LeGuin, Caroline, Elizabeth LeGuin, and Ursula K. Le Guin. "Ursula K. Le Guin on Her Illegal Abortion in 1950." Lit Hub (September 13, 2023) ["It’s hard all over again to engage with this essay knowing that today, after that reprieve of “half a lifetime,” abortion is again illegal in this nation. The dark ages are back: in Texas, Idaho, North Dakota, Tennessee, and more than a dozen other states, pregnancy can now mean facing the prospect of being forced to bear children against one’s will—bearing them “for the anti-abortion people” (who will have nothing to do with helping care for those children). Those who have the privilege and means, as our mother did over 70 years ago, may make the ethical choice to break the law, to have or not have children for themselves; they may have loving family members and find medical professionals willing to risk being criminalized by supporting them. Most do not have this choice, however. Somewhere in Missouri or Idaho, a young person with the capacity to imagine the wider realities we so desperately need, the burning potential to become a transformative storyteller, is being shamed and shoved into the silence of enforced motherhood."]
Li, James. "How Big Food Corporations Made Americans Overweight And Sick." Breaking Points (Posted on Youtube: January 8, 2023) ["James Li breaks down how corporations producing food have lied to the American people leading to increases in obesity and other illnesses."]
Maughan, Philip. "The Rediscovery Of Circadian Rhythms." NOEMA (August 3, 2023) ["An explosion of interest in our internal clocks is helping people lead more balanced, productive and longer lives. But will it lead to societal change?"]
Peregrine, Rhys. "The Power of the Look: On Jordan Peele’s Nope." Bright Lights Film Journal (May 26, 2023) ["In this instance, the look is also a threat to those doing the looking. The act of seeing can be damaging not only to the target but also to the beholder. There are obvious parallels here with the consumption of exploitation film and how we, as audiences, are unwilling to look away, even when we should. It is what Peele referred to as “the dark side” of our obsession with spectacle."]
Prescod, Paul. "UAW President Shawn Fain Is Showing How to Build Working-Class Struggle." Jacobin (September 28, 2023) ["Shawn Fain, the firebrand president of the UAW, is modeling exactly the kind of labor leader we need right now: one who boldly names the billionaire class as the enemy — and galvanizes workers themselves to fight back."]
Purac, Selma A. "Selling 'Silence' in Contemporary Horror: Krasinski’s Quiet Consumers." Monstrum #4 (October 2021) ["John Krasinski’s 2018 horror film A Quiet Place broke through the noise of a box office dominated by blockbusters and pre-existing properties. Acclaimed by critics, the relatively modest production, which cost only 17 million dollars to make, went on to gross over 340 million dollars worldwide (AQP Numbers). In part, this success is rooted in the film’s focus on the horror soundscape, which is central to its very premise."]
Roskam, Kelly. "Protecting the Public?: Guns, Intimate Partner Violence, and the US Supreme Court." New Books in Political Science (August 7, 2023) ["Postscript invites scholars to react to contemporary political events and today’s podcast welcomes an expert on domestic violence and firearms law to analyze a controversial Second Amendment case that the United States Supreme Court will hear this Fall, United States v. Rahimi. Kelly Roskam, JD is the Director of Law and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy. She studies the constitutional implications of, advocates for, and works to improve the implementation of firearms laws. She has been writing about the practical implications of the Rahimi case since it came up through the 5th circuit (for example, “The Fifth Circuit’s Rahimi decision protects abusers’ access to guns. The Supreme Court must act to protect survivors of domestic violence” and “A Texas Judge Is Using Originalism to Justify Arming Domestic Abusers” (co-authored with Spencer Cantrell and Natalie Nanasi). In the podcast, we discuss the specifics of this strange case (a man who assaulted a woman, shot in the air, and later threatened to kill her claims that his constitutional rights have been violated – and the 5th circuit agrees that Congress is the threat to liberty). Ms. Roskam explains how the legal regime Congress created in 1994 to protect survivors of intimate violence also protects the safety of the public at large. She presents some of the data (e.g., that the presence of a firearm increases the likelihood that domestic violence will escalate into a homicide). She explains what is at stake, the possible ways the Supreme Court might approach the case, and ways to combat firearm violence beyond the courts."]
Sexton, James. "Divorce Lawyer on Marriage, Relationships, Sex, Lies & Love." Lex Fridman Podcast #396 (September 17, 2023) [Discussing his book How To Stay in Love: Practical Wisdom from an Unexpected Source. Description of the book: "Hard-hitting divorce lawyer James J. Sexton shares his insights and wisdom to help you reverse-engineer a healthy, fulfilling romantic relationship with How to Stay in Love. With two decades on the front lines of divorce Sexton has seen what makes formerly happy couples fall out of love and “lose the plot” of the story they were writing together. Now he reveals all of the “what-not-to-dos” for couples who want to build—and consistently work to preserve—a lasting, loving relationship. Sexton tells the unvarnished truth about love and marriage, diving straight into the most common issues that often arise from simple communication problems and relationships that develop by “default” instead of design. Though he deals constantly with the heartbreak of others, he still believes in romance and the transformative power of love. This book is his opportunity to use what he has learned from the mistakes of his clients to help individuals and couples find and preserve lasting connection."]
Sokolower, Judy, ed. Teaching About the Wars. Rethinking Schools, 2013. [Available online: "During his four years in office, President Trump pushed the United States closer toward war with Iran. After barely a month in office, President Joe Biden carried out airstrikes in Syria, against facilities allegedly belonging to Iran-backed militia groups. “We cannot escape the realities of how we got here, decades of U.S. war in the Middle East and a continued belief that bombs will somehow bring peace,” the organization Win Without War said in a statement. “History has shown how utterly failed that mentality is, with a cost of countless lives and massive destruction.” Teaching About the Wars breaks the curricular silence on the U.S. military engagement in the Middle East and Afghanistan. The articles and lessons in this volume explore “the realities of how we got here.” Even though the United States has been at war continuously since just after 9/11, sometimes it seems that our schools have forgotten. This collection of articles and hands-on lessons shows how teachers prompt their students to think critically about big issues. Here is the best writing from Rethinking Schools magazine on war and peace in the 21st century."]
Sottile, Leah. "How Radical Climate Activists Became a Domestic Terror Threat in the U.S." On the Media (September 22, 2023) ["In the US, the vilification of climate activism stretches back nearly three decades. In the nineties and the early aughts, radical climate activism was all over the news, and the coverage took no prisoners. One particular group, Earth Liberation Front, became known nationwide for their disruptive climate action. At the time, a smaller, underground faction of the group – dubbed ‘The Family’ by the FBI – was deemed one of the largest domestic terror threats in the country. The group targeted businesses and government facilities it saw as harming the environment. According to the FBI, from 1995 to 2001, the group was responsible for around $45 million dollars in damages in Oregon, Wyoming, Washington, California, and Colorado. The group was so underground that, until the arrests of several members, many of them didn’t know each other's real names, and when they discovered the government was on their tail, a few fled the country. By the late 2000s, the so-called family largely faded from the public eye, though not from the sights of the FBI. And in 2018, one of the remaining fugitives, Joseph Mahmoud Dibee, was captured and brought back to the U.S. to stand trial. This week, Brooke speaks with Leah Sottile, a longtime extremism reporter, and the host of the BBC podcast Burn Wild. The podcast looks deep into these once notorious activists, and mulls the question: how far is too far to go to save the planet?"]
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