World Wide Work: Films, Books, Music You May Have Missed
FILMS
From Ground Zero. Shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards, this is a deeply moving collection of shorts by 22 Palestinian filmmakers that show the humanity and resilience of children, women, and men in Gaza and the impact of the war on their lives.
No Other Land. This Academy Award winning documentary was a joint project of two young filmmakers – one Palestinian and one Israeli. Footage shot over a five-year period shows the destruction of homes, a school, and a village well by the Israeli army in an attempt to drive Palestinian families off their land in the West Bank.
World War III. In this unusual Iranian feature film, a poor laborer encounters a crew making a low-budget film about the Holocaust. When the actor playing the part of Hitler is suddenly incapacitated, the laborer is unexpectedly pulled into filling in for him.
A Real Pain. In this feature film that walks the line between humor and sadness, two male cousins, each with their own challenges in life, join a tour group of Jews visiting Poland to learn more about their heritage, including the Holocaust.
Without Arrows. Filmed over 13 years, this documentary shows the challenges faced by a Lakȟóta man who left home for the east coast and became a renowned grass dancer but comes home to stay connected with his family and community.
Inshallah A Boy. A devout Muslim woman in Jordan suddenly becomes a widow and single mother in this feature film. As she tries to carry on with her life the country’s male dominated culture confronts her with unexpected barriers.
Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat. An innovative Academy Award nominated documentary blends music and historical footage to revisit the period in the early 1960s when poor African countries like the Congo were demanding independence. As they do now, wealthy nations like the U.S. and Belgium were fighting to keep control over that continent’s mineral wealth. The U.S. government enlisted Black entertainers like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie to travel to such countries as cultural ambassadors to provide political cover as the CIA worked to install malleable puppet regimes.
BOOKS
Some Final Beauty by Lisa Alvarez (University of Nevada). This is a beautifully written collection of short stories, often inspired by true events, that draws on the author’s deep experience in community and family issues.
Metamorphosis edited by Grist (Milkweed). A varied, unpredictable, and multicultural collection of 12 short stories looks to our future in a time of climate change.
West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge (Lake Union). Based on a true story, this novel reimagines a perilous journey during the Great Depression in which two giraffes acquired by the San Diego Zoo were transported by truck across the U.S., long before the interstate highways were built.
Katharine, The Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood (Source). A fictionalized biography of Wilbur and Orville Wright and their sister Katharine tells the human side of their story – their doubts, family tensions, and successes before and after the first motorized airplane flight.
We Are the Union by Eric Blanc (University of California). Nearly 60% of workers in America say they would support having a union where they work, yet only 11% have one. This thoughtful book uses recent organizing at Starbucks and other companies to discuss ways to close that gap. The central thesis is that to get to the necessary scale existing unions need to invest far more resources in supporting organizing led by workers themselves.
Stolen Pride by Arlie Russell Hochschild (New Press). A sociologist listened in depth to blue-collar men in Pike County, Kentucky, an area devastated by the decline of the coal industry and by opioid addiction promoted by drug companies. She concluded that most of them supported Trump not because of issues or policies but because he spoke to their lost sense of pride. When Trump was attacked by liberals or prosecutors, he successfully appealed to these men by saying, “See how they look down on us?”
Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer (Penguin). A journalist takes a deep dive into the connection between U.S. support for wealthy dictators in Central American countries and increased immigration from that region.
Syria: Civil War to Holy War? by Charles Glass (OR Books). The fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024 did not mean the arrival of peace or democracy for Syrians. Outside countries, including the U.S., Russia, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and others continued their longstanding practice of pursuing their own interests either by the direct use of force or by funding mercenaries.
Climate Injustice by Friederike Otto (Greystone). Inequality of wealth and privilege within and between nations plays a huge role in the climate crisis. What to do to slow the pace of climate change and to reduce harm is known but corporate interests wielding political power to prevent systemic change stand in the way.
A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko (Scribner). Over year’s time, a writer and photographer hiked the entire length of the Grand Canyon in segments with help from some of the few backpackers ever to cover that remote and spectacular landscape.
The Political Economy of California (Dollars and Sense). Despite the dry title, this collection of articles about current struggles over worker justice; immigrant rights; affordable health care, housing, and education; and many other issues will be of interest even to readers not in California.
Radioactive Radicals by Dan La Botz (BookLocker). The author has spent a lifetime participating in movements for workers’ rights. In this 734-page novel, he draws on that experience, including his time working with other Teamster members to challenge the corrupt leadership of that union. His story about taking strategically chosen blue-collar jobs in order to organize for economic justice may be of particular interest at a time when many young people are doing the same at Starbucks, Amazon, and other companies.
MUSIC
Avett Brothers. The duo’s latest album includes a spiritual hymn for our time, “We Are Loved.”
A Tip Toe High Wire by Sierra Hull. Virtuoso bluegrass music with a soothing voice.