vox--2020-12-28--After days of needless anxiety, Trump signs the $900 billion stimulus package

President Donald Trump finally signed a $ 900 billion relief bill and accompanying spending bill after days of unnecessary waffling .
Trump signed the stimulus package that was passed by Congress days before Christmas on Sunday evening .
The package also includes a $ 1.4 billion funding bill to keep the federal government up and running through September 2021 .
This brings to a close a confounding and chaotic episode .
Had the president not signed , the United States could have seen a federal government shutdown ( the existing funding runs out at midnight on Monday ) , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on much-needed aid .
Trump waited so long to sign the bill that two unemployment insurance programs were allowed to lapse , which will likely lead to delayed benefits for unemployed workers across the country and could cost workers a week of checks permanently .
In a statement issued upon signing , Trump touted his work on addressing the pandemic and economic fallout and said he would demand “ many rescissions ” to the bill .
He said he was sending a “ strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items @ @ @ @ @ @ @ send to lawmakers a redlined version of the deal with his demands .
It ’ s unlikely those demands are going anywhere .
In his statement , Trump also nodded to the House ’ s plan to vote to increase stimulus checks in the package from $ 600 to $ 2,000 .
He said that the Senate would “ start the process ” for a vote that increases checks but also repeals Section 230 — an internet speech law — and starts an investigation into ( unfounded ) claims of voter fraud .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ : In a statement regarding Trump ’ s decision to sign the relief bill , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address those new asks .
How this even happened , briefly explained In case you haven ’ t been following , here ’ s a basic outline of how we got here : Congress finally reached an agreement for a $ 900 billion stimulus package in the days leading up to Christmas .
The bill includes $ 600 stimulus checks , an additional $ 300 in weekly unemployment benefits through March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unemployment programs , small-business support , rental assistance , and food aid , among other provisions .
You can find a full explainer of what ’ s in the legislation here .
Lawmakers also wrapped into the deal the omnibus spending bill that ’ s needed just to keep the government going .
Republicans and Democrats in Congress made concessions to get there — Democrats dropped their ask for state and local aid , and Republicans dropped their ask for corporate liability shields ( which would have said businesses weren ’ t responsible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 ) .
The working assumption among negotiators was that Trump was on board with the deal and that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin , who called the agreement “ fabulous , ” was on the same wavelength as the president .
Congress passed the bill and left town for the holidays .
But that assumption was wrong — in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday night , Trump declared the bill a “ disgrace ” and asked Congress to “ amend ” it and increase the stimulus checks to $ 2,000 ( an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agree to ) and complained that the package had in it “ wasteful spending ” he wanted removed .
And so the country headed into Christmas — and Trump to his Mar-a-Lago resort — without anyone knowing what he was going to do .
The Wall Street Journal reported that a copy of the bill was printed and flown to Florida in case Trump decided to sign it .
The Washington Post reported that the president repeatedly changed his mind on what to do .
On Sunday , he relented .
Trump is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but at this point , that ’ s pretty unlikely .
House Democrats are still going to try to get stimulus checks up to $ 2,000 from $ 600 .
Even though the president supports the idea , it ’ s probably not going anywhere .
House Republicans blocked a vote on the measure last week .
The House will hold a recorded vote on the issue on Monday , which is likely to pass the lower house but has little prospects in the Senate .
Trump ’ s decision to lump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes progress even more unlikely .
He has also vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act , trying to force a Section 230 repeal in it , but Congress will override his veto .
Section 230 basically says that internet companies are allowed to police their online platforms however they want with few exceptions and aren ’ t responsible for what people post on them .
Facebook and Twitter have been increasingly aggressive about policing Trump ’ s own false and misleading claims , and the president appears annoyed at these content moderation practices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 230 the centerpiece of his complaints .
Regardless of whether this is a win for Trump , it ’ s a loss for unemployed people After Trump finally relented and signed the stimulus package , there ’ s been some debate about whether this was a win or a loss for him .
The president didn ’ t really get anything he wanted here — the bill is going forward as is , and the $ 2,000 stimulus checks are probably going to be stopped by his own party .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to shut down , and the stimulus package is important and helpful .
But regardless of the political points on the board for the outgoing president , the back-and-forth caused a lot of stress for unemployed people and , ultimately , could cost them money .
Two programs for the unemployed put in place under the CARES Act — one for contractors , freelancers , and gig workers , and another that adds on additional weeks of insurance — were allowed to expire on December 26 .
Getting them back up and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress had already procrastinated so much that there were going to be problems with the programs , and Trump made matters worse .
The deal also entailed an extra $ 300 in weekly unemployment benefits for 11 weeks .
Since Trump waited to sign the bill , that could be cut to 10 .
That the president finally signed the legislation is a win for people who need the money , but it ’ s less of a win than it should have been .

President Donald Trump finally signed a $900 billion relief bill and accompanying spending bill after days of unnecessary waffling.
Trump signed the stimulus package that was passed by Congress days before Christmas on Sunday evening. The package also includes a $1.4 billion funding bill to keep the federal government up and running through September 2021. This brings to a close a confounding and chaotic episode. Had the president not signed, the United States could have seen a federal government shutdown (the existing funding runs out at midnight on Monday), and millions of Americans would have missed out on much-needed aid.
Trump waited so long to sign the bill that two unemployment insurance programs were allowed to lapse, which will likely lead to delayed benefits for unemployed workers across the country and could cost workers a week of checks permanently.
In a statement issued upon signing, Trump touted his work on addressing the pandemic and economic fallout and said he would demand “many rescissions” to the bill. He said he was sending a “strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed” and would send to lawmakers a redlined version of the deal with his demands. It’s unlikely those demands are going anywhere.
In his statement, Trump also nodded to the House’s plan to vote to increase stimulus checks in the package from $600 to $2,000. He said that the Senate would “start the process” for a vote that increases checks but also repeals Section 230 — an internet speech law — and starts an investigation into (unfounded) claims of voter fraud. Again, this seems like a nonstarter: In a statement regarding Trump’s decision to sign the relief bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not address those new asks.
How this even happened, briefly explained
In case you haven’t been following, here’s a basic outline of how we got here: Congress finally reached an agreement for a $900 billion stimulus package in the days leading up to Christmas. The bill includes $600 stimulus checks, an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits through March, the extension of other CARES Act unemployment programs, small-business support, rental assistance, and food aid, among other provisions. You can find a full explainer of what’s in the legislation here. Lawmakers also wrapped into the deal the omnibus spending bill that’s needed just to keep the government going.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress made concessions to get there — Democrats dropped their ask for state and local aid, and Republicans dropped their ask for corporate liability shields (which would have said businesses weren’t responsible if workers or customers got sick from Covid-19).
The working assumption among negotiators was that Trump was on board with the deal and that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who called the agreement “fabulous,” was on the same wavelength as the president. Congress passed the bill and left town for the holidays.
But that assumption was wrong — in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday night, Trump declared the bill a “disgrace” and asked Congress to “amend” it and increase the stimulus checks to $2,000 (an ask his own party didn’t agree to) and complained that the package had in it “wasteful spending” he wanted removed.
And so the country headed into Christmas — and Trump to his Mar-a-Lago resort — without anyone knowing what he was going to do. The Wall Street Journal reported that a copy of the bill was printed and flown to Florida in case Trump decided to sign it. The Washington Post reported that the president repeatedly changed his mind on what to do.
On Sunday, he relented. Trump is still asking for changes to the bill, but at this point, that’s pretty unlikely. House Democrats are still going to try to get stimulus checks up to $2,000 from $600. Even though the president supports the idea, it’s probably not going anywhere. House Republicans blocked a vote on the measure last week. The House will hold a recorded vote on the issue on Monday, which is likely to pass the lower house but has little prospects in the Senate.
Trump’s decision to lump in Section 230 and voter fraud investigations makes progress even more unlikely. He has also vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act, trying to force a Section 230 repeal in it, but Congress will override his veto. Section 230 basically says that internet companies are allowed to police their online platforms however they want with few exceptions and aren’t responsible for what people post on them. Facebook and Twitter have been increasingly aggressive about policing Trump’s own false and misleading claims, and the president appears annoyed at these content moderation practices, so he’s made Section 230 the centerpiece of his complaints.
Regardless of whether this is a win for Trump, it’s a loss for unemployed people
After Trump finally relented and signed the stimulus package, there’s been some debate about whether this was a win or a loss for him. The president didn’t really get anything he wanted here — the bill is going forward as is, and the $2,000 stimulus checks are probably going to be stopped by his own party. It’s good that the government isn’t going to shut down, and the stimulus package is important and helpful.
But regardless of the political points on the board for the outgoing president, the back-and-forth caused a lot of stress for unemployed people and, ultimately, could cost them money. Two programs for the unemployed put in place under the CARES Act — one for contractors, freelancers, and gig workers, and another that adds on additional weeks of insurance — were allowed to expire on December 26. Getting them back up and running is going to take time. Congress had already procrastinated so much that there were going to be problems with the programs, and Trump made matters worse. The deal also entailed an extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits for 11 weeks. Since Trump waited to sign the bill, that could be cut to 10.
That the president finally signed the legislation is a win for people who need the money, but it’s less of a win than it should have been.


