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Brendan Carr loves a good luggage metaphor.

When he was a law student at Catholic University in the early 2000s, Carr heard a talk from Michael Powell, then the chair of the FCC under George W. Bush. “When opportunity knocks, most people don’t have their bags packed,” Powell told the audience. Carr was so energized by the line that he made it his own rise-up mantra and now recites it when speaking to law students himself.

The 46-year-old has been unloading a lot of baggage lately. Ever since Donald Trump bumped Carr up to chair of the FCC in November (after naming him a commissioner during his first term), Carr has attacked the country’s media, entertainment and even tech giants with a cool fury, threatening their business and, critics say, attempting to bully them into more favorable coverage of the president.

“Americans no longer trust the national news media to report fully,...

Among the ranks of great sophomoric comedies are films like Animal House, Caddyshack, and Revenge of the Nerds, but you seldom or never hear about a fun little 1984 flick called Up the Creek. It's a silly but quintessential 80s romp even I would have overlooked if Amazon Prime hadn't continuously recommended it to me. It's your classic slobs versus snobs premise; slapstick but charming, with a uniqueness that shines above the dozens if not hundreds of 80s comedies with the same idea. I would go so far as to say it's the most overlooked comedy in history, but that's a claim specific to fans of juvenile enjoyment.

The film stars Tim Matheson, fresh off his Animal House fame, as Bob McGraw, a smooth-talking, womanizing slacker who's been thrown out of 16 previous universities yet still in college working on his English Literature degree. McGraw is well-read, and finds himself inserting classic literature quotes into everyday conversation.