Alex Sayf Cummings's Blog, page 15

John Le Carré, Patron Saint Of Disillusioned Academics

Le Carré elevated quit lit into something sublime and deserving of literary awards, unlike my overwrought internet Weltschmertz.

The Syrian Jewish Migration of the 1990s: A Modern Exodus

Henry Harary tells the story of the Jews who took their shot at escaping Syria in the 1990s and built new lives in America.

Cuban Spies and Cold War Syndromes: A Review of ‘Wasp Network’

Any film that so handedly breaks from the mainstream script about Cuba deserves our praise—and our scrutiny.

COVID Speakeasy: Hunting for Live Music in the Pacific Palisades

Rob Baker on the search for live music in a California starved of it.

Ballin’ and Fightin’ Back: Sport and Possibilities for Social Change

The Kenosha police’s seven bullets in the back of Jacob Blake were yet another very…

So Bright and Clear and Pale in the Afternoon

An eviction, a SCOTUS vacancy, and a death in the family. How do we keep our feet on the ground to do what has to be done?

What I Learned by Following the 1918-19 ‘Spanish’ Flu Pandemic in (Almost) Real Time

Once the COVID crisis is over, it may take us quite some time to process and psychologically recover from this tragedy.

Rules for White Mentors

A recent graduate and a professor reflect on teachers' responsibility to grapple with whiteness and the path traveled by first-generation students of color.

Dispatches from Fresno, 1918-19: Following the ‘Spanish’ Flu Pandemic in Real Time, Part XIX

As some pushed a return to the status quo, Fresno leaders urged citizens to exercise caution and heed the guidance of experts, lest the city reopen too quickly.

Consider the Trick Mirror: The Ambivalent Mea Culpa in Contemporary Discourse

When does the act of acknowledging your own complicity in an unjust system start to look like an empty gesture? Aaron Colton considers the work of Jia Tolentino.