More May Recommendations and June Previews
Better than Time Pass, these are things I really liked and hope you will too and some things I'm looking forward to in June!
Books for this Moment: My favorite radical publisher, Haymarket Books is offering three excellent E-books free for a limited time to help give more context to borders, migration and policing (which includes military, ICE, all levels of police, etc). I’ve particularly enjoyed selections from Border Rule, and have learned a lot from Unbuild Walls author Silky Shah in her writing and public appearances and am looking forward to digging into them more deeply.
Book: The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah Aziza: Aziza writes about her Palestinian family, their displacement there and here in the US, and her relationships to others and herself. But what caught me off guard was how deeply this book also wrestles with her own body, with anorexia, and with the complicated terrain of identity, especially being perceived as white in an ever growing anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian world. It’s beautifully written. I took my time with it. Some parts, especially the sections about her body dysmorphia and her grandmother, are gut-wrenching in their honesty. One moment that stayed with me: a teenage Aziza, distancing herself from her grandmother in front of white friends who were making fun of the elder. She names it plainly, without making excuses. This book holds a lot - grief, longing, memory, and clarity.
“I see myself anchored in my body, locked inside a life I want to love but cannot understand.” - The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza
Movie: Sing Sing (HBOMax): Oscar Nominated Sing Sing follows a group of incarcerated men in a New York prison who find purpose and dignity through performing in plays. Colman Domingo gives a beautiful and well deserved Oscar nominated performance, but for me, the real revelations are the men who were actually part of the program and acted in the movie. If you’ve ever been in a play, you’ll recognize the familiar rhythm between castmates - the egos, the nerves and the trust. But you’ll also feel the weight of what it means to create joy and meaning inside the largest prison system in the world. The program is called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA)—you can learn more about it here.
DocuSeries: The Dark Money Game (HBOMax): This two-part documentary is a clear-eyed look at how corporate money has quietly, and not so quietly, rewired and eroded American democracy. It’s essential viewing if you’re want to understand the roots of the chaos we’ve lived through over the past 50 years. Part 1 digs into a case study in Ohio, where tens of millions in secret money flooded a local election. You see how power moves at the state level, reshaping everything from energy policy to criminal justice while most of us aren't looking. Part 2 zooms out to trace the long unraveling of campaign finance, from post-Watergate reforms to Citizens United and the rise of super PACs and dark money networks that now shape nearly every election. For many of us who’ve worked in campaigns, too often playing by these rules for “our side” just to win and “level the playing field”, this series makes clear: we're not actually winning by playing their game, and we might actually be making it worse.
TV Series: Forever (Netflix): Like a lot of Gen Xers and Millennials, I read Judy Blume’s Forever as a teen, but I barely remember it. What pulled me into this new series was showrunner Mara Brock Akil who created Girlfriends or Being Mary Jane. This is a tender, sometimes messy story about two Black teenagers in LA figuring out love, identity, and themselves. It’s also about their families and friends. It’s grounded, emotional, and full of those moments that feel big when you’re young because they are. Yes, the characters make questionable choices (as teens do), and yes, they do the MOST. But I was with them the whole way. The show is honest about sex, just like the book was, and it doesn’t talk down to its audience. It’s beautifully shot, has a great soundtrack, and feels like a love letter to L.A. There will be a second season—and I’ll be watching to see how these two grow.
TV Series Animated: #1 Happy Family (Prime): I don’t usually go for animated series, but I showed up for this one because Ramy Youssef, of Ramy and Mo, created it. And I’m glad I did. Set in the weeks and months after 9/11, it follows an Egyptian American family trying to stay grounded while everything around them shifts for the worse. Ramy voices his younger self, and the result is tender, funny, sharp and real. Where Ramy leans adult and complicated, this is intimate and warm, but still pulls no punches. It captures the everyday family life from multiple perspectives (the adults, the elders, and the kids) while showing how racism, Islamophobia, and surveillance reshaped entire communities, first Muslim and those perceived as Muslim and now, almost 25 years later, all of us.
TV Series: Mr Loverman (BritBox): Based on Bernardine Evaristo’s novel, this series is beautifully acted. Lennie James (Barry) and Ariyon Bakare (Morris) both won BAFTAs for their roles. Sharon D. Clarke, as always, brings brilliance and depth in her portrayal of Barry’s long suffering wife. I watched all nine 30-minute episodes in one sitting earlier this year. The show is an honest, tender, and at times brutal portrait of the British Caribbean community in it’s family, faith, masculinity, queerness, and the weight of being expected to succeed in a British society built to deny you. And I love that it doesn’t make Barry likable. He’s complicated, frustrating, and his family and long-time lover often bear the consequences.
