Portside

As much as the film taps into a venerable tradition of observational realism (witnessing, never editorializing), it’s not “objective.” An indisputable ally of the disenfranchised, Baker honors his subjects by telling their stories honestly, without Hollywood distortion or flattering embellishment, and through a gaggle of actors mainly plucked from the area, not central casting.

In the biweekly podcast, The Racist Sandwich, chef Soleil Ho and journalist Zahir Janmohamed discuss racism, classism, and gender in the food industry and the experiences of people of color working within it.

On Thursday night, the FX show aired a weird, wonderful ode to working motherhood.

The full title of prize-winning poet Jane Hirshfield's poem, "Day Beginning with Seeing the International Space Station And a Full Moon Over the Gulf of Mexico and All its Invisible Fishes," reveals the contingency of the natural world and the human imprint upon it, for better and for worse.

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Himes was a pivotal and versatile post WW II-era American novelist whose work influenced several generations of African American and other writers. A new biography of the novelist is drawing national attention.

The film is a haunting and timeless American tragedy that feels ever prescient given the current administration’s foggy understanding of morality. It might prove to be a tough sell thanks to an awkward title and a strange plot trajectory, but Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a richly rewarding drama blessed with one of the best, most lived-in performances of the year. 

A whole new genre of food videos, focusing on specific intense sounds like crinkling, chopping, sautéing and stirring, is becoming popular. These eating sounds trigger pleasing tingling sensations in the brains of viewers who experience ASMR, which stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response.

So who’s the real villain: Rick, Morty, or the society that would drive them (and the socioeconomic classes of America) apart?

Seattle poet Jed Myers speaks of the fear of strangers, how our eyes assess and judge newcomers, searching for the glimmer that makes them one of us.