Hump Day Recommendations, Oct. 16, 2024

Read: “The Empty Space,” by Peter Brook. In this thin volume, first published in 1968, famed director Peter Brook divides theater into its “Deadly,” “Holy,” “Rough,” and “Immediate” forms. It’s the most important book on theater – and, by extension, art — that I’ve ever found. The older I get, the more I see that the book is also about life. You don’t have to care about theater to become fascinated by this masterpiece. – Willis

Listen: “The Anti-Trans Hate Machine,” hosted by Imara Jones for TransLash Media. Season 2 of this riveting podcast explores the violent supremacist groups that target the transgender community in the US and abroad, including Patriot Front, Proud Boys, Blood Tribe, and many more, as well as the role of local politicians and law enforcement in fostering these dangerous extremists. It’s a heavy subject, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel, as Jones explores deradicalization and healing after hate. — Matt

Watch: “The Last of the Sea Women.”This fantastic documentary focuses on the haenyeo of South Korea’s Jeju Island — intrepid women who dive into the ocean without oxygen to harvest seafood for a living. But their numbers are dwindling, and their way of life faces myriad threats, ranging from climate change to nuclear waste. It’s hard not to cheer these women on as they fight to preserve their traditions and protect the ocean. — John

Listen: The Interview’s conversation with JD Vance.This hour-long interview pushes Vance to explain how many of his views have evolved, and is a great peek inside the brain of Trump’s number two, who knows he will play an outsized role as vice president if he wins in November. – Riley

Read: Language City. More languages are spoken in New York City than anywhere else on earth. But many are endangered tongues from Asia, Africa, the Balkans, or Indigenous America, spoken by just a handful of old heads whose grandkids don’t understand a thing. A new book details the fight to preserve them. Written by Ross Perlin – a Columbia professor who co-directs the NYC-based Endangered Language Alliance – “Language City” maps Gotham’s linguistic landscape and profiles the living speakers of six dying tongues: Yiddish, Nahuatl (from Mexico), Lenape (from pre-colonial New York), Wakhi (Tajikistan), and N’ko (West Africa.) Language nerds will love it, but so will anyone interested in the way that vast sweeps of history are revealed simply by listening to who speaks what languages, and why. – Alex