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 Is Philip Roth the male Joan Didion? Asking for TikTok
On Thursday the Swedish Academy will determine its newest Nobel Laureate in Literature. Until today, that precise conversation — had several years ago — was probably the last time anyone was comparing Joan Didion and Philip Roth’s literary legacies. Enter a new, viral TikTok where a young woman has claimed, “Philip Roth is Joan Didion…
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Culture From humorist to hubris — the rise and fall of Jerry Seinfeld
The first gratuitous name-drop in Jerry Seinfeld’s “Is This Anything?” shows up on page 253. A luxury car reference follows soon after. The name-drop (“I had breakfast with Colin Quinn”) and the car reference (“We chose one of the greatest convertibles of all time, the ‘89 Porsche 911 Speedster, and did the trip”) tease Seinfeld’s…
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Culture Trump doctor press conference straight out of ‘The Twilight Zone’
The Trump presidency is closing in on four years of magical thinking, and it’s beginning to show its limits. The virus Trump said would go away on its own has instead caught up with him, forcing him to convalesce at Walter Reed Medical Center. But if you trust folks in white coats, you may be…
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Culture Harvey Weinstein hit with 6 new assault charges in LA case
Harvey Weinstein was charged with six new counts of sexual assault on Friday following a Beverly Hills police investigation that concluded last month. The charges arise from accusations made by two women. One accused Weinstein of raping her at a hotel between September 2004 and 2005; the other claimed the producer raped her twice, in…
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The Schmooze Justice for Seymour! The internet demands Rick Moranis’ attacker be found
Actor Rick Moranis was the victim of a violent, apparently random attack Thursday morning on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Video obtained by ABC-7 shows the 67-year-old actor being punched in the head and knocked to the ground by a man in a black “I (heart) NY” sweatshirt on West 70th Street near Central…
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Culture Reimagining sukkahs in a time of plague
Each year on Sukkot, Jews invite guests over to their sukkah — a temporary shelter where we eat, schmooze and mark the end of the harvest while recalling our ancestors’ 40 years traveling the desert. This year, sukkah socializing may be a no-go for many, but for a new art initiative timed to the Feast…
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Culture The ‘Borat’ sequel trailer proves America’s still divided — on whether or not people know Borat
There are benefits to Sacha Baron Cohen’s supreme secrecy. He is, as far as we know, the only major star to make and release a feature film in media pandemic — and hardly anyone knew he was working on it. Following a few months of rumors and speculation, Baron Cohen dropped the trailer for “Borat…
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Culture Do the ‘Proud Boys’ know their anthem was written by a gay Jew?
Perhaps the most curious fact about the Proud Boys, the violent far-right group President Trump appeared to call up to the reserves in the first 2020 presidential debate, is how they got their name. The name can be read as an unapologetic affirmation of the things they stand for — which, according to the Southern…
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