Portside

For those of us who need a reminder of the notorious record of the CIA over the last sixty-plus years, here is a useful up-to-date history. Reviewer Paul Buhle shows some of this new book's high points.

The friend who urged me to see Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea told me it was the only film she’d been able to watch since the election, the only work of art that had, even briefly, distracted her from her worry about the future of our democracy. It might seem odd to describe a film about unendurable grief and sadness as a distraction—a word we more often associate with entertainment and escape. But after watching Lonergan’s astonishing film, I understood.

In the UK. junk food ads for children will be prohibited on the internet, in print and at movie theaters

Thanks to sustained, legitimate outrage from people on the Internet and a major ethical violation, there will be one fewer outlet for white supremacists to plead their case to the American people.

Looking for a job sometimes seems a little like trying to join a secret society whose rules and requirements are not discernible to the naked eye, as Lee Rossi shows in his mordant poem “Interview.”

Rebel Crossings charts six 19th century socialists as they journey from the constraints of Old-World Britain to a New-World America. They were part of a wider historical search for self-fulfillment and an alternative to a cruelly competitive capitalism. The book surveys the interaction of feminism, socialism and anarchism, bringing fresh slants on political and cultural movements and upon influential individuals including Walt Whitman, Eleanor Marx, and William Morris.

Albert Murray (1916-2013), was the kind of intellectual for whom Duke Ellington would write a book jacket blurb. He called the African American writer and esteemed cultural critic “a man whose learning did not interfere with understanding," in praise of Murray's 1975 book Train Whistle Guitar, adding that Murray was "the unsquarest person I know." The Library of America has published new volume of Murray's writing. Greg Thomas takes a look.

Former vice president Al Gore says, “Now more than ever we must rededicate ourselves to solving the climate crisis."

Instead of gifting sugar-laden sweets, try giving more nutritious snacks. Here are some fun ideas that serve as enjoyable and thoughtful gifts, and which can be motivational nudges toward living a healthier lifestyle.

Whether or not you agree with Lady Gaga’s estimation that American women are “fighting for their lives” following Trump’s win, the timing of the Republican nominee’s victory and The Handmaid’s Tale‘s spring 2017 premiere seems well-timed.