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Hump day recommendations
Listen: Youssou Ndour will turn 65 this year. After 30 years on the world music scene, and many more lifting spirits in his native Senegal, he’s still raising that mighty voice. – Willis
Listen: “Cowboy Carter,” by Beyoncé. If Spotify charts are to be believed, you’ve probably already heard snippets from Queen Bee’s country debut, but the whole album is worth your time. The creative risk pays off beautifully with innovative original pieces and covers of country classics like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” (featuring harmonica from Stevie Wonder!). My favorite? A reimagining of the Beatles’ “Blackbird.” – Matt, with thanks to GZERO reader Ruth S.
Watch: “The Gentlemen.” Ever wondered what Brexit did to cannabis exports? This new Netflix series sheds some light on that underworld, and it’s just as darkly humorous and addictive as any of Guy Ritchie’s work. A British aristocratic heir and spare have their scripts flipped by their deceased father’s will … only for the shocked new duke to find himself hip-deep in his big brother’s misdeeds. Hijinks ensue. – Tracy
Watch:“Love Lies Bleeding.” This movie felt like a fever dream. It’s difficult to describe the plot. It’s a crime thriller and a love story jumbled together, with a whole lot of weirdness sprinkled in. And as the title suggests, there’s a lot of blood. If you enjoy nontraditional narratives and surrealism, I would highly suggest checking this out. – JohnHump day recommendations
Listen: “In a Sentimental Mood.” Duke Ellington. John Coltrane. Here’s four minutes and 15 seconds of beauty to lift your day to the bright blue sky. – Willis
Watch: “Shogun” set in Japan, 1600 CE. The nation reels from the death of the Taiko, who unified the warring houses of Japan’s Senkoku Jidai before embarking on disastrous campaigns in Korea. His young son and heir lives in a gilded vipers’ nest in Osaka, where Lord Toranaga alone protects him from the scheming regents. In the southern domains, Portuguese Jesuits hatch their secret plots, beguiling avaricious daimyo with luxuries from the West. And into this powderkeg flies the burning spark of John Blackthorne, a Protestant English pilot shipwrecked on a secret mission, whose mere presence in the Land of the Rising Sun threatens to overturn the political order. You’ll be entranced by the tight storytelling, lush production design, and deeply compelling performances in this transcendent retelling of James Clavell’s 1975 novel, loosely based on the real life of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu – Matt
Read: The problem with “Islamophobia.” In the months since Oct. 7, bias and attacks against both Jews and Muslims in the US have risen substantially. But in rightly decrying the wave of Islamophobia, many people – particularly liberals – are deliberately refusing to call the hate by its real name, argues Egyptian-American analyst and writer Hani Sabra. I won’t spoil it for you, but I can promise you that whether you agree or not, this essay is a thought-provoking perspective on how we talk about things, or don’t. – Alex
Read/Listen: “Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens.” Tired of the royal saga involving Kate, Wills, Meghan, and Harry? Well, history is full of far more interesting royal figures. British comedian (and ersatz historian) David Mitchell offers gems like: “[Henry I] was predictable. That’s the key. It’s disappointing in a lover but, in a feudal overlord, it hits the spot.” And if you use Audible, you’ll have the added pleasure of laughing out loud on your commute as Mitchell himself reads the book to you, with a healthy serving of snark. – Tracy
Hump Day Recommendations, Feb. 7, 2024
Watch: “How the First World War Created the Middle East Conflicts.” This short documentary from YouTube’s preeminent World War I history producers over at The Great War takes us back to the waning days of the Ottoman Empire to find out just how the Middle East ended up in such a state. When the great powers sought to finish off the “Sick Man of Europe” once and for all, they found the Turks still had plenty of fight left in them. So the British, French, and Russians switched tactics, exploiting the grievances of ethnic minorities to rise against their Turkish overlords. But when the dust settled, the Europeans betrayed their Middle Eastern allies. – Matt
Read: The graphic novel “My Begging Chart,”by Keiler Roberts. It captures all the tiny micro-moments in everyday life that kind of just slip through the cracks in a surreal, darkly funny way. – Riley
Escape: into the night. Freedom’s just another word for Flaco on the loose. A Eurasian Eagle Owl mysteriously jailbroken from its cage at the Central Park Zoo now swoops among Manhattan’s highrises, dodging cops, alighting for magical moments on apartment windowsills, and feasting to his heart’s content on the city’s ample rat population. In the city that never sleeps, Flaco, as he’s known, owns the night sky. But is he lonely? Is he in danger? Is there a little Flaco in all of us? This New York Times profile of Gotham’s latest antihero is a high-flying journey of its own. – AlexHump day recommendations, Jan. 17, 2024
Visit: “Anyang” at the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. This is the first major exhibition in the United States about the artistic and archaeological wonders found in China’s oldest imperial capital. The exhibit features some of the earliest samples of writing in human history, the so-called “Oracle Bone” characters etched into the belly bones of ancient tortoises, then cracked with red-hot irons to reveal the will of Shangdi. You’ll be amazed by the intricate bronzewares, covered in multimorphic animal motifs that shift with your perspective. My favorite? One of the earliest known depictions of a dragon, wrapping its serpentine body around a wide bowl. – Matt
Watch: "American Fiction." This poignant, hilarious satire is a deeply layered examination of race in the US and how narratives surrounding it are both shaped and perceived. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic as the lead character, Monk, a smug, grumpy novelist who has his world – and his assumptions about people – turned upside down as the film progresses. Highly recommend checking this out in theaters! – John
Listen/Read: “The Price of Netanyahu’s Ambition,” by David Remnick. I listened to this hour-long portrait of who Netanyahu is to Israelis and to himself in the aftermath of Oct. 7. I thought it painted a great picture of the political and media landscape in Israel right now and in the not-so-distant past. – Riley
