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Why We Can’t Turn Off the NFL

Dylan Scott Vox
America’s unbreakable fixation with football will only lead to more injuries like Damar Hamlin’s. A uniquely American concoction of capitalism and culture has allowed football to continue to thrive, even as the dangers it presents to players, both professional and amateur, have become clearer. Football remains the biggest hit on TV.

poetry

UnAmerican Activities

Gerry Sloan
Arkansas poet Gerry Sloan speaks to global absurdity (think Ukraine) “weapons of mass destruction place…victory out of reach…”

poetry

Big Bird Died for Your Sins

Martín Espada Virginia Quarterly Review
The poet Martín Espada recounts a childhood encounter of death, mourning the loss of baseball’s Puerto Rican star, Roberto Clemente.

film

“Argentina, 1985”: Oscar-Shortlisted Film Depicts Historic War Crimes Trial of U.S.-Backed Generals

Democracy Now Democracy Now!
Democracy Now interviews director Santiago Mitre about “Argentina, 1985,” his dramatization of the Trial of the Juntas, when a civilian court prosecuted Argentina’s former military leaders for brutal crimes committed during the U.S.-backed right-wing military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. The film just won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in a Non-English Language and is also shortlisted for an Oscar for best international film.

food

Recipes from the Survivors of Auschwitz

Hannah Goldfield The New Yorker
“Honey Cake and Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors” was organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation. More than one survivor remembers sustaining fellow-prisoners with vivid descriptions of the foods they’d eaten in their earlier lives.

film

Will Smith Isn’t the Main Reason To Avoid Emancipation

Shirley Li The Atlantic
If only Emancipation actually had a memorable message. Despite a committed cast and stunning cinematography, the film’s script is too blunt and the direction too ham-fisted to make it anything more than another rote entry in the slavery-movie genre.

books

Barbara Kingsolver – Making the Invisible, Visible

Dave Kellaway Anti-Capitalist Resistance
Dave Kellaway reviews Barbara Kingsolver’s latest novel, Demon Copperhead and reflects on her contribution to literary fiction. She is one of the best living writers of the socially engaged novel.
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