Hayden Panettiere Making Faces At a Baby and the Best Things You'll Read All Week

by Ben Howard

Reads of the Week

1) Damsel, Arise: A Westboro Scion Leaves Her Church by Jeff Chu
"To some, this story might seem simple—even overly so. But we all have moments of epiphany, when things that are plate-glass clear to others but opaque to us suddenly become apparent. This was, for Megan, one of those moments, and this window led to another and another and another."

2) Beyonce and the Bigger Question by Bo Sanders
"Now you can see why I am not interested in talking about whether Beyoncé should have had more clothes on, should have gyrated less or is a model for taking back one’s physicality in the face of generations of oppression and marginalization."

3) N*ggas at the Grammys (Kanye and Jay-Z) by Paul Scott
"So while some will be proud of the fact that 24 years later, Hip hop can proudly boast that it has produced the first N*gga song that could possibly win a Grammy, other Black folks, like myself, look upon the possibility with utter disgust."

4) End Homophobia in Professional Sports by Brendon Ayanbadejo
"At its best, sports do not discriminate. If you are young or old, tall or short, male or female, gay or straight, all that really matters is how well you play and contribute to your team."

5) A Defiant Dance of Power, Not Sex: Beyonce, the Super Bowl and Durga by David R. Henson
"Because Beyoncé’s performance Sunday night in New Orleans wasn’t about sex. It was about power, and Beyoncé had it in spades. In fact, her show was one of the most compelling, embodied and prophetic statements of female power I have seen on mainstream television."

Honorable Mention

White Evangelical Gatekeeping: A Particularly Ugly Example in Real Time by Fred Clark

The Beautiful by Richard Beck

Lessons from the Seder: The Belief of Memory in the Communion Story by Krista Dalton

Line of the Week

"Drakes new song 'Started From the Bottom' is the best song out about getting your start on a wildly successful Canadian show for tweens." via @johnthorntonjr on Twitter.

On Pop Theology Week in Review

Review: PregMANcy by Christian Piatt
Don't have kids and don't know if I want kids, but I loved this book about being a dad.

Beyonce Is Who We Thought She Was
If you feel like you've heard this conversation before, you have.

Mothers, Don't Let Your Sons Grow Up To Be In A Tarantino Movies
Why do the characters in Reservoir Dogs do bad things? Maybe because their mothers didn't love them. Or maybe not.

The Naked and The Nude: The Super Bowl, Beyonce and Power
A thoughtful exploration of the power dynamics involved in America's favorite corporate event.

An Open Letter and An Invitation
Remember that time I got all earnest and gave everyone a group hug? 'Cause it's happening right now.

Song of the Week

"State Run Radio" by Lupe Fiasco feat. Matt Mahaffey

Peace,
Ben

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