Humpday Recommendations 04/16/2024

WATCH: “An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th,” a new documentary debuting this week on HBO and Max that revisits the deadliest act of domestic terror committed on US soil. Executive produced by Katie Couric, it examines the influences and ideology that led Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols to bomb a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people including 19 children, and the political extremism that still exists in America today. – Tony Maciulis

Watch:“Civil War” If you read my review on this movie, which imagines what a civil war would look like in the not-too-distant future in the US, then you already know that I had a lot of problems with it. But I still found it very thought-provoking and think it’s worth seeing. It definitely strikes a nerve at a precarious moment for US democracy. – John

Listen: September. Here’s a test. Click this link and see if you can remain completely motionless – every muscle relaxed but still – for the 3 minutes and 35 seconds it takes to listen to this song. Better yet, clear some space and move as you choose. Happy Wednesday. #EW&F -- Willis

Listen: Maggie Rogers’ OG Tiny Desk Concert If you aren’t on the Maggie Rogers train yet, her third album is the stop to hop on at. It's folkier than she’s been in the past, while maintaining her killer lyricism. However, it inspired me to look back at her first visit to NPR. Worth a listen. –Riley

More from GZERO Media

Elon Musk smiles while pulling open his jacket to reveal a black shirt with the word "DOGE" printed in bold letters. Text art reads "GZERO World with Ian Bremmer – the podcast."

Listen: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, made his fortune-breaking industries—space, cars, social media—and is now trying to break the government… in the name of fixing it. But what happens when Silicon Valley’s ‘move fast and break things’ ethos collides with the machinery of federal bureaucracy? On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with WIRED Global Editorial Director Katie Drummond to unpack the implications of Musk’s deepening role in the Trump administration and what’s really behind his push into politics.

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference following a summit for the "coalition of the willing" at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 27, 2025.

LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS

At the third summit of the so-called “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a multinational “reassurance force” to deter Russian aggression once a ceasefire is in place – and to engage if attacked.

A group demonstrators chant slogans together as they hold posters during the protest. The ongoing protests were sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Sopa Images via Reuters

Last week’s arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the largest anti-government rallies in a decade and resulted in widespread arrests throughout Turkey. Nearly 1,900 people have been detained since the protests erupted eight days ago.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the then-nominee for US ambassador to the UN, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Al Drago/Pool/Sipa USA

An internal GOP poll found a Republican candidate trailing in a special election for a conservative-leaning district in Florida, forcing US President Donald Trump to make a decision aimed at maintaining the Republican Party’s majority in the House.

South Sudan's Vice President Riek Machar, pictured here addressing the press in 2020.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

Alarm bells are ringing ever more loudly in South Sudan, as Vice President Riek Machar — chief rival to Prime Minister Salva Kiir — was arrested late Wednesday in an operation involving 20 armored vehicles at his compound in Juba. He was placed under house arrest, a move that is fueling fears that the country will soon descend into civil war.

Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, pictured here at the anniversary event of the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 28, 2022.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Trump administration has dropped multimillion-dollar bounties on senior Afghan officials from the Haqqani network, a militant faction that carried out some of the deadliest attacks on American troops but has now positioned itself as a moderate wing within the Taliban government. But why?

The Canadian flag flies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canada’s foreign interference watchdog is warning that China, India, and Russia plan on meddling in the country’s federal election. The contest, which launched last weekend, has already been marked by a handful of stories about past covert foreign interventions and threats of new ones.