japan?
CHRISTINE: I’m going to Japan, and it is 12 to 14 hours depending on which way you’re going. So I’m getting one, and I’m going to try to sleep.
ROSIE: And as always, we’ve got all these items linked, everybody’s picks in the show notes for this episode so you can find them.
CAIRA: All right, so we’re going to take a quick break, and then when we’re back, Christine, Rosie and I will share our favorite Wirecutter approved items from this year.
CHRISTINE: Ooh, I cannot wait to hear your picks.
CAIRA: We’ll be right back.
ROSIE: Welcome back to The Wirecutter Show. This is a special holiday episode where we’re getting staff reflections all about the items that improved our lives this year. So Caira, Christine, I got to know, what are yours?
CHRISTINE: I will start. My favorite new thing… I have basically told both of you about this already maybe like 50 times already.
CAIRA: I swear to God, if I have to hear about this one more time-
ROSIE: Ready? I think, Caira, you and I should say it together.
CAIRA: Yes.
ROSIE: One, two, three-
CAIRA: One, two, three-
ROSIE: The Moccamaster.
CAIRA: The Moccamaster.
CHRISTINE: Oh, I love it so much. The Moccamaster coffeemaker, and I have the Technivorm model, which is the one with the metal carafe, so the coffee stays warm. I love it so much because it’s our upgrade drip coffee maker, and it makes coffee that tastes just as good as a pour-over that you’ve spent a time of time being finicky over. My husband and I have done pour-over for many years, and our two kids recently discovered that they cannot live without coffee in the morning. And so my husband was spending all of his time in the morning making coffee, and it was getting really annoying. So we got the Moccamaster, and we’ve got coffee for everyone.
CAIRA: Your kids drink coffee in the morning?
CHRISTINE: Yeah. So before all the haters send in all the notes-
CAIRA: Do they also have a cigarette?
CHRISTINE: Well, that’s only on the weekends.
ROSIE: The comment section is closed.
ROSIE: Caira, what about you? What’s your pick?
CAIRA: Well, mine sounds overly simple now, I think, in light of the Moccamaster 5,000 or whatever it’s called. I honestly love my silk pillowcases still. I don’t know. I know it’s kind of not on theme because I didn’t buy them this year, and I want to be honest about that. But I’ve had them for about three years, and they still are the best thing that I’ve ever purchased in my life.
CHRISTINE: What’s the brand?
CAIRA: I like the Lilysilk. It’s a 25 momme silk, so it’s very thick, it’s very sleek. And I love it because I have really curly hair, and I’m supposed to be sleeping with a bonnet or a scarf, and I just won’t. I can’t do it. So when I sleep with a silk pillowcase, it still protects my edges so my hair isn’t breaking off, and I wake up and I don’t have a bird’s nest on my head, which is key when you have curly hair, because that can make or break your day.
CHRISTINE: Yeah, I have one silk pillowcase. It is not this brand. It’s some cheapo one from Amazon, but even when I use that, I noticed that my hair, which I also have curly hair but it’s less curly than yours, it’s less frizzy.
CAIRA: Yeah.
CHRISTINE: Yeah.
CAIRA: It’s amazing. I literally take this thing with me everywhere. I’ve gone to my partner’s parents’ house, and his mom was like, “Oh, our pillowcases are clean. You don’t have to bring your own.” I’m like, “I promise it’s not what this is. It’s just for my hair.”
ROSIE: BYO pillowcase.
CAIRA: Yeah. She’s like, “We have those, you know.” Rosie, what’s your pick?
ROSIE: Well, I am going to talk to you about the ViscoSoft three-inch memory foam mattress topper. And this is a special one because my parents recently sold the house that we grew up in, and they are downsizing, and so everything is getting a little bit smaller. It’s all good. We went to stay at their house, and my mom wanted a recommendation. Caira Blackwell came through-
CAIRA: Oh my God, who’s that?
ROSIE: … the sleep queen-
CAIRA: She sounds amazing.
ROSIE: … and recommended this mattress topper for her. And I slept on it, and I had an amazing sleep.
CAIRA: Really?
ROSIE: In their new house. It was sort of a foreign environment. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about being in a new space, but I’ll tell you what, this new guest room, with this mattress topper, it was really, really, really, really special and really nice, and I actually slept well.
CHRISTINE: What’s it feel like? Is it like sinky?
ROSIE: Well, so it’s placed on top of a pullout couch, and so the pullout itself is, you know, it’s like a pullout. It’s a nice pullout, but it’s a pullout. And so this is really helping to elevate it. It feels like probably half a mattress, half a memory-foam-type mattress, but it really brings up the comfort level of a pullout couch certainly. And honestly, it kind of felt a little luxe sleeping on it. It was really, really nice.
CHRISTINE: That’s nice. That’s a good hack.
CAIRA: There’s one thing about being a Wirecutter journalist when you do recommend something to somebody that personally, and you get this bit of joy when they use the item and they love it.
CHRISTINE: Do you ever feel a little nervous like, oh, what if they don’t like it? What if I’ve recommended this thing, and they don’t like it?
ROSIE: Because stuff is subjective.
CHRISTINE: Yeah.
CAIRA: Christine, I recommended home mattresses to people, and they’ll go out and spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on this mattress, and that feels like high stakes to me. What if they hate it?
CHRISTINE: That’s high stakes.
CAIRA: Yeah. But actually, I feel like I have a really good record so far. Nobody has come back-
ROSIE: You have an amazing record in the Guerin household, so-
CAIRA: Love.
ROSIE: 10 stars for Caira. Well, before we wrap things up this week, we have to say a huge thank you to everyone at Wirecutter for their support this year as we brought this show to life. Thank you to all our colleagues at NYT Audio, and mostly thank you to all of you for listening. We wish you and yours very, very happy holidays. Thank you for listening, and we’re psyched to see you in 2025.
CAIRA: We really couldn’t have done this without you guys, and I hope that we actually helped you somewhat this year. That’s my biggest wish.
CHRISTINE: As always, you can check out these items in the show notes or at nytimes.com/wirecutter where you can also read about how they became Wirecutter Picks in the first place. That’s it for us. See you next year.
CAIRA: Here’s what’s coming up next week on The Wirecutter Show.
Make sure you’re following the show on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss it. The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Editing by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pittman. Today’s episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and interim general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor in chief. I’m Caira Blackwell.
CHRISTINE: I’m Christine Cyr Clisset.
ROSIE: And I’m Rosie Guerin.
CAIRA: Thanks for listening.
ROSIE: My favorite thing is that your nuclear family is your husband, your two children, and your Moccamaster.
CHRISTINE: Oh, yeah. Well, yeah.
