Columns

Columns

Tales from the T: The cooler Green Line

By Kevin Zhang | April 15

The Mattapan trolley, known to its friends as the M Line and to its mother as the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, is quite the quirky (insert sparkle emoji) little line. Shuttling between Ashmont and Mattapan, it’s part of the Red Line, but runs streetcars (trolleys) instead of subway trains. And these aren’t the Green Line’s modern streetcars, but PCC streetcars, a revolutionary 1930s-era model whose innovative, reliable engineering made it a mainstay on streetcar lines across the globe. 

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A Fantastic Voyage: 'The Future Foundation'

By Drew Weisberg | April 15

The story opens with Reed Richards speaking at a “TED Talk” analog at “Singularity 2010,” which seems to be going well until Reed seems to go off-script. He begins to berate his fellow scientists, proclaiming, “You fear tomorrow.” As such, Reed decides to form the eponymous “Future Foundation”: a collection of young and brilliant minds from around the Marvel universe to solve the problems of the "tomorrow" that his colleagues supposedly fear.

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Columns

3-Point Play: Play-in viability, injury updates and new Timberwolves ownership

By Matt Chen | April 15

As we enter the final month of the NBA’s regular season, the fourth through 10th seeds of the Eastern Conference remain in flux while the league’s elites have established themselves as the teams to beat in this year’s playoffs. However, injuries to key contributors on contenders threaten playoff and championship hopes for many teams, the new play-in tournament has fallen under scrutiny and one team is soon to be under new ownership.

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Columns

Coffee Talk: Dewick MacPhie Dining Center

By Casey Cummings | April 14

In wake of the pandemic, Dewick has undergone some changes. Some of the things I miss the most include the cereal section, the toast and panini bar, the soft serve machine and of course, Sundae Sundays. However, some changes that the dining hall has implemented have been pretty fun. Here are some of my favorite things from Dewick.

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Columns

Long Shot: JJ Redick and ThreeFourTwo Productions

By Samuel Charlton | April 14

Over the past four years or so of running his podcast and interviewing people from NBA stars to presidential candidates, Redick fell in love with podcasting as a creative medium but felt that his endeavors were always somewhat lacking from the business end. He began to realize during the early months of 2020 that he didn’t own the most valuable assets of his show, the concept and the intellectual property behind the show.

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Cartoon

Comfort Cartoons: Secretive and supernatural 'Gravity Falls'

By Christopher Panella | April 14

The detailed storytelling and funny characters of “Gravity Falls” are perfect for audience investment, and the show’s been graced with a dedicated fan base whose members have studied the episodes’ countless clues and teasers. My earliest experience as a fan of “Gravity Falls” came when watching the episode “Summerween.”

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Columns

Olympic Torch: The torch must be lit in Tokyo

By Arnav Sacheti | April 14

The Japanese government has spent $15.4 billion on this Olympics — more than has been spent on any other Summer Games in history. Postponement costs alone account for 22% of the budget, such as renegotiating new stadium and TV deals. This is more than double what Japan initially planned for when it took on the job for the 2020 games back in 2013. If Japan backs out now, it stands to lose out on not only publicity for the country but a lot of revenue as well.

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Columns

The Honeymoon Period: Joe Manchin’s ridiculous defense of the filibuster

By Matt Rice | April 14

The Senate has always been and will always be a body that wildly overrepresents the interests of white, rural voters who skew more conservative. Despite this fact, Sen. Manchin believes Republican senators have a right to unilaterally obstruct Senate business. Democrats won control of the White House, the U.S. House and the Senate in just four years — for the first time since 1932 — and Manchin still will not relieve McConnell of his veto power. 

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Columns

Tuff Talks: Prospective students

By Jenny Lu | April 12

Dear J: Tufts is one of the schools to which I was accepted. I enjoyed the campus tour but I'm unsure about what decision to make. I hear a lot of rumors about every school. And as for Tufts, I've heard especially about the quirky culture and whatnot. Is it true? Will I fit in?

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Columns

Hot Take: 'Community' is a masterclass in character writing

By Derin Savasan | April 12

After being pressured to watch it for years, I finally caved in and started “Community” (2009–15). I must say: I now get why people like it so much. I mean, how could you not? You have these seven characters who couldn’t be more different from one another, trying to push their way through community college as a group. It’s basically an invitation for mayhem.