Fight: Tyranny. Most conservatives who worry about “tyranny” seem to have in mind the supposedly coercive overreach of the government. But as the prominent arch-conservative Catholic writer Sohrab Ahmari sees it, the vast majority of the coercion that Americans experience in their daily lives actually comes from the private sector. In his book, “Tyranny, Inc.,” he argues that the court-backed power of employers, the massive privatization of public services, and the cult of deregulation have left Americans at the mercy of a new market-powered tyrant. Amazingly for a conservative, he ends up prescribing a revived New Deal to keep the playing field even. If nothing else, a bold attempt to break stereotypes of left and right — see if you find it compelling. – AlexHump day recommendations, Nov. 8, 2023
Read: “A Wizard of Earthsea,” by Ursula K. Le Guin. I loved this foundational high-fantasy novella as a child but recently rediscovered it full of Taoist and existentialist themes I was too young to appreciate then. The prose is at once swift and epic, and Le Guin masterfully inverts the well-worn tropes of the genre to weave a tale of hubris and redemption. Pick it up from your local library for a brief but intense escape to another world. - Matt
Watch and Listen: “Now and Then.” As the one member of your newsletter team old enough to remember when the Beatles were making records, I have to drop this official video for the new Beatles tune, which was made possible by AI advances that cleaned up the sound from an old cassette tape. This is the real deal. It has all the beautiful minor-key melancholy that defined the band’s later years. You can also learn here how AI saved this recording. - Willis
Watch: “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball” – but as Billy Beane, GM of the cash-strapped Oakland A’s in the early 2000s found out, it was even harder to be scientific about it. The 2011 film "Moneyball" tells the (mostly true) story of how Beane and Yale economics nerd Peter Brand (Podesta in real life) revolutionized the American pastime by focusing on mathematical probabilities rather than human intuitions. Regardless of how you feel about the way that modern statistical analysis has changed the game, "Moneyball" stands up as one of the great sports films of all time. - Alex
Hump Day recommendations for October 17th, 2023
Imagine: If it had all gone differently in 1938. That’s what writer Nathan Goldwag proposes is deep in the background of Belgium’s beloved “Adventures of Tintin” comics, which take place between 1929 and 1976 in a world that’s much like our own … but one that seemingly avoided the horrors of World War II. Goldwag breaks it down in considerable tongue-in-cheek detail, but here are the broad strokes: In 1934’s “The Blue Lotus,” Tintin altered the result of the Mukden Incident so Japan never invades China. Emboldened by the check on Japanese imperialism, France, Britain, and Czechoslovakia refuse to appease Hitler during the Munich Crisis, and a brief war breaks out over Sudetenland that sees the Nazis crushed. From there on, Tintin’s escapades occur in a vaguely outlined Western Europe, which Goldwag proposes represents some form of an Anglo-French-dominated European Union. I buy it! – Matt
Listen:Patti Smith performs Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” Sometimes, when one iconic performer channels another, beautiful things happen. This is one of those times. – Willis
Build: a defender out of clay. In the 16th century, the story goes, a Prague rabbi created the “golem,” a giant humanoid warrior made of clay who defended the Jews from antisemitic riots. In 2022, a stoned art teacher in Brooklyn creates a golem of his own, who accidentally trips on acid, learns English from Larry David, and winds up on a mission to kill white supremacists at a Charlottesville-type rally. “The Golem of Brooklyn,” by Adam Mansbach — the best-selling author of “Go the F*ck to Sleep” — is a hilarious romp through the history and present-day of Jewish life and Jewish hate. – Alex
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Hump day recommendations, April 12, 2023
Watch: “Other People’s Children.”“Life is both short and long.” That’s what an ancient-looking French gynecologist tells 40-something Rachel, who’s confronting the slowing of her biological clock – a cinematic concept often used as a bludgeon. But not in this film. Director Rebecca Zlotowski magnificently explores fertility and love, and the highs and lows of caring for other people’s children. – Gabrielle
Watch: “A Single Man.”In probably the best performance of his career (bold statement, I know!) Colin Firth plays an English professor stricken with grief a year after the death of his boyfriend (Matthew Goode) in 1960’s Los Angeles. Fashion designer Tom Ford directs this richly melancholic and stunningly beautiful modern masterpiece. –Benjamin
Watch: Tifo. Whether you're a soccer nut like me or only have a healthy interest in the Beautiful Game, you'll love this YouTube channel, acquired by The Athletic in 2020. It packs in-depth tactical, historical, and geopolitical coverage into short animated videos. A tad Premier League-heavy but still great, and don't miss the multipart historical lead-up to the 2022 World Cup. –Carlos
Watch: “The Lost King.” If, like me, you’re into British history and have a wannabe archaeologist for a teenager, you’ll enjoy this movie (in cinemas) about the 2012 discovery of King Richard III’s remains under a Leicester car park. The politics between a well-meaning amateur historian and experienced scientists add tension, and for intrigue … there are apparitions. – Tracy
Watch: “Judgement at Nuremberg.”To mark the passing of the late, great Ben Ferencz, watch this Stanley Kramer classic, the first film of its kind to tackle the horrors of the Nazi genocide and the subsequent trial that would change the world. Perhaps no other film offers a more haunting warning to humanity than with its closing monologue. Spencer Tracy heads a stellar cast featuring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, and an Oscar-winning turn by Maximilian Schell. – Benjamin
Listen: Maude Latour's new singles "Lunch" and "Heaven" are springtime bops that will have you skipping down the sidewalk. Latour is an upcoming indie pop artist with a voice like Lorde and the lyrics of an angsty philosophy student. Her new songs are trying to capture falling in love in real time, and feel as fresh as spring morning. --Riley