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Pristine Super Mario Bros. game for NES sells for record-breaking millions
There aren't many NES games in such pristine condition.
Xbox Game Studios boss Craig Duncan steps down
The head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan has stepped down after more than 18 months in the role. Duncan replaced former Studios boss Alan Hartman in November 2024, and oversaw Halo Studios, The Coalition, Flight Sim, Turn 10, Playground Games, Rare, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, Double Fine, InXile, Undead Labs, World’s Edge and XGS Publishing. He departs the organization this week. His studios will report to Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty until a replacement is found. Duncan has been part of the Xbox organization since 2011 and is best known for running highly regarded UK developer Rare for nearly 14 years. He oversaw the developer’s Kinect and Sea of Thieves eras. Prior to that, he held various senior roles at Codemasters, Midway and Sumo Digital, and worked cross titles such as Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, Wheelman and Colin McRae. He's also VP of the charity SpecialEffect. Subscribe Meanwhile, Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor will also be leaving the company. O’Connor joined Rare in 1999 beginning as an animator on cult favourite N64 game Conker’s Bad Fur Day. She’s worked in numerous art and production roles at the UK studio, and even won an AIAS award for voicing the character Leafos in Viva Piñata. She left Rare following the cancellation of Everwild in 2025, before becoming chief of staff in September that year. In an email to staff, Duncan wrote: “When I stepped into the role of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games. Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business. I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company.” On O’Connor, he added: “Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care. I’m grateful for everything she’s brought to XGS, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her.”
Xbox Game Studios boss Craig Duncan steps down
The head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan has stepped down after more than 18 months in the role. Duncan replaced former Studios boss Alan Hartman in November 2024, and oversaw Halo Studios, The Coalition, Flight Sim, Turn 10, Playground Games, Rare, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, Double Fine, InXile, Undead Labs, World’s Edge and XGS Publishing. He departs the organization this week. His studios will report to Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty until a replacement is found. Duncan has been part of the Xbox organization since 2011 and is best known for running highly regarded UK developer Rare for nearly 14 years. He oversaw the developer’s Kinect and Sea of Thieves eras. Prior to that, he held various senior roles at Codemasters, Midway and Sumo Digital, and worked cross titles such as Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, Wheelman and Colin McRae. He's also VP of the charity SpecialEffect. Subscribe Meanwhile, Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O’Connor will also be leaving the company. O’Connor joined Rare in 1999 beginning as an animator on cult favourite N64 game Conker’s Bad Fur Day. She’s worked in numerous art and production roles at the UK studio, and even won an AIAS award for voicing the character Leafos in Viva Piñata. She left Rare following the cancellation of Everwild in 2025, before becoming chief of staff in September that year. In an email to staff, Duncan wrote: “When I stepped into the role of leading XGS 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games. Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business. I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company.” On O’Connor, he added: “Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care. I’m grateful for everything she’s brought to XGS, and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her.”
Express Scripts sues Tennessee over PBM law that would close specialty pharmacy
The company called the state’s regulation of pharmacy benefit managers “shortsighted,” as it would force the closure of Accredo, a specialty drug dispensary that supplies drugs it says aren’t available anywhere else in the state.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Georgia’s state primary runoff
Georgia Republicans return to the polls Tuesday to pick nominees for U.S. Senate and governor in a state primary runoff election
Banff: Muse Entertainment Expands in Unscripted Series Adaptations
'The Kennedys' miniseries producer has inked a first-look deal with The Walrus for potential documentary projects to be shopped in the Canadian Rockies this week.
SB Nation Reacts Results: Vikings Fans Split on QB Competition
A bit of a surprise
Tunisia pull goal back before break but Sweden still lead in World Cup
Listen on 5 Live and follow text updates as Sweden and Tunisia meet in the Fifa World Cup.
