A Zulu Soap Opera Just Out-Streamed Hollywood. Pay Attention.
“The Polygamist” is a Zulu-language drama out of South Africa that racked up 23 million views and nearly 160 million hours watched worldwide in a month. Hollywood should be taking notes, not comfort.
Spain Won the World Cup. Nobody’s Talking About What It Cost to Get There.
Spain beat Argentina 1-0 to complete the first men’s-and-women’s World Cup double in history. The scoreline is the least interesting part of the story.
The Masculinity Debate Isn’t About Vibes. It’s About Work.
The Atlantic says the “manly man” is back in Democratic politics. The Federalist says that’s backwards. Both are arguing about a version of masculinity that never included the men I grew up around.
He Came Home From War Broken. Here’s How Grace Rebuilt Him.
“I came home from war and I lost more than I lost in it,” Hart says in the latest episode of his show, Transform U: Veteran Stories. He is candid about what followed: PTSD, an inability to hold onto the job he’d counted on, and years of choices he says he still isn’t proud of. […]
Everybody Suddenly Cares About Corruption. Convenient Timing.
Democrats are pushing anti-corruption reform as a check on the administration while Congress hauls Anthony Fauci back for a COVID-19 accountability hearing. Marcus Hart on why real accountability can’t be selective — or seasonal.
Churches Are Becoming “Democracy Hubs.” Here’s the Question Nobody’s Asking Yet.
Faith leaders across Minnesota and beyond are turning houses of worship into “democracy hubs” ahead of the midterms. Marcus Hart on why the impulse is right and the execution needs guardrails.
“Play Your Sport” Is Bad Advice, and Vance Should Know Better
JD Vance told Olympic athletes to “play your sport” instead of commenting on America’s political climate. Marcus Hart on why that’s a talking point, not a principle — and why sports have never once been separate from politics.
We Keep Calling It Awareness Month. Black Men Are Calling It Survival.
July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and the data on Black men is getting worse, not better. Marcus Hart on why naming the crisis isn’t the same as building the off-ramp.
Wisconsin’s Commutation Board Gets Its First Real Test — And Milwaukee Is Watching
Five people with Milwaukee ties go before Wisconsin’s reestablished Commutation Advisory Board in August — the first real test of whether the state’s redemption machinery can actually move. Marcus Hart on what’s at stake beyond the hearing room.
Reality TV Built an Empire on Black Talent. Who’s Protecting the Talent?
Allegations against Zeus Network CEO Lemuel Plummer by “Baddies” alum Jadynn Brown reopen a question the reality TV boom keeps avoiding — who’s responsible for cast welfare when the platform is Black-owned but the power imbalance is the same as anywhere else. Marcus Hart on accountability without torching the platforms that finally gave Black creators control.