FanFare

Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl, Raising Hope) returns with another show about dirtbags with (somewhat) hearts of gold. This time, it's some ex-felons who get released in the early days of the pandemic and get to stealing from bad people. [more inside]
posted by Etrigan on May 5, 2023 - 8 comments

In this two-part series, we speak to a few people engaged in organizing and political education projects about their experiences trying to incorporate covid protections into their existing organizing work, wins and losses they've encountered, and why it's so important for the left to take covid seriously, even as the public health emergency comes to a close. In Part 1, we speak with Alex (beginning at 03:30), a student organizer at a university in the northeast US, and Reina Sultan (beginning at 54:30), a co-creator of 8 to Abolition. In Part 2, we speak with Becca (beginning at 02:30), Raia Small (beginning at 32:00), and Kelly Hayes (1:01:20). Part 1, part 2 (soundcloud links). [more inside]
posted by curious nu on Feb 24, 2023 - 2 comments

This week... Biden declares the pandemic to be over, which it isn't. Florida governor Ron DeSantis flies migrants (from Texas, not Florida) to Martha's Vineyard at Florida taxpayer expense in a ridiculous stunt for the benefit of Fox News. Puerto Rico, hit by Hurricane Fiona, has power problems again, in large part due to the mismanagement of LUMA Energy. Puerto Rican rap artist Bad Bunny drew attention to the island's continuing electrical woes with a video that at first appears to be a music video, but then turns out to be a 22-minute documentary. And Now: The Queue to End All Queues (the one to pay respects to the deceased Queen of England). Main Story: A return to Jair Bolsonaro, the far right President of Brazil who is running for election. He seems likely to lose but may decide to refuse to leave office, following Trump's example and encouraging a riot. On Youtube (20 minutes). At the end, John Oliver wishes support for the people of Brazil, speaking Portuguese while swinging nunchaku around. There's a reason, kind of.
posted by JHarris on Sep 26, 2022 - 3 comments

Opening exposition: It's 2025. The world as we have known in 2020 does not exist anymore. The virus changed the world. Communism is all over the place. A global state developed, meetings are illegal, travelling is illegal, and Christianity is illegal.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints on Jan 24, 2022 - 32 comments

The first three legs of season 33 of The Amazing Race were filmed in February 2020... and then production was shut down due to COVID. The Race resumed 17 months later. [more inside]
posted by DevilsAdvocate on Jan 7, 2022 - 6 comments

Christmas episode with no audience and several past sketches due to Omicron COVID spike. [more inside]
posted by rhizome on Dec 19, 2021 - 17 comments

This week: police officers around the US threaten to quit rather than get vaccinated. And Now: The Weather Channel's Graphics Department Is Still Not Fucking Around. Main story: Taiwan, its history as an anti-communist tool by the West, its current-day democratic miracle, and its fraught relationship with Communist China. And Now: James Corden Loves Cinema. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 25, 2021 - 6 comments

Two weeks left in the white void! The spread of the Delta variant of the Coronavirus continues to grow, helped by hordes of ideologically-driven parents threatening school boards over mask mandates. And Now: Pete Nelson From Treehouse Masters Really, Really Likes Trees. Main story: Ransomware (YouTube, 22 minutes), which is an epidemic of its own right now. How it started, what's happening now, and a couple of ways you can help protect yourself. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Aug 17, 2021 - 7 comments

This week: another show from the void, but maybe not for much longer! The Tokyo Olympics proceed despite a spike in COVID cases, and the UK prepares to lift nearly all restrictions despite an uptick in cases over there. And Now: People On TV Mean "Fucking" (Olympics Edition). Main story (32 minutes): Housing Discrimination, its legacy in the US, how its effects are felt today, and what can be done to rectify it. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Jul 26, 2021 - 6 comments

Reddick Boseman (Reddick Boseman Lockhart?) goes through the roller coaster that was 2020. Certain cast members get to tie up their storylines.
posted by emkelley on Jun 24, 2021 - 5 comments

Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker, The Big Short, The Fifth Risk) tells the story of the American response to the Covid pandemic from the perspective of a handful of infectious-disease experts. In the mid-2000s they planned the American response to a future pandemic. In late 2019 and early 2020 they found themselves trying to protect Americans from Covid. [more inside]
posted by russilwvong on Jun 1, 2021 - 2 comments

This week, once again from the void... . Local governments try different ways to incentivize getting vaccinated against COVID, from lottery money to free fast food. And Now: Ari Melber, Rap Genius, Will Just Not Fucking Stop. The conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists escalates, a conflict that, despite the both-sides, tit-for-tat framing the news media uses for it, greatly harms innocent Palestinians more than Israelis. The main story concerns Stand Your Ground laws (19m), an unnecessary set of laws passed in 22 states that removes the "duty to retreat" from armed confrontations, sometimes with disastrous consequences. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on May 17, 2021 - 6 comments

This week: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faces a Federal investigation for intentionally under-reportng nursing home deaths due to COVID, reportedly having threatened to end a state senator's career over it. And Now: Did Fox Business's Liz Claman Mention That She Likes Peloton? Then the main story (26m): Police raids, a tool that law enforcement arguably relies on way, way too often, and disproportionately against minorities. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Mar 1, 2021 - 0 comments

Putting out a global call, documentarist Kevin Macdonald asked people to document their lives on July 25th and send him the footage. [more inside]
posted by miss-lapin on Feb 3, 2021 - 1 comment

Shudder's 56-minute new horror movie, "filmed and set entirely on video chat platform Zoom, Host recounts the tale of a seance gone wrong and the immediate fallout as something unintended is invited into the chat. In the wake of its release on Shudder, it raced to 100% on RottenTomatoes and tides of effusive reactions across social media". [more inside]
posted by growabrain on Aug 20, 2020 - 7 comments

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of Six Characters in Search of an Author in the West End. The pandemic has put paid to that, but their director (Simon Evans - also playing himself) is determined not to let the opportunity pass him by. He knows how big a chance this is for him and turns his attention to cajoling his stars into rehearsing over the internet. All they need to do is read the first scene, but throughout the series they come up against a multitude of oppositional forces: distraction, boredom, home-schooling and their own egos. [more inside]
posted by Major Clanger on Jun 21, 2020 - 11 comments

This week on Sawbones, we examine how Black Americans have received substandard care and fewer opportunities within the American medical system. Also, some guidance on how to protest as safely as possible in the face of COVID-19.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis on Jun 1, 2020 - 3 comments