World Cup 2026: Every goal from the Netherlands-Japan thriller
Sunday’s group stage match between the Netherlands and Japan lived up to the hype. Here is every goal from that thriller
Best Knicks team ever? With franchise's first NBA championship in 53 years, they're building their case
Snake Bytes 6/14
Team News D-backs squander another one of Soroka’s walk-free quality starts “When you feel like the hitter might not know what’s coming, I feel a little bit more comfortable throwing balls completely over the plate,” Soroka said. “Last year, I think I ran into struggles, because I didn’t have those extra pitches. And second, third […]
Titans' Tony Pollard gaining offseason fantasy buzz
Tony Pollard is a top fantasy football target for 2026 as he remains the clear starter for the Tennessee Titans.
Who will the Guardians be without José Ramírez?
Hello darkness my old friend
An emotional Victor Wembanyama laments NBA Finals loss to Knicks
Wemby needed a moment while discussing his team's NBA Finals loss.
Trump turns 80 with a showstopping spectacle of cage fights at the White House. But big issues loom
President Donald Trump celebrates turning 80 with a UFC cage-fighting event on the White House's South Lawn.
Trump turns 80 with a showstopping spectacle of cage fights at the White House. But big issues loom
President Donald Trump celebrates turning 80 with a UFC cage-fighting event on the White House's South Lawn.
Tomb Raider's new star reveals her 'classic' and 'unapologetic' approach to Lara Croft
Alex Wilton Regan wants to bring out Lara Croft's confident side again
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
What Genres and Streamers Won 2025? And Who Lost? Plus Six Strategy Thoughts
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Okay, time for the tenth and final article in my ten-part series recapping 2025. As I wrote two articles ago, my barometer for whether these articles are worth writing/publishing is whether they yield strategic insights, and once again, every subsection in this article has a strategic takeaway (or two). Honestly, these are the most important takeaways, since I step back and look holistically at the streaming wars in 2025. After I declare which streamers won and lost the year and which genres won and lost the year, I have six bonus thoughts. If you’d like to review the whole series... You can find the film flops here and here. You can find the TV shows flops here and here. You can find the top films here. You can find the top TV shows here, here and here. Then I declared my winners and losers in various categories here. You can find my 2024 recaps here. You can find the 2023 recaps here and here. And my 2022, 2021 and 2020 are all stored here. Yeah, it’s halfway through the year, and I’m just finishing this series up now. This year, I tried to space things out to not clog up my writing calendar, plus I had to wait for Fallout to (finally) drop off the charts. Well, that ended up pushing this series wayyyyy too far back on the calendar. Oh well. Next year, the goal will be to finish this series in March, but frankly, I just need more staff to make that happen. So please subscribe. Or, if you’re an advertiser (movie studio, FYC firm, or other), please reach out. Subscribe Streamer of the Year: Netflix Honorable Mention: Paramount (and CBS) So, just last week, I wrote about how Netflix has lost seven of its top twelve scripted shows in the last year. And I shared two very dour looks at Netflix’s potential slowdown this year and last. Guess what? They’re still the number one streamer in America. In 2025, they dominated new streaming shows (even if most of those new hit shows aren’t coming back for future seasons), they had the two biggest films, and they had the top returning TV show by a mile. The world is complicated, nuanced and messy. There may be warning signs of a future Netflix slowdown, but in 2025, Netflix was still the number one streamer. Note what I didn’t say? That Netflix has “won” the streaming wars, because obviously the streaming wars are still ongoing and, more importantly, YouTube is still growing—so now YouTube has “won” the streaming wars?—while Netflix’s share of TV consumption has stalled out. Avoid simplistic talking points, especially if they’re constantly repeated and could fit on a bumper sticker. I had trouble picking the second-place streamer this year, because all of the candidates for second place—Prime Video, HBO Max, and Paramount+—had some hits, but no one stood out. Then I saw this update from Nielsen on the top shows on TV in the 2025-206 season. Sure enough, Netflix had five of the top ten shows! And they had ten of the top 31 shows and fifteen of the top fifty. But CBS/Paramount+ actually had more shows in the top thirty and the top fifty. Paramount+/CBS had twelve of the top thirty shows and nineteen of the top fifty. Let me emphasize that: CBS/Paramount+ had more top shows in the 2025-2026 season than Netflix. And this look was just for TV shows, not live sports, an arena Netflix barely plays in. Meanwhile, Paramount-Skydance’s market cap is a fraction of Netflix’s. That’s weird, right? Streaming Loser of the Year, TV… We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… ...what streamer lost the year in TV... …whether Netflix could win the title for “film” streamer too… …who won the Disney vs Warner Bros. battle for theaters… ...what TV genres won and lost the year... ...what film genres won and lost the year... ...what film genre people think is thriving on streaming but isn’t… …why F-BOSSS TV shows don’t hold the same sway in the 2020s… …what it means to “flop” as a film on streaming… …UK shows underperforming on streaming… And a lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you’d like to read more about why you should subscribe, please read this article about the Streaming Ratings Report, why it matters, why you need it, and why we cover streaming ratings best.
