SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " pick " 3,678 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Report claims Havertz out for 4 weeks with injury
Kai Havertz has returned to Arsenal for further checks after picking up a muscle injury with Germany, with fresh reports raising concern over how long he could be out.Photo by Lars Baron/Getty ImagesK...
Sharks Rookie Already Turning Heads After Two Preseason Games
Fans of the San Jose Sharks have got to love what they are seeing in rookie Ivar Stenberg. The second-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft has already recorded five points, three goals, and a plus-3 across his first two preseason games, generating even more optimism for one of the league’s brightest up-and-coming hockey […] The post Sharks Rookie Already Turning Heads After Two Preseason Games appeared first on HEAVY.
Former Sabres First-Round Pick Lands Another Opportunity
Alex Nylander flamed out after just 19 games with the Buffalo Sabres. He has since bounced around the NHL, failing to establish himself as a full-time player at hockey’s highest level. Still, that hasn’t stopped the Calgary Flames from adding Nylander to a one-year, two-way contract off of his PTO, which they made official on […] The post Former Sabres First-Round Pick Lands Another Opportunity appeared first on HEAVY.
6 Supplements You Probably Don’t Need to Take
The supplements you should take depend on your health, diet and medications. Here’s why some popular picks may not be necessary.
Who Needs to Step Up Without Buccaneers' Top Rookies?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without Josiah Trotter and Rueben Bain Jr. in Sunday's pivotal home matchup. With these rookies sidelined, who will pick up the slack for head coach Todd Bowles' unit.
Who Needs to Step Up Without Buccaneers' Top Rookies?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be without Josiah Trotter and Rueben Bain Jr. in Sunday's pivotal home matchup. With these rookies sidelined, who will pick up the slack for head coach Todd Bowles' unit.
Real Madrid star forced off with injury on international duty
La Liga giants Real Madrid have on Friday evening been dealt a potential blow on the personnel front. This comes after star goalscorer Kylian Mbappé picked up a fitness problem whilst on internationa...
Mystic businesses, tourists brace for storm ahead of weekend events
Businesses and tourists in Mystic are preparing for a storm expected to move into the area, with wind already picking up near Mystic Harbor.
“Survivor 51”, “Line of Fire”, and Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen top this week’s Must List
Jae Stephens’ “Audacity” and “Exhibit G” round out our picks for the weekend of Sept. 25.
‘Survivor 51,’ ‘Line of Fire,’ and Robert Pattinson in ‘Primetime’ top this week’s Must List
See EW’s top pop culture picks for the week, including ‘Survivor 51,’ new family drama ‘Line of Fire,’ and Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen in ‘Primetime.’
'We were outdoors': McInerney remembered at new Rome tennis, pickleball courts
The new tennis and pickleball courts at Franklyn's Field are officially open for playtime in Rome following a rededication to the memory of Timothy J. McInerney and everyone who grew up playing at the park.
New-look squad, but how will Pocognoli's Scotland line-up?
Former Scotland forwards James McFadden and Pat Nevin try to guess who new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli will pick to start in Slovenia on Saturday.
Players Sports Center Brings Indoor Sports Back To Logan Square
The center, located in the former The Windy City Fieldhouse, has six indoor sand volleyball courts, two basketball courts, two regulation pickleball courts and an indoor turf soccer field.
STAFF PICKS: Notre Dame Fighting Irish VS Purdue Boilermakers
The staff picks for Notre Dame VS Purdue plus other big games from across the country.
September 25 Playbook: The Vulnerables
Our congressional vulnerability rankings are back. This is the PoliticsPA Playbook. 🪇 TGIF. 39 days until the midterms, but who’s counting? 🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Let’s Dance. The Ramones PA Weather☀️ Zelienople | Sunny, 70☀️ Gettysburg | Sunny, 71🌤️ Jessup | Mostly Sunny, 73 PA Sports ⚾ Phillies (87-72)…
Bears vs. Eagles predictions: Spread, Total, and 3 Bold Picks!
Big game this week on Monday Night Football between the Bears and Eagles, so @wiltfongjr makes his picks here.