vox--2020-12-28--US citizen spouses and children of undocumented immigrants will finally get stimulus checks

Many mixed-status households with undocumented family members are now eligible for stimulus checks under a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief package signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday night .
Excluded from stimulus relief up until now , US citizens and permanent residents who filed a joint tax return with an undocumented spouse will receive a check for $ 600 , as well as $ 600 per dependent child .
The benefits phase out for individuals making more than $ 75,000 and couples making more than $ 150,000 .
The impact is significant : An estimated 16.7 million people live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million US-born or naturalized citizens .
That number includes those who have been shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program , children and young adults whose parents often don ’ t have legal status .
The law also allows households with at least one family member who has a Social Security number to retroactively receive checks for up to $ 1,200 and an additional $ 500 per child under the last round of stimulus relief enacted in late March .
But many undocumented immigrants and other taxpaying noncitizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number are still barred from receiving stimulus checks under the law .
That carries public health consequences .
Undocumented immigrant workers are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 due to inadequate access to health care .
Noncitizens are significantly more likely to be uninsured compared to US citizens , which may dissuade them from seeking medical care if they contract the virus .
And compounding matters are the Trump administration ’ s hardline immigration policies — including wide-scale immigration raids and a rule that can penalize green card applicants for using Medicaid — which have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Some Democratic lawmakers have consequently argued that while the new relief package represents progress , it still does not go far enough in delivering much-needed aid to immigrant families .
“ I ’ m glad the relief package allows mixed-status households [ with ] undocumented family members to receive relief checks , ” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard ( D-CA ) tweeted .
“ We must now provide relief for ALL tax filers , regardless of immigration status , including brave first responders on our front lines.
” This spring ’ s CARES Act had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act , which was enacted in March , barred those in households with people of mixed immigration status — where some tax filers or their children may use what ’ s called an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number ( ITIN ) — from receiving stimulus checks .
The IRS issues ITINs to unauthorized immigrants so they can pay taxes , even though they don ’ t have a Social Security number .
If anyone in the household had used an ITIN — either a spouse or a dependent child — that meant no one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stimulus checks under the CARES Act unless one spouse served in the military in 2019 .
The exclusion for mixed-status households defied current practices : Many other federal programs are designed in such a way that US citizen children of unauthorized immigrants can access necessary benefits , including the child tax credit , food stamps , housing assistance , welfare benefits , and benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women , Infants , and Children .
But there is a precedent for this kind of exclusion .
Amid the global financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax rebates to most American taxpayers , except for the spouses of immigrants who didn ’ t have Social Security numbers .
Advocates from Georgetown Law and Villanova Law nevertheless filed a class action lawsuit in the spring challenging the CARES Act on behalf of seven US citizen children of unauthorized immigrant taxpayers .
They argued that it unfairly discriminated against these children based on their parents ’ immigration status , and denied them equal protection under the law in violation of the US Constitution ’ s due process clause .
That lawsuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aid package signed on Sunday could render that challenge moot since it makes mixed-status families retroactively eligible for CARES Act stimulus checks .
“ The refusal to distribute this benefit to US citizen children undermines the CARES Act ’ s goals of providing assistance to Americans in need , frustrates the Act ’ s efforts to jumpstart the economy , and punishes citizen children for their parents ’ status — punishment that is particularly nonsensical given that undocumented immigrants , collectively , pay billions of dollars each year in taxes , ” Mary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection , said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed .

Many mixed-status households with undocumented family members are now eligible for stimulus checks under a $900 billion coronavirus relief package signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday night.
Excluded from stimulus relief up until now, US citizens and permanent residents who filed a joint tax return with an undocumented spouse will receive a check for $600, as well as $600 per dependent child. The benefits phase out for individuals making more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000.
The impact is significant: An estimated 16.7 million people live in mixed-status households nationwide, including 8.2 million US-born or naturalized citizens. That number includes those who have been shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, children and young adults whose parents often don’t have legal status.
The law also allows households with at least one family member who has a Social Security number to retroactively receive checks for up to $1,200 and an additional $500 per child under the last round of stimulus relief enacted in late March.
But many undocumented immigrants and other taxpaying noncitizens who do not have a Social Security number are still barred from receiving stimulus checks under the law.
That carries public health consequences. Undocumented immigrant workers are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 due to inadequate access to health care. Noncitizens are significantly more likely to be uninsured compared to US citizens, which may dissuade them from seeking medical care if they contract the virus. And compounding matters are the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies — including wide-scale immigration raids and a rule that can penalize green card applicants for using Medicaid — which have made noncitizens afraid to access care.
Some Democratic lawmakers have consequently argued that while the new relief package represents progress, it still does not go far enough in delivering much-needed aid to immigrant families.
“I’m glad the relief package allows mixed-status households [with] undocumented family members to receive relief checks,” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) tweeted. “We must now provide relief for ALL tax filers, regardless of immigration status, including brave first responders on our front lines.”
This spring’s CARES Act had excluded mixed-status families from relief
The CARES Act, which was enacted in March, barred those in households with people of mixed immigration status — where some tax filers or their children may use what’s called an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) — from receiving stimulus checks.
The IRS issues ITINs to unauthorized immigrants so they can pay taxes, even though they don’t have a Social Security number. If anyone in the household had used an ITIN — either a spouse or a dependent child — that meant no one in the household will qualify for the stimulus checks under the CARES Act unless one spouse served in the military in 2019.
The exclusion for mixed-status households defied current practices: Many other federal programs are designed in such a way that US citizen children of unauthorized immigrants can access necessary benefits, including the child tax credit, food stamps, housing assistance, welfare benefits, and benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
But there is a precedent for this kind of exclusion. Amid the global financial crisis in 2008, Congress handed out tax rebates to most American taxpayers, except for the spouses of immigrants who didn’t have Social Security numbers.
Advocates from Georgetown Law and Villanova Law nevertheless filed a class action lawsuit in the spring challenging the CARES Act on behalf of seven US citizen children of unauthorized immigrant taxpayers. They argued that it unfairly discriminated against these children based on their parents’ immigration status, and denied them equal protection under the law in violation of the US Constitution’s due process clause.
That lawsuit is still pending, but the new aid package signed on Sunday could render that challenge moot since it makes mixed-status families retroactively eligible for CARES Act stimulus checks.
“The refusal to distribute this benefit to US citizen children undermines the CARES Act’s goals of providing assistance to Americans in need, frustrates the Act’s efforts to jumpstart the economy, and punishes citizen children for their parents’ status — punishment that is particularly nonsensical given that undocumented immigrants, collectively, pay billions of dollars each year in taxes,” Mary McCord, legal director of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, said in a statement when the lawsuit was filed.


