Rock and roots

Noteworthy new or recent releases

Israel’s state of politics

Netanyahu, nukes, and novels help illuminate a complicated nation

Faithful renditions

Three albums surprise with new takes on classics, some with Christian roots

A duo and a dictionary

Friendship, grace, and wordplay suffuse The Professor and the Madman

The silence treatment

In Sound of Metal, a rock musician’s hearing loss leads him unwillingly out of a noisy world

Hanging on to hope

Four historical novels about anti-Semitism

Reflections on grace and truth

Accessible theology books

The nuclear option

Providential intervention averted World War III

A missed opportunity

Poor acting and a choppy script detract from the real-life drama of Roe v. Wade

Wholesome repetition

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things offers a delightful, fresh take on the time-loop genre

Life after the Blip

Disney’s TV series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is smart but may be leaning in political directions