Marlee Matlin on rise of Deaf actors, ‘CODA,’ her longtime activism

L to R: Actors Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Daniel Durant appear in “CODA.” Credit: Apple TV+.

Marlee Matlin has been one of the only Deaf actors consistently working in Hollywood. She says the industry is doing better in portraying the Deaf community, and wants interpreters to be shown during the whole duration of national TV broadcasts like the Super Bowl.

It’s been a year since a gunman killed eight people at three Atlanta-area spas. Six were women of Asian descent. They were the most shocking example of a wave of anti-Asian hate that began with the COVID pandemic. The violence hasn’t stopped.

Neda Toloui-Semnani’s new book is “They Said They Wanted Revolution.” She shares how her parents came to the U.S. in their youth in the 1950s-60s, then returned to Iran in the 1970s to join the insurrection there. Her father was executed and her pregnant mother was forced to flee.

Dolly Parton was nominated last month to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This week, she said hasn’t earned the right to be there because she doesn’t make that kind of music.