Hump Day Recommendations, March 26, 2025

Read: “Salvaging Empire.” This book by James J.A. Blair offers a deep understanding of the Falkland Islands beyond the 1982 war between Argentina and Britain. The 318 pages are dense with fascinating anecdotes about early colonization of Las Malvinas, early visits by Indigenous Yagán people, and the unique ways the primarily British-descended islanders of today conceive of their nativeness in a place that was devoid of permanent settlement when their ancestors arrived. Blair writes with the flair and attentiveness to detail of someone who made ends meet by freelancing for The Economist while conducting his research. – Alexander Kaufman

Listen: “Relationships.” The Haim sisters haven’t released a new album since 2020, busying themselves instead with Hollywood films — notably appearing in “Barbie” and “Licorice Pizza.” Their new song, “Relationships,” suggests that they are finally on the precipice of another. It is a beautiful rock-influenced ballad about, you guessed it, relationships, and the rhythm suggests that the band is taking a new turn. The track took seven years to make, they said, but it’s well worth it. – Zac

Read: This harrowing NYT article. It’s about a Columbia University student who – despite not being involved in the protests – was mistakenly arrested last spring in the chaos as she tried to return to her apartment. Ranjani Srinivasan was acquitted last year, and her only involvement in pro-Palestinian causes consisted of a few social posts focused on “human rights violations” in Gaza. But she recently self-deported to Canada after ICE knocked on her door three nights in a row, and now the Fulbright Scholar from India has had her student visa revoked by ICE and her enrollment at Columbia withdrawn. – Riley

Watch: “Jujutsu Kaisen.” This award-winning anime mixes up the supernatural with human drama and Japanese pop culture touchstones. It tells the tale of Yuji Itadori, a teen who swallows a cursed finger and becomes a vessel for one of the most powerful curses in existence – as well as a student at a secret sorcerer school. I’m only on season one but already looking forward to the release of Jujutsu Kaisen’s “Hidden Inventory/Premature Death” film on May 30, 2025. – Tasha

Read: “The Nature of Economies.” This ultra-slim volume, penned by one of the world’s most venerable thinkers on modern urban life, Jane Jacobs, is a small miracle. Jacobs’ prose style is simple, direct, and engaging. Yet, this book brings together economics, biology, evolutionary theory, ecology, geology, meteorology, and other natural sciences with a simple underlying conviction: Human beings are not separable from nature. We are part of nature. The decisions we make, as individuals and as societies, must begin from that assumption. This is a great read for anyone from ages 18 to 118. — Willis