Didn’t get Charli XCX tickets? Hers’s where you can still buy them
Resale prices for the “Music, Fashion, Film Tour” start at around $100–$150.
HBOT USA Expands Education and Business Consulting Initiatives as Interest in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Continues to Grow
HBOT USA is expanding its focus on education, compliance, and business consulting to help healthcare professionals build safe and scalable hyper...
William Floyd High School Science Students Win Second Consecutive LI Water Quality Challenge
For the second consecutive year, a team of William Floyd High School science students under the direction of Christopher Orlando were selected as winners in the Long Island Regional Planning Council’s (LIRPC) annual Long Island Water Quality Challenge. The team received a $2,500 grant to implement its proposal at the school, and earned WFHS the recognition of being the first school to earn back-to-back victories in the competition!
Northern Highland Fishery Research Area Celebrates 80 Years Of Internationally Recognized Fisheries Science
On June 20, 2026, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Northern Highland Fishery Research Area (NHFRA), one of the longest-running fisheries research projects in the world.
Pierre Gasly promoted to Monaco Grand Prix podium
Alpine succeeded in getting Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix penalties rescinded, returning him to P3
Forza Horizon 6 devs address mysterious save file deleting bug, roll out fix for PC ahead of Xbox patch
Playground Games have been scrambling to fix an issue in Forza Horizon 6 that is causing players to lose their save files and all progress.
Matt Damon is ready to wake up the “Bourne” franchise and is looking for ideas
Damon was regularly churning out entries in the action series every three to five years, but it's been 10 years since the fifth and last film, "Jason Bourne."
Apple Lands Hot Rom-Com Package ‘One Month Mark’, With Jennifer Lawrence To Star And Produce Project From Sophie Fleur De Bruijn And Chernin Entertainment
After an auction that saw 40 buyers put in offers before Chernin Entertainment landed rights, the highly sought spec One Month Mark has not only landed an A-list star but also found a studio to call h...
Community Health in Action: Manor College at the Byrd Cancer Expo
The All Things Cancer + Wellness Expo is designed to provide free access to essential health services, educational resources and community support. Manor College Dental Hygiene students delivered an oral health initiative at the annual Byrd Cancer Foundation Wellness and Cancer Expo on April 18. The entire Dental Hygiene cohort participated to provide over 30 Read more >
For some fans, the Ocarina of Time remake fulfills a Zelda fantasy Nintendo killed 15 years ago
Nintendo fans still fondly recall a 2011 tech demo that teased an ultimate Zelda game that never happened.
Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Payouts May Not Be Dead After All
Despite insisting that a $1.776 billion fund has been scrapped, the administration is quietly assuring allies that plans remain on track.
How a Christmas playset sparked a 20-year business — and brought one family home to Idaho
RIGBY — Tyler Ray built a playground for his son as a Christmas present in 2005. More than two decades later, it still sits in his backyard — and the company born from that project is about to celebrate a big anniversary Ray launched Ruffhouse Vinyl Play Systems in Gilbert, Arizona, in 2006. In July, […]
Apotex Health shares jump in Toronto stock market debut
Canadian health company Apotex Health rose about 17% above the initial public offering price at its Toronto market debut on Wednesday, bringing life back to a subdued market that had struggled to see new IPOs for years.