vox--2020-12-28--The 18 best documentaries of 2020

The 18 best documentaries of 2020

Very little felt real in 2020 .
Time started to slip and slide .
Screens became not just entertainment portals but a connection to the rest of the world , where we worked , learned , attended birthday parties and holiday gatherings , played games , and tried to maintain some semblance of real life .
So maybe it ’ s appropriate that 2020 was a brilliant year for documentaries , rife with engrossing nonfiction films in every genre — from comedies and dramas to journalistic exposés and category-defying tricksters .
They explored mortality and love , showed us the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to engage in the future , even in the midst of an unreal present .
Here are my ( unranked ) picks for the 18 best documentaries of 2020 , plus how you can watch them .
There have already been a few documentaries about the Covid-19 pandemic , and I expect many more in the years to come .
But 76 Days will surely be remembered as one of the gutsiest , best , and — oddly — most hopeful .
It was shot inside a hospital in Wuhan , China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until the city ’ s lockdown was lifted after 76 days .
Even with the nurses and doctors in full PPE and patients struggling to survive in their hospital beds , 76 Days manages to be funny and tense , heartbreaking and humanizing — and it ends , improbably enough , on a note of hope .
It ’ s a massive project ( helmed by Hao Wu , Weixi Chen , and an anonymous collaborator ) that provides a glimpse into reality and an invaluable record of this moment .
How to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing in virtual cinemas ( short-term digital rentals that benefit the brick-and-mortar theaters that host them ) .
See the full listing on the film ’ s website .
In the extraordinary Bloody Nose , Empty Pockets , documentarians and brothers Bill and Turner Ross chronicle the last night of service for a Las Vegas dive bar called Roaring ’ 20s .
Their cameras roll as regulars come and go , fight and kiss , and try to face facts : After tonight , the place that felt most like it was theirs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s the end of the world .
But there ’ s a catch : The Ross brothers used a real bar in New Orleans as a set , and asked people to play characters much like themselves .
Is the movie fiction ?
Yes , technically .
Is it nonfiction ?
Not exactly .
Is it “ real ” ?
Absolutely .
It ’ s a film that inadvertently captured the mood in a year that felt apocalyptic — a lament for the world of days gone by , deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and hope that we ’ ll find ourselves there once again .
How to watch it : Bloody Nose , Empty Pockets is available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
Not only is Boys State timely , it ’ s also extremely entertaining .
Documentarians Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine ( The Overnighters ) follow the 2018 summer session of Boys State in Texas ; it ’ s a gathering of more than 1,000 17-year-old boys who form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ platforms and campaigns , to learn about how the American system of government works .
In a sea of documentaries seeking to make sense of America ’ s divided and confusing political present , Boys State succeeds , in part , because it ’ s one step removed from the “ real world.
” The teens come to Boys State with established political ideas , but through debate , discussion , and defense of their stances , they learn a lot about what it takes to form consensus and win .
And their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the political process and a hint of the way future politics might unfold , in dismal and strangely optimistic ways .
How to watch it : Boys State is streaming on Apple TV+ .
Frederick Wiseman is a legendary chronicler of American institutions ( here ’ s a guide to his films ) who ’ s spent more than five decades making lengthy , intimate portraits of everything from high schools to welfare offices to the New York Public Library ; for his latest film , Wiseman spent weeks in Boston , anchored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ follows Mayor Marty Walsh as Walsh crisscrosses the town to meet senior citizens in a church basement , veterans in a community hall , real estate developers in a hotel boardroom , and citizens at open-air rallies .
Periodically , the filmmaker floats away from Walsh to watch a wedding being performed , observe a budget presentation , or listen in as a committee dedicated to public housing reform debates how to prevent people from becoming unhoused .
The result is not a portrait of a city , really .
Refreshingly — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s a portrait of a government that actually seems to be working for its citizens .
How to watch it : City Hall is available to digitally rent at this site .
In 2015 , a fire in a Bucharest nightclub killed 27 people — and , in the weeks that followed , 37 more , due to shockingly inadequate hospital conditions that led to infections in the survivors .
Collective , named in part for the nightclub , is an observational documentary that traces the conditions and exposes huge deficiencies in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole , which led directly to that additional loss of life .
Documentarian Alexander Nanau captures the lies told by government officials during the fallout from the fire ; eventually their actions resulted in the government ’ s downfall , though that was short-lived .
Collective plays out like a chilling , slow-moving train wreck , a study in how a government gaslights its citizens into accepting conditions that would be avoidable but for greed and corruption .
In its second half , the film focuses on a new , young minister of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s trying to effect change — while also showing the uphill battle and eventual fruitlessness of his fight .
How to watch it : Collective is available to digitally rent on platforms including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
Crip Camp starts out as a movie about a place : Camp Jened , an almost magical-seeming “ summer camp for the handicapped run by hippies , ” as the film ’ s co-director ( and former Jened camper ) Jim Lebrecht explains early on .
But soon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement , sparked by the young people whose lives were changed by their time in that place .
Crip Camp shows how the vision that young Jened attendees experienced at camp — that the world could be open to them , too — led them to become activists and community organizers .
The film is buoyant and inspiring , a tale of people working together through difficulty and opposition to change the world .
How to watch it : Crip Camp is streaming on Netflix .
When Kirsten Johnson ’ s father Dick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decided to make a movie together .
The only way she could imagine making the road ahead more bearable was to collaborate with him in imagining what his death and afterlife would be like .
They decided to “ reenact ” the different ways he could die , and in their pursuit of that endeavor , they contemplated the meaning of life .
The result is of course moving , but it ’ s also strangely joyful .
Deep connection and abiding love are evident in every frame , and imagining the possibilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unspeakable , live through the inevitable , and tentatively step into the future without surrendering to it quite yet .
In some ways , Dick Johnson Is Dead is a model for facing the future head-on and maybe , just maybe , finding a way to smile and cry and get a grip on what we truly are : tied to our bodies and minds , which eventually fall apart , but also tied to one another .
How to watch it : Dick Johnson Is Dead is streaming on Netflix .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ character notoriously memed into madness ( and an ACLU-designated hate symbol ) by the alt-right , was created by a mild-mannered artist named Matt Furie .
Feels Good Man explores how the co-opting of Pepe happened and , in so doing , offers a look at the 4chan-ization of our culture and politics .
In the process , it illuminates how little control creators really have over their creations once those creations are out in the world , and what the ramifications of that lack of control are in a world like ours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but somehow Feels Good Man manages to be engaging , surprising , and even oddly reassuring .
How to watch it : Feels Good Man is available to digitally rent or purchase on a variety of platforms , including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
For a full listing , see the film ’ s website .
You could say filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky is unconventional .
His last film , Aquarela , was a portrait of water set to a soundtrack by the Finnish symphonic metal band @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executive-produced by Joaquin Phoenix , swaps Aquarela ’ s massive scope and ear-splitting music for an intimate portrait of a pig and her piglets , two cows , and a one-legged chicken .
There ’ s no dialogue in Gunda ; we just watch the animals go about their lives while we experience the quietly dawning recognition that these animals have real lives .
Phoenix is an animal rights activist — as you may recall , he championed veganism when accepting the Best Actor Oscar for Joker earlier this year — and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s a recognition of animals ’ creatureliness and a quiet argument for their dignity .
How to watch it : Gunda had a one-week virtual cinema run in December , and will open more widely in 2021 .
David Osit ’ s hilarious and moving documentary Mayor follows Musa Hadid , who is mayor of Ramallah , the de facto Palestinian capital that is surrounded on all sides by Israeli settlements .
Hadid is beloved in the city , a true public servant , and also one who has to grapple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dealing with sewage and cemetery issues that stem from stonewalling by the Israelis ; receiving the British royal family for a visit ; experiencing the repercussions of international politics that directly affect your constituents ’ daily life ; suddenly discovering there are active gunmen on the ground in your city .
But he also just has to do normal mayor things , many of which are faintly ridiculous , and that makes Mayor a very funny film .
At times , it plays like Veep — if the characters in Veep were actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what best serves the public ’ s interest .
But Mayor also shows how challenging the job of mayor is , even for a talented leader like Hadid , who struggles to show the world what the citizens of his city are facing as they , and he , go about their lives under impossible and seemingly intractable circumstances .
How to watch it : Mayor is playing in virtual theaters throughout the country ; see the film ’ s website for listings .
You could call The Mole Agent a spy movie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one — and unusually poignant , too .
Documentarian Maite Alberdi lets us in on a bit of subterfuge as Sergio , an older Chilean man , is “ cast ” as a new nursing home resident by Detective Romulo , who ’ s been hired to investigate the facility .
Sergio ’ s job is to infiltrate the home on behalf of Romulo ’ s client and look into whether the client ’ s mother is being abused ; meanwhile , the documentarians follow Sergio and observe the home ’ s residents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole truth about why Sergio is there .
It ’ s a sweet film and a surprising one , an interesting blend of fact and fiction that also explores the lives , wishes , and desires of older people .
How to watch it : The Mole Agent is streaming on Hulu .
It is also available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
Narrowsburg is a bizarre true-life con story , one that ended up roiling an entire small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the tiny hamlet of Narrowsburg one day discovered the arrival of two glamorous strangers , both of whom had connections to the movie business .
The strangers launched a film festival ( which , they proclaimed , would become the “ Sundance of the East ” ) and shot a movie with the whole town ’ s involvement .
Then things got very , very weird .
Director Martha Shane keeps you guessing about what was really going on — Narrowsburg is full of twists — as she crafts a poignant portrait of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life .
How to watch it : Narrowsburg is streaming on Amazon Prime and available to watch free ( with ads ) on Vudu .
It ’ s also available to digitally rent or purchase on iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
On the Record is a bombshell of a documentary , in which a large group of women allege that Def Jam record label founder and “ godfather of hip-hop ” Russell Simmons sexually assaulted or raped them ; the film is absolutely damning of Simmons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not commit the crimes he ’ s accused of .
Directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick , On the Record is at its best when exploring the reasons that women in America , and particularly Black women , often hesitate to accuse a powerful Black man of a crime like sexual assault .
It also points to what ’ s been missing from the Me Too movement : the voices of Black women .
How to watch it : On the Record is streaming on HBO Max .
The Painter and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almost every day since I saw it at Sundance in January , and my love for it grows every time I rewatch it .
The Painter and the Thief is a stunning film about a young Czech painter named Barbora Kysilkova , and Karl-Bertil Nordland , the thief who stole two of her paintings from an Oslo gallery .
When she tracks him down , he says he was so high that he can ’ t remember why he did it — or what he did with the paintings .
Barbora is less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he took her artwork , but eventually she decides to paint his portrait , after which they form a friendship and creative partnership of sorts .
The Painter and the Thief actively challenges what we think we understand about its characters based on their appearance , class markers , or behavior .
It highlights the way artists of all kinds , from painters to filmmakers , turn reality into something that ’ s at least a little fictionalized in order to make their work — and how everyone conceals the truth at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its last shot , which you ’ ll never forget .
How to watch it : The Painter and the Thief is streaming on Hulu .
It ’ s also available to digitally rent or purchase on iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , Google Play , and Vudu .
The excellent documentary Scheme Birds finally came out in 2020 after a largely overlooked tour of the 2019 festival circuit .
The film plays like a coming-of-age story , a vérité portrait of teenage Gemma , who lives with her grandfather in Scotland .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gemma for three years as she causes trouble with her friends , raises birds with her grandfather , falls in love , has a baby , and tries to decide what her future holds — all while Gemma narrates her own story , explaining what she thinks , feels , and does .
The film is a different sort of study of teenage life than we ’ re used to , intimate and raw without manufactured drama .
And without sentimentality , it draws out the challenges that a girl like Gemma faces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How to watch it : Scheme Birds is available to digitally rent or purchase on a variety of platforms , including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , and Google Play .
Heartbreaking and passionate , Time is the chronicle of a love deferred and the drive to keep going that hope can provide .
Garrett Bradley won the directing prize at Sundance for her documentary , which follows Fox Rich , a woman who has spent 21 years doggedly petitioning for the release of her husband Rob from prison .
Rob has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he committed as a young man , in which he and Fox were both involved .
Meanwhile , she ’ s been raising their six children and becoming a powerful advocate for change in her community .
And all along , Fox has made videos at home , which together feel like a diary of her pain and endurance .
Time details her struggle , demonstrating how mass incarceration persistently separates Black families in America as well as how bureaucracy and centuries of official narratives conceal the truth and pain of those separations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is streaming on Amazon Prime .
People who identify as LGBTQ+ experience opposition and difficulty all over the world .
But in the Russian republic of Chechnya — the Vladimir Putin-backed regime led by strongman Ramzan Kadyrov — the state is abducting and killing them with impunity .
Welcome to Chechnya , which won a prize for editing at Sundance , carefully follows a number of Chechens who are fleeing for their lives and others who try to shelter them and provide passage to countries where they might be safe .
Directed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the film digitally obscures the faces of people who are on the run — a technique to obscure the “ truth ” that becomes all the more powerful when it suddenly becomes part of the story .
How to watch it : Welcome to Chechnya is streaming on HBO Max .
One among a sea of unfortunate consequences of the past four years is that ordinary people have heard of many political figures who once would have been relegated to the fringe .
There ’ s Mike Cernovich , a self-styled provocateur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regular .
There ’ s Richard Spencer , the white nationalist leader who became especially notorious during the violent “ Unite the Right ” rally in Charlottesville in 2017 .
And there ’ s Lauren Southern , a YouTube personality and anti-immigrant activist who famously supported the “ Defend Europe ” group , which opposes search-and-rescue operations for refugees in the Mediterranean Sea .
These three individuals are the focus of White Noise , by former Atlantic journalist Daniel Lombroso .
Lombroso spent several years tagging along with Cernovich , Spencer , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them talk , and quietly allowing them to do the work of unraveling their own arguments .
The film paints a portrait of the past few years of their lives , but more than that , it subtly exposes how much of the internet-fueled alt-right is driven by a desire to get rich , become well-known , and draw acolytes .
The result is fascinating and damning .
How to watch it : White Noise is available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes , Amazon , YouTube , and Google @ @

