On Background features Kara Swisher, Inner Spaces bring Iraqi Italian music to Hill Center, and a pair of photography exhibitions at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Hirshhorn. Check out our picks for this week in D.C.: buff.ly/9jeij1d

Detroit’s alternative rock band Sponge woke up Wednesday to find their trailer broken into outside the Holiday Inn in College Park. Six of the band’s instruments were stolen. Christina Smart has the story: washingtoncitypaper.com/arti…

Since its founding in 1988, the Miss Adams Morgan pageant has been an underground affair. But this Halloween, the 38th iteration of the annual drag pageant is coming out at the Washington Hilton. City Paper contributor D.R. Lewis digs into the history of the event: buff.ly/Ro0dCjU

“Staggering and provocative, Fjord is the kind of movie where viewers cannot think about it without first considering their personal baggage,” writes critic Alan Zilberman. Read Zilberman’s review of Cristian Mungiu's Palme d’Or-winning courtroom drama, Fjord: buff.ly/PDnbaTM

D.C.’s only dancewear store opened last month inside the Dance Institute of Washington’s Columbia Heights studio. Owner Kiara Ebron is on a mission to make shopping for dance classes easier for dancers of all races, sizes, and socioeconomic backgrounds. buff.ly/askHIhQ

DHCD failed to spend about $1M allocated for its first-time homebuyer assistance program. The agency told applicants earlier this year that the program ran out of money. Fully story: buff.ly/mFmcoSw

The D.C. Court of Appeals tossed out an armed carjacking conviction due to an MPD detective's "highly suggestive" tactics prompting a witness to identify the suspect. buff.ly/wm054ns

Beverly Perry, longtime adviser to Mayor Muriel Bower, is stepping down from her role. She will head a new lobbying shop at Taft Law Firm. @tomsherwood has the details: buff.ly/xOlabs8

We're no longer posting on X for now. You can continue to find our work on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/wcp.bsky.so…

Mayor Bowser’s RENTAL Act could strip key tenant protections from tens of thousands of Ward 8 residents—just as the ward is left without a councilmember to fight for them. Here's what's at stake: buff.ly/REyBG0x

Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton turned a Georgetown space into his musical sanctuary. He spoke with contributor Christina Smart about his new studio, solo album, and what’s next. buff.ly/NAUCc18

John Cena plays a movie-star-turned-president in Amazon’s “astonishingly un-terrible” original action comedy. Chris Klimek reviews Heads of State. buff.ly/ehR84KM

Arena Stage brings A Wrinkle in Time to life with spectacle, sincerity, and at least one memorable tune. Critic Chris Klimek calls it earnest, but is that enough? His review: buff.ly/eqDTxIU

Jack Evans is back on the D.C. payroll with a $127K/year job—but DHCD won’t explain what he does. Ignored emails, FOIA requests, and one bizarre comment about someone else typing his reports: buff.ly/lSgeRmo

Beyoncé’s stop at Northwest Stadium wasn’t just a concert—“it was a living, breathing art installation, a cultural exegesis, a Black feminist thesis, a family archive, and a stage production worthy of Broadway,” writes contributor Teniola Ayoola. buff.ly/2sHtCXX

Cops arrested more than 20 people over the long weekend, the new Congress Heights hospital is overwhelmed and understaffed, and the Nats fired both their manager and GM. Here’s your weekend roundup. buff.ly/MQ2Bkvx buff.ly/MQ2Bkvx

A local record pressing plant went from a basement shop to vinyl powerhouse—with help from Metallica, pandemic demand, and a whole lot of elbow grease. Here’s how Furnace Record Pressing made it big. buff.ly/JQmIL9s

Kim’s Convenience, the play that inspired the hit TV show, takes the stage at Olney through July 27. Critic Nicole Hertvik says it’s “a vivid, heartfelt, and humorous portrayal of intergenerational family dynamics.” buff.ly/52KStQw

Heat revolves around a bank robbery sequence, but at its core, it’s “a tender exploration of how cops and criminals alike suffer from their respective, connected trades.” Noah Gittell revisits the 1995 thriller, screening this weekend at AFI Silver. buff.ly/R3bRatG

Another round of photos from @darrow_m’s archive 📸 Catch up on Postcards From Home, an unpublished series of photos capturing D.C. life from 1986 to the early 2000s. buff.ly/cQq7HbL