Trump picked a fight with the media... and lost
Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Shrai Popat about why Trump seems weaker these days, and why it could be dangerous to underestimate him
Picking every Big Ten game in college football Week 4
Who do we have winning in the Big Ten this week, including in USC’s massive battle against Oregon?
Texas A&M Week 4 expert picks for matchup vs. LSU
Experts favor LSU as Texas A&M heads to Baton Rouge looking to rebound from its loss to Kentucky and get a steadier performance from Marcel Reed.
Jurgen Klopp gives mixed update on Kai Havertz injury
Kai Havertz picked up an injury in Germany’s draw with the Netherlands on Thursday night, undergoing an MRI to assess a suspected hamstring issue.Photo by Lars Baron/Getty ImagesKai Havertz only las...
You are the new Scotland boss
Put yourself in the shoes of the new Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli as he picks his first XI.
The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics
Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.
Where you can (and can't) pick your own apples in Cincinnati
The Enquirer created an up-to-date list of which apple orchards are still offering u-pick apples in Greater Cincinnati and Ohio.
Bucs Predicted to Replace QB Baker Mayfield With ACC Superstar
Sports Illustrated predicts Bucs will replace QB Baker Mayfield with 2027 1st-round pick. The post Bucs Predicted to Replace QB Baker Mayfield With ACC Superstar appeared first on HEAVY.
NBA No. 1 Pick 'Disappointment' Predicted As Mavs Breakout Candidate
The former No. 1 pick has a chance to rebuild his career in Dallas after two difficult seasons with Atlanta.
NFL Week 3 picks, predictions: Falcons vs. Packers on TNF
Our expert picks for Week 3’s Thursday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.
15 early October Prime Day tech deals, hand-picked by experts
These early deals erase some of the price hikes we've seen amid the RAM crisis. They're so good, we'd add them to our own carts.
Trump FDA pick repeatedly sidesteps Sanders' universal healthcare demands in heated clash
Bernie Sanders pressed Trump FDA nominee Dr. Heidi Overton on whether healthcare is a human right, growing frustrated as she declined a yes-or-no answer.
Police: Driver was high when he crashed into Massena home business
A St. Lawrence County man was allegedly high on drugs when he drove a pickup truck into a house in Massena Thursday morning.
USA TODAY Sports predicts Florida vs Ole Miss outcome in Week 4
Here are the picks from USA TODAY Sports' college football experts for the Florida Gators vs Ole Miss Rebels' battle in the Swamp in Week 4.
Scientists Discovered a Mysterious Force Eating Away at Cars, Bridges, and Monuments
When water slides on a surface, it can pick up an electric charge—and that can have consequences for metals exposed to the elements.
Ohio football coach resigns following investigation into 'unprofessional conduct'
Rob Page had been placed on administrative leave following a loss to Pickerington Central (OH) on September 18.
Should Raiders consider trading for Marvin Harrison Jr?
Former 1st round pick could use a change of scenery
Now Google Chrome shares tabs to new devices that save where you were
Pick up where you left off.
Backpack massages muscles when it detects they're fatigued
A backpack consisting of electrodes, cables and a soft massage head kneads muscles in the back when it picks up on them being fatigued
Cowboys Improved 1st-Round Pick Gets New Week 3 Concern
The Dallas Cowboys have had a pleasant surprise with the early play of Tyler Guyton, but he will get a test in Week 3. The post Cowboys Improved 1st-Round Pick Gets New Week 3 Concern appeared first on HEAVY.
The Best Brighton XI of the last 11 seasons
A recent social media trend has seen fans pick out one player from each of the last eleven seasons to build an ultimate starting lineup for their club. Today we attempt this trend for Brighton and Hove Albion.
Top Weekly Entertainment Picks
The first weekend of fall has arrived and South Jersey is the place to be. Experience the excitement of Margate’s Fall Funfest, hear the soulful sounds of Tom
Steelers-Lions Blockbuster Trade Idea Would Reshape Detroit
CBS Sports proposed a blockbuster trade that would send Joey Porter Jr. and DK Metcalf to the Lions for Jameson Williams and a 2027 first-round pick.
