The Week Evening Review
Harris' uphill battle, Tesla's financial trouble, and Ukraine's thriving book industry

 
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

Can a divided country elect precedent-setting Harris?

If Vice President Kamala Harris gets the nomination to replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket, she will rack up an unprecedented number of firsts. And these firsts present an uphill battle for Harris. 

The child of immigrant parents, Harris would be the first Black and Asian American presidential candidate. She would also be the first nominee in an interracial marriage. Unfortunately, all of these facets of her identity have become fodder for racist and sexist personal attacks. Is it possible for Harris to persist in this polarized environment and snag a historic win?

What did the commentators say?
If Harris is nominated, it will be a "remarkable first for this country," said Martha Johnson, an associate professor of government at Northeastern University. However, research shows evidence of "sexism and racism in American politics both explicit and purposeful and more subtle, for example, in media coverage," and women of color are often targeted. In down-ticket elections, voters "don't appear to discriminate strongly against women once they are on the ballot and have the full backing of their party and donors." But that may be different for a presidential election, she said, alluding to the misogyny and sexism Hillary Clinton faced. 

By choosing Harris, Democrats are "giving themselves the best chance to counter the Republican effort," Charles Blow said at The New York Times. "Skipping over her would have been politically catastrophic." With the abuse she faces due to her identity, her line of defense "has to be a political force far broader than the Black community," because her candidacy "represents nothing less than the preservation of our constitutional order." Democrats must recognize that by pushing for Biden's exit, they are "now responsible for Harris' success," Blow said. "Trading Biden for Harris is too big of a gamble to be allowed to fail."

What next?
Republican leaders have taken note of the discriminatory attacks being lobbed at Harris by some in their party. At a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday, National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) urged lawmakers to stick to criticizing Harris for her role in the Biden administration. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said to reporters after the meeting, "This election will be about policies and not personalities."

 
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY

'If taking the top of my finger was the price I had to pay, that's what I would do.'

Australian field hockey player Matt Dawson on his decision to amputate part of a broken finger to compete at the Paris Olympics

 
 
talking points

Is Tesla finally in real financial trouble?

While peaks and valleys are common for any company, particularly one in a still-relatively cutting-edge field like Tesla, observers and analysts are split on whether the automaker now faces serious financial threats after dominating its field for so long. 

'Short-term issue'
Tesla's recent struggles with electric vehicles (EVs) represent the natural crowding of a field in which the company was, at one time, the sole major player. To that end, CEO Elon Musk "disparaged the quality of EVs from other automakers now in the market" to Tesla investors after last week's disappointing earnings statement, CNN said. Ultimately, Musk expressed that the market crowding "posed only a short-term issue for Tesla, not a long-term issue."

Tesla "remains very well positioned longer term," said Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro to Market Insider. The company's robotaxi projects and fully autonomous driving vehicles mean it is teed up for "robust multiyear growth" for the next several years. 

'Investors are right to be confused. And nervous.'
This was Tesla's "second straight quarter of year-over-year sales declines for the company" and its "first-ever consecutive quarters of declining sales volume," CNN said. The only precedent for this type of decline for Tesla "came early in the pandemic, when stay-at-home orders forced its factories to close."

Musk "stammered throughout the Tesla earnings conference call" last week and said he would be "shocked" if full, unsupervised full-self driving did not happen this year, Investor's Business Daily said. Musk "has said for almost a decade that full autonomy would likely happen 'this year.'" Musk's robotaxi initiative "relies on self-driving technology Musk has long promised but repeatedly failed to deliver," said Motortrend this past spring. 

Previous successes notwithstanding, Tesla's road ahead "looks littered with potholes" to the point where "investors are right to be confused. And nervous." For as much as there is much "talk about robotaxis, humanoid robots and autonomous driving" — all things which provide an "exciting narrative for investors" — the fact remains that these are "tomorrow's potential riches," AJ Bell analyst Dan Coatsworth said to Reuters. "Not today's."

 
 

Statistic of the day

$38.5M: The money "Deadpool & Wolverine" made in Thursday night box office previews. This broke the record for the most money ever made by an R-rated movie in Thursday previews, previously held by the last installment in the franchise, "Deadpool 2," which made $18.6 million. 
The Associated Press

 
 
the explainer

How the war in Ukraine is affecting the country's books

A war zone might not seem like the place to start a new business, but bookstores are doing exactly that in Ukraine. Despite Russia's continued deadly assault on the country, Ukraine's bookselling industry is doing better than ever. 

How big is Ukraine's bookselling industry?
The country's publishing industry has "thrived even as Kharkiv," where about 80% of Ukraine's books are printed, has "been under constant attack since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022," said NPR. Major bookstore chains have "opened dozens of new stores in the past year alone," and independent bookstores are "thriving," the Ukrainian Book Institute (UBI) said to NPR. Knyharnia Ye, Ukraine's largest bookstore chain, currently has 57 stores, and the "plan for 2024 is 43 more," said Forbes Ukraine. In all, there were 461 bookstores in Ukraine as of February 2024, according to the UBI. 

How is it surviving?
With "all the power cuts, when there's no electricity or internet, books are even more popular. People read them by flashlight or candlelight and escape into another world," Artem Litvinets, the editor-in-chief of Ukrainian publishing house Vivat, said to NPR. Ukrainian works have become more popular; "since the war, there's this interest in everything Ukrainian, and that includes Ukrainian literature." At Sens, Ukraine's largest bookstore in Kyiv, publishing companies had "stopped producing Russian language titles. All of the volumes on sale were in Ukrainian," said The Guardian. 

