Weather Report #18: A fast-paced sci-fi novel about a future cult, an ultra-violent yakuza film, and more

Good morning, dear reader! Welcome to your Weather Report, a weekly roundup column of media and news for paid subscribers.

Just so you know, I'm experimenting with how the newsletter is ordered under the paywall this week from "book > movie > news > music" to "reading > watching > listening" just to see if I like it more.

Here's what you're getting this week:

1. A TikTok video about my immigration enforcement reporting + an article I helped out with.
2. A fast-paced sci-fi novel about a creepy, future cult.
3. Essays, articles, and columns about: Zohran Mamdani's win in New York, ICE's detention centers, psychosis through AI, U.S. attacks on Iran, collapse, and a politician's stock.
4. An ultra-violent yakuza film perfect for fans of the The Godfather or Goodfellas.
5. Three songs I listened to while putting this Weather Report together.

If you're interested in seeing the recommendations – and supporting Heavy Weather's quest to keep tabs on collapse – you can become a paid subscriber by clicking the button below. If you want a preview of what the Weather Report looks like, check out this post. Paid subscribers get access to the MEDIA LIST, a comprehensive list of every book, movie, and video game I've ever recommended. If you're already a paid subscriber, thank you very much! This newsletter would literally not be possible without your support.

What I Did This Week:

I recorded a little TikTok for The Latino Newsletter covering my last story for our four-part series on immigration. You can find the written story here. Both the story and the video focus on the experiences that migrants have had while in immigration detention, and their continued fears as the Trump administration continues it's crackdown on anyone they deem an undesirable.

This story by Isabelle Senechal for friend of the newsletter 9 Millones was the first time I've worked as a "fixer" in any capacity that isn't just double-checking an American friend's story about Puerto Rico. It was honestly pretty cool and fun experience. Most of what I did was just real-time translation during interviews, and then translating the transcript (which took much, much longer than I ever thought it would). The story is pretty good and covers something that is very underreported in English-language media.

“Peace is possible”: How a program in Loíza is transforming community | 9 millones

Taller Salud’s peacebuilding initiative has been disrupting violence and fostering reconciliation in Loíza for thirteen years

9 millonesBy:Isabelle Senechal

That's it for this week's free stuff. If you want to see the media recommendations and the link roundup, you can become a paid subscriber today.