Portside

While her contributions to feminism are widely appreciated, bell hooks also published groundbreaking work on film, the visual arts, education, and a host of other subjects. She helped shape the modern U.S. cultural landscape.

This year could be different.  As the awards race heats up and smaller accolades roll in, there are multiple queer film contenders in almost every big category.

Observational studies suggest a link between high cocoa or chocolate intake of 6 grams daily (1-2 small squares) and a reduced risk of heart disease and mortality, possibly in part by reducing blood pressure and inflammation.

Schitt’s Creek offered its audience a vision of capitalism free of prejudice and exploitation. The absurdity of this fantasy was both the source of the show’s limitations and its brilliance.

Applying for welfare support, the poet Lucille Lang Day discovers a shifting identity—the anxious applicant, the gaudy outfit she wears, the mirror between.

Studies show that investments in public art can improve street safety, provide tourism and new jobs, and combat social isolation and anxiety. "A city that is vibrant and thriving has art right at the center.”

Historical scholarship is looking anew into the ways that slavery was intertwined with the movement that created the American Revolution. Here is one of the most recent forays into that line of inquiry.

In 1981, Warren Beatty directed Reds, a retelling of John Reed’s classic firsthand account of the Russian Revolution. The film still stands up today as one of the greatest and most faithful depictions of revolutionary politics.

The threat to the survival of our democracy is clear: a would-be dictator and a cultist political party. A truly multiracial, inclusive, radical democratic movement that has a vision beyond capitalism is key. You can help.

You can still buy the actual fruitcakes served at British Royal weddings though some have survived long past their shelf life.