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Berkeley Voices<\/a><\/p>\n This podcast from\u00a0 UC Berkeley\u2019s Office of Communications and Public Affairs is hardly new, but host and producer Anne Brice, M.J. \u201912, keeps Berkeley Voices<\/a> feeling like the kind of thing a listener would do well to keep up with\u2014or catch up on. Previously called Fiat Vox, the pod relaunched in 2021 with a new name and a fresh approach. Its more than 130 episodes to date are a testament to not only Brice\u2019s interviewing and production chops\u2014it\u2019s giving Michael Barbaro-meets-Terry Gross vibes\u2014but also the variety of interesting work being done by Berkeley\u2019s best and brightest. Naturally, there are episodes on the Big Issues of the day. Think: climate anxiety, CRISPR gene editing, the housing crisis. But Berkeley Voices especially delights in going where listeners least expect. You\u2019ll learn about Chinese art forgery<\/a>, nonhuman social memory<\/a>, and Wikipedia resistance<\/a>. You\u2019ll learn about cults<\/a> and dinosaurs<\/a> and friendship<\/a>. Not to mention all the history, with fascinating insights into the Montgomery Bus Boycott<\/a>, American immigration policy<\/a>, and the Great Migration<\/a>. With bingeable episodes often running around 20 minutes, it\u2019s never been easier or more satisfying to keep up with Berkeley\u2019s voices.<\/p>\n \u2014Esther Oh<\/p>\n P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance<\/a><\/p>\n Vanessa D\u00edaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, M.A. \u201906, Ph.D. \u201910<\/a><\/p>\n After Hurricane Mar\u00eda devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, a SoundCloud trap artist from Vega Baja began to emerge as the unlikely global spokesman for the island\u2019s grief. In P FKN R, the cultural scholars behind the popular \u201cBad Bunny Syllabus\u201d<\/a> trace Bad Bunny\u2019s rise from Benito Antonio Mart\u00ednez Ocasio, a working-class college student bagging groceries, to the most-streamed artist in the world. Drawing on archives and interviews with producers, activists, and journalists who witnessed his ascent, the authors decode the ubiquitous cultural references and political symbolism present in his work. Bad Bunny\u2019s political stands\u2014from stopping his European tour to protest against the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossell\u00f3, to critiquing colonial fiscal policies, austerity and gentrification in his lyrics\u2014become hooks to examine Puerto Rico\u2019s ongoing struggles over its sovereignty. Far from celebrity hagiography, the book examines his stardom as a lens through which contemporary Puerto Rican politics come into focus\u2014while of course celebrating the unmistakable saz\u00f3n that made Bad Bunny all but impossible to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014Nathalia Alcantara\u00a0<\/p>\n Notes on Being a Man<\/a><\/p>\n By Scott Galloway, MBA \u201992<\/p>\n Podcaster, entrepreneur, and NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway has made a career of having big opinions on everything from tech monopolies<\/a> to happiness<\/a>. His latest book is no exception. Capitalizing on momentum around the so-called \u201cmasculinity crisis,\u201d Notes on Being a Man is equal parts memoir, social commentary, and\u2014one might argue\u2014moral panic..\u00a0<\/p>\n The concerns he raises are real; young men are at increasing risk of suicide, addiction, and radicalization. But for all his progressive beliefs, Galloway\u2019s prescription is remarkably conservative. He romanticizes the disciplined, uniform masculinity of the mid-twentieth century and urges a return to the ideals of \u201cprotect, provide and procreate.\u201d Where Notes fails is by presenting this primarily as a male crisis. After all, many of the concerns he cites apply just as much, if not more to young women. The book fails to ask who might be hurt by a return to traditional gender roles? And, conversely, if men are losing ground in certain areas, who might be gaining?<\/p>\n \u2014Leah Worthington<\/p>\n Wonder Man<\/a><\/p>\n Starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II \u201911<\/p>\n Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a former Cal track athlete and architecture student, stars alongside Academy Award-winner Ben Kingsley in this unconventional and charming Marvel production. Mateen plays Simon Williams, an aspiring young actor who has somewhat Hulk-like superpowers he doesn\u2019t want. He\u2019d rather be a superstar than a superhero. Kingsley plays Trevor Slattery, better known in the Marvel universe as \u201cthe Mandarin.\u201d Here, Slattery is an aging thespian who may prove to be mentor or menace to Williams, buddy or betrayer. The action, subdued by Marvel standards, is set against a world in which superheroes are viewed by authorities as public enemies. Williams is being surveilled by Agent Cleary of the Department of Damage Control, played by Arian Moayed. Mateen, whose other credits include Black Manta and The Trial of the Chicago 7, more than holds his own with the legendary Kingsley (Ghandi, Schindler\u2019s List). One scene in particular, where the two trade cherished monologues, captures a pure love of acting. This is elevated fare for Marvel fans. Streaming on Disney+.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014Pat Joseph<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PFKNR-1-688x1024.png\")
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