CARPENTER GAILLOT: French teachers Scott Dominic Carpenter and Nathalie Gaillot host a Very French Evening presented by American Association of Teachers of French. 6 p.m. Friday, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

JARRETT DAPIER: Celebrates “Wake Now in the Fire,” a graphic novel based on a true story about a group of Chicago teenagers working to overturn the school system-wide ban of “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, in conversation with author Nicole Kronzer. Dapier is a Chicago-area librarian, recipient of an American Library Association award for his work exposing book censorship in Chicago’s public schools. Minnesotan Kronzer is the author of young adult novels “Unscripted” and “The Roof Over Our Heads.” 3 p.m. Saturday, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul. Registration is appreciated at redballoonbookshop.com.

MARY LUCIA: Former Twin Cities DJ talks about “What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Weider and Harder to Relate To,” her memoir about the horrors of being stalked while living her very public life. 7 p.m. Tuesday, University Club, 420 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

MEMOIR PANEL: With Renee Gilmore (“Wayfinding’), Kelly Foster (“Beard: A Memoir of a Marriage’”), Tracy Youngblom (“Because We Must”) and Michael Kleber-Diggs (“My Weight In Water”). 7 p.m. Monday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. Registration required: magersandquinn.com.

(Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press)

JEROME P. POLING: Presents “American Birkebeiner: The Nation’s Greatest Ski Marathon.” 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

ETHELENE WHITMIRE: Discusses “The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram: The Man Who Stared Down World War II in the Name of Love,” the real-life story of a young man’s account of love in the time of war, by a celebrated historian of untold Black stories. In conversation with Lissa Jones. Presented in partnership with Black Market Reads. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

What else is going on

Minnesota Center for Book Arts hosts Press Play, its annual open house where participants of all ages experience letterpress printing and book arts through hands-on activities designed for beginners, experienced makers and families. Attendees can print a word or two with wood and bamboo type and make a few prints to take home. All materials are provided; no registration needed. Noon-3 p.m. Saturday, MCBA in the Open Book building, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls.

Books for All St. Paul is Friends of the St. Paul Public Library’s new initiative to raise $62,000 this year to help offset rising costs and meet increasing demand for books, eBooks, movies, music and more. You can donate any amount: $30 buys a print book, $70 an eBook, $150 helps fill a create of books. There will be a virtual dedication wall on which donors can post why they are contributing and to whom (or what). All donations will go directly to the St. Paul Public Library. More information at thefriends.org.

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In case you missed it when it was released in early November, it’s a great week to catch up with “Nuremberg,” the Russell Crowe-Rami Malek two-hander written and directed by James Vanderbilt, about the international tribunal that put the Nazi high command on trial for war crimes. Based on the book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai, the film examines the clinical relationship between Army psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Kelley (Malek) and German Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Crowe).

Vanderbilt’s approach is to dive into what made Göring such a fascinating narcissist and how he is able to draw people like Dr. Kelley into his orbit, while balancing their curious dynamic against the unprecedented case built by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon). It takes a more psychological approach than a legal one, but nevertheless impresses the importance of holding these kinds of people accountable for their hideous crimes against humanity. That is especially illustrated in the backstory of a young Army translator Howie (Leo Woodall), who is based on a real person as well. Rent or buy “Nuremberg” on all digital platforms.

“Nuremberg” is an example of how movies can be educative, cathartic and even inexplicably comforting at times. It can be painful to watch history repeating itself, day after day, but films like this are also a powerful reminder of the times in history when people have come together to do the right thing, uphold the law (and even set legal precedent), and deliver justice to victims, and more importantly, consequences to those who have committed monstrous acts against other human beings, by intent or merely following orders.

Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg” takes its place next to Stanley Kramer’s 1961 epic legal drama “Judgment at Nuremberg,” starring Spencer Tracy. This is a fictionalized version of the Judges’ Trial in 1947, one of the 12 Nuremberg military tribunals. Tracy stars as Haywood, the chief judge who seeks to understand how the war crimes of the Holocaust crimes could have happened, especially defendant Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster), a legal scholar and jurist. At almost three hours, Kramer’s film, written by Abby Mann (who also wrote the book on which it was based) is hefty, but worth it. It earned 11 Oscar nominations and won two. Stream “Judgment at Nuremberg” on Prime Video, Kanopy, Tubi or rent it on other digital platforms.

