Culture
Hit Record
This Reggae Band Is in a Nightmare Battle Against AI Slop Remixes
When Stick Figure’s seven-year-old song shot up the charts, the band was thrilled. But its viral moment was spurred by unauthorized AI remixes.
Kate Knibbs
Hasan Piker, Self-Described ‘Ayatollah of Woke,’ Wants AI to Die
The far-left Twitch streamer says AI is rotting our brains. He’s also addicted to Twitter and listens to at least eight podcasts.
Alana Hope Levinson
Pornhub Restores Access for UK Adults Who Use Apple’s Age Verification
The porn giant blocked its content from new UK users in February but says device-based age verification is more secure than third-party sites.
Manisha Krishnan
Can Listening to ‘Subliminals’ Make You Beautiful? Plenty of Women Believe It
As young men pursue radical methods of “looksmaxxing,” young women are discovering a world of YouTube and TikTok videos that promise glow-ups through ASMR affirmations.
Miles Klee
Dating Is a Rich Person’s Game Now
The problem isn’t just the apps. People actually can’t afford to date anymore.
Jason Parham
Gamers’ Worst Nightmares About AI Are Coming True
From the global RAM shortage driving up console prices to job loss in the industry, gaming is shaping up to be one of the AI boom's biggest casualties.
Helen Vogelsong-Donahue
Roblox’s AI-Powered Age Verification Is a Complete Mess
Kids are being identified as adults—and vice versa—on Roblox, while age-verified accounts are already being sold online.
David Gilbert
The Avatar Game Is So Good, They Don’t Need to Make the Movies Anymore
See the new movie Avatar: Fire and Ash if you’d like. But if you really want to experience the big blue world of Pandora, the video game is where it’s at.
Boone Ashworth
A New Las Vegas Attraction Serves Up Alien Foxes, Exoplanets, and VR Carl Sagan
Interstellar Arc is an immersive sci-fi experience that uses recent advances in headset tech to break new ground in virtual reality. And it all happens inside an empty-looking room in Las Vegas.
Ben Dowsett
The Italian Dubbing of The Devil Wears Prada 2 Has Stirred Up a Surprising Controversy
The voice actors from the original film have returned for the sequel—and not everyone is happy about it.
Paolo Armelli
MAGA Is Confused About Animal Farm
The new film is the latest adaptation of George Orwell’s novel. Based on the critiques coming from right-wing influencers, it seems few of them fully grasp the book’s message.
Ej Dickson
The Online Civil War About Michael Is a Battle Over Truth
Fans want to reclaim the music and myth of Michael Jackson in the new biopic while critics call for accountability. Who’s right?
Jason Parham
The 8 Best Movies to Stream This Month
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Crime 101, and Deathstalker are among the films deserving of your eyeballs this month
Matt Kamen
I Watched 18 Hours of Coachella’s Vertical Livestream and All I Got Was This Lousy FOMO
Coachella—and everyone else—is making a big vertical video play. So I watched an entire weekend’s worth of sets only on my phone.
Boone Ashworth
The Fanfare Around the Band Geese Actually Was a Psyop
The Brooklyn band Geese was labeled an “industry plant” by those who questioned its sudden ubiquity. Maybe it was.
John Semley
The Gamblers Behind One of the Weirdest Cheating Mysteries in Chess Have Been Unmasked
In July 1993, a disguised player entered the World Open chess tournament in Philadelphia using the name of a mathematician who died in 1957. His real identity remained unknown—until now.
Kit Chellel
The Moms Who Sponcon Their Daughters’ First Periods
From Mormon momfluencer domination to boosting engagement with partially clothed kids, journalist Fortesa Latifi’s new book exposes the dark and complex world of child influencers.
Ej Dickson
Latest
The Big Interview
The Internet’s Favorite Lawyer Says We’re Living Through ‘Multiple Watergates per Week’
Katie Drummond