Committee Recommends: Week 4

Here are the Media Socs recommendations of content across the media for 4th Week.

Unfortunately, it looks like we might all have a little more time on our hands this week, so why not, in a quiet moment away from all the chaos of this virus-struck world, explore some of the suggestions below?

We hope you find something you enjoy.

LONG READS

Five tips for better coverage of the climate crisis

“So there is plenty of debate about volume, language, and advocacy. But largely missing is more examination of the quality of climate journalism, and what it might look like.”

A five-point article on how journalists can better convey the climate crisis to advocates and deniers alike.

Frog and toad are self-quarantined friends

Frog and Toad scrolled through Netflix for 20 minutes.

“Frog, I cannot pick,” said Toad, “Let’s watch Love is Blind again.”

Lockdown relationships explored through the microcosm of a sometimes-turbulent sometimes-joyful frog and toad pair? Sounds perfect.

Does that star-spangled banner yet wave? The origins of the US national anthem

“The sight of his nation’s flag flying in the distance moved the lawyer, Francis Scott Key, to write a poem commemorating the victory.”

In this week where the future of America, and the values of liberty it sees itself as representing, are very much on the line, this TLS piece provides a timely deep-dive into the history of the sountry’s national anthem.

IN THE NEWS

The US election in prisons

The US prison population stands at well over 2 million, and nearly all inmates are excluded from the democratic process. That doesn’t, however, mean they can’t be engaged. This Guardian article explores the mock elections held in one prison.

Anti-France protests spread across the Islamic world

Emmanuel Macron’s condemnation of domestic Islamic terrorism has led to ireful protests among Muslim populations across the world, including burning effigies of the French president.

A BIT OF LISTENING

5 minutes that will make you love baroque music

Need a break from everything? Try this.

The YUNGBLUD podcast

Yes, YUNGBLUD is quite a shift from an exploration of baroque music, but we’re nothing if not eclectic. Listen as the musician talks through a range of topics with his mates, including sexuality and mental health.

WATCH LIST

What can you do about QAnon?

This opinion piece from the NYT opinion section makes an important point in this climate of echo chambers and lack of communication between those of opposite politics: the other side are humans too. Despite the wildness of the theory, those that sympathise with QAnon will be better disillusioned by understanding and consideration rather than blanket condemnation.

Emily Maitlis interviews John Bolton

Building on her fascinatingly watchable and confrontational interviews with men who deeply resent being disagreed with – see Anthony Scaramucci and Prince Andrew – Emily Maitlis’ forensic questioning and refusal to let her subject off the hook meets with the intransigent John Bolton for a lively interaction.

That’s all for this week. Interested in writing for us? Contact us to chat about submissions.