Very little felt real in 2020. Time started to slip and slide. Screens became not just entertainment portals but a connection to the rest of the world, where we worked, learned, attended birthday parties and holiday gatherings, played games, and tried to maintain some semblance of real life.
So maybe it’s appropriate that 2020 was a brilliant year for documentaries, rife with engrossing nonfiction films in every genre — from comedies and dramas to journalistic exposés and category-defying tricksters. They explored mortality and love, showed us the past and the present, and challenged us to engage in the future, even in the midst of an unreal present.
Related The year reality collapsed into pixels
Here are my (unranked) picks for the 18 best documentaries of 2020, plus how you can watch them.
76 Days
There have already been a few documentaries about the Covid-19 pandemic, and I expect many more in the years to come. But 76 Days will surely be remembered as one of the gutsiest, best, and — oddly — most hopeful. It was shot inside a hospital in Wuhan, China, from the beginning of the outbreak until the city’s lockdown was lifted after 76 days. Even with the nurses and doctors in full PPE and patients struggling to survive in their hospital beds, 76 Days manages to be funny and tense, heartbreaking and humanizing — and it ends, improbably enough, on a note of hope. It’s a massive project (helmed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen, and an anonymous collaborator) that provides a glimpse into reality and an invaluable record of this moment.
How to watch it: 76 Days is currently playing in virtual cinemas (short-term digital rentals that benefit the brick-and-mortar theaters that host them). See the full listing on the film’s website.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
In the extraordinary Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets, documentarians and brothers Bill and Turner Ross chronicle the last night of service for a Las Vegas dive bar called Roaring ’20s. Their cameras roll as regulars come and go, fight and kiss, and try to face facts: After tonight, the place that felt most like it was theirs will no longer exist. For them, it’s the end of the world.
But there’s a catch: The Ross brothers used a real bar in New Orleans as a set, and asked people to play characters much like themselves. Is the movie fiction? Yes, technically. Is it nonfiction? Not exactly. Is it “real”? Absolutely. It’s a film that inadvertently captured the mood in a year that felt apocalyptic — a lament for the world of days gone by, deep longing for places we used to visit, and hope that we’ll find ourselves there once again.
How to watch it: Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets is available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
Boys State
Not only is Boys State timely, it’s also extremely entertaining. Documentarians Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (The Overnighters) follow the 2018 summer session of Boys State in Texas; it’s a gathering of more than 1,000 17-year-old boys who form a representative government, complete with party platforms and campaigns, to learn about how the American system of government works.
In a sea of documentaries seeking to make sense of America’s divided and confusing political present, Boys State succeeds, in part, because it’s one step removed from the “real world.” The teens come to Boys State with established political ideas, but through debate, discussion, and defense of their stances, they learn a lot about what it takes to form consensus and win. And their experiences are both a microcosmic look into the political process and a hint of the way future politics might unfold, in dismal and strangely optimistic ways.
How to watch it: Boys State is streaming on Apple TV+.
City Hall
Frederick Wiseman is a legendary chronicler of American institutions (here’s a guide to his films) who’s spent more than five decades making lengthy, intimate portraits of everything from high schools to welfare offices to the New York Public Library; for his latest film, Wiseman spent weeks in Boston, anchored at City Hall. His camera mostly follows Mayor Marty Walsh as Walsh crisscrosses the town to meet senior citizens in a church basement, veterans in a community hall, real estate developers in a hotel boardroom, and citizens at open-air rallies.
Periodically, the filmmaker floats away from Walsh to watch a wedding being performed, observe a budget presentation, or listen in as a committee dedicated to public housing reform debates how to prevent people from becoming unhoused. The result is not a portrait of a city, really. Refreshingly — and maybe even a little surprisingly — it’s a portrait of a government that actually seems to be working for its citizens.
How to watch it: City Hall is available to digitally rent at this site.
Related Why movies about public servants are so soothing in 2020
Collective
In 2015, a fire in a Bucharest nightclub killed 27 people — and, in the weeks that followed, 37 more, due to shockingly inadequate hospital conditions that led to infections in the survivors. Collective, named in part for the nightclub, is an observational documentary that traces the conditions and exposes huge deficiencies in the Romanian health care system as a whole, which led directly to that additional loss of life. Documentarian Alexander Nanau captures the lies told by government officials during the fallout from the fire; eventually their actions resulted in the government’s downfall, though that was short-lived.
Collective plays out like a chilling, slow-moving train wreck, a study in how a government gaslights its citizens into accepting conditions that would be avoidable but for greed and corruption. In its second half, the film focuses on a new, young minister of health — Vlad Voiculescu, who’s trying to effect change — while also showing the uphill battle and eventual fruitlessness of his fight.
How to watch it: Collective is available to digitally rent on platforms including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution
Crip Camp starts out as a movie about a place: Camp Jened, an almost magical-seeming “summer camp for the handicapped run by hippies,” as the film’s co-director (and former Jened camper) Jim Lebrecht explains early on. But soon, it becomes a chronicle of a movement, sparked by the young people whose lives were changed by their time in that place. Crip Camp shows how the vision that young Jened attendees experienced at camp — that the world could be open to them, too — led them to become activists and community organizers. The film is buoyant and inspiring, a tale of people working together through difficulty and opposition to change the world.
How to watch it: Crip Camp is streaming on Netflix.
Dick Johnson Is Dead
When Kirsten Johnson’s father Dick was diagnosed with dementia, the pair decided to make a movie together. The only way she could imagine making the road ahead more bearable was to collaborate with him in imagining what his death and afterlife would be like. They decided to “reenact” the different ways he could die, and in their pursuit of that endeavor, they contemplated the meaning of life.
The result is of course moving, but it’s also strangely joyful. Deep connection and abiding love are evident in every frame, and imagining the possibilities gives the pair a way to picture the unspeakable, live through the inevitable, and tentatively step into the future without surrendering to it quite yet. In some ways, Dick Johnson Is Dead is a model for facing the future head-on and maybe, just maybe, finding a way to smile and cry and get a grip on what we truly are: tied to our bodies and minds, which eventually fall apart, but also tied to one another.
How to watch it: Dick Johnson Is Dead is streaming on Netflix.
Feels Good Man
Pepe the Frog, the hand-drawn cartoon character notoriously memed into madness (and an ACLU-designated hate symbol) by the alt-right, was created by a mild-mannered artist named Matt Furie. Feels Good Man explores how the co-opting of Pepe happened and, in so doing, offers a look at the 4chan-ization of our culture and politics. In the process, it illuminates how little control creators really have over their creations once those creations are out in the world, and what the ramifications of that lack of control are in a world like ours. All of that sounds depressing, but somehow Feels Good Man manages to be engaging, surprising, and even oddly reassuring.
How to watch it: Feels Good Man is available to digitally rent or purchase on a variety of platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu. For a full listing, see the film’s website.
Gunda
You could say filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky is unconventional. His last film, Aquarela, was a portrait of water set to a soundtrack by the Finnish symphonic metal band Apocalyptica; his new film Gunda, executive-produced by Joaquin Phoenix, swaps Aquarela’s massive scope and ear-splitting music for an intimate portrait of a pig and her piglets, two cows, and a one-legged chicken. There’s no dialogue in Gunda; we just watch the animals go about their lives while we experience the quietly dawning recognition that these animals have real lives. Phoenix is an animal rights activist — as you may recall, he championed veganism when accepting the Best Actor Oscar for Joker earlier this year — and his interest in Gunda is no surprise. It’s a recognition of animals’ creatureliness and a quiet argument for their dignity.
