Hump day recommendations, Feb. 12, 2025

Read and Listen: “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak.” This terrific Substack, which started in 2023 and now boasts over 130,000 subscribers, focuses on the human side of the war in Ukraine, reporting stories as diverse as the first play-by-play of December’s major drone assault, a feature on “Why do Ukrainians smile less than Americans?” and the tale of a jazz club in Odesa that refused to shut down. Mak, a former NPR reporter and US combat medic, publishes fresh content three times a week with his team live from Kyiv, including podcasts, and has become a go-to source for readers wanting behind-the-scenes stories of the ongoing war. – Tasha

Watch: “Flow.”OK so hear me out. It’s a 90-minute-long animated movie about a cat that gets caught in a flood. It has no dialogue. It has no people. But it does have a capybara, a quasi-magical bird, and some questionable dogs. It’s from Latvia and it was nominated for an Oscar, and it’s completely hypnotic. At some moments, the animals’ expressions and motivations feel vaguely human, at others they are veiled by a kind of basic and impenetrable natural mystery. You can watch it here. – Alex

Read: “The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings,” by James Baldwin. First published in 2010, this collection of Baldwin’s previously unpublished work reveals again the elegantly expressed outrage and provocative musings of a great American writer. – Willis

Listen: "The Blueprint with Jen Psaki." If you’re a fan of Jack Schlossberg’s social media antics and have been wondering what on Earth is going on with him, you need to check out Jen Psaki’s latest episode, “Why are we so Cautious? With Jack Schlossberg.” JFK’s grandson tells Psaki about his social media experiments — he taunts, teases, and dances a lot, for the uninitiated — and compares his approach to how Republicans use social media while noting that Dems need to be far more daring. Did he really get dumped? Nope. Is he Justin Baldoni’s lawyer? Nah. Is he studying ballet? Yep, and he’s poking holes in the notions surrounding masculinity with every twirl. Does he have a bigger project brewing? Listen to find out. – Tracy