Eighty years ago tonight, October 30, 1938, one Welles (Orson) staged a radio theater production of another Wells’ (author H. G.) science fiction classic The War of the Worlds. Tonight, Rupert Murdoch and Fox News brings you an updated version La Guerra de los Mundos. Below is an excerpt from the highly guarded script, obtained from Russians … Read more
Next Spring Jews around the world will again come together for the Passover Seder, a ritual meal during which the story of the exodus from Egypt is commemorated with the reading of the Haggadah. The service also includes various songs, the most beloved of which is “Dayenu,” which in Hebrew loosely translates into “it would … Read more
In the past two years, several pundits have referenced the 1976 movie Network. Paddy Chayevsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay under Sidney Lumet’s direction is a tour de force, tracing the evolution of television journalism from reporting the news to entertainment and punditry. In some corners, it has been described as a visionary prediction of the rise of 24/7 cable news. It … Read more
In 2014, comedian Lianna Carrera wrote, “Comedy is the voice of an undercurrent asking us to do better.” This concept was never more tested than in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. People like George Carlin and Lewis Black, who I consider modern versions of Will Rogers, used humor, not to minimize the solemnity of … Read more
Based on early reports, eight to ten congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are dead. Upon entering the synagogue, the shooter Robert Bowers yelled, “All Jews must die.” We have a right to be shocked, but not to be surprised. It was inevitable. And you may call the timing coincidental but … Read more