Portside

John Prine fills in the 18 years in the life of Jesus. France, Spain, life, pain ... a little love and shoplifting. For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.

A movie (1964) by the Italian Communist Pier Paolo Pasolini, retelling the story of Jesus Christ, from birth to resurrection. For more Alt-Xmas music, go here and here.

From Jehane Noujaim, acclaimed director of Control Room, Startup.com, Rafea: Solar Mama, a documentary about the Egyptian revolution behind the headlines. Follow a group of activists in Tahrir Square, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience. Check here for screenings.

Hustlers Convention is the 1973 album that changed the world. Help tell the greatest music story never told.

In this documentary, two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. You can now see the movie or get the music.

While we're calling, texting, emailing, and visiting our friends and loved ones, the NSA is tuning in and collecting massive amounts of data on millions of Americans. Take action to stop it now.

"Smokey Joe" Barton, known for apologizing to BP after the 2010 Oil spill, and harassing climate scientists, is a key connection between the tobacco industry and the climate denial industry.

'Bluesologist' Gil Scott-Heron  asks, 'What's the word from Johannesburg? They tell me our brothers over there are defyin' the Man' in the youth uprising of 1976. 'We all need to be strugglin' if we're goin' to be free.' 

South African jazz musician Hugh Masakela tells the story of the life and labor of the immigrant coal and gold miners of South Africa, so hard that they curse the coal trains that brought them.