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Humpday recommendations 10/05/2022

Listen: “The Prince.” Much of the attention at China's big Communist Party gathering later this month will focus on Xi Jinping. Yet the most influential Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping is still a black box in many ways. Want to learn more about Xi and what makes him tick? Check out this 8-episode podcast series by Sue-Lin Wong, China correspondent for The Economist. — Carlos

Watch. “Fauda.” Meaning “chaos” in Arabic, this gritty series focuses on an Israeli intel unit working against the backdrop of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The main character, Doron, comes out of retirement to tackle an enemy he once thought was dead … and chaos ensues. Doron and his crew drive home the personal and psychological toll of working in Israeli intelligence thanks to scenes filled with anger, love, violence, and loss. — Tracy

Listen: “The Waste Land,” by TS Eliot as read by Alec Guinness. I would listen to Alec Guinness read the warning label on a package of baking soda. Much better to hear him read the masterwork of a masterful poet. — Willis

Watch: “Hold Me Tight.” In this new film by French filmmaker Mathieu Amalric, Clarissa, a 40-something mum of two, wants to stay with her family so she ... runs away. Adapted from a play, this movie is about women’s grief. Clarissa is played by the pensive Vicky Krieps, one of my favorite actors. – Gabrielle

Kneel: Before Zod. I haven’t watched “Superman II” in probably 35 years but wow does it hold up well. This is the one where Superman gives up his powers in order to be with Lois Lane, just as the unflappably pitiless, leather-clad General Zod arrives with his goons to enslave the planet. Do you recall how it all ends? Lois Lane can’t remember a thing… (Btw, since I haven’t seen this film since I learned to read, I noticed for the first time that it was written by Godfather author Mario Puzo?!) — Alex

More For You

​Participants hold placards during a protest to condemn the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and commemorate students killed in a strike on a girls' primary school in Minab in southern Iran on February 28, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2026.

Participants hold placards during a protest to condemn the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and commemorate students killed in a strike on a girls' primary school in Minab in southern Iran on February 28, in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul, South Korea, March 12, 2026.

REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
175: The number of people killed at an Iranian girls’ school in a strike on Feb. 28. Initial intelligence reports suggest that the US was to blame for the strike, per the New York Times, after the military used a now-defunct set of coordinates to deploy the hit. The White House hasn’t claimed responsibility and said the investigation is ongoing. [...]
A foreign tanker carrying Iraqi fuel oil damaged following unidentified attacks that targeted two foreign tankers, according to Iraqi port officials, near Basra, Iraq, on March 12, 2026.​

A foreign tanker carrying Iraqi fuel oil damaged after catching fire in Iraq's territorial waters, following unidentified attacks that targeted two foreign tankers, according to Iraqi port officials, near Basra, Iraq, on March 12, 2026.

REUTERS/Mohammed Aty
Iran’s focus: closing the StraitThe Islamic Republic will continue its efforts to block the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement this morning attributed to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The statement highlights Tehran’s strategy: identify easier targets (the Strait is narrow) that have maximum impact. Speaking of which, Iraq suspended [...]
​President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House AI Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House AI Summit at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Joyce N. Boghosian/White House/ZUMA Press Wire
The 2024 US presidential campaign season may have been the first time voters had to contend with AI during an election, confronting deepfakes of Taylor Swift vowing support for Donald Trump and AI robo-calls of Joe Biden telling voters not to cast their ballots. But the 2026 midterms are shaping up to be the first time the technology itself [...]
How Trump’s Iran gamble backfired
Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump launched a war of choice to topple Iran's regime expecting a quick, clean win. What he's gotten is a regime that's proving far more capable of enduring and fighting back than he anticipated. Seven American troops are dead, 140 wounded. The Strait of Hormuz has been shut for almost ten days, creating the [...]