How to watch it: Gunda had a one-week virtual cinema run in December, and will open more widely in 2021.
Mayor
David Osit’s hilarious and moving documentary Mayor follows Musa Hadid, who is mayor of Ramallah, the de facto Palestinian capital that is surrounded on all sides by Israeli settlements. Hadid is beloved in the city, a true public servant, and also one who has to grapple with matters that few mayors encounter — dealing with sewage and cemetery issues that stem from stonewalling by the Israelis; receiving the British royal family for a visit; experiencing the repercussions of international politics that directly affect your constituents’ daily life; suddenly discovering there are active gunmen on the ground in your city.
But he also just has to do normal mayor things, many of which are faintly ridiculous, and that makes Mayor a very funny film. At times, it plays like Veep — if the characters in Veep were actually kind, compassionate, and oriented toward what best serves the public’s interest. But Mayor also shows how challenging the job of mayor is, even for a talented leader like Hadid, who struggles to show the world what the citizens of his city are facing as they, and he, go about their lives under impossible and seemingly intractable circumstances.
How to watch it: Mayor is playing in virtual theaters throughout the country; see the film’s website for listings.
The Mole Agent
You could call The Mole Agent a spy movie, but it’s an unusual one — and unusually poignant, too. Documentarian Maite Alberdi lets us in on a bit of subterfuge as Sergio, an older Chilean man, is “cast” as a new nursing home resident by Detective Romulo, who’s been hired to investigate the facility. Sergio’s job is to infiltrate the home on behalf of Romulo’s client and look into whether the client’s mother is being abused; meanwhile, the documentarians follow Sergio and observe the home’s residents, who don’t know the whole truth about why Sergio is there. It’s a sweet film and a surprising one, an interesting blend of fact and fiction that also explores the lives, wishes, and desires of older people.
How to watch it: The Mole Agent is streaming on Hulu. It is also available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
Narrowsburg
Narrowsburg is a bizarre true-life con story, one that ended up roiling an entire small town. In upstate New York, the tiny hamlet of Narrowsburg one day discovered the arrival of two glamorous strangers, both of whom had connections to the movie business. The strangers launched a film festival (which, they proclaimed, would become the “Sundance of the East”) and shot a movie with the whole town’s involvement. Then things got very, very weird. Director Martha Shane keeps you guessing about what was really going on — Narrowsburg is full of twists — as she crafts a poignant portrait of the allure of show business in American life.
How to watch it: Narrowsburg is streaming on Amazon Prime and available to watch free (with ads) on Vudu. It’s also available to digitally rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
On the Record
On the Record is a bombshell of a documentary, in which a large group of women allege that Def Jam record label founder and “godfather of hip-hop” Russell Simmons sexually assaulted or raped them; the film is absolutely damning of Simmons, who continues to insist he did not commit the crimes he’s accused of. Directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, On the Record is at its best when exploring the reasons that women in America, and particularly Black women, often hesitate to accuse a powerful Black man of a crime like sexual assault. It also points to what’s been missing from the Me Too movement: the voices of Black women.
How to watch it: On the Record is streaming on HBO Max.
The Painter and the Thief
I have thought of this movie almost every day since I saw it at Sundance in January, and my love for it grows every time I rewatch it. The Painter and the Thief is a stunning film about a young Czech painter named Barbora Kysilkova, and Karl-Bertil Nordland, the thief who stole two of her paintings from an Oslo gallery. When she tracks him down, he says he was so high that he can’t remember why he did it — or what he did with the paintings. Barbora is less interested in the thief himself than in where he took her artwork, but eventually she decides to paint his portrait, after which they form a friendship and creative partnership of sorts.
The Painter and the Thief actively challenges what we think we understand about its characters based on their appearance, class markers, or behavior. It highlights the way artists of all kinds, from painters to filmmakers, turn reality into something that’s at least a little fictionalized in order to make their work — and how everyone conceals the truth at times. And then there’s its last shot, which you’ll never forget.
How to watch it: The Painter and the Thief is streaming on Hulu. It’s also available to digitally rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, and Vudu.
Scheme Birds
The excellent documentary Scheme Birds finally came out in 2020 after a largely overlooked tour of the 2019 festival circuit. The film plays like a coming-of-age story, a vérité portrait of teenage Gemma, who lives with her grandfather in Scotland.
Directors Ellen Fiske and Ellinor Hallin follow Gemma for three years as she causes trouble with her friends, raises birds with her grandfather, falls in love, has a baby, and tries to decide what her future holds — all while Gemma narrates her own story, explaining what she thinks, feels, and does. The film is a different sort of study of teenage life than we’re used to, intimate and raw without manufactured drama. And without sentimentality, it draws out the challenges that a girl like Gemma faces in trying to change her life.
How to watch it: Scheme Birds is available to digitally rent or purchase on a variety of platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, and Google Play.
Time
Heartbreaking and passionate, Time is the chronicle of a love deferred and the drive to keep going that hope can provide. Garrett Bradley won the directing prize at Sundance for her documentary, which follows Fox Rich, a woman who has spent 21 years doggedly petitioning for the release of her husband Rob from prison.
Rob has been sentenced to 60 years following a crime he committed as a young man, in which he and Fox were both involved. Meanwhile, she’s been raising their six children and becoming a powerful advocate for change in her community. And all along, Fox has made videos at home, which together feel like a diary of her pain and endurance. Time details her struggle, demonstrating how mass incarceration persistently separates Black families in America as well as how bureaucracy and centuries of official narratives conceal the truth and pain of those separations.
How to watch it: Time is streaming on Amazon Prime.
Welcome to Chechnya
People who identify as LGBTQ+ experience opposition and difficulty all over the world. But in the Russian republic of Chechnya — the Vladimir Putin-backed regime led by strongman Ramzan Kadyrov — the state is abducting and killing them with impunity. Welcome to Chechnya, which won a prize for editing at Sundance, carefully follows a number of Chechens who are fleeing for their lives and others who try to shelter them and provide passage to countries where they might be safe. Directed by investigative journalist and award-winning documentarian David France, the film digitally obscures the faces of people who are on the run — a technique to obscure the “truth” that becomes all the more powerful when it suddenly becomes part of the story.
How to watch it: Welcome to Chechnya is streaming on HBO Max.
White Noise
One among a sea of unfortunate consequences of the past four years is that ordinary people have heard of many political figures who once would have been relegated to the fringe. There’s Mike Cernovich, a self-styled provocateur and meme creator who is an Infowars regular. There’s Richard Spencer, the white nationalist leader who became especially notorious during the violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017. And there’s Lauren Southern, a YouTube personality and anti-immigrant activist who famously supported the “Defend Europe” group, which opposes search-and-rescue operations for refugees in the Mediterranean Sea.
These three individuals are the focus of White Noise, by former Atlantic journalist Daniel Lombroso. Lombroso spent several years tagging along with Cernovich, Spencer, and Southern — attending their events, letting them talk, and quietly allowing them to do the work of unraveling their own arguments. The film paints a portrait of the past few years of their lives, but more than that, it subtly exposes how much of the internet-fueled alt-right is driven by a desire to get rich, become well-known, and draw acolytes. The result is fascinating and damning.
How to watch it: White Noise is available to digitally rent or purchase on platforms including iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, and Google Play.


