On the 12/21/22 edition of Dr. Andy’s Poetry and Technology Hour:
Entertainment and culture writer Oliver Jones joins us from Los Angeles to share movie reviewer wisdom, including his top films of the year. Former Davis city councilman Stephen Souza brings vacation news from Hawaii, political news about a struggling Ukraine, and a special winter solstice poem. Finally, continuing a December tradition, Dr. Andy reads two holiday poems.
Oliver Jones has spent the past 20 plus years writing about culture, social justice and breaking news for top magazines and websites. As a staff writer for People magazine for a decade, he wrote about some of the defining social issues of our time, including gays and lesbians in the highest ranks of the military, LGBTQ life in the American heartland, and the crisis of African-American violence in L.A. Originally trained as a culture journalist (he’s covered over a dozen Oscar shows), he is equally adept in the world of social justice, covering topics like the failed drug war, the fight for fifteen, and America's education crisis for the Daily Beast, Yahoo!, and others. He is also a film and music critic and writes extensively about art institutions, including the Getty and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. In addition to his work as a writer, he is a journalism professor at Emerson College, where he teaches social justice and entertainment journalism. Find Oliver’s recent review of 15 momentous 2022 films here.
Steven Souza was a member of the Davis City Council from 2004 to 2012. He is a lifelong California resident, and a Davis resident since 1979. He graduated from CSU Sacramento with a BA in government. Since 1975, Souza has been a small business owner, and is currently the owner of Ultra Clean Pool Service. He has done extensive civic service and participated in a great number of volunteer opportunities, having served as Yolo County LAFCO City Member, Yolo Natural Heritage Program Vice Chair, Davis Recreation and Park Commission Chair, Davis Human Relations Commission Chair, Davis Finance and Budget Commission officer, Street Tree Commission officer, DCTV Board of Directors and Chair, DCTV Board of Directors and Chair, and Davis Democratic Club president.
Three of the favorite films of film critic Oliver Jones:
The Quiet Girl (2022): In 1981 rural Ireland, a quiet, neglected girl is sent away from her dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer.
Broker (2022): Boxes are left out for people to anonymously drop off their unwanted babies.
Aftersun (2022): Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier.
Allegra Silberstein will read with Jean Biegun at the Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis on January 5th, 2023.
Happy holidays from Dr. Andy and producer Katerina Hanks!
Find out more about Dr. Andy's Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis, California by visiting http://www.poetryindavis.com. Invite your friends to sign up for the mailing list. To learn more about Dr. Andy’s tiny media fiefdom, visit his weekly newsletter at https://andyjones.substack.com and follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andyojones.