Hump Day Recommendations, Sept. 18, 2024

Watch: “Will & Harper,” a new documentary by comedian and SNL alum Will Ferrell about his relationship with a decades-long friend, Harper Steele, who came out as transgender three years ago. The two set out on a road trip across America, and they learn a lot about their relationship and themselves in the process. It’s moving, beautifully produced, and yes, often very funny. In theaters now, and on Netflix beginning Sept. 27. – Tony Maciulis, GZERO’s content chief

Read: “People Love Dead Jews.” Are people more interested in dead Jews than in living ones? Jewish novelist and literary scholar Dara Horn argues as much in this provocative collection of essays, which deal, among other things, with the cult of Anne Frank, the myth of Ellis Island “name changes,” the story of a mentally ill savior of Jewish intellectuals during World War II, a Chinese government plan to revitalize an icy Siberian border town, and a virtual reconstruction of synagogues across the Arab world. In all, Horn argues that non-Jews habitually distort and repurpose the Jewish past in dangerous ways that are “an affront to human dignity.” See what you think. – Alex

Eat: An empanada de pino! Today is my adoptive home country of Chile’s 214th birthday, celebrating the country’s first independent government after Napoleon kicked out the Spanish King Ferdinand VII. Join me and celebrate with beef, olive, and egg empanadas, a stiff shot of pisco, and the greasiest choripán this side of the Andes. – Matt

Read: “Russia’s Espionage War in the Arctic,” by Ben Taub, to take a deep dive into the town of Kirkenes, a frozen piece of Russia’s Arctic border with Norway – and NATO. Taub explains how the town, which borders Moscow’s nuclear stronghold, has become a test lab for both sides’ espionage activities, which then flurry from the frozen tundra across Europe. – Riley