Falcons Roundtable: Can Michael Penix Save Atlanta's Offense Against Packers?
The Atlanta Falcons face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football as Michael Penix Jr. returns from his ACL injury. Our Falcons Roundtable breaks down Atlanta's 0-2 start, Penix's expectations, Green Bay's weaknesses, bold predictions and Week 3 score picks.
NFL Week 3 Survivor/Eliminator Picks
With 1:56 left Sunday, the Eagles were down 20-17 and looked like they might lose to the Titans. With 10 seconds left, they were still down. They scored a touchdown then, and even if they hadn’t they were close enough…
Spartans Wire Big Ten Football Picks: Week 4
Check out our picks against the betting spread for each of the Big Ten games this week
Is metascience being co-opted?
In July, the White House released a report that argued academia is deeply dysfunctional and in need of radical reform.Science: A New Golden Age sets out a litany of problems many academics will recognise: interminable waits for grants; short-term funding rather than support for longer, more ambitious projects; ballooning administrative requirements; pressure to publish, and many more. “The scientific machine is getting bogged down,” it says. At least on the face of it, Science: A New Golden Age is a triumph for the metascience movement, a loose-knit, global group of academics, philanthropists and think tankers that want far more testing and experimentation in how we fund public research and innovation. The report tells US research funders to set up internal metascience units to do just this. But it has also set alarm bells ringing that metascience is being conveniently deployed to help justify the defunding of US universities, which US vice president JD Vance has openly labelled “the enemy.” “Just because you have an issue with your plumbing in your house doesn't mean you light the entire house on fire and burn it to the ground,” said Colette Delawalla, chief executive of Stand Up for Science, a group campaigning against what it says are attacks on scientists by the Trump administration. No one is arguing that academia doesn’t need reform, but there’s debate over how far and how fast the system should be shaken up. Does public R&D need slow and steady evidence-based adjustment, or radical new experiments?One of the key arguments in Science: A New Golden Age is that there’s not enough funding for what it calls “mid-level” science: engineering-heavy projects that require tens of millions of dollars, involve ten to a hundred people, and last around five years. Such a project might develop a brain-computer interface for people with Alzheimer's disease, for example. As such, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has already announced $1.5 billion to set up so-called X-Labs, effectively new research organisations to pursue breakthroughs in areas such as quantum sensing and new scientific instruments. Funding divertedBut there’s a catch: this money has squeezed NSF budgets for more traditional, fundamental research grants, Science reported in June, likely meaning less cash for university-based scientists. Science: A New Golden Age also makes various swipes at universities, accusing them of extracting overheads from scientists to fund administrative bloat. “We have become dependent on a narrow set of legacy institutions,” it says. The report doesn’t mention it, but the US government is simultaneously seeking greater powers over federal funding, which would allow political appointees at funding agencies to screen or cancel research grants mid-project. The White House is also seeking to slash the NSF’s budget by more than half in 2027, although similar cuts proposed for 2026 were blocked by Congress. Convenient hookThis has worried some that the metascience agenda could be misused as a kind of smokescreen to further weaken universities. James Wilsdon, executive director of the Research on Research Institute at University College London, said that the report contains lots of “interesting ideas” and agrees that in places, academia is a “pretty broken system.” But the risk is that metascience is being deployed as a “convenient hook” to support cuts and a “political land grab” to transfer grant power from scientists to political appointees in US funding agencies.So far, the metascience agenda hasn’t been seized on by radical right parties in Europe. But Wilsdon worries it will cross the Atlantic, politicising research reform efforts and making them more difficult to carry out. The report is already making some in Europe sceptical of the entire idea. “The system is not without flaws, but the metascience discussion is not likely to improve the system but rather to generate munition to undermine it,” said Claes de Vreese, a professor of AI and society at the University of Amsterdam. Peter Thiel protégéOfficially, Science: A New Golden Age has just one named author: Michael Kratsios, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a former chief of staff to Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel. He also served as chief financial officer of Thiel’s Clarium Capital Management. Since the 1990s, Thiel has criticised US universities for moving away from teaching what he views