“But it never shies away from reality, including the homophobia of the family’s community, which is especially prevalent among Carmel’s posse of Christian ladies. It doesn’t shy away, either, from Barry’s many flaws. Through his actions and inner monologue, viewers see life unfold around him; he is selfish, embittered and lacking in compassion. But Mr Loverman asks how you can avoid being any of these things when the world you grew up in forbade you to express yourself freely and you are discriminated against for your sexuality and your skin colour.” - The Guardian
Things to Look Forward to in June!
June 18: TV Series: Outrageous (BritBox): I have no idea if this will be good but I saw the trailer and the cast (including Prudence Featherington from Bridgerton). Six sisters who refuse to live by society’s rules in a historical drama? Yes please.
June 18: MOVIE: The Queen of My Dreams (In selected US Theaters): I saw this Canadian gem last year at the Asian American International Film Festival and was lucky enough to hear director Fawzia Mirza speak after. If it comes to your city, go see it. The film follows a young queer woman (Amrit Kaur) who returns to Pakistan from Canada after her father’s sudden death. Then delves into the heart of a complicated relationship with her mother. Through flashbacks, we travel between '90s and late '60s Pakistan, with Kaur also playing her mother as a young woman. If you only know Kaur from The Sex Lives of College Girls, you’ll be blown away and understand why she won Best Lead at the Canadian Screen Awards (their Oscars). Hamza Haq (Transplant, Crashing Eid) and Nimra Bucha (Polite Society, Ms. Marvel) round out a strong cast. The soundtrack is a perfect mix of vintage Bollywood and original music. It’s sweet, funny, heartbreaking, and the English and Urdu dialogue made me feel at home.
June 22: TV Series: The Gilded Age Season 3 (HBOMax): I’ll be watching it for all the amazing performances and the Audra McDonald, Carrie Coons, Christine Baranski and Morgan Spector of it all and a reminder of how the wealth of that time continues to impact and ruin our country today!
And also I continue to hope that a favorite writer, Brandon Taylor, continues his commentary on the show, which makes watching the show even better.
June 23: Documentary: Union (PBS 10pm Check Local Listing, On Demand until Aug 31st on PBS): This award winning documentary will air on the PBS' POV series and follows a small group of union organizers (including Chris Smalls) at the Staten Island Amazon Plant organizing workers in one of the most powerful and profitable companies in the world. The work is hard, fulfilling, and still ongoing.
Alive at the End of the World: This is one of my favorite poetry collections by one of my favorite poets, writers, and culture critics Saeed Jones (of perennial podcast recommendation VibeCheck). I’ve decided to use it as the name of a new regular Sujata Said… feature with recommendations and tips for these authoritarian times in the United States. I’m not here to convince you that we are in dangerous and precarious times. We are here. For many communities, we have been here for a very long time, not just since January 2025. I’ll be offering tips and resources periodically for you and those you love. They will also be compiled in this evergreen document.
**If you have corrections for me or other resources to add, please comment or message me**
Immigration/Citizenship: We’ve seen the Trump administration double down on actions that not only defy basic decency but violate the Constitution, impacting so many who live in the United States, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has escalated its presence and tactics at airports and land crossings, with U.S. citizens now being treated no differently than non-citizens. Meanwhile, ICE has ramped up enforcement nationwide, focusing disproportionately on cities that this administration has openly vilified, targeting communities to create fear, meet quotas, and generate instability in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and homes.
Let’s be clear: this is not about public safety. It’s about coercion and control, and dehumanization of large swaths of communities in the United States.
This is a moment that demands clarity, courage, and action. We all need to know our rights—and use them.
Workplace Rights - Restaurants - Owners, Workers, and Customers:
Defending Against Surveillance at and after Protests:
National Bail Funds and Immigration Support By State:
Re-entering the US after Traveling Abroad: Since I first wrote about this issue in March, more and more, both U.S. citizens and documented non-citizens are reporting trouble at the border when re-entering the country. I’ve personally experienced two smooth re-entries this year, and one that was not. Let’s be clear: having Global Entry, holding U.S. citizenship, or even possessing government-sponsored status does not guarantee a hassle-free return, especially in the current enforcement and profiling climate. This is a pattern we’ve seen before, targeted, inconsistent, and often legally questionable. Stay informed. Know your rights. Travel with awareness.
ACLU's Know Your Rights: Enforcement at the Airport available in multiple languages
ACLU's Can Border Agents Search Your Electronic Devices? It’s Complicated
ACLU's Know Your Rights: 100 Mile Border Zone available in multiple languages
EFF Border Know Your Rights Pocket Guide: https://www.eff.org/document/eff-border-search-pocket-guide