Immediately after Russia's invasion in 2022, there was a "literary boom." People "want to live their normal lives. Books help them to chill a bit. We are not stopping culture right now. It continues," Oleksii Erinchak, the owner of Sens, said to The Guardian.

How is Russia targeting Ukraine's books? 
Russian forces have been working to slow Ukraine's publishing industry. A May 23 attack on Kharkiv's Faktor Druk printing house "destroyed over 50,000 books and printing equipment. It also killed seven employees," said The Kyiv Independent. While Ukraine's books are still surviving, the publishing industry has "nonetheless suffered from the war and the destruction of Faktor Druk, accounting for 30% of Ukraine's printing market."

 
 

Good day ??‍♀️

… for Simone Biles. The seven-time Olympic medalist pushed through a calf injury in her left leg to dominate during qualifying with the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. U.S. coach Cecile Landi said Biles' injury was minor and had been bothering her for a couple of weeks, and there were no plans to sideline her. The injury "hardly slowed her down" as she "posted the highest score on floor and vault, both after the injury," The Associated Press said.

 
 

Bad day ?️

… for Venice gondoliers. The city's 433 gondoliers will have to compete with Uber for fares after the ride-sharing app launched a motorboat taxi service in the waterways. Prices for an Uber "limo boat," which seats six people, start at $150. "Adding new boats will make work difficult, if not impossible," said Andrea Balbi, the president of the Associazione Gondolieri di Venezia, said to The Times.

 
 
Picture of the day

Puppy love

Two French bulldogs, Luna and Francuz, attended their wedding at Inclusive Barista in Warsaw. The coffee shop is operated by exiled Belarusian disability rights activist Sasha Avdevich and is Poland's first cafe with a workspace fully adapted for employees in wheelchairs.
Sergei Gapon / AFP via Getty Images

 
 
Puzzles

Test your general knowledge with The Week's daily crossword, part of our puzzles section, which also includes sudoku and codewords

 
 
The Week recommends

Is it hot enough for ya? Now is prime time to luxuriate in front of your AC while binge-watching these new August shows. Most of this month's releases expose the seedy underbelly of something: Hollywood's racism, Florida crime or all-powerful gods. 

'Hollywood Black' (August 11)
This four-part docuseries, directed by Justin Simien, is based on a book by renowned historian Donald Bogle. Bogle is best known for his "pioneering work chronicling African American performers' history and their roles in Hollywood," said BET. The series provides a "critical reexamination of a quintessentially American story," said the series description. (MGM+)

'Bad Monkey' (August 14)
Summer is the perfect season for a silly crime romp set in the swampy Sunshine State. "Bad Monkey" stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, who has been "bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Keys," said the series description. "But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he'll be back in." (Apple TV+)

'Kaos' (August 29)
Have a hankering for some Greek mythology mixed with modern-day excess? Charlie Covell, the creator of Netflix's "The End of the F***ing World," has you covered. His new series, "Kaos," stars cool guy Jeff Goldblum as the almighty Zeus. (Who else?) "My character is complicated and charismatic, not to mention cruel," Goldblum said to Netflix's Tudum. Charlie Covell's writing "leapt off the page and struck my gizzard like a lightning bolt." (Netflix)

 
 

Poll watch

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) is the most popular of the candidates being touted as a possible running mate for Kamala Harris. In an ABC/Ipsos poll of 1,200 Americans, 22% had a favorable view of the former astronaut, compared to 12% who were unfavorable. More worryingly for Democratic strategists, however, is that only two of the leading contenders — Pete Buttigieg and Gavin Newsom — were familiar to more than 50% of respondents.

 
 
INSTANT OPINION

Today's best commentary

'This is the world we live in now. Get used to it.'
Nesrine Malik at The Guardian
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's standing ovation from U.S. Congress last week ushered in a "new phase of the war in Gaza — one in which it is not only tolerated as an unfortunate necessity but is seen as something for which unquestionable support will continue," says Nesrine Malik. This "represents a dissolution not only of international law but a fundamental human law." While the "sanctity of human life" is what "separates us from barbarism," Israel's war on Gaza has become the "status quo." 

'The immigrant workforce of America's dairy farms must be protected'
Abdullah Shihipar at The Boston Globe
Americans have seen headlines about the "spread of avian flu for months," and "many wonder if the H5N1 bird flu will develop into a pandemic similar to COVID-19," says Abdullah Shihipar. There have been 14 reported human cases so far, and "clearly America's farmworkers are on the front line" of the risk. Many of them are "exploited immigrant laborers" who "need to be protected" to "prevent a broader pandemic."

'The outside world has heard little of the horrors'
The Times editorial board
The civil war in Sudan, which has been ongoing for more than a year, is "one of the most brutal, destructive and pointless conflicts in the world," says The Times editorial board. An "epidemic of violence has led to mass rapes and thousands of women being forced into child marriage or sexual slavery," but "no attempt to halt the war or start peace negotiations has yet shown any effect," as the world is "preoccupied with conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza."

 
 
WORD OF THE DAY

Leitkultur

A German word that translates to "guiding culture" or "leading culture" championed by right-wing political parties in the German-speaking world in debates over immigration and multiculturalism. The Austrian government recently paid its first “schnitzel bonus,” a subsidy paid only to restaurants that serve traditional Austrian cuisine, "striking a blow for Austria's Leitkultur before the September parliamentary election in which the conservatives and nationalists will campaign on an anti-immigration platform," said The Times.

 
 

Evening Review was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass, Joel Mathis, Summer Meza, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Anahi Valenzuela and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images; Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images; Yurii Stefanyak / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images; FlixPix / Alamy