What's Good Wednesdays
September 10, 2024
Watch: “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” It’s feeling a lot like fall in DC these days, and this 80’s throwback is the perfect way to settle into spooky season. Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton shine in their reprised roles, and Jena Ortega is a terrific new addition. – Matt
Read: “Wicked,” by Gregory Maguire, if you want to get in the mood for spooky season, get excited for Ariana Grande to play Glinda in the live action musical, or are looking for a follow-up fantasy novel after you finish the “Court of Thorns and Roses.” I have been staying up way too late reading this book since I stumbled upon it at my neighborhood used bookstore last week. – Riley
Read: “In Ascension,” by Martin MacInnes, an atmospheric novel long-listed for the Booker Prize that takes you from the deepest oceans to the most distant cosmos. Worth a look. — Alex Gibson, senior producer, “GZERO World with Ian Bremmer”
Read: “America Must Free Itself from the Tyranny of the Penny,” by Caity Weaver. If you live in the US, you are probably doing free government labor by storing pennies in a change jar. Almost no one uses pennies, yet the US Mint keeps making them by the billions. This article on the illogical conundrum of the penny and “logistically unmanageable” dilemma for the world’s wealthiest nation is a must-read for penny lovers and haters alike. — Molly Rubin, producer, “GZERO World with Ian Bremmer”
Read: the Dervish’s perspective.In the 1960s, Bosnian writer Meša Selimović wrote “Death and the Dervish,” the first-person fictional testament of a dervish in 17th century Bosnia forced to reconcile his faith, his political ambitions, and his love of family when the Ottoman regime arrests and kills his brother. Many see the book, a classic in the former Yugoslavia, as an allegory for communism, partly because Selimović’s own brother was executed by fellow partisans during World War II. But it’s also a poetic and philosophical meditation on power, action, faith, nationalism, and corruption – in other words, timeless stuff. – Alex
More For You
People vote in the legislative elections in Algiers, Algeria, on July 2, 2026. The electorate, including the diaspora, consists of 24,727,041 registered voters. These elections will elect the 407 members of the tenth legislature of the People's National Assembly (APN), with a mandate of five years.
Billel Bensalem/APP/NurPhoto
Algerians are headed to the polls today to elect their next members of parliament. However, hopes for true democracy look more remote than ever.
Most Popular
In addition to the health concerns from the Ebola outbreak, the UN is sounding the alarm on a potential development crisis in Africa sparked by the disease.
Protesters hold flamingo-shaped placards and a large representation of a flamingo as they demonstrate against the government, following weeks of protests against a planned luxury resort backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast, in Tirana, Albania, on June 22, 2026.
REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj
The protests in the small Balkan country were touched off by the start of construction on a seaside luxury resort linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.