Hump Day recs

Read: The Comedians, by Graham Greene. More than half a century later, what would Graham Greene say about today’s warlord-driven political chaos in Haiti? He’d probably say little has changed, though the comic edge of his 1966 tragicomic novel might now be lost to history. The joke’s no longer funny, if it ever really was. – Willis

Watch: weird, sexy, amazing ads by … the EU? What happens when Neon and Hydrogen meet at a dance party? Absolutely nothing until Carbon shows up in a leather hat and dipped sunglasses ready to play. This amazingly weird video is one of a series of superb ads made by EU institutions over the years, which are gathered in this thread. There’s the 8-bit video game explainer of trade policy enforcement, the totally dystopian “single spoon” ad for the common phone charger, and just wait till you see what happens to that male model on the beach in this EU health insurance spot. Yikes! Alex

Laugh: Rex Navarrete. Jo Koy may be the first Filipino-American comedian to make it big, but I find this guy way funnier. Don't miss classics like Maritess vs. the Superfriends or SBC Packers. Wanna watch him live? He's currently on tour. — Carlos

Listen: Jorge Ben’s pan-African funk. Brazil experienced incredible musical growth in the 1970s, absorbing influences from around the world. Jorge Ben — whose famous mas que nada contributed to making the bossa nova genre popular in the US — drifted from his classic acoustic tunes to incorporate funk, rock, and Afro-rock into the mix. Check out his albums, Negro é lindo and Solta o pavão, to rediscover some of this worldly music. – Bea

More from GZERO Media

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on February 20, 2025
Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

A new measure would cut back the popular program in order to fund continuation of Trump's first term tax cuts.

President Donald Trump looks on while meeting with President of France Emmanuel Macron in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, February 24, 2025.

Bonnie Cash/Pool/Sipa USA

The 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution is crystal clear: No person can be elected to the presidency more than twice. Ratified in 1951, it was a response to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term tenure.

- YouTube

What is the European reaction to what President Trump is trying to achieve in terms of peace? Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Kyiv, Ukraine, on the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale aggression against the country.

China's President Xi Jinping attends a meeting in Brazil in November 2024.

REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

Just days after a Chinese naval helicopter nearly collided with a Philippine patrol plane over a contested reef, China’s military started live-fire drills in waterways near Vietnam on Monday and between Australia and New Zealand over the weekend in an “unprecedented” display of firepower.