Trump EPA move sparks fears over kids’ health
An advocate warns that rolling back a key climate finding could expose children – especially in Black and Brown communities – to more dangerous air pollution.
Tigers 10, Twins 4: Tigers out-slug Twins
Four solo home runs weren’t enough as the Tigers pulled away late.
Bonita Springs greyhound track could become family-friendly entertainment center
Plans submitted by Oakes Farms, Inc. propose transforming the former Naples-Fort Myers Greyhound Track into a family-friendly venue with restaurants, pools, and playgrounds, generating excitement among local residents.
Mejia named to Small Business Committee, her second committee seat
Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) received a second committee assignment today, taking a seat on the House Small Business Committee. Mejia, who won a
Switch 2 is accidentally getting the best looking Final Fantasy game
Final Fantasy Resonance goes full Octopath Traveler in a new Switch game that's excitingly being compared to Brave Exvius
From early lab research to clinical treatments
Studies in mice can be helpful and important. They can point scientists toward new ideas. But they do not guarantee that the same thing will work in
NBA Finals: Victor Wembanyama finds redemption with Madison Square Garden takeover
Jays Lose To Phillies
Phillies 5 Blue Jays 2 We knew this was going to be a tough one. Cristopher Sánchez came into the game with a 1.46 ERA and he’s allowed just 1 run in his last 5 starts, covering 38 innings. The most earned runs he’s given up in a game was 2 and, well, we got […]
iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 don't drop support for any iPhones—and just a few iPads
This promises to be a solid release for aging iPhones.
Surprising parts about my first adults-only cruise with Virgin Voyages
I took my first adults-only cruise with the luxury cruise line Virgin Voyages. I was surprised to find a playground and a tattoo parlor on the ship.
Woman charged with DWI after crashing into Rocky Mount business
Rocky Mount police say 34-year-old Keyaira Brock crashed into Red Light Auto Sale, located at 923 W. Raleigh Boulevard, around 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Did 49ers cancel mandatory minicamp to keep Brandon Aiyuk away?
The 49ers recently canceled their mandatory minicamp as a reward for perfect attendance in offseason program. But is it because of Brandon Aiyuk?
A Science Based Look at Fluorination and PFAS.
Are all fluorinated packaging technologies created equal? Or are we oversimplifying risk? Greif examines how process chemistry, particularly oxygen control, fundamentally shapes PFAS outcomes. Backed by validated data and scientific rigor, this paper reframes barrier selection for regulators, engineers, and decision-makers seeking compliant, high-performance packaging solutions.This Technical Paper is brought to you by Greif.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Eternal Whispers is a new, Disco Elysium-like CRPG
Eternal Whispers developer isn't shy about its inspirations
Fable launches February 23, 2027
Fable will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store on February XXX, 2027, publisher Xbox Game Studios and developer Playground Games announced. The PlayStation 5…
Carmen Electra breaks down her 'whirlwind' return to “Scary Movie ”for a surprise cameo
Electra's delightful reveal in the franchise's long-awaited return marks her third appearance in a "Scary Movie" movie.
What those 'Masters of the Universe' end-credits scenes mean for a potential sequel— and why one almost didn't happen
'Masters of the Universe' director Travis Knight and star Nicholas Galitzine break down those two end-credits scenes — one of which almost didn't get to be in the movie — and what they reveal about a potential second He-Man film.
Sporting director confirms Arsenal loan won’t be extended
Lucas Nygaard’s time with Brabrand IF is at an end, with the club’s sporting director confirming his initial loan spell won’t be extended.Photo via Brabrand IF on InstagramArsenal youth goalkeep...
Ancient Chinese medicine could transform hair loss treatment
A traditional Chinese medicinal root used for over a thousand years is attracting new scientific attention for its potential to combat hair loss. Studies suggest Polygonum multiflorum can block harmful hormones, activate hair-growth signals, protect follicles, and boost blood flow to the scalp. Researchers say the herb’s effects align remarkably well with both ancient descriptions and modern hair biology.