vox--2020-12-29--Today, Explained looks at how the coronavirus pandemic reshaped the world

2020 is a year that changed everything .
As December draws to a close , Today , Explained is taking a look back at how the coronavirus pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives in the new series You , Me , and Covid-19 .
Host Sean Rameswaram , along with the Today , Explained team , will examine how the virus changed our relationships to each other and the places we live , how it upended our livelihoods , and how it redefined what we thought of as “ normal.
” The series includes a special interview with Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Vox reporters Brian Resnick and Haleema Shah .
The first episode is out Monday , December 21 , with new episodes dropping through December 29 , 2020 .
Subscribe to Today , Explained wherever you listen to podcasts — including Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , and Spotify — to automatically get new episodes when they publish .
Episode 1 , December 21 | Millennials are moving back in with their parents ( again ) , but they are discovering multigenerational living has its perks .
A mother and daughter reflect on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ together , and a professor examines the American stigma of living with your parents .
Episode 2 , December 22 | First it was SXSW .
Then Coachella .
Then just about every concert and live show you can imagine .
2020 devastated the music industry and its fans as live performances were canceled or postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic .
Vox ’ s Haleema Shah reports on how , in the wake of economic challenges and struggles to connect with audiences , musicians like DVSN did what artists do best : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Episode 3 , December 23 | The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , Dr. Fauci has spent a lot of time in the spotlight recently .
In a livestreamed interview with the unofficial human of the year , he told Sean Rameswaram that 85 percent of the US needs to get the Covid-19 vaccine for “ true herd immunity.
” Fauci also reflects on how this year has impacted him both professionally and personally .
Episode 4 , December 28 | We can ’ t stop talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but what about the animals ?
Some of them are dying .
Some of them are thriving .
Oh , and they started it .
Vox ’ s Brian Resnick and science writer David Quammen explain .
Episode 5 , December 29 | Reflections on how the pandemic and the year ’ s ensuing politics , economics , and social upheaval changed people ’ s ways of looking at the world .
Featuring a guy who bought a gun , and then bought another ; a woman who never wanted kids and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to shut out family over Black Lives Matter ; and an incarcerated individual who felt helpless about preventative measures on the inside , and then the outside .

2020 is a year that changed everything. As December draws to a close, Today, Explained is taking a look back at how the coronavirus pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives in the new series You, Me, and Covid-19.
Host Sean Rameswaram, along with the Today, Explained team, will examine how the virus changed our relationships to each other and the places we live, how it upended our livelihoods, and how it redefined what we thought of as “normal.”
The series includes a special interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, as well as reporting from Vox reporters Brian Resnick and Haleema Shah. The first episode is out Monday, December 21, with new episodes dropping through December 29, 2020.
Subscribe to Today, Explained wherever you listen to podcasts — including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify — to automatically get new episodes when they publish.
Moving home
Episode 1, December 21 | Millennials are moving back in with their parents (again), but they are discovering multigenerational living has its perks. A mother and daughter reflect on how the pandemic has brought them closer together, and a professor examines the American stigma of living with your parents.
The year live music died
Episode 2, December 22 | First it was SXSW. Then Coachella. Then just about every concert and live show you can imagine. 2020 devastated the music industry and its fans as live performances were canceled or postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic. Vox’s Haleema Shah reports on how, in the wake of economic challenges and struggles to connect with audiences, musicians like DVSN did what artists do best: get creative and find a way through.
Dr. Fauci’s nightmare before Christmas
Episode 3, December 23 | The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Fauci has spent a lot of time in the spotlight recently. In a livestreamed interview with the unofficial human of the year, he told Sean Rameswaram that 85 percent of the US needs to get the Covid-19 vaccine for “true herd immunity.” Fauci also reflects on how this year has impacted him both professionally and personally.
Animals catch Covid-19, too
Episode 4, December 28 | We can’t stop talking about how the coronavirus has changed humanity, but what about the animals? Some of them are dying. Some of them are thriving. Oh, and they started it. Vox’s Brian Resnick and science writer David Quammen explain.
How 2020 changed us
Episode 5, December 29 | Reflections on how the pandemic and the year’s ensuing politics, economics, and social upheaval changed people’s ways of looking at the world. Featuring a guy who bought a gun, and then bought another; a woman who never wanted kids and then decided to try; someone who had to shut out family over Black Lives Matter; and an incarcerated individual who felt helpless about preventative measures on the inside, and then the outside.