While the Nuremberg trials put the Nazi high command on trial, there were still many, many Germans in the SS or who worked at concentration camps who were able to return to everyday life. As depicted in the 2014 German film “Labyrinth of Lies,” a young prosecutor named Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling) decided to make it his mission to prosecute those who worked in service of the Nazi Final Solution even if they were just following orders. Taking place in the late 1950s, the film shows the long arm of justice and the sheer effort it takes to exert that power, especially when most would rather forget the trauma and sweep it under the rug. “Labyrinth of Lies” proves how important legal justice, truth and reconciliation are for a nation’s soul. Rent it on all digital platforms.

There are many, many other films that are both thrilling and illuminating on this topic, from a documentary about Nuremberg prosecutor Ben Ferencz, “Prosecuting Evil,” streaming on Kanopy, Tubi, the Roku Channel and more, to the 2006 docuseries “Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial,” streaming on BritBox. Also on BritBox, a 2000 film about the trials, “Nuremberg” starring Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox.

There’s also the direction of Nazi-hunting films, particularly the hunt for Adolf Eichmann, who was captured in Argentina in 1960 and put on trial in Israel, where he was hanged for his crimes in 1962. The excellent 2015 German thriller “The People vs. Fritz Bauer” follows the hunt for Eichmann by German Jewish prosecutor Fritz Bauer (Johann Radmann’s boss). Stream it on Kanopy or rent it on other digital platforms. It makes for a fascinating character study companion piece to the more straightforward historical political thriller “Operation Finale” (2018), about the Mossad capture of Eichmann in Argentina, starring Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley. Stream it on Netflix or rent it on other digital platforms.

It’s always the right time to remember history, and how it ends for some of its most nefarious villains. Sometimes stories about hard-fought justice are necessary and comforting reminders, which is what the art form of cinema can do best.

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I have a confession, shameful as it may be for someone who has spent decades studying retirement policy and advising individuals and institutions on how to save for and think about retirement: When I bought my apartment a few years ago, I raided my retirement account for the down payment.

Yes, I am well aware of the sacrosanct rule — never take money out of a retirement account before you turn 59.5 — but I did it anyway.

And you know what? It was among the best financial decisions I’ve ever made. I am not sure it’s right for everyone, but it should be an option, and President Donald Trump is right to want to make it available to all Americans.

My circumstances were exceptional. I bought my apartment during the pandemic, when people were allowed to take up to $100,000 out of their accounts without paying a penalty. If I’d had to pay the penalty, it would have been a bad decision (as it was, I incurred a large tax liability, which took three years to pay off).

The president’s plan would allow prospective homebuyers to take money out of their 401(k) accounts without penalty to make a down payment. It is worth noting you can currently take up to $10,000 without penalty if you are a first-time homebuyer. The details of the proposal are still being worked out, but presumably the limit would be higher and the option available to all homebuyers.

Does that mean everyone should spend their retirement money on a house? Not necessarily. For me, there were two main reasons I took advantage of the program, and neither had anything to do with the pandemic. One was the record low mortgage rates at the time. The other was my personal financial situation.

When I looked at my finances to figure out what I could afford, I was stunned that almost all my assets — more than 80% — were in retirement accounts, and most of those were in stocks. Maybe that’s because I tend to overprioritize saving for retirement, or because I’ve worked at places that offered a generous match, or because I wanted to use most of my disposable income to feed my shopping habit. But even I had to admit the amount of my portfolio in retirement accounts violated the life-cycle investing principles that I was trained in.

The goal is smooth, predictable consumption — including housing today, not just retirement income for tomorrow. It also occurred to me that I could stand to diversify a bit and have less in stocks and more in real estate (at least that’s how I explained my decision to the co-op board). If I took on homeownership, I also needed to be more liquid, which made reducing my retirement accounts the right choice.

From a strict financial standpoint, my decision is hard to defend: Stock prices have gone up more than real-estate prices in Manhattan since 2021. But rents have increased even more, and I’ve locked in my housing costs at a low mortgage rate and am building some equity. For me, and assuming apartment prices don’t completely crash, it was a good decision.

Again, and as grateful as I am to have had that choice, it does not make sense for everyone. In general, cleaning out your retirement account to make a leveraged bet on a single asset is not a wise financial move. It’s better to build up diversified savings before investing in real estate, and it’s important to have a healthy retirement balance.

About 55% of American households — a record high — have retirement accounts of some kind. On average, those accounts make up 27% of their net worth, a figure that falls to 22% for people under 45. Even though this group is relatively rich in retirement assets, they are often the ones struggling to afford a down payment.

Another concern is that too many people will have less money for retirement. A house is not just a place to live today; financially speaking, it tends to be people’s largest asset in retirement. Most retirees are overexposed to housing. Among retirement savers over age 65, home equity makes up 50% of their net worth; cash assets are only 28%. Absent better reverse mortgage options, this keeps retirees from spending a large share of their wealth, and means some are scrimping on their non-housing expenses.

