Reading List
The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.
Emilia Pérez is a regressive movie that thinks it’s woke. It will probably win an Oscar.
It may come as a surprise that there’s a movie musical with more awards hype than Wicked. Emilia Pérez quietly landed on Netflix this past November after making a huge splash at 2024’s Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the first Best Actress Award for an ensemble. The Jacques Audiard film received 10 Golden Globes nominations, the most for a […]
What if everyone qualified for welfare benefits?
In an ideal world, everyone who qualifies for an aid program ought to receive its benefits. But the reality is that this is often not the case. Before the pandemic, for example, nearly one-fifth of Americans who qualified for food stamps didn’t receive them. In fact, millions of Americans who are eligible for existing social […]
Trump and Musk actually made a good point on immigration
On New Year’s Eve, America’s most prominent nativist declared that the nation needs more immigrants. “We need competent people, we need smart people coming into our country,” President-elect Donald Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, “we need a lot of people coming in.” It may sound as though Trump was just visited by the […]
The past 24 hours in South Korea’s chaotic politics, explained
It’s been a contentious 24 hours in South Korean politics, after impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol narrowly avoided arrest for insurrection on Friday, a month after his martial law declaration. It’s the latest development in a month-long political meltdown that has not only thrown Korean politics into turmoil, but surfaced the country’s deep political polarization, […]
House Republicans’ speaker drama, briefly explained
House Republicans — after some initial drama — successfully reelected Rep. Mike Johnson as speaker on Friday. Johnson’s victory in the first round of voting came as something of a surprise, after three Republicans initially voted against him, depriving him of the 218-person majority he needed to win the speakership. After conferring with Johnson, however, […]