The Latest In The Middle East As Israeli Hammers The Gaza Strip
Israeli warplanes hammered the Gaza Strip neighborhood by neighborhood on Tuesday, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety in the tiny, sealed-off territory as Israel vowed a retaliation for Hamas’ surprise weekend attack that would “reverberate ... for generations.”
Aid organizations pleaded for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get aid into Gaza, warning that hospitals overwhelmed with wounded were running out of supplies. Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicines into Gaza, and the sole remaining access from Egypt shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing. The war began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on Saturday, bringing gunbattles to its streets for the first time in decades.
The attack by Hamas militants on Saturday, killed more than 900 people. Since then, Palestinian health officials say at least 680 people in Gaza have been killed by Israeli strikes. Thousands more on both sides have been wounded.
Israel says Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza hold more than 150 soldiers and civilians hostage. The conflict is only expected to escalate. Joining to detail the latest is Nabih Bulos, Middle East bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.
How Regional Theaters Are Working Together To Solve Financial Woes And Win Back Audiences
The pandemic hit America’s regional theatres hard, and audiences haven’t yet rebounded to pre-Covid numbers. Here in Los Angeles, Center Theatre Group announced it would be laying off about 10% of its staff and pausing programming at one of its venues, the Mark Taper Forum. But the problem is national: cuts have been made at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and the Public Theatre in New York, and institutions like The Oregon Shakespeare Festival are in serious financial peril. Recently, theatre makers from across the country went to Washington to petition leaders to pass the Supporting Theater and Generating Economic Activity Act (STAGE Act) which would provide 2.5 billion dollars of relief over five years to stages across the country. How was this idea received in Washington? And how are theatres banding together to get through this challenging time? Joining us to discuss are Snehal Desai, artistic director of Center Theatre Group and Danny Feldman, producing artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse.
Ad-Based Streaming Services Are Growing In Interest, What’s Leading To This Transition?
It’s been more than a decade ago since Netflix came to popularity, not only being a service that’d allow you to stream your favorite shows but doing so without advertisements blocking your viewing experience. Since then, the streaming landscape has grown significantly in its size, but with a much different look. You have tiered viewing experiences, like with Hulu and Peacock, where folks can pay a premium fee to get no advertisements or a reduced rate that sprinkles them into what you’re streaming. This also comes at a time where “free,” ad-based services like Tubi are growing their user bases and interest with viewers; Tubi itself had reportedly reached 74 million active users in September. So what’s driving the growing interest in ad-based services and how are advertisers making sense of this new advent in streaming.
Joining us to discuss the growing interest in ad-based streaming is Peter Kafka, Vox senior correspondent and host of the Recode Media podcast, and Beth Egan, associate professor of advertising at Syracuse University.
