Journalist and podcast host Leon Neyfakh has spent much of the last few years unpacking the last half century’s worth of American political scandal—starting in 2017 with Slate’s Slow Burn and since last year with Fiasco on the subscription-based network Luminary. During that time he’s observed that there seems to be a strange kismet unleashed
Pop Culture
American rock duo The Black Keys have just revealed plans for a 10-date tour across Canada. Along with special guest acts, the announcement came as a surprise to fans on Monday morning. Not only will the Lonely Boy rockers show face in 10 different Canadian cities, but they’ll be joined by Saskatoon natives The Sheepdogs as
It’s music’s biggest night, and among your Grammy winners 2020 recipients thus far—despite some behind-the-scenes controversy and the tragic death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant earlier today—the Recording Academy is dishing out awards to some of your favorite musicians. So far tonight, Vampire Weekend, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Tanya Tucker, the late Nipsey Hussle, and
The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others that crashed into a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers. The helicopter plunged into a steep hillside at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over an area the size
Oh, Americans. For all the times we make things complicated—here at home and around the world—we also can’t help but want things done simply. One glaring, if ultimately trivial, example of this instinct is when one of our own takes a beloved foreign-language film, translates it into Americanese, and in the process flattens out so
Vigils mourning the loss of basketball icon Kobe Bryant have been popping up all over America, and fans have been visiting en masse. Thousands of fans gathered at a makeshift memorial for Bryant, who died along with eight other people in a helicopter crash just before 10 a.m. Sunday morning, around the Staples Center where
Allen BerezovskyGetty Images Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Sunday at 41 years old. His daughter Gianna Onore Braynt, 13, also died in the accident. Fans and fellow celebrities are already putting out their kind thoughts and heartfelt messages on social media. Bryant has been married to his wife, Vanessa, since 2001. He
Kobe Bryant, the NBA star, Oscar winner, and pop culture icon, died Sunday at the age of 41, according to TMZ. His private helicopter crashed in Calabasas, and TMZ reports that five aboard were confirmed dead. A Los Angeles local news report confirmed that a helicopter had crashed in the area, and sparked a quarter-acre
The scandal that’s tearing things apart in the back office of the Grammys might be a little inside baseball to non-industry folk, but trust me that it matters to music fans. If you ever thought that the Grammys were irrelevant and out of touch — this is, after all, the group that gave a heavy
[embedded content] Film and television have long explored the sinister underpinnings of suburbia. From Edward Scissorhands to Disturbia to Weeds to countless others, there is something inexplicably unsettling about rows upon rows of identical tract homes, stacked one after another in an endless labyrinth of conformity. Now, a new horror film is taking that fear
Saturday Night Live has returned with its first episode of 2020 and a cold open that poked fun at U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing Senate impeachment trial. The scene opened on Republican Sen. Susan Collins, played by SNL cast member Cecily Strong, and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, played by cast member Beck Bennett, complaining
Like most films about the complexities of American bureaucracy, Sara Colangelo’s new film Worth (which premiered here at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24) exposes itself to myriad inquiries and criticisms. Not so much for the filmmaking—though there are some nits to be picked there—but for what the movie represents, what it valorizes, what
It’s nearly impossible to figure out what, exactly, the best TV shows worth your time are on all the streaming platforms out there, so we did the work and found the very best TV shows to watch online right now. (For the best movies to stream right now, click here.) Want to get watching right
When it comes to activism, a lot of people talk the talk but far fewer walk the walk. But Kim Kardashian West, a reality star turned business mogul and now a budding lawyer, is putting in the work to make real change when it comes to criminal justice reform. And while many have mocked her
Two years ago, documentarian Matt Wolf was poking around the internet when he came across a striking image of eight people in red jumpsuits in front of a glass pyramid. “I thought it was a still from a science fiction film,” he said. “Then I realized it was real.” Wolf and I were in the
