THE MOST RUSSIAN THING I HAVE EVER SEEN, AND I HAVE BEEN TO RUSSIA The brief promotional materials said it had something to do with Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.” I had hopes it would be live theater and that maybe Krymov would appear, if only remotely. commonreader.wustl.edu/the-most-russi…

ZOMBIE COMICS as they are called, are drawn long after the original artist has died and going through the motions for syndication. It is said Charles Schultz left instructions not to allow it to happen to his strip. commonreader.wustl.edu/zombie-comics/

OKSANA MAKSYMCHUK AND THE WAR IN UKRAINE Maksymchuk explained that she started writing ‘Still City’ in Ukraine, “maybe half a year before the actual invasion in the summer of 2021” commonreader.wustl.edu/oksana-maksymc…

MUSIC NOT MISSILES: MEMORIES OF A RELUCTANT COLD WARRIOR I wonder what they make of Vladimir Putin having an ally in the White House or a short-timer like Pete Hegseth having oversight of the mightiest military on Earth. commonreader.wustl.edu/music-not-miss…

I HATE NAZIS. WHY DOES FACEBOOK WANT ME TO SEE THEM SO BADLY? Facebook’s algorithms, which drive what any of us see individually, are a mystery to most of us. At best they make us passive consumers; at worst, easy pupils to brain-train for nefarious ends. commonreader.wustl.edu/i-hate-nazis-w…

MOST POINTS WINS The goal is to make you feel slightly more virtuous, briefly. But why stop there? People are crazy, and times are strange. commonreader.wustl.edu/most-points-wi…

LOOKING HIP IN THE GAZA STRIP? MY USELESS ACT OF INDIE-ROCK PROPHECY  Before the president of the United States publicly imagined the Gaza Strip as a hip Middle Eastern Riviera, I only ever told this story to mock myself at parties. commonreader.wustl.edu/looking-hip-in…

PROFESSOR SNYDER IS NOT FLEEING THE COUNTRY The U.S. administration, destabilizing and unjustifiable in nearly all its actions, said Yale historian Timothy Snyder, “at its depth comes down to hero worship” commonreader.wustl.edu/professor-snyd…

“HANDS OFF!” RALLY IN ILLINOIS THE CALM BEFORE POSSIBLE STORM No MAGA believer showed up with an assault rifle, as someone did in Indiana, or with a Nazi flag, as a man did in St. Louis’s Metro East. commonreader.wustl.edu/hands-off-rall…

‘PLAY HARDER’: THE TRIUMPH OF BLACK BASEBALL IN AMERICA Read up on TCR editor Professor Gerald Early’s latest publishing home run! source.washu.edu/2025/04/play-h…

WHAT IF HARVARD WENT OUT OF BUSINESS? Harvard might be seen as best-suited to defend its autonomy from federal demands, but then that is one of the very reasons it is a primary target. commonreader.wustl.edu/what-if-harvar…

DOCUMENTARY ON ARTIST ART SPIEGELMAN WORTH A WATCH There is much of interest in the documentary “Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse” about technique, layout, framing, visual style, and the burden of guilt in storytelling. commonreader.wustl.edu/documentary-on…

PLATFORM OFFERS DOCUMENTARIES ON PHOTOGRAPHERS, SUCH AS JOSEF KOUDELKA We get to see a photographer with the perfectionism of a master and the patience of a saint. Koudelka has lived a life of discomfort and often danger for his art. commonreader.wustl.edu/platform-offer…

PECK OF DIRT IS HEARD FROM AGAIN While watching Peck of Dirt, I was thinking about the inscrutable, somewhat self-defeating, but ultimately lovable and inspiring character of the St. Louis rock music scene. commonreader.wustl.edu/peck-of-dirt-i…

NEW DOCUMENTARY ON THE ARTIST JEALOUS OF PEE-WEE HERMAN Paul Reubens insists on camera that the documentary must not be of the “tears of a clown” variety. It is an admirable attitude, but Matt Wolf’s film, perhaps inevitably, emphasizes Reubens’s problems. commonreader.wustl.edu/new-documentar…

HOW MUCH MARIANO RIVERA DID NOT WANT TO TALK TO ME I thought I would take this slow moment to tell a baseball story—when the name of Mariano Rivera was not yet lost to common memory. commonreader.wustl.edu/how-much-maria…

RICH IN PROPORTION TO THE NUMBER OF THINGS LET ALONE Crap transference is when people give you things they own, apparently with good intentions, except you do not need or want them, and in fact may not have known they existed. commonreader.wustl.edu/rich-in-propor…

NOT DOING YOGA AT MONTAUK WITH ROY SCHEIDER’S WIFE The 50th anniversary of ‘Jaws’ will trigger the return of sub-rational fears of swimming in the ocean. For me, I am left thinking about a private lunch I shared with Roy Scheider. commonreader.wustl.edu/not-doing-yoga…

RECIPES FOR RASCALS IN DISTANT CITIES: GREENS I would suggest using an iron skillet, the kind they made before inferior castings. Do I need to say the old ways are often best? Heat it up for five minutes at medium-high as you prep your ingredients. commonreader.wustl.edu/recipes-for-ra…

GETTING IT WRONG AGAIN It was an astonishing moment for me, who never felt settled in what he knew. ommonreader.wustl.edu/getting-it-wro…