MAV RECOMMENDS - March 2nd, 2018

The Olympics are over, so rather than become a personification of the sad face emoji, here are some things for your eyes, for your ears and for your mind to help ease that late winter malaise. 

The Academy Awards are this Sunday! Have you caught up on all the nominated flicks? Which do you think will win, what will be the drama, can anything top last year’s envelope fiasco? To prepare, here’s an oral history of how it all went down in those final moments during the Best Picture reveal. 

In the spirit of revisiting things, and given the global political climate of the #MeToo movement, this is a great piece from the subject, herself, on the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton affair. It’s been twenty years how would things have been covered differently if this story broke today? 

The more things change, though, the more they seem to stay the same. This piece from Vox on how former Trump Communications Director, Hope Hicks, has been presented recently raises a still unsolved issue of gender in politics. The NPR Politics podcast got this conversation dreadfully wrong this week in their “can’t let it go segment” wherein they seemed to confuse the conversation, making it about Hicks’ previous career as a model, not about the undertones insinuated when she is constantly referred to by that job in the media. Of course, past experience (of which Hope has none,) is important. But, that’s not the point. Jared Kushner also had zero relevant governing experience, but very rarely is he announced by his looks, in the way that the young women of the White House, Hicks in particular, are. 

For your weekend reading, a book recommendation. From the ever-delightful, Zadie Smith, comes her latest collection of stories. Some of these are topical, some are lyrical literature, she tackles race, class, and the human condition in Feel Free. (Bonus: her voice is like butter, if you have the time, this interview with CBC’s Tom Power on q, is a delight for the ears.) 

One final thing to get you to the weekend: the Spice Girls aren’t the only commoners who may snag tickets to the Royal Wedding. Harry and Meghan here we come!