PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.
PJ Grisar
By PJ Grisar
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Culture What John Bolton’s tell-all tells us
Vladimir Putin digs Bibi Netanyahu. Jared Kushner screens Netanyahu’s calls. Donald Trump thinks that Chinese concentration camps are the right move and would support an Israeli strike on Iran. These are some of the insights in John Bolton’s long-awaited memoir “The Room Where It Happened,” out today from Simon & Schuster. He’s not holding much…
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Culture What Michael – yes Michael – Bolton’s book tells us about Trump and Ukraine
Author’s note: On Tuesday, June 23, Simon & Schuster will release John Bolton’s tell-all, “The Room Where It Happened.” Since the book first made headlines in January for what it had to say about Trump’s dealings with the Ukraine, its content has been a regular source of speculation and exclusive excerpts. The Trump administration was…
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Culture Trump’s Tulsa rant makes a lousy adult alternative song — Josh Radnor shows us why
Bob Dylan isn’t the only Jew who can sing longform ballads about presidential tragedies. “How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor has set President Trump’s protracted monologue about his careful descent of a ramp at West Point to music. By the musician’s own admission, the speech is pretty bad lyrically. I set Trump’s insane…
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Culture 14 films to watch for Pride
It’s a Pride Month like no other. The Trump administration revoked Obama-era health care protections for transgender patients. At the same time, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling in defense of queer people’s right to employment. JK Rowling has decided to pen a manifesto insisting on the saliency of “biological sex” — to the…
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Culture From Pinter to Ben Gurion and back again: The Jewish history of Ian Holm
For a Christian Brit of Scottish stock, Sir Ian Holm’s long career had a lot to do with Jerusalem. The actor, who passed away June 19 at the age of 88, was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the coach to a Jewish runner in “Chariots of Fire,” a film that takes its…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, the songstress who boosted British troops’ morale through much of the 20th century, has died at 103. Best remembered for singing “We’ll Meet Again,” Lynn was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” for delivering reminders of the white cliffs of Dover to far off shores. Oftentimes, her crooned postcards for King and Country were penned…
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Culture Why Roy Cohn, a bully and coward, was also a victim
In 1988, Ivy Meeropol and her father, Michael, visited Washington, DC to see the massive AIDS quilt that covered the National Mall. The first panel they saw belonged to the man who sentenced Michael’s parents to death: “Roy Cohn,” it read in cut fabric letters, “Bully, Coward, Victim.” “It was the first I thought about…
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Culture Why are celebrities sharing a 30-year-old clip of Louis Farrakhan?
Update, June 17, 11:58 a.m.: Chelsea Handler has removed the clip of Louis Farrakhan from her Instagram profile. Jameela Jamil called him an “extraordinary man.” Jessica Chastain and Chelsea Handler said his words were “powerful.” Minister Louis Farrakhan must be pretty pleased with his reception. In a landscape where influencers and celebrities are scrambling to…
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