It’s the holiday season! Christmas, the New Year, and that odd time between the two are bearing down upon us. Maybe you’re considering your reading and watching lists over the break. Well worry no more! Here’s a summary of some books I’ve recently been reading, and media I’ve been watching. Hopefully something here tickles your fancy and helps fill out that holiday season as you recover from Christmas lunch.
Books:
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad.
I don’t know if I’d call this book an easy read, but it’s compelling, important, and meaningful in expressing the disillusionment and disconnect many are feeling from the West’s promise of progress and utopia. It discusses the genocide in Gaza, but also decades of American imperial policy and violence that has led us to this moment, and the author’s journey across the world, fleeing Egypt with family as a child, to ultimately rest in the USA (though in a sense they have been “leaving ever since” that first flight from Egypt). The work lays bare the lie and pretence of Western Liberalism, and expresses brilliantly the disassociation of realising one can no longer abide such an unjust world, built on imperial power. Sometimes dark, sometimes beautifully hopeful, it is absolutely worth reading.
Small Prophecies, by Ismatu Gwendolyn.
An emphatic, sometimes hauntingly honest work, in which the author details her journey over several years, from her Thesis research in Sierra Leone through COVID-19, addiction, to embedding herself in the Radical Progressive community in New York. Through personal experiences, anecdotes, and vivid storytelling, the author ties together issues of politics, health, poverty, racism, and more into a compelling picture of a world in which many suffer so that some, those with power, can thrive. “Poverty is a policy choice,” she stresses, and the injustice around us is rarely accidental. She also emphasises her experiences of God, and of community, resisting and denying despair to instead affirm the capacity of care and unity to make the world better. It’s challenging at times, but you should have a read of it.
The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, by Bernal Diaz del Castillo.
This one is from my inner historian. An old book, this is a first-hand account (written after the fact) which covers the conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spanish expedition of Hernan Cortez. It’s somewhat unique in that it comes not from the conqueror himself, but from one of the many foot-soldiers of the campaign, and the author has a number of critiques of his old superiors’ accounts. It’s worth reading to get a sense of how bewildering the experience was (I’d maybe compare it to us landing on Mars or Venus only to find a full human society already there), but also to get a closer sense of the relationships and deceptions that existed between the Spanish and the First Nations peoples, and between those peoples themselves. In some ways, Cortez’s conquest of the Aztecs set the Imperial Project into motion, and this is an insight into that moment in history. Best read alongside one of the First Nations accounts of the conquest, such as The Broken Spears or in the Florentine Codex.
I promise next time I’ll give recommendations that aren’t sci-fi shows. Hopefully.
Media:
Star Wars: Andor
I know I had problems with this, but it’s still pretty good! It’s only two seasons, and it says a lot about authoritarian regimes, what they’re like, and what it can take to resist them. It can be uncompromising in meditating on the evils of the Empire and on the trauma and agony that seeps from occupation and imperialism, and even finds time to emphasise that the prior, liberal system had some glaring flaws as well. Of course, the show isn’t flawless, but it’s a good watch and one of the better Star Wars products in recent years. Especially if you’re a fan of the series, this is something to watch.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Have you ever struggled to know what to watch, flicking between options on a platform for what feels like half an hour? Well, struggle no longer! This is a show with over 170 episodes, at around 45minutes each. It will solve your viewing problems for years to come. But it’s so much more than just a time-filler. Star Trek is that rare thing, a picture of the future where humanity figures things out, and it is fundamentally hopeful in its tone and themes. We have too much cynicism and pessimism today, and things like this can get the progressives out of our funk. Next Gen is probably your best spot to jump into the world of Trek and begin discovering the setting and characters. It’s a show where people are usually good at their jobs, try to work together, and where progressive ideals are celebrated. I wouldn’t call it my favourite Trek show (I’ll save that for another time), but TNG is where I’d start if I were you. Watching it first makes watching the others even better.
Online Creators:
A few creators online you should check out, who are making fantastic stuff covering a lot of good topics. If you’re the kind of person who likes video essays on politics and art, I think all three of these channels are ones to get into over the break.
CJ the X: https://www.youtube.com/@cjthex
An artist, philosopher, and (I’d argue) a theologian, CJ is a self-described “Cyber-punk Luddite” who discusses art, politics, and God. Very much a child of the internet, their videos might be challenging, but they often delve into deep and significant topics (and they also have some written essays!). Personal Favourite: The Six Shapes of God.
F.D. Signifier: https://www.youtube.com/@FDSignifier
Someone who regularly delves into topics of race in America, and is very effective at deconstructing topics and concepts that might otherwise be challenging to follow or understand. His videos cover a huge range of topics while generally orbiting the themes of Race, Masculinity, and the Internet, but I have a soft spot for his videos on sport. Personal favourite: Why Running Backs Don’t Matter.
The Leftist Cooks: https://www.youtube.com/TheLeftistCooks
Two wonderful people who regularly discuss politics, gender, and philosophy. The two combine some personal discussions with heavy topics like Capitalism, Animal Rights, Sexuality, and the problems facing Ireland (they’re Irish). Their work is funny, genuine, and can routinely bring a tear or two to my eye. Fantastic at bringing topics you might not be thinking about to the fore. Personal Favourite: Should Leftists Have Children.
Enjoy all of the above & your holidays, I’ll have more posts and updates coming either just before or after the New Year.
– The Teaspoon.
The Teaspoon Brigade 
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