as the classic works of western civilisation, and drifting towards “anti-Western zealotry.” And since 2011, he has offered two-year fellowships of $250,000 to young people to skip or drop out of university, and instead start companies or pursue scientific research. “College can be good for learning about what’s been done before, but it can also discourage you from doing something new,” according to the Thiel Fellowships website. In other areas, the Trump administration has promoted academics with a longstanding interest in metascience. For example, the head of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, in 2020 co-authored a study arguing the funder backs overly conservative proposals, although he achieved wider prominence as a critic of pandemic lockdowns. Careless talk costs fundingEven before the Trump administration embraced the metascience agenda, some metascientists privately wondered whether they should be careful not to overstate dysfunctions in academia, in case this gets used as ammunition against universities. But others think being cautious with criticism is pointless. After all, last year, the Trump administration sought to cut funding from US universities on an entirely different premise: supposed antisemitism on campus. “I don't think these governments need a technical metascientific excuse to attack the universities, they will want to do so anyway,” said Will Stone, a researcher at Science Works, a new think tank advocating for a “metascience revolution” in the UK. “I think researchers should report what they find, even when the findings may be used to advance policies they disagree with,” echoed Russell Funk, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, who in 2023 co-authored a highly influential paper that argued scientific papers were becoming less disruptive over time. No justificationThat said, Funk thinks that metascientific research certainly doesn’t justify a weakening of universities. Instead, scientists need “time, resources and stability to pursue unfamiliar ideas,” he said. “Taking away those conditions works against the very goal the reforms are supposed to achieve.”The Institute for Progress, a Washington DC-based innovation policy think tank that has championed X-Labs and metascience units, also says that reforms should complement, not supplant, universities. “Unpredictable, unreliable, and reduced federal funding to researchers is destabilising to the very foundations of research and development and is bad,” said Jenn Gustetic, the institute’s director of metascience and R&D policy.Evolution or revolution?This points to a much bigger divide in the metascience community: how far and how fast should public R&D be shaken up? Does it need evolution or revolution? For example, Science: A New Golden Age says the science system relies too heavily on traditional “workhorse” project grants, the type that pay out around $250,000 a year to fund “hypothesis-driven science by small teams on tractable questions.” However, in criticising project grants, the report “decisively picks one side of a debate that is far from settled,” David Hilmer Rex, a metascientist based in Denmark, has written. In June, Pierre Azoulay, a metascientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, defended project grants, saying that the alternative of X-Labs “merits scepticism.”A-B testingOne challenge in metascience is that it’s easier to generate evidence for some types of change than others. Most straightforwardly, research funders can run A-B tests on different ways of awarding money. For example, Germany’s Volkswagen Foundation recently trialled distributed peer review, where applicants rate each other’s proposals, and measured its results against traditional review panels. Distributed peer review made quicker decisions, although awarded money to largely different ideas. However, much of the focus of the metascience movement has been on founding fast-moving and free-acting new research organisations and funders, in contrast to the alleged stodginess of mainstream academia or public innovation grants. A culture of speed and freedom are the animating principles behind Germany’s Sprind or the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria).Related articlesViewpoint: it's time to experiment with how Europe funds science European researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationHowever, while it’s possible to closely study previously successful bodies, such as the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), for historical clues to their secret sauce, it’s impossible to guarantee in advance that the likes of Sprind or Aria will actually work as hoped. But advocates of new organisations say this inherent uncertainly shouldn’t stop us trying. “If we wait for definitive proof that something will work before we try it, I don't know where your proof is coming from,” said Stone. Trade-offsUp until now, experiments in metascience haven’t generally come with hard trade-offs over money. In the US, new ideas such as focused research organisations have often been funded by billionaire philanthropists. In Europe, new innovation agencies such as Sprind and Aria, or the Netherland’s new National Agency