The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 9 — the earliest the awards show has ever aired. Oscars viewers might be wondering: why is it called the Oscars? Who’s been nominated for the most awards? How can someone join the Academy? Here are the answers to 17 of the big questions surrounding
If your life has an hole where new seasons of Big Little Lies or Succession should be, look no further. The first teaser trailer for The Undoing, a six-part limited series reuniting BLL star Nicole Kidman with creator David E. Kelley, is here to fill the void. The psychological thriller is based on the Jean
Though space is the final frontier, the newly-unveiled U.S. Space Force logo treads on decidedly familiar territory. The design quickly drew comparisons to insignia from Star Trek after it was revealed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon. “After consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers, and others, I am pleased to present the
Even as the Sackler family tried to reach a settlement on the roughly 2,000 lawsuits that its company, Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, faced last year over its role in the opioid crisis, it appeared to remain very rich. But it may have been forced into some other changes, mostly social ones. Page Six
Netflix finally released the official soundtrack for The Witcher, and they had a lot of fun with the release announcement. Unlike the show’s normally dark high fantasy marketing look, the streaming network gave fans the light-hearted Easter eggs we deserve. The bard’s greatest ballads finally all in one place. The Witcher Soundtrack Vol. 1 available
Christopher (Kit) Hood, co-creator of the beloved Canadian teen Degrassi TV series, has died. An obituary on the website of the Cole Harbour Funeral Home and Crematorium in Nova Scotia says Hood died suddenly at his home in West Lawrencetown, N.S., on Monday. Born in England, Hood emigrated to Canada in his mid-20s and made
It’s getting to the point where you don’t need to be Force-sensitive to know that there’s behind-the-scenes drama with a new Star Wars project. The latest bad news from a galaxy far, far away is about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series headed for Disney+. According to multiple reports, the show’s development has been put on hold—or
Sir Patrick Stewart was done with the Starship Enterprise, the spandex uniforms, and the Earl Grey—hot. After 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis—a critical and commercial disappointment—Stewart declared he would not return to play Jean-Luc Picard, the role that made him an international icon. But writer-producer Alex Kurtzman, along with his friend and collaborator, novelist Michael Chabon,
A video of Julianne Hough undergoing a so-called “energy treatment” in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum made its rounds online Thursday and left people with a lot of questions. The video of the dancer shows her receiving a treatment called Network Spinal Analysis, which is a method of chiropractic care that focuses on
(Photos: Creative Commons, Amazon) It’s a truth universally acknowledged that kids (like most dads) aren’t super great when it comes to gifting. First of all, they have no money and, second of all, they have even less sense; so it’s no surprise that they would be absolutely trash when it comes to sprinkling their loved
The Goop Lab, a new show from Gwyneth Paltrow‘s wellness brand Goop, explores a wide range of controversial health topics — from energy healing to communicating with the dead. The six-part series — released on Netflix on Friday — worries some experts who say claims made by Goop employees and guests invited on the show
“Kathleen, could you ask me in front of all of these people, all of these witnesses, can you please ask me: Am I going to play Obi-Wan Kenobi again?” That’s what Ewan McGregor said to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy when she introduced him at Disney’s D23 fan expo last summer to confirm that a new
Why is it that in most futuristic movies everybody is walking around in earth tone tunics or other minimalist attire? Sure, there’s exceptions but in a lot of interpretations of the future we’re all going to dress like a Nancy Meyers character at a weekend detox retreat in a few years. Truth be told, a
More than a year after the conclusion of his extensive 157-date, critically acclaimed Us + Them world tour, Roger Waters has announced a brand new string of shows — the This is Not a Drill tour. Though the tour doesn’t seem to quite as lengthy as his previous trek — at least not yet — the
Star Trek: Picard is meant to be for everyone, and the first episode, “Remembrance,” does an excellent job of orienting viewers, new and old, in a changed, less utopian Trek world. It’s a departure from the trappings of The Next Generation as we know them, but that story and those characters are still essential to