Garrett Eisler
@garretteisler.bsky.social
Theatre & Film Historian. My new book: "Ben Hecht's Theatre of Jewish Protest" from @RutgersUPress. Formerly of the blog "The Playgoer." Cohost of "1049 Park Ave: An Odd Couple Podcast."
Pinned
Garrett Eisler
@garretteisler.bsky.social
· Jan 28
I'm proud to announce the publication of "Ben Hecht's Theatre of Jewish Protest" from @rutgersupress.bsky.social, available now. A critical study of Hecht's four dramatic works from the 1940s about the Holocaust and the struggle for a Jewish state, as those events were happening. 1/5
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
I haven't seen a single commenter or article point out that Tennessee Representative Aftyn Behn's name is very similar to the 17th century British woman playwright Aphra Behn. Do I have to do everything around here?
December 4, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I haven't seen a single commenter or article point out that Tennessee Representative Aftyn Behn's name is very similar to the 17th century British woman playwright Aphra Behn. Do I have to do everything around here?
Higher Ed expert Kevin Carey: "The administration is very clearly working to purge people of color--especially Black people--from elite institutions and positions of power. This is part of their plan, and the universities are going along with it."
1/ Northwestern is the 4th university after Columbia, Brown, and Cornell to sign an agreement allowing the Trump administration to "analyze" or "audit" their admissions data--on the administration's terms. As I wrote in The Atlantic in October, this is a trap.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
The Logical End Point of Trump’s Higher-Education Agenda
A “compact” offered by the administration could devastate racial diversity at elite universities.
www.theatlantic.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Higher Ed expert Kevin Carey: "The administration is very clearly working to purge people of color--especially Black people--from elite institutions and positions of power. This is part of their plan, and the universities are going along with it."
For those needing proof that the concept of legal vs illegal orders is a real thing in the military, here's an example from WWI. (Via "Paths of Glory")
youtu.be/G7Mvs5Ic8us?...
youtu.be/G7Mvs5Ic8us?...
Paths of Glory (4/11) Movie CLIP - A Controversial Order (1957) HD
YouTube video by Movieclips
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 6:51 PM
For those needing proof that the concept of legal vs illegal orders is a real thing in the military, here's an example from WWI. (Via "Paths of Glory")
youtu.be/G7Mvs5Ic8us?...
youtu.be/G7Mvs5Ic8us?...
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
When a news outlet puts a reckless, undocumented claim by the Trump regime in the main headline and puts medical experts’ pushback in the smaller type, it’s making a choice. And not a good one.
November 29, 2025 at 10:40 PM
When a news outlet puts a reckless, undocumented claim by the Trump regime in the main headline and puts medical experts’ pushback in the smaller type, it’s making a choice. And not a good one.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
My kids have whooping cough, there are no toys on the shelves, and my brother-in-law was deported despite being a US citizen. But at least I know there won't be black Santa Clauses this year.
November 28, 2025 at 6:28 PM
My kids have whooping cough, there are no toys on the shelves, and my brother-in-law was deported despite being a US citizen. But at least I know there won't be black Santa Clauses this year.
Props indeeed to Roman Bohnen! One of the less famous alums of the Group Theatre, he actually shows up in a lot of 40s movies. (Before being blacklisted, that is.) His papers are at NYPL Performing Arts Library, an interesting archive from the period.
Roman Bohnen born Nov 24, in 1894 - Over 40 roles including The Song of Bernadette (Bernadette's father), Of Mice and Men (Candy), The Best Years of Our Lives (Pat Derry)... #botd
November 24, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Props indeeed to Roman Bohnen! One of the less famous alums of the Group Theatre, he actually shows up in a lot of 40s movies. (Before being blacklisted, that is.) His papers are at NYPL Performing Arts Library, an interesting archive from the period.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
Dennis Hastert Just Going To Assume He Welcome Back In GOP
November 20, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Dennis Hastert Just Going To Assume He Welcome Back In GOP
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
Honored to have the illustrious Alisa Solomon include my "Ben Hecht's Theatre of Jewish Protest" on Jewish Current's latest "Shabbat Reading List"!
jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...
jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...
November 14, 2025
Breaking news, analysis, art, and culture from a progressive Jewish perspective. Sign up for our newsletter!
jewishcurrents.org
November 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Honored to have the illustrious Alisa Solomon include my "Ben Hecht's Theatre of Jewish Protest" on Jewish Current's latest "Shabbat Reading List"!
jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...
jewishcurrents.org/shabbat-read...
"God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."
From this minister's op-ed: "People wanting to experience God are more likely to meet the Divine trying to shut down the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility than we ever were in church...God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 14, 2025 at 11:40 PM
"God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."
Yes happy #OddCoupleDay to all who celebrate! ("On November 13, Felix Unger....") To relive your favorite episodes check out our archive of "1049 Park Ave: An Odd Couple Podcast," ep-by-ep recaps plus interviews with some of the writers and cast&crew family members: odd1049parkavenue.podbean.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Yes happy #OddCoupleDay to all who celebrate! ("On November 13, Felix Unger....") To relive your favorite episodes check out our archive of "1049 Park Ave: An Odd Couple Podcast," ep-by-ep recaps plus interviews with some of the writers and cast&crew family members: odd1049parkavenue.podbean.com
Worst Woody movie EVER!