vox--2020-12-29--Why Democrats need Latino voters in Georgia’s Senate runoffs

The Georgia Senate runoff elections on January 5 will determine which party controls the Senate — and the future of President-elect Joe Biden ’ s agenda .
Latino voters could represent an important , if overlooked , coalition in that race that could push the Democratic candidates over the edge .
Nearly 10 percent of the state ’ s population is Latino , and it is quickly growing , mostly on account of US-born Latinos who are the children of immigrants .
Some 377,000 Latinos are eligible to vote , making up 5 percent of the potential electorate , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requested absentee ballots for the Senate runoffs .
Given that the races will likely be decided by a razor-thin margin , their votes could make the difference .
The American Election Eve Poll from Latino Decisions suggested that a majority of Latino voters backed Democrat Jon Ossoff , who is challenging Republican Sen. David Perdue .
And in a crowded field , a plurality supported Democrat Raphael Warnock over Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler , who was appointed by the governor in December 2019 after her predecessor resigned .
Most polls underestimated GOP performance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ margins among Latinos may be smaller .
Exit poll data also suggests that the Democratic candidates still had a significant edge among Latinos , though this kind of data is sometimes even less reliable .
Turnout among Latinos also seemed to up from 33 percent in 2016 to 42 percent in November , according to an analysis by Emory University professor Bernard Fraga and the left-leaning voter analysis firm Catalist .
Turnout is typically lower for runoff elections , but with so much national attention on these races , Georgia already appears to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With all signs pointing to Latinos casting decisive votes in the runoffs , Democrats are amping up their outreach efforts .
Former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro — the only Latino in the 2020 field — has campaigned with Ossoff .
And national left-leaning Latino groups , including Mijente and grassroots organizations that have been working to mobilize Latino voters in Georgia for years , have been canvassing , sending mailers to Latino homes , texting hundreds of thousands of voters , and putting up billboards in places where there isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re trying to normalize that Georgia is no longer black and white , ” said Gigi Pedraza , executive director Latino Community Fund , one of the grassroots organizations working to turn out Latino voters in the state .
“ Georgia is home to a multicultural , multiethnic , multilingual community that ’ s young and vibrant and growing .
It ’ s an asset for the state.
” The Latino electorate in Georgia presents a big opportunity for Democrats Democrats are currently reevaluating their Latino outreach strategy in the wake of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underperformance among Latinos in Texas and Florida , both states where they make up a significant portion of the electorate , as compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016 .
But many of the factors that led to that erosion in Latino support — including a successful right-wing , Spanish-language disinformation campaign and a tradition of voting Republican — don ’ t exist to the same extent in Georgia .
Rather , the characteristics of the mostly Mexican Latino population in Georgia are favorable for Democrats .
Latinos in the state are comparatively young @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18 , and about 20,000 Georgia Latinos turn 18 every year , becoming eligible to vote .
Their communities are also concentrated in the Atlanta metro area , particularly in Gwinnett and Cobb counties , which are Democratic strongholds .
What ’ s more , many of them have a connection to the immigrant experience and have consequently mobilized against the GOP ’ s restrictive stance on immigration , particularly in the Trump era .
As of 2018 , roughly 10 percent of Georgia residents were immigrants , many of them naturalized citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens with at least one immigrant parent .
Roughly 400,000 people are undocumented immigrants .
That shows in terms of Georgia Latinos ’ political priorities : Immigration ranks third in importance after the US ’ s response to the pandemic and the economy , according to focus groups conducted by the Democratic PAC Nuestro PAC .
By comparison , the issue never made the top five in any other state in the general election .
But while these voters got behind Democrats in the November election in Georgia , the biggest challenge for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show up again for the Senate runoffs .
Chuck Rocha , a former senior adviser on Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ s presidential campaign and the founder of Nuestro PAC , said he is focused on increasing Latino turnout , rather than persuading voters to change their minds .
“ We ’ re learning that Latinos don ’ t understand why the hell they need to come back and vote again after they just finished voting less than a month ago , ” he said .
“ They were voting against Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spanish-language ads in the Atlanta media market explaining that control of the Senate hinges on these two runoffs and how voters can go about casting their ballot during early voting or on January 5 .
But he worries the Democratic Party and other outside groups aren ’ t doing enough to reach out to Latino voters in the same way .
They have invested heavily in improving canvassing and ground operations in Latino communities , and Warnock and Ossoff have been appearing on Spanish-language media and have hired campaign staff from the Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money toward advertising on Spanish-language media .
The party and the donor infrastructure is spending $ 400 million on Georgia media , but none of that has gone to Latino organizations , Rocha said .
“ This is a fatal mistake that Democrats can never learn to fix , which is Latinos listen to the TV , the radio , and get on the internet , just like white people .
Why are you not investing in a multilayered approach ?
” he said .
“ We have to learn the lesson that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ techniques that you use and an important technique to reach Latino voters.
” Latino organizers have been on the ground for years Even Stacy Abrams has credited a robust network of Black , Asian , and Latino voting advocates who have been working to mobilize their communities for years with turning Georgia blue .
The success of the Latino organizers can be seen in this year ’ s election of two Democratic sheriffs in Gwinnett and Cobb counties , where Latinos are concentrated .
The election of these sheriffs , who made cutting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a central message of their campaigns , is considered a triumph for immigrant rights activists .
They have promised to end longstanding agreements with the federal government — known as 287 ( g ) agreements after the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that created them — under which sheriffs can question people about their immigration status and detain them on immigration charges .
In Gwinnett County , Democrat Keybo Taylor , a police major , prevailed over Republican Chief Deputy Sheriff Lou Solis .
The county ’ s 287 ( g @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 21,000 people in the county to ICE over the past decade , making it one of ICE ’ s biggest local law enforcement partners outside of counties on the US-Mexico border .
In Cobb County , Democrat Craig Owens , also a police major , ousted incumbent Republican Sheriff Neil Warren , who has held office for 17 years and was the first sheriff in the state to enter into a 287 ( g ) agreement .
Latino advocates are continuing to invoke immigration as a means of energizing voters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( GALEO ) , which has registered over 35,000 voters over the last couple of years , has pushed for a pathway to citizenship for the state ’ s undocumented immigrants .
And in partnership with the Latino Community Fund of Georgia , the organization has fought for more protections for undocumented workers who face exploitative labor practices .
“ We have always been here , ” Pedraza said .
“ Don ’ t forget about us .
Only folks that were outside Georgia were surprised [ by the ] runoff .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there was going to be a runoff.
” Latino advocates have focused their efforts on increasing turnout .
But that task has been made more difficult by the closures of polling locations in the counties where Latinos tend to live , including Cobb County in the Atlanta metro area .
Chatham , Forsyth , and Hall counties have also slashed polling locations .
Cobb County , which is 13 percent Hispanic or Latino , announced earlier this month that it was reducing the number of available locations for early voting in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 14 .
Instead of the 11 locations that were open during the general election in November , there would be just five , officials said .
That ’ s despite the fact that there was record turnout in the county in November , leading lines at the polls that were up to 10 hours long .
Organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Georgia NAACP consequently warned that closing just more than half of the early voting locations would disproportionately harm Black and Latino communities .
“ Georgia ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely to live in poverty than other residents and will have more difficulty traveling long distances to access advance voting locations , especially because of the limited public transportation options in Cobb County , ” the organizations wrote in a letter earlier this month .
“ As a result , the elimination of advance voting locations will discourage or prevent many of Cobb County ’ s Black and Latinx voters from participating in the runoff election.
” As a result , the county agreed to move one site and add two more in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But advocates have nevertheless reported that lines at the polls have been long , in some cases as high as two hours .
But getting to the polls is not the only obstacle Latinos face in casting their vote : Georgia has an “ exact match ” signature requirement , which requires that your name on your voter registration match what is on your driver ’ s license and what is on file with the Social Security Administration .
But under that system , naturalized citizens are inaccurately flagged as non-citizens if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prior to becoming citizens , often resulting in their voter registration applications being put on hold until they can prove their citizenship or even being canceled .
GALEO has consequently sued .
“ Officials that don ’ t like the outcome of what happened [ in November ] are trying to suppress the votes , ” Jerry Gonzalez , GALEO ’ s chief executive officer , said in a press call .
“ It ’ s not by accident .
It ’ s intentional .
...
They don ’ t want our communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re afraid of our power .
”

