Some of us have been really surprised that some elite journalists “have been really surprised” at…We all know the cliché: The elite mainstream media is out of touch. It’s a tired generalization — but it got a little harder to argue with…Dec 7, 2024Dec 7, 2024
Democrats have been in “the center” for nearly half a century — it hasn’t worked too wellWe’ve heard it over and over from the usual pundits and consultants: The Democrats lost because they didn’t move to the center; they were…Nov 24, 20241Nov 24, 20241
Borderline Crime: “The Drought,” the Iberian version of “The Bridge,” adds family drama and a bit…I suspect that sooner or later every pair of countries with a common border is going to have a television series in which a body is found…Nov 16, 2024Nov 16, 2024
A German television drama, and its de facto sequel, look at life before, during and after the wallBefore the review, a plea: These are great series — they’re also damn complicated, especially if you are neither German nor a student of…Feb 25, 20241Feb 25, 20241
An open letter to some people I wanted to think of as friendsThe president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has pledged unwavering solidarity with the Palestinians, condemned Israel’s assault on…Oct 22, 2023Oct 22, 2023
We’re old, we’re bold, get used to it!It’s a toss-up when it comes to which prejudice blazing forth from the cover of The New Yorker is more offensive, the ableism or the…Sep 30, 2023Sep 30, 2023
A drama from Finland explores being a journalist in a post-truth worldWhen police raided the newspaper in the small town of Marion, Kansas this month, a myth quickly took hold among some journalists. It was…Aug 20, 2023Aug 20, 2023
A salute to Neil Burnside — the spy who got me to MaltaContains mild spoilers about a 44-year-old television series you’ve probably never heard of — though it’s currently streaming on BritBox.May 28, 2022May 28, 2022
From Portugal with love — and saudadeAbout nine years ago, a work colleague and I were discussing Jess Walter’s brilliant novel, Beautiful Ruins. It’s a novel The New York…Mar 6, 2022Mar 6, 2022
Netflix Japanese drama “The Journalist” is ripped from the headlines — and faithful to themAt the very end of a long closing credits sequence in The Journalist, the first series Netflix has commissioned from Japan, there appears…Jan 30, 2022Jan 30, 2022
African politics through an African lensThere are no white saviors in the fascinating, and frustrating, Senegalese-French political drama WaraDec 19, 2021Dec 19, 2021
And to think that I saw it in my Facebook feed: A few words about those Dr. Seuss booksLast week Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) decided to let six of the famed children’s book author’s books that almost no one was buying anyway…Mar 7, 2021Mar 7, 2021
How the racial and class bias sneak into the journalism● A New York Times Upshot story about COVID-19 and schools dresses up middle-class angst and inconvenience in the trappings of science…Feb 12, 2021Feb 12, 2021
A few sentences about a few sentences that illustrate everything wrong with mainstream journalismA few sentences about a few sentences that illustrate everything wrong with mainstream journalismSep 28, 2020Sep 28, 2020
Back in the USSR: The Russians are meddling in my TV viewing — and it’s all to the good.This is true: In 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 spy plane. Then they scored a huge propaganda victory when they waited…Sep 7, 2020Sep 7, 2020
The Paris Metro is a symphonyPerhaps it was growing up in New York City that led to my lifelong fascination with the world’s subways. Of those I’ve seen, my favorite…Apr 11, 2020Apr 11, 2020
The soft bigotry of Pete ButtigiegWhen Mayor Pete says “heartland” does he really mean “whiteland”?Feb 14, 2020Feb 14, 2020
Lesson from Puerto Rico: If you want power, you’d better have POWERMy wife and I were vacationing in San Juan — our first trip to Puerto Rico — when the largest earthquake to date hit Puerto Rico.Jan 19, 2020Jan 19, 2020
Last side trips to Vigata“Inspector Montalbano is now an orphan, and 60 million Italians are orphans with him.”Jul 21, 20191Jul 21, 20191
A few more foreign TV favorites…including the television drama that proves the Dutch could teach Marie Kondo how to declutter, and the one in which Germans play Italians…May 11, 2019May 11, 2019