Hump day recs 4/26/2023

Watch: “Battle Royale.” “Squid Game” upended the streaming world when it dropped on Netflix in late 2021. But you might not know that the South Korean dystopian survival series borrows a lot from this 2000 Japanese flick based on the manga comics by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi, which also inspired the “Hunger Games” and “Fortnite.” The story: A totalitarian government forces high-school students to fight to the death. It's insane, often terrifying, and sometimes (very darkly) funny. Definitely worth a watch. — Carlos

Watch: “The Diplomat.” If you enjoyed Rufus Sewell’s swagger as Detective “Zen” (still bitter, BBC!), you’ll love him opposite Keri Russell in this geopolitical drama. They portray a married diplomatic duo, and while Russell plays her ambassador role with more than enough earnestness, Sewell is marvelously manipulative as the “behind-the-scenes” spouse. — Tracy

Listen: Harry Belafonte. This is Harry Belafonte’s voice. And this is Harry Belafonte’s voice. Willis

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Gerald Ford American President and Leonid Brejnev Soviet Leader, on July 30, 1975 at Conference on Security and Cooperation in Helsinki.
Bridgeman Images via Reuters Connect

Fifty years ago, leaders from 35 countries – including rivals from both sides of the Iron Curtain – gathered in the Finnish capital of Helsinki to attend the first Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE).

A demonstrator burns mock dollar bills with the face of US President Donald Trump during a protest against the US tariffs imposed on Brazilian products, in front of the United States Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on August 1, 2025.
REUTERS/Mateus Bonomi

US President Donald Trump slapped new tariffs on 92 countries, including key allies. Canada, the US’s number two trade partner, was hit with a 35% rate.

Outgoing and term-limited North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks alongside his wife, Kristin Cooper, thanking North Carolinians for his two terms in office as Governor on Nov. 5, 2024.

Joseph A. Navin/Sipa USA

Next year’s race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat is predicted to be the most expensive in US election history. Winning it might not be enough for Democrats to flip the upper chamber, but it would put them in a much stronger position going into 2028.