The Georgia Senate runoff elections on Tuesday will determine which party controls the Senate — and the future of President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda. Latino voters could represent an important, if overlooked, coalition in those races that could push the Democratic candidates over the edge.
Nearly 10 percent of the state’s population is Latino, and that share is growing quickly, mostly on account of US-born Latinos who are the children of immigrants. Some 377,000 Latinos are eligible to vote, making up 5 percent of the potential electorate, and 270,000 are registered. About 80,000 have requested absentee ballots for the Senate runoffs, and almost 70,000 already voted early. Given that the races will likely be decided by a razor-thin margin, their votes could make the difference.
The American Election Eve Poll from Latino Decisions suggested that, in November, a majority of Latino voters backed Democrat Jon Ossoff, who is challenging Republican David Perdue. And in a crowded field, a plurality supported Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock over Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed by the governor in December 2019 after her predecessor retired.
Most polls underestimated GOP performance this cycle, so Democrats’ actual margins among Latinos may be smaller. Exit poll data also suggests that the Democratic candidates still had a significant edge among Latinos, though this kind of data is sometimes even less reliable.
Turnout among Latinos also seemed to be up, from 33 percent in 2016 to 42 percent in November, according to an analysis by Emory University professor Bernard Fraga and the left-leaning voter analysis firm Catalist. Turnout typically decreases for runoff elections by an average of about 35 percent, but with so much national attention on these races, turnout is just 22 percent lower than it was in November based on early voting numbers alone.
With all signs pointing to Latinos casting decisive votes in the runoffs, Democrats have amped up their outreach efforts. Former Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro — the only Latino in the 2020 field — has campaigned with Ossoff. And national left-leaning Latino groups, including Mijente and grassroots organizations that have been working to mobilize Latino voters in Georgia for years, have been canvassing, sending mailers to Latino homes, texting hundreds of thousands of voters, and putting up billboards in places where there isn’t significant Spanish-language media penetration.
“We’re trying to normalize that Georgia is no longer Black and white,” said Gigi Pedraza, executive director of the Latino Community Fund, one of the grassroots organizations working to turn out Latino voters in the state. “Georgia is home to a multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual community that’s young and vibrant and growing. It’s an asset for the state.”
The Latino electorate in Georgia presents a big opportunity for Democrats
Democrats are currently reevaluating their Latino outreach strategy in the wake of President-elect Joe Biden’s underperformance among Latinos in Texas and Florida, both states where they make up a significant portion of the electorate, as compared to Hillary Clinton’s support from Latinos in 2016. But many of the factors that led to that erosion in Latino support — including a successful right-wing, Spanish-language disinformation campaign and a tradition of voting Republican — don’t exist to the same extent in Georgia.
Rather, the characteristics of the mostly Mexican Latino population in Georgia are favorable for Democrats. Latinos in the state are comparatively young: More than a third are under 18, and about 20,000 Georgia Latinos turn 18 every year, becoming eligible to vote. Their communities are also concentrated in the Atlanta metro area, particularly in Gwinnett and Cobb counties, which are Democratic strongholds.
What’s more, many of them have a connection to the immigrant experience and have consequently mobilized against the GOP’s restrictive stance on immigration, particularly in the Trump era. As of 2018, roughly 10 percent of Georgia residents were immigrants, many of them naturalized citizens, and 7 percent were native-born US citizens with at least one immigrant parent. Roughly 400,000 people in Georgia are undocumented immigrants.
That shows in terms of Georgia Latinos’ political priorities: Immigration ranks third in importance after the US’s response to the pandemic and the economy, according to focus groups conducted by the Democratic Nuestro PAC. By comparison, the issue never made the top five in any other state in the general election.
But while these voters got behind Democrats in the November election in Georgia, the biggest challenge for organizers is communicating why their community needs to show up again for the Senate runoffs.
Chuck Rocha, a former senior adviser on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign and the founder of Nuestro PAC, said he is focused on increasing Latino turnout, rather than persuading voters to change their minds.
“We’re learning that Latinos don’t understand why the hell they need to come back and vote again after they just finished voting,” he said. “They were voting against Donald Trump predominantly.”
His PAC is consequently running Spanish-language ads in the Atlanta media market explaining that control of the Senate hinges on these two runoffs and how voters can go about casting their ballot.
But he worries the Democratic Party and other outside groups aren’t doing enough to reach out to Latino voters in the same way. They have invested heavily in improving canvassing and ground operations in Latino communities, and Warnock and Ossoff have been appearing on Spanish-language media and have hired campaign staff from Latino communities.
But Democrats have not put money toward advertising on Spanish-language media. The party and the donor infrastructure is spending $400 million on Georgia media, but none of that has gone to Latino organizations, Rocha said.
“This is a fatal mistake that Democrats can never learn to fix, which is Latinos listen to the TV, the radio, and get on the internet, just like white people. Why are you not investing in a multilayered approach?” he said. “We have to learn the lesson that ground operations is just one of the techniques that you use and an important technique to reach Latino voters.”
Latino organizers have been on the ground for years
Georgia voting rights activist Stacey Abrams has credited a robust network of Black, Asian, and Latino voting advocates who have been working to mobilize their communities for years with turning Georgia blue.
The success of the Latino organizers can be seen in this year’s election of two Democratic sheriffs in Gwinnett and Cobb counties, where Latinos are concentrated.
The election of these sheriffs, who made cutting ties with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement a central message of their campaigns, is considered a triumph for immigrant rights activists. They have promised to end longstanding agreements with the federal government — known as 287(g) agreements after the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that created them — under which sheriffs can question people about their immigration status and detain them on immigration charges.
In Gwinnett County, Democrat Keybo Taylor, a police major, prevailed over Republican Chief Deputy Sheriff Lou Solis. The county’s 287(g) agreement had been used to refer more than 21,000 people in the county to ICE over the past decade, making it one of ICE’s biggest local law enforcement partners outside of counties on the US-Mexico border.
In Cobb County, Democrat Craig Owens, also a police major, ousted incumbent Republican Sheriff Neil Warren, who has held office for 17 years and was the first sheriff in the state to enter into a 287(g) agreement.
Latino advocates are continuing to invoke immigration as a means of energizing voters. The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO), which has registered more than 35,000 voters over the past couple of years, has pushed for a pathway to citizenship for the state’s undocumented immigrants. And in partnership with the Latino Community Fund of Georgia, the organization has fought for more protections for undocumented workers who face exploitative labor practices.
“We have always been here,” Pedraza said. “Don’t forget about us. Only folks that were outside Georgia were surprised [by the] runoff. We knew in Georgia all along, though, there was going to be a runoff.”
Latinos in Georgia face voter suppression
Latino advocates have focused their efforts on increasing turnout. But that task has been made more difficult by the closures of polling locations in the counties where Latinos tend to live, including Cobb County in the Atlanta metro area. Chatham, Forsyth, and Hall counties have also slashed polling locations.
Cobb County, which is 13 percent Hispanic or Latino, announced last month that it was reducing the number of available locations for early voting in the Senate runoffs, which began on December 14. Instead of the 11 locations that were open during the general election in November, there would be just five, officials said. That’s despite record turnout in the county in November, leading to lines at the polls that had voters waiting for up to 10 hours.
Organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia and the Georgia NAACP consequently warned that closing more than half of the early voting locations would disproportionately harm Black and Latino communities.
“Georgia’s Black and Latinx residents are more likely to live in poverty than other residents and will have more difficulty traveling long distances to access advance voting locations, especially because of the limited public transportation options in Cobb County,” the organizations wrote in a letter last month. “As a result, the elimination of advance voting locations will discourage or prevent many of Cobb County’s Black and Latinx voters from participating in the runoff election.”
As a result, the county agreed to move one site and add two more in the last week of early voting. But advocates nevertheless reported that lines at the polls have been long, in some cases with waiting times as high as two hours.
But getting to the polls is not the only obstacle Latinos face in casting their vote. Georgia has an “exact match” signature requirement, which requires that the name on your voter registration match what is on your driver’s license, and what is on file with the Social Security Administration. But under that system, naturalized citizens are inaccurately flagged as noncitizens if they obtained a Georgia driver’s license prior to becoming citizens, often resulting in their voter registration applications being put on hold until they can prove their citizenship or even being canceled. GALEO has consequently sued.
“Officials that don’t like the outcome of what happened [in November] are trying to suppress the votes,” Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s chief executive officer, said in a press call. “It’s not by accident. It’s intentional. ... They don’t want our communities to show up to vote. They’re afraid of our power.”