Edition No. 45
Arts and Culture
Another highlight of the Great White Way! Listen to an episode of Consider This from NPR that follows three Broadway veterans as they return to the stage. And we celebrate Broadway being back with the Tony Awards.
Community and Family
In early 2022, we will welcome back our old friend AJ Baime for a lecture on his newest book. In the meantime, read a piece he wrote for Road & Track about a Detroiter who decided to build his own GT-40.
American Democracy
A recent segment for PBS NewsHour Weekend looked at Michigan’s redistricting process. Learn how the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is attempting to take politics out of redistricting.
Broadway is Back!
Last week, we shared a moving special from CBSN that followed the many actors and workers affected by the longest Broadway shutdown in history. We celebrated the shows that welcomed audiences back to their theaters, and we are eager to watch more shows follow suit. As an institution that prides itself on presenting world-class performers, we're moved by the grit, determination, and triumphant return to stage displayed by many of these individuals. So much so that we are featuring Broadway stories in Inspired Thoughts back-to-back!
This week, listen to an episode of Consider This from NPR, where they follow three industry veterans as they make their return to the stage and theater. Krystal Joy Brown of “Hamilton,” Riza Takahashi of “Mean Girls,” and Christel Murdock of “Aladdin” recount the various thoughts and emotions that go through their minds when returning to a full (and vaccinated) theater after 18 months away.
And the common theme between all these stories is one simple thing: Broadway is back! This past Sunday, The Tony Awards returned after a year hiatus to honor and award the best in the industry, as well as remind the world of the joy and unity that live theater provides. Michael Schulman provides full commentary on the popular award show in a recent opinion piece for The New Yorker. Click here to read the full article.
A DIY Ford GT-40?
Our old friend AJ Baime has a new piece out in Road & Track about a former Detroit who, unable to afford an original, decided to build his own Ford GT-40. The GT-40 is a subject AJ knows well. In fact, he was last with us physically in November 2019 speaking about his book Go Like Hell and the era when Ford created the GT-40 to take on Ferrari and end its dominance.
More recently, AJ joined us online in October 2020 to talk about his book, Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America’s Soul. AJ will next join us online in early 2022 for the release of his upcoming book, White Lies: The Double Life of Walter White and America’s Darkest Secret (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, February 2022). The link below takes you to AJ’s Road & Track article.
“In Michigan, an effort to take politics out of redistricting”
Michigan is one of 21 states with some manner of redistricting commission to conduct its every 10-year reapportionments of legislative districts but one of only 4 states where that commission includes no politicians or political appointees, and the final reapportionment is not subject to review or revision by the state legislature. Given that Michigan is also a state where the current US House, as well as state Senate and House districts, most strongly favor one party, Michigan’s 2021 reapportionment by citizens commission is generating a great deal of attention.
“Michigan’s (old) maps were a poster child for political gerrymandering and partisanship”
Christopher Booker recently visited Michigan to report on our redistricting process for PBS NewsHour Weekend. His report includes some video of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of four democrats, four republicans, and five unaffiliated voters in action. He also interviewed three members of the Commission, Douglas Clark, a Republican, Rebecca Szetela, who's unaffiliated, and MC Rothhorn, a Democrat. This report from PBS News Hour Weekend runs 12:20.
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be.
The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership — we also look forward to featuring special guest curators in the near future. If you are interested in providing content for Inspired Thoughts, please email our Communications team at jkaminski@warmemorial.org.