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Columns

Wonder Women: Jessie Diggins

By Nicole Setow | April 9

This week, we’re celebrating a series of firsts: the first American to medal four times at the FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Championships, the first U.S. athlete to win the cross-country Tour de Ski and the first American woman to take home the FIS Cross-Country Ski World Cup. Remarkably, all of these accomplishments can be attributed to one athlete: cross-country skier Jessie Diggins.

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Columns

Soundtrack to the end of the world: Bringing the nightclub to my bedroom

By Christopher Panella and Jessica Blough | April 9

There’s something euphoric about dance music’s pounding beats and explosive drops. It’s a sort of catharsis, an exchange of energy — I think that’s especially true when we dance with others. Dancing alone this past year hasn’t felt the same. But post-pandemic, I’m excited for the empathy, love, excitement and power that comes from anyone and everyone’s enjoying dance music. With each song, we’ll be celebrating.

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Beyond the Underneath: Vinyl survival, Part 1

By Ramona Meng Xi | April 8

Despite a vinyl revival in recent years, classic vinyl records are still deemed obsolete in the mainstream, as modern technologies and the digital world sift them out. But they are still there, lining up quietly and unyieldingly, in boxes organized by genre, protected and loved by a small population of firm supporters. 

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Columns

Tales from the T: Forever 'neath the streets

By Kevin Zhang | April 8

What do CharlieCards, burlesque and the second coming of Christ have in common? In this week’s column: Government Center station, Charlie's backstory and the monstrosity that is Boston City Hall.

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Columns

Democracy in The Daily: It's more than just votes

By Brendan Hartnett | April 8

Perhaps these efforts put forth by Republican state legislatures will not limit Democratic turnout — though their redistricting efforts will certainly reward Republicans with more seats in the House. Yet the principle driving these bills must be feared. Democracies require tolerance for the opposition. This has clearly died. What is holding U.S. democracy on its last leg is forbearance. 

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Columns

In the Paint: The NBA is not exciting right now

By Jenny Lu | April 8

Aside from injuries and load management, COVID-19 has also played a part in a less exciting season. More than 30 games were postponed this season and countless players have missed games due to contracting COVID-19 or contact tracing. Although these issues are understandable, the league could have taken more preventative measures, such as canceling the All-Star Game. 

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Columns

The Strike Zone: Solidarity and human rights in Colombia

By Eli Striker | April 7

The Colombian military has long felt animosity toward Colombian non-governmental organizations, which they associate with leftist groups, and believes that human rights NGOs weaponize media and technology to unfairly scapegoat the military for the two-sided civil war. This mutual animosity has led to decades of human rights violations, as both groups vilify the other and justify violence against the opposite party.

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Columns

Comfort Cartoons: Mature and electrifying 'Static Shock'

By Christopher Panella | April 7

This week, we’re looking at “Static Shock” (2000–04), an influential animated series following Virgil Hawkins, a 14-year-old boy who fights crime as “Static,” a superhero with electromagnetic powers. The show is another installment in the DC Animated Universe, premiering before the culminations of the DCAU, “Justice League” (2001–04) and “Justice League Unlimited” (2004–06).

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Columns

Off the Gridiron: Justin Fields is the No. 2 QB

By Henry Gorelik | April 7

NFL Network called it “the throw of the pro day season.” There was one particular throw in Zach Wilson’s pro day that stood out to NFL scouts and Twitter alike. "The throw" had the former Brigham Young quarterback in a sprint right bootleg, rolling toward the left hash and hitting receiver Aleva Hifo in-stride 60 yards downfield, as Wilson was still drifting to his left. But when former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields made a nearly identical throw in his pro day several days after Wilson, the NFL media was silent.

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Columns

Coffee Talk: Cafe Luna

By Casey Cummings | April 7

While I was feeling quite safe eating at Cafe Luna, I was also very excited about the menu. As a huge fan of sweet breakfasts, I was immediately drawn to the waffles, french toast and pancakes. Among this section of the menu were Nutella stuffed with strawberries waffles, caramelized bananas and pecans french toast and pancakes topped with cookie butter. The menu also had all the breakfast classics.

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