JUNE

The June issue of the Village Voice is on the streets!

WAR LESSONS, WAR WOUNDS, AND WAR SONGS When Russia invaded Ukraine, some Americans volunteered for a fight of “good versus evil.” C.S. Muncy speaks with a Columbia pre-med student and military vet who left class to help the embattled nation. Elsewhere in that devastated country, young Ukrainians work long hours at volunteer aid centers, doing whatever they can to help the war’s refugees. Anna Conkling shares some of their stories, and the toll it's taking on them.  Closer to home (Veselka, the Sly Fox), Ukrainian-born Eugene Hütz, leader of the gypsy-folk-punk band Gogol Bordello, talks with Michael Cobb about the Russian invasion, supporting Ukraine, the horrors of social media, and the joys of “joycore.” On the union front, deliveristas, guided by apps, cycle through the city with our bagels and coffee. Jackson Todd follows a working mother, learning about rainy day tips and the birth of a labor movement.  As summer approaches, city culture is heating up. Susan Hornik talks to poet Reg E. Gaines about the Downtown Urban Arts Festival, and to actor-writer David Duchovny on how the streets of New York continue to inspire him.  In other downtown news, hardcore icon Harley Flanagan is taking the Cro-Mags on the road. Thomas Gerbasi hears about what it’s like now, what it was like then, and all the bumps in between.  Meanwhile, Michael Musto weighs in on being the documentary sound-bite king — for better and worse. And did you know that the Oscars and Major League Baseball share the same problem? A diminishing fan base. Vincent Velotta compares and contrasts two iconic institutions in danger. Plus, Rafael Alvarez goes to Memphis to cover the International Blues Challenge and to find out what the blues life is like in France, South Korea, and other realms far removed from the Mississippi Delta; Daniel Felsenthal treks to the Queens Museum, where California-based artist Suzanne Lacy asks questions in need of constant answering; and Mike Laws feels the burn from Vladimir Nabokov’s lesser-known masterpiece Pale Fire.