Here’s a few things that we’ve been enjoying over the past week.
Marian
This endorsement falls in the category not so much of “Things I’m Enjoying”, so much as “Things I’m Gonna Enjoy.” I’ve been obsessively following the coverage of the NSA leaks over the past week and a half, and in conversations and debates with friends, the 2007 film The Lives of Others has come up multiple times. It’s a story about the surveillance practices of the Stasi in East Germany, and it centers on two government officials whose differing ideological commitments influence their attitude toward their surveillance duties. I haven’t yet seen it, but now seems like a good time to do so—and I’m not the only one who thinks so. In light of current debating (and posturing) among bloggers, journalists, and political figures as to whether the NSA leaks are that big of a deal, this fictional depiction of another time, place, and political situation seems like a great opportunity to step back from the current context and think with more distance about the ethical and political issues involved in state surveillance. You can read more about the movie in these reviews that came out back in 2007.
Keith
The comedian Tig Notaro and her friends Kyle Dunnigan and David Huntsberger have a podcast (professorblastoff.com). It’s funny. You should listen.
Tom
It’s once again decision season for the Supreme Court who will hand down fourteen more rulings over the next week, including what will inevitably be contentious opinions on same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and the Voting Rights Act. You’re probably already familiar with the SCOTUSblog, which has been around for over a decade now and continues to pile up the awards. Even so, I want to endorse their fantastic coverage of the Court and suggest you make it part of your daily reading. Not only do they provide analysis of the Court’s decisions in which they lay out the historical context as well as the jurisprudential and practical implications, they also take a step back and tackle big-picture questions about the ever-changing nature of the Court itself. The Supreme Court has always been the branch of government which I find to be the most mysterious. Hearings aren’t televised and the justices, since they don’t have to campaign for anything, have very little reason to put themselves in the public eye. All of which makes the SCOTUSblog that much more useful: they explain not only what the court does, but how and why it does it. They also have a lively Twitter feed.
Bonus endorsement: I don’t follow many parody Twitter feeds, but over the past two weeks the folks behind the @PRISM_NSA Twitter account have been killing it. I would have thought their jokes would tire by now (and they may be slowing down a bit), but they’ve somehow managed to stay both relevant and hilarious. Go back to their early postings, which are the best.