Jeffrey Epstein was developing a series, moderated by @lkrauss1.bsky.social, to bring scientists and celebrities together. The first season would include an episode where "Woody Allen talks about the human condition with Linguist Noam Chomsky."
drive.google.com/file/d/14Sla...
drive.google.com/file/d/14Sla...
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023123.txt
drive.google.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Worst Woody movie EVER!
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
Director: Alan Crosland
Director: Alan Crosland
November 8, 2025 at 5:54 PM
THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
Director: Alan Crosland
Director: Alan Crosland
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
My kids have measles and my SNAP benefits were cut. But at least those cashiers at Walmart aren’t writing “they/them” on their name tags anymore.
November 8, 2025 at 2:53 AM
My kids have measles and my SNAP benefits were cut. But at least those cashiers at Walmart aren’t writing “they/them” on their name tags anymore.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
In the name of protecting Jews, Jews have their funding cancelled, get kicked out of seminars, and are removed from leadership positions in Jewish Studies to be replaced by non-Jews.
Latest write-up about outrageous administrative over reach at IU. www.jta.org/2025/11/07/u...
In Indiana, a vaunted Jewish studies program is upended by red-state politics over Israel and speech - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
A leadership shakeup, a defunded graduate student and political pressure from above have turned a storied program into a flashpoint for Trump-era campus politics.
www.jta.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:58 AM
In the name of protecting Jews, Jews have their funding cancelled, get kicked out of seminars, and are removed from leadership positions in Jewish Studies to be replaced by non-Jews.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
If Mamdani wins I will leave New York. I will go live in one of the other 5 houses I have, perhaps the one in South Florida, or the one in Paris, or Napa, or Cabo, but I will definitely leave New York. I will keep my apartment, though, because it's awesome and New York is great. But I will leave.
November 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
If Mamdani wins I will leave New York. I will go live in one of the other 5 houses I have, perhaps the one in South Florida, or the one in Paris, or Napa, or Cabo, but I will definitely leave New York. I will keep my apartment, though, because it's awesome and New York is great. But I will leave.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
“And we at The Washington Post love it!”
With large portraits of himself, 24-karat golden adornments and a triumphal arch, President Trump is asserting his power through what might be called an imperial aesthetic, or visual cues designed to project personal command and grandeur.
The imperial aesthetic at the heart of Donald Trump’s presidency
In addition to his accumulation of political power, Trump has embraced visual cues designed to project personal command and grandeur.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
“And we at The Washington Post love it!”
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
People aren't struggling, they are experimenting with frugality! 🧑🔬🔬🧪
October 28, 2025 at 1:13 PM
People aren't struggling, they are experimenting with frugality! 🧑🔬🔬🧪
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
it’s kind of funny that the New York Times, which is probably at least 50% Ivy League on the editorial side, is one of the primary drivers of contemporary anti-intellectualism, but not really funny in a good way
What Zohran Mamdani Learned as an Africana Studies Major at Bowdoin
www.nytimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:55 PM
it’s kind of funny that the New York Times, which is probably at least 50% Ivy League on the editorial side, is one of the primary drivers of contemporary anti-intellectualism, but not really funny in a good way
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
There is a full-on push in NYC right now to use "Mamdani doesn't make Jews 'feel safe'" as a cudgel to get Cuomo into office, and it is utterly disgusting. You know what makes me feel unsafe? People who casually characterize us as a trembling single-issue monolith scared of the big bad Muslim.
October 22, 2025 at 2:41 PM
There is a full-on push in NYC right now to use "Mamdani doesn't make Jews 'feel safe'" as a cudgel to get Cuomo into office, and it is utterly disgusting. You know what makes me feel unsafe? People who casually characterize us as a trembling single-issue monolith scared of the big bad Muslim.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
October 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
I did it because the government isn’t.
This is what I found.
C.Bigsby's 2-volume bio of #BOTD Arthur Miller remains definitive but J.Lahr's new one is a valuable starting point for more concise reading. Was glad to review it for @americantheatre.org last year. Lahr has a great storyof visiting Miller in the 70s... 1/2
www.americantheatre.org/2023/01/30/t...
www.americantheatre.org/2023/01/30/t...
October 17, 2025 at 5:53 PM
C.Bigsby's 2-volume bio of #BOTD Arthur Miller remains definitive but J.Lahr's new one is a valuable starting point for more concise reading. Was glad to review it for @americantheatre.org last year. Lahr has a great storyof visiting Miller in the 70s... 1/2
www.americantheatre.org/2023/01/30/t...
www.americantheatre.org/2023/01/30/t...
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
NEW: The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did.
We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.
We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 16, 2025 at 4:01 PM
NEW: The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did.
We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.
We found more than 170 such incidents since the start of the second Trump administration. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer.
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
I'm sure this is true in many fields of writing, but: The easiest way to write a big attention-getting piece on some area of culture is if you don't know enough about it to know how many of your impressive, sweeping statements about it are wrong
October 16, 2025 at 12:34 PM
I'm sure this is true in many fields of writing, but: The easiest way to write a big attention-getting piece on some area of culture is if you don't know enough about it to know how many of your impressive, sweeping statements about it are wrong
Reposted by Garrett Eisler
