Fungi or Fun Guy: Puzzle #69
"Smallest prime number"
Entertainment
Review: Like Friday Night Lights, But For High School Mariachi
A documentary on Netflix follows a team of young musicians vying for competition wins in Texas.
Review: A New York Times Reporter Explores Psychedelic Therapy
Trippy author Ernesto Londoño points out that supposedly ancient psychedelic rituals don't always lead to great outcomes.
Review: Evil on Trial Seeks To Reach A Younger Audience
WWII correspondent William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich comes to life in this Netflix docuseries.
Review: An Action Movie About Civil Asset Forfeiture
Netflix's Rebel Ridge is a thrilling tale about an ordinary man wronged by an unjust system.
Review: A Rap Trio Fights the Power In Gaelic
Kneecap is a semi-dramatized biopic of the Belfast music group of the same name.
Review: In Ren Faire a Tyrant King Tries To Find a Successor
George Coulam didn't just create the Texas Renaissance Festival. He built a utopia and crowned himself king.
Review: Sunny Is a Techno-Satire About Violent Robots
Technology is neither inherently good or bad. Our friendbots—and our murderbots—are what we make of them.
Review: A Medieval Black Comedy With No Monarch
The state is almost completely absent in 'The Decameron. The characters don't exactly handle this responsibility well.
Review: A Murder Mystery After the Apocalypse
The Last Murder at the End of the World explores the dangers of absolute power.
Review: A Radical Libertarian Lawyer Charts His Evolution
Randy Barnett developed an influential form of constitutional originalism.
Mike Rowe on Patriotism, Paul Harvey, and American Progress
"We're never going to be finished. Our country is a work in progress," says the producer of the new Something to Stand For documentary.
Review: House of the Dragon Imagines Dragon Combat and It's Awesome
Much like in nuclear war, there’s no way to win when both sides have dragons.
Review: Choose Your Own Deal With the Devil at the Theater
The show Life And Trust is an immersive performance that unfolds over three hours across six floors inside what was once a Wall Street office building.
Review: A Fun, Chaotic Moon Landing Conspiracy
Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in a movie about government incompetence.
Review: A Monopoly-Style Game About the January 6
The hosts of the popular TrueAnon podcast made a board game that doesn't take the presidential transition crisis too seriously.
Review: Inside the Southern Baptist Sexual Assault Crisis
Author Christa Brown shares her story of abuse and exposes the hypocrisy inherent in the Southern Baptist Convention's cover-up.
Review: Hacks Explores the Comedy of Cancel Culture
An aging comedian wrestles with woke campus culture in the new season of the Max series.
Review: A Former Foster Child Lambasts the 'Luxury Beliefs' of Wealthy Elites
Rob Henderson's new book documents his journey from a troubled adoption to Yale and Cambridge.
Review: A South Korean Film Explores Nativism and Authoritarianism After a Disaster
Concrete Utopia is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power under any circumstances.
Review: James Retells Huckleberry Finn From Jim's Perspective
Author Percival Everett reimagines Mark Twain's novel from the enslaved character's point of view.
Review: The Women Entrepreneurs of Impoverished Countries
She Rises Up manages to be inspirational without being sappy, like so many documentaries are.
Review: Is Fallout Actually a Good Game-to-TV Crossover?
Staying true to the game, producers of the Amazon show even leave room for side quests and open-ended exploration.
Federal IOU: August/September 2024 Puzzle
"Period during which America's national debt was about $75 million"
Review: A Drug Reformer Makes the Case for Harm Reduction
The Harm Reduction Gap argues for individual autonomy and meeting drug users where they're at.
Review: Blowback Podcast Exhumes the Seeds of the Afghan Conflict
Hosts Noah Kulwin and Brendan James explain how proxy war fighters can become America's enemies.
Review: Documenting Julian Assange's Legal Battles
Kym Staton's documentary also tries to debunk several accusations against the WikiLeaks founder.
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Kliph Nesteroff's book Outrageous turns into a screed against conservatives.
Review: An Arkansas Jail Unlocked the Cells. Did it Work?
A new Netflix documentary series shows what happened when inmates were free to roam the cellblock with no guards in sight.
Review: How a Catholic Sister Resisted an Oppressive New York City Government
A new film depicts Mother Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants.
With Ride or Die, the Bad Boys Movies Become Referendums on Masculinity
The fourth Bad Boys film is an uninspired retread.
Review: This Netflix Drama Depicts North Korean Refugees' Tribulations
My Name is Loh Kiwan dramatizes the experiences of refugees escaping oppressive regimes.
Review: An Anime Murder Mystery With an AI Twist
In Netflix's Pluto, a serial killer targets the world’s most advanced robots.
Super Size Me Was Not Groundbreaking Journalism
Morgan Spurlock's death and legacy are a reminder that skepticism is a necessary part of any balanced diet.
Review: The Terminator: The Original Killer AI
Arnold Schwarzenegger's classic role colored our perception of AI, for better or for worse.
Review: South Park's Take on ChatGPT
The long-running satirical show turns its animated sights on AI and ChatGPT.
How Free-Range Kids Became an Answer on Jeopardy!
It took a lot of work to clear this quiz show milestone.
Review: Understanding AI Helps Separate the Sci From the Fi
Like it or not, AI is here to stay. In his newsletter, Timothy B. Lee helps explain what comes next.
Review: Klara and the Sun Tackles AI Regulation
Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful meditation on the parameters that constrain robots and humans alike
The Fall Guy Is a Crowd-Pleasing Homage to Silver Screen Stunt Work
It's not a great movie. But it is a great time at the movies.
Review: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Underscores How Technology Supports Freedom
According to Grok, Robert Heinlein's novel reminds us that even a supercomputer can have a heart—or at least a well-programmed sense of humor.
Review: Mrs. Davis Tests the Limits of Science and Faith
When does a sufficiently advanced algorithm start to mimic our conception of God?
