Ned Gallagher:
What I’m Up To
Spring Break 2026
“Spring drew on ... and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night.”
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Venturing South
The Spring Break tradition is one I am well accustomed to at this point, having lived exclusively on an academic calendar since I was about 5 years old. Though there was no team trip this March around which to build my vacation plans, I nonetheless scheduled some time to South Florida in the hopes of some pleasant weather after an unusually harsh New England winter. Turned out my visit to the Sunshine State was dominated by clouds and rain—including a washout the day I spent at Hard Rock Stadium with the intent of catching some Miami Open tennis matches in person—but at least it was warm. I did enjoy a leisurely morning routine, plenty of reading, watching some films and shows, a smattering of online classes, and catching up with some friends. Not a bed getaway!
What I’m Reading
Working On Now:
- Cass Sunstein, On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom
- Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean
Recently Finished:
- Paul Fischer, The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg―and the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema
- Walter Isaacson, The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
- Steve Berry, The Devil’s Bible
- William Fuller, Signal Flow
On Deck:
- James Traub, The Cradle of Citizenship: How Schools Can Help Save Our Democracy
- Martin Buber, I and Thou
- Stacy Schiff, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America
For Courses I’m Taking This Spring:
- Ovid, Metamorphoses
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
- The Bible
- The Qur’an
- Brannon M. Wheeler, Prophets in the Qur’an: An Introduction to the Qur’an and Muslim Exegesis
- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
- William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses
- W.E.B. Dubois, The Souls of Black Folk
- José Ortega y Gasset, The Revolt of the Masses
- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
- Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind
For Courses I’m Teaching This Spring:
- Bernard Schwartz, A History of the Supreme Court
- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
- Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
- Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun
What I’m Watching
Ongoing—Television:
- coverage of the Miami Open (Tennis Channel, Tennis TV)
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, season 2 (Apple TV)
- Rooster (HBO Max)
- The Expanse, seasons 2–6 (Prime Video)
- Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat (Prime Video)
- Task (HBO Max)
Recently Finished—Television:
- Young Sherlock (Prime Video)
- The Night Agent, season 3 (Netflix)
- Bookish, season 1 (PBS Passport)
- coverage of the BNP Parian’s Open (Tennis Channel, Tennis TV)
On Deck—Television:
- For All Mankind, season 5 (Apple TV)
- Paradise, season 2 (Hulu)
- Daredevil: Born Again, season 2 (Disney+)
- Criminal Record, season 2 (Apple TV)
- The Boys, season 5 (Prime Video)
- Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord (Disney+)
- Fallout, seasons 1 & 2 (Prime Video)
Recently Finished—Films:
- Project Hail Mary (d. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2026), cinema
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (d. Quentin Tarantino, 2019), streamed on iTunes
- Retirement Plan (d. John Kelly, 2024), streamed on newyorker.com
- Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere (d. Adrian Choa, 2026), streamed on Netflix
- Man on the Run (d. Morgan Neville, 2025), streamed on Prime Video
- Wag the Dog (d. Barry Levinson, 1997), streamed on iTunes
- V For Vendetta (d. James MeTeigue, 2005), streamed on iTunes
- Adaptation (d. Spike Jonze, 2002), streamed on Tubi
- Barton Fink (d. Joel Cohen, 1991), streamed on Criterion Channel
- Ed Wood (d. Tim Burton, 1994), streamed on iTunes
- Bowfinger (d. Frank Oz, 1999), streamed on iTunes
- Being There (d. Hal Ashby, 1979), streamed on iTunes
- 30 for 30: The Philly Special (d. Angela Zender & Shannon Furman, 2026), streamed on Hulu
- Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (d. Robert Drew, 1963), streamed on Kanopy
- The Big Knife (d. Robert Aldrich, 1955), streamed on Tubi
- In A Lonely Place (d. Nicholas Ray, 1951), streamed on Tubi
- Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (d. Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, 2026), streamed on HBO Max
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (d. Robert Aldrich, 1962), streamed on iTunes
- The Bad and the Beautiful (d. Vincente Minnelli, 1952), streamed on Tubi
- A Star Is Born (d. William A. Wellman, 1937), streamed on Prime Video
- The Choral (d. Nicholas Hytner, 2025), cinema
- Marty Supreme (d. Josh Safdie, 2025), cinema
- Bombshell (d. Victor Fleming, 1933), streamed on iTunes
- Is This Thing On? (d. Bradley Cooper, 2025), cinema
What I’m Listening To
Music:
- U2, Days of Ash EP
Podcasts:
- Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman
What I’ve Been Attending
- ”New Insights into the Hebrew Bible” conference, online, March
- Miami Open tennis tournament, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL, March
- The Cloisters, New York City, March
- Brandywine Museum, Chadds Ford, PA, March
- Teaching America History webinar: “The Progressive Critique of the Declaration of Independence,” online, March
- Independence Hall tour, Philadelphia, PA, March
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Metropolitan Opera, New York, NY, February
- The Tragedy of Coriolanus, Theatre for a New Audience, Brooklyn, NY, February
- Teaching America History webinar: “1776 and Beyond: Understanding the Declaration Through American History,” online, January
Where I’m Traveling
Recent Trips:
Upcoming Trips:
What I’m Learning
What I’m Looking Forward To