Wildlife ecologist says her favorite science talk this year was in her children's classroom
"The kids are alright, and they sure are ready to protect the natural world into the future."
AI Agent Uncovers 21 Zero-Days in FFmpeg; Chrome Patches Record 429 Bugs
AI found 21 FFmpeg zero-days, some 20 years old; Chrome 149 patched 429 bugs, including 100+ critical/high flaws.
Sparks’ Rae Burrell stuns with daring pregame outfit vs. Wings
Rae Burrell confirmed her availability against the Dallas Wings with style, as the Los Angeles Sparks guard’s pregame outfit turned heads on Friday night. The 25-year-old arrived at Crypto.com Arena wearing a fitted black bodysuit with a black leather jacket.…
1666: Amsterdam from the Assassin's Creed creator finally has a release window
And you can play part of it now
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services issues health alert for Rockford Lake
Nebraska has issued a health alert for Harmful Algal Blooms, also known as toxic blue-green algae, at Rockford Lake in Gage County on Friday.
Helmy gets key promotion at RWJBarnabas Health
RWJBarnabas Health Care has promoted George Helmy, a former United States Senator from New Jersey, to executive vice president and chief corporate affairs
The Afghan Whigs tour tickets just dropped: How to secure eye-catching deals for limited U.S. run
With only 12 shows scheduled for the U.S., fans need to focus on securing tickets as soon as possible as the supply is expected to dwindle quickly.
Things to do in the Loveland area on Friday: Bluegrass & Brews Festival, Colorado Medieval Fest and more
The Bluegrass & Brews Festival and Colorado Medieval Fest will be in Loveland on Friday, along with many more entertainment offerings.
Personal data on mental health patients stolen in provider group hack
In what’s being called a “data security incident,” Acadia Healthcare confirmed a compromised email account led to sensitive data on patients being accessed by hackers. The full number of victims is being tabulated.
Are Germany Overrated Heading In? World Cup Group E Preview
Germany always seems like a favorite at the World Cup, but does this 2026 squad have the talent to challenge for the trophy?
WOSU PRESENTS: Politics and a Pint
WOSU is excited to host another lively political discussion in a casual setting. Grab a pour at Seventh Son Brewing and engage with our expert panel about the upcoming general election, current news, issues and topics. Admission is $10. Seventh Son will generously donate $1 of every beer and Kitty Paw hard seltzer purchased from the sunroom bar to support WOSU's mission (must mention that you are a guest of WOSU). Panelists scheduled to appear are:Mike Thompson, host of WOSU TV’s Columbus on the Record and political podcast SnollygosterAmy Juravich, host of WOSU’s All Sides with Amy JuravichMark Ferenchik, WOSU News DirectorSarah Donaldson, Ohio Public Radio Statehouse Reporter
Trump’s DOJ enlists partisans, conspiracy backers to probe president’s political foes
An FBI agent who wanted to investigate “Italygate,” the 84-year-old wife of a top Justice Department official and a Ken Paxton lawyer are all part of the effort.
NBA Mock Draft 7.0: Who goes No. 1? The latest on every pick of the draft with three weeks to go
Explore Fun and Immersive New Community Missions in GTA Online
Dive into exciting new player-created GTA Online experiences in the Community Mission Series on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Enhanced), including a second showcased submission from GTA Series Videos along with new featured creators including ShelbyGR,...
Houston Rockets unveil new uniforms, branding for 2026-27 season
With a nod to their “ketchup and mustard” history, the Rockets are updating their uniforms and branding for the NBA’s 2026-27 season and beyond.
The Bear’s Den, June 4, 2026
The Chicago Bears are in the heart of voluntary OTA’s, and we have news.
Ex-New York Giants QB Russell Wilson announces retirement from NFL
Former New York Giants QB Russell Wilson has officially announced his retirement from the NFL.
Business owners say they’re being forced out of Northlake Mall with just weeks notice
Business owners say they have less than 30 days to move out.
