‘Between Two Moons’: A Love Letter to Arab and Muslim Communities, by Aisha Abdel Gawad

Aisha Abdel Gawad calls her first novel, Between Two Moons, “a love letter to Arab and Muslim communities.” The story centers around the Brooklyn, New York-based Emam family, American-born twins Amira and Lina, their older brother Sami, and their parents, Mariam and Kareem. 

It’s an emotionally rich and revelatory portrait, set in a post 9-11 world that is still feeling the aftershocks of that unprecedented attack. But despite this grim overlay, humor and joy exist in the struggles Gawad documents.

In Film ‘Miranda’s Victim,’ Michelle Danner Explores the Right to Speak Up and the Right to Remain Silent

True crime films about rape have been told—and retold. And yet, veteran director Michelle Danner discovered a story that had never been depicted on screen.

Her film Miranda’s Victim tells the story of Patricia Weir who, against the odds, brought Ernesto Miranda, her abductor and rapist to trial. But after his conviction in 1963, Miranda’s lawyer sought to overturn his case, stating that the evidence against him had been obtained under duress—and Miranda was uninformed about his right to remain silent. Ultimately, this case led to the “Miranda’s warning”—the legal requirement for the police to read someone their rights upon arrest. And, as the film shows, it protects the innocent—as well as the guilty.

Gender, Corruption and Unbridled Power in Prime Series ‘The Power’: The Ms. Q&A With Naomi Alderman

Written by Naomi Alderman and adapted into a TV series for Prime Video, The Power asks a deceptively simple question: What would happen if, overnight, girls and some women worldwide gained the ability to administer electric shocks at will?

Ms. spoke with Naomi Alderman about her novel and how she sees its television adaptation resonating in the years since the book’s initial release.

Josh Hawley’s New Book on Manhood Is Wrong on Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Ideas about men and manhood have been evolving for more than 50 years, but Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has not gotten the message. His new book, Manhood: Finding Purpose in Faith, Family, and Country ignores the realities of today’s men—more and more of whom are abandoning traditional expressions of masculine culture. Support among younger men for women’s reproductive rights, for gay and trans rights, for voting rights, is especially on the rise.

Fifty years ago, Hawley may have sold a lot of books. Today, I’m betting they’ll be remaindered by the Fourth of July.

Are You There, God? My Nude Photos Are All Over the Internet.

Slut-shaming has become more rampant and acceptable than ever before in our surveillance-saturated culture. Lacking privacy, we are denied dignity.

By normalizing the behavior of pre-adolescent girls obsessed with sexuality that they don’t yet comprehend, Are You There God? is an excellent reminder that girls—like all of us—need space to act foolishly, sometimes cruelly and then grow up—without being treated like a sexual object and without the whole world knowing all about it.

Black Mamas Reclaim Their Space in Reproductive Justice

Forward Together’s 13th annual Mamas Day campaign “Black Mamas Reclaiming their Space in the Reproductive Justice Movement,” celebrates Black mamahood and the Black mamas who continue to push the work forward—since Black mamas are the founders of the reproductive justice framework and are the foundation of our movement.

Visit MamasDay.org to send a card to the mamas in your life.