Aviva Markowitz, left, and Rivka Alter enjoy a drink in a protective bubble at the Lazy Bean Cafe in Teaneck, New Jersey, Oct. 22, 2020. On March 11, 2024, an independent report examining New Jersey’s response to the pandemic said the state and nation were unprepared for it, adding the state is still underprepared for the next crisis.
The pandemic has been a global trauma with a silver lining of immense scientific and medical development. Michael Mina, a physician-scientist who spent the pandemic focused on immunology and epidemiology at Harvard University, tells us where the world is now and how prepared we are for the future. And, Russian American director Michael Lockshin began his film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s classic novel, “Master and Margarita,” before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Moscow. Now that it’s finally been released, Russians are crowding theaters to watch the cinematic send-up of state tyranny and it’s hitting even closer to home. Also, Since Oct. 7, there has been an increase in violent settler activity across the West Bank, with more 260 Palestinians killed. There are also accusations of an increasingly blurred line between settlers and military forces. Plus, Berlin’s techno scene is now on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.
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