Black men's health in Boston: New push to bridge life expectancy gap
City uses gathering to shape how $1 million in new funding will be distributed
Whitworth University Launches New Bachelor of Science Nursing Program to Strengthen Care and Address Critical Shortages Across the Region
Whitworth University is pleased to announce that its new bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program has been approved by the Northwest Com...
Scientists reverse anxiety by fixing a tiny brain circuit
A newly identified group of amygdala neurons appears to play a central role in anxiety and social behavior. Restoring normal activity in this tiny brain circuit reversed anxiety and social deficits in mice, revealing a promising new target for future treatments.
Control Resonant release date officially revealed during Sony State of Play
Remedy's surreal Manhattan adventure is nearly here
Seven UT Health Sciences Physicians Named to Inaugural Memphis Medical Society Hall of Fame
Seven of the 10 Hall of Fame honorees can trace their careers through the University of Tennessee Health Sciences.
Packers OTA Recap: Josh Jacobs returns to practice
Packers kicker Trey Smack went 4 of 8 on field goals during Tuesday’s practice
Clutch is Maverick Games' new AAA cinematic driving game, coming in 2027
Developed by a team of Playground Games and Codemasters veterans, Clutch aims to “break the mould of modern driving games,” combining professional circuit competitions, underground street racing and cinematic chases.
The Obama Center opens as a time warp to an old political order
Despite a range of controversies, the Obama Presidential Center makes a good first impression — even the “Obamalisk” at its center.
Southampton sticking by manager Eckert after Spygate controversy
In its written reasons published on Monday, an arbitration panel laid bare the influence of Eckert in the scandal, saying it was “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage” and analysts who carried out the unauthorized filming “felt pressurised to do the observations that Mr. Eckert and the senior coaches wished them to do.” However, Šolak said in a video message to fans published on Tuesday that the club believes Eckert “is the man to take us forward.”
India’s Zee Entertainment signs World Cup 2026 broadcast deal with FIFA
Zee will broadcast the 2026 and 2030 World Cups and the 2027 Women’s World Cup among 39 FIFA tournaments until 2034.
AJ Brown Addresses Patriots Trade For First Time
The Philadelphia Eagles finally traded wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots, and Brown had the perfect reaction.
Congo Reopens Main Airport in Ebola Epicenter as Officials Brace for Long Outbreak
Congo reopened the main airport in the eastern province hardest hit by Ebola, after health officials reported tentative signs the outbreak may be slowing despite a continuing struggle to trace exposed contacts and investigate suspected cases.
Fantasy Rookie Profile: Malachi Fields in redraft leagues
More fantasy profile's are on the way from the 2026 NFL Draft class, the latest being on Malachi Fields.
U.S. political commentators Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker say U.K. denying them entry "for criticizing Israel"
Feds coming to Raleigh to help small businesses get infrastructure work
The Triangle is one of only three places nationwide to host the US Department of Transportation’s National Small Business Matchmaking Series.
Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur blocked from entering UK by Home Office
The US citizens and left-wing content creators with huge online followings were due to speak at the SXSW London festival and Oxford this week.
Column: Easygoing, safe-bet governor may be what California voters want
Regardless of the final vote count, Xavier Becerra’s pre-primary sprint to the front in the race for governor was remarkable and historic.
12-year-old C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital patient heads to Washington to advocate for children’s health
Twelve-year-old with sickle cell anemia to share his story with lawmakers to help them understand how federal health policies affect children like him as part of the Children’s Hospital Association’s Family Advocacy Day.
Derek Harper expects Luka Doncic to retire with the Mavericks
Derek Harper expects Luka Doncic to retire with the Mavericks
Two US political commentators say they have been banned from entering UK
Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker say UK has stopped them travelling to speak at SXSW London
DHS wants to block airlines from sanctuary cities. Experts say it would be chaos.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has a plan to punish cities that don’t enforce federal immigration policies
AMD’s Plan to Fix RAM Costs: Bring Back Bygone CPUs
Decade-old AM4 motherboards now seem even more appealing if you can’t afford to upgrade.