Culture
Religion, Law, and Coronavirus
An interesting site, run out of the University of Pisa, covering breaking developments in many countries with many articles in English.
Lawsuit Demands USDA Stop Certifying Hydroponic Foods as 'Organic'
Dirt farmers want the feds to stack the deck in their favor.
Understanding Ellison
In a new collection of letters, the great Invisible Man author is further revealed.
The Plot Against America Is Not About Trump, Even If Comparisons Are Inevitable
HBO's adaptation of Philip Roth's novel is much more interesting when viewed on its own merits.
Court Rules Mostly for Catholic Nurse Who Objected to Newly Imposed Birth-Control and Abortion-Referral Duties
The Illinois Appellate Court's decision interprets the Illinois version of the RFRA, and the separate Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act (which bans all discrimination "because of [a] person's conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience").
China Bans Pandemic Video Game From App Store and Steam
Plague Inc. simulates the spread of coronavirus.
The Report
Amazon Prime's new show attempts to dramatize the "enhanced interrogations" that took place under President George W. Bush as well as the Obama administration's failure to hold anybody to account.
Rocker Nick Cave Defends Old Songs From 'Perpetually Pissed Off Coterie of Pearl-Clutchers'
"I would rather be remembered for writing something that was...offensive, than to be forgotten for writing something bloodless."
Yes, There Are Private Donors—and Not Just Bill Gates—Helping Fund the Coronavirus Response
More than $725 million has been spent across the world from non-governmental organizations.
Muslim Inmate Objects to Strip Search with Transgender Female-to-Male Guard Watching
The prison's actions satisfied the strict scrutiny test, a federal court just held, so the inmate loses.
California Wants To Carve Out Religious Exemptions to Its Insane Housing Laws
State lawmakers want to override local zoning codes to let churches and other nonprofits build affordable housing on their own land.
This South Carolina City Is Crushing Its Own Food Truck Economy
Greenville has run its food trucks out of town.
A Kurdish Experiment in Decentralized Governance
The Kurds of Northern Syria are trying something different, for better or worse.
Why Are Public Schools Fighting To Keep Home School Kids Off Their Teams?
In West Virginia, advocates have been fighting to pass the Tim Tebow Act since 2011. They're on the verge of scoring a partial legislative victory.
Review: Devs
Nick Offerman and Alison Pill in Alex Garland’s wild sci-fi mystery.
'Til Wrong Feels Right
Iggy Pop's new book documents the life of a great individualist who, even more than Sinatra, did things his way.
Sticking It to the Man
A new anthology explores how the counterculture of the '60s and '70s mixed with the mainstream.
The New Right-Wing Program of Cultural Nationalism Is Un-American and Illiberal
It will empower the state and will divide rather than unite Americans.
Chris Matthews, MSNBC's Least Woke Host, Retires Amid #MeToo Allegations
"Compliments on a woman's appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were okay, were never okay."
Virginia Bill Targets Massage Parlor Workers
Lawmakers want to get tougher on touching "with the intent to sexually arouse."
While Trump Was Praising Modi for Religious Freedom, Modi-Supporting Hindus Slaughtered Muslims in the Streets
Trump's failure to speak out against Modi's reign of lawlessness and terror is an epic abdication of responsibility.
Harvey Weinstein's Sexual Assault Conviction Is a Well-Deserved Win for #MeToo
The disgraced filmmaker is headed to prison.
Can a City Refuse To Use a Foster Agency That Discriminates Against Same-Sex Couples?
The Supreme Court is about to tackle the issue.
Competing Brands of Authoritarianism Are All Trump and Democratic Candidates Offer
The real resistance is made up of those who refuse to be governed by any of the wannabe rulers.
On the Money: Presidential Portraiture and Power in D.C.
Kehinde Wiley's pre-presidential works criticized inequalities and hierarchies of power. His presidential portrait doesn't do the same.
Watchmen
The new HBO show explores how systems of authority fail those for whom they are ostensibly responsible.
Future Tense Fiction
"A good science fiction story can help re-sensitize us" to the peril and promise of the new.
Michael Bloomberg Utterly Destroyed Over Sexism Accusations
This was supposed to be the electable alternative?
Does South Park Encourage Political Apathy and Moral Superiority?
Critics say the long-running satiric cartoon has created "a generation of boys" who are smug and disengaged.
Violent Political Satire The Hunt Has Been Uncanceled, Just in Time for the Primaries
Did the outrage that caused it to get shelved also return? (Spoiler: It has not)
Venezuelans Fleeing Socialism Find Community at a Miami Storage Facility
Raíces Venezolanas, or Venezuelan Roots, gives household items and a heavy dose of moral support to immigrant families showing up in South Florida.
Errol Morris Is Fascinated by and Terrified of Steve Bannon
The decorated filmmaker didn't expect the dramatic reaction to his "toxic" documentary about Trump's former aide-de-camp.
Wyoming May Improve on Its Great Food Freedom Law
New amendment would allow low-risk foods such as homemade jams to be sold in grocery stores and sold and consumed in restaurants.
Virginia Is About To Require a Government License for 'Art Therapy,' Because Glue and Scissors Are 'Potentially' Dangerous
The real motive for laws like this has nothing to do with scissors and glue. It's all about protectionism.
The Government Says These Men Have No Recourse Against FBI Agents Who Used the 'No Fly' List To Punish Them
The Supreme Court will decide whether three Muslims who refused to be informants can sue for damages under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
How Rob Long Went from Cheers to National Review to LSD
The long, strange, and unfinished trip of a sitcom-writing legend who turned right after the Cold War, co-founded a podcast empire, turned on to psychedelics, and got turned off to politics.