There is also the possibility that this plan, by making more cash available, will increase demand for housing — and if new housing isn’t built, that will only push prices up further.

Policy issues aside, if this proposal becomes reality, the main issue facing most Americans will be whether they should use their retirement money to buy a house. I don’t mean to brag, but given my academic expertise and homebuying experience, I may be uniquely qualified to address this question. And my answer is this: It depends.

For me it was a good decision, because I needed diversification and could take advantage of unusually low mortgage rates. If buying a home leaves you overexposed to housing, under-saved for retirement, or taking on a mortgage you can’t afford, then it’s probably not a good option. But it would be nice to have a choice to make.

Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering economics. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, she is author of “An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk.”

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February in Minnesota is not merely cold. It is a form of hostile weather engineered to test the limits of human endurance. Around here, a “heat wave” is anything above zero; it’s a place where your mittens have mittens. Just walking from your car to the front door constitutes a minor expedition, with frost forming on every exposed inch of skin. Not only can you see your breath, you could, if you were so inclined, snap it over your knee and use it to chill a Mountain Dew for several hours.

So naturally, this was the month I decided to stand on the roof of the school in nothing but a diaper and a red cape.

Yes. A diaper. And a red cape. In sub-zero weather. Let that sink in.

It was just after sunrise, the pale, unforgiving light spilling across the parking lot as the first yellow buses rumbled in, their engines doing little to combat the cold. There I stood — your mostly exposed janitor — awaiting hundreds of little scholars, ready to pour inside with brains full of knowledge and no idea what horrors awaited them on the roof.

Because February is “I Love to Read Month,” and what better way to kick things off than by becoming a half-naked superhero I barely even knew anything about — except that he almost certainly did not live in Minnesota.

I was Captain Underpants: Frostbite Edition.

February is also every elementary school custodian’s least favorite month. Salt stains in the hallways, snow tracked in like we were hosting the Winter Olympics, boilers wheezing like an elderly donkey with an asthma condition, and a calendar bursting with “I Love to Read” events.

Someone — I blame the Media Center Specialist — thought it would be a good idea to kick things off with a bang. She was probably thinking: Hmm … who could we get to stand on the roof, at 10 below, almost naked, and get our students excited about “I Love to Read Month”? Who has no sense of self-preservation and will probably do anything if we sneak chocolate chip cookies into the deal? Ah, yes … I know just the man. This will be wild, for sure, cutting-edge, perhaps. Brilliant? Absolutely. This has Mr Glende written all over it.

So there I was, atop the roof, in a giant homemade diaper and red cape, playing none other than the great literary hero Captain Underpants.

Keep in mind, this was before adult diapers were a thing. If you wanted to fashion a size-XXL undergarment, one had to become an amateur engineer, a seamstress, and, I suspect, a minor sorcerer. I raided the custodial supply closet in ways Mr. Whipple would never have approved of.

At the time, it seemed like a brilliant plan to get kids excited about reading. Looking back, would I do it again? The jury is still out. The kids howled. The teachers laughed. The principal gave me two thumbs up.  The district office … not so much. Apparently, having an adult male with more than his guy thighs exposed, waving at children from a rooftop in a diaper and cape is frowned upon. Who knew?

And then the local paper got wind of it. Soon enough, my Captain Underpants body was splashed across the front page, framed as if I were either a folk hero or a public menace. I might as well have tacked my photograph on the post office wall next to the “Most Wanted” posters.

But the kids loved it. Years later, when I run into former students, it’s never, “Hey, Mr. Glende, remember when I puked in Science class, and you had to clean it up?” No. It’s always, “Remember when you were Captain Underpants on the roof?”

Sometimes, custodians are more than a mop and a ring of keys. Like Captain Underpants, who drank Extra-Strength Super Power Juice to gain his powers, I got mine from a pre-dawn chug of Mountain Dew. For one glorious, frostbitten morning, I wasn’t just the guy who fixed leaky sinks, shoveled snow and whispered to the boilers.

By the time the last bus had dropped off its precious cargo, my diaper was crunchy, my cape frozen into something resembling a roofing shingle, and I couldn’t feel my tongue. I was asking myself, “Do school custodians do this in Florida? Where’s the fun in that?”

But to the kids, I wasn’t just a janitor. I was Captain Underpants: Frostbite Edition — a frozen, slightly ridiculous, but wholly heroic figure in the cruel, magnificent theater of February.

Mark Glende, Rosemount, is an elementary school custodian. “I write about real-life stories with a slight twist of humor,” he says. “I’m not smart enough to make this stuff up.”

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