for Disruptive Innovation, haven’t needed explicit cuts elsewhere in the research system. But with the $1.5 billion establishment of X-Labs by the NSF, the trade-offs are becoming clearer. Some metascientists privately wonder whether a smaller pilot would have been more appropriate, given that the idea is untested. The Institute for Progress counters that the $1.5 billion X-Labs budget is spread out over a decade, so will account for less than 2% of the NSF’s annual budget. “It’s important to remember that [Darpa] was once an institutional experiment as well. Now it’s one of the most cited innovative funding models in the world,” said Gustetic.As for Europe?The US isn’t the only country placing metascience at the heart of its research strategy. Science: A New Golden Age looks admiringly at the UK, which in 2024 set up a Metascience Unit to scrutinise how it funds research. In Brussels, it’s more of a mixed picture. In 2018, the EU set up the European Innovation Council to funnel grants and equity to start-ups, although it’s sometimes criticised for awarding money too slowly. Recently, the council has started experimenting with challenges, where teams of inventors compete to overcome a technological challenge. The European Commission also wants to experiment with partially randomising grant winners, to cut down on bureaucracy. However, the Commission’s own advisers have said the EU’s own research schemes are too conventional. They want the Commission to establish a new dedicated unit to scrutinise and experiment with funding. But there’s no sign of a such unit emerging in Brussels’ plans for the next Horizon Europe programme, which from 2028 is set to distribute more than €160 billion over seven years. Sam Bogerd, director of breakthrough innovation at the Brussels-based Arq Foundation, an AI-focused think tank that also looks at metascience, says that Europe might have the opposite problem to the US: universities and basic research funding are still reasonably well supported, but there’s not enough experimentation. “We're not taking a close enough look at where this money can achieve the most, and I am worried that the good ideas around metascience will be tainted politically by their association with the Trump administration,” he said. He’s still lobbying for the Commission to set up an experimental unit. But in the meantime, the Arq Foundation plans to do its own research, and is currently hiring two metascience researchers to run the rule over how Brussels spends research funding.
Trump FDA pick tests Collins on abortion
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is in the middle of a fight over a Trump health nominee, presenting a key test of her commitment to being an abortion-rights Republican. Dr. Heidi Overton, Presi…
Alaska Science Forum: Mapping tsunamis, building trust
While taking a quick shower before her son’s fourth birthday party on Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami scientist Elena Troshina heard the phone ring. Deciding it was worth jumping out, she picked it up — with kids, you never know.
University System of Georgia makes business decision with chancellor pick
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has named Thomas A. Fanning as sole finalist for chancellor, with a final vote scheduled for Oct. 1.
The Herald's weekly entertainment picks
Looking to be entertained from Thursday, Sept. 24, through Wednesday, Sept. 30? Check out the Skagit Valley Herald’s weekly recommendations.
Allina Health doctor strike: Union, hospital officials announce tentative agreement
Allina Health reached a tentative agreement with the Doctors Council-SEIU following three years of negotiations and a four-day strike last week.
Rockies Have Five More Games to Pick Up Victories
With the 100-loss mark reached yet again, the Colorado Rockies are looking to get a win or two before the 2026 MLB season ends.
Former Yankees Pitcher, World Series Champion, Dies At 70
The New York Yankees received news that a former New York native, draft pick and team pitcher has died after a long and successful career in baseball.
Panthers named potential trade suitor for Pro Bowl defender
The Panthers have been floated as a possible trade suitor for a former first-round pick and Pro Bowl defender.
Tramon Williams’ pick-6 among great Packers performances against Falcons
You never pass up an excuse to talk about Tramon Williams burning Atlanta.
Former Titans QB Will Levis Lands With New NFL Team
After losing the backup battle in Tennessee, the former second-round pick heads to the Big Apple to replace Bailey Zappe and fight for a future roster spot.
Penguins cut nine players, including Tomas Galvas
The Penguins made some roster cuts today during their off day, trimming away nine players. Besides Gauthier, the fourth goalie in the organization, only Tomas Galvas is on an NHL contract from this group. The Penguins stuck with the plan to loan the 20-year old 2026 second round pick back to his Czech team for […]
Roethlisberger questions why Steelers first-round pick isn't playing
Former QB Ben Roethlisberger questioned why the Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping first-round rookie tackle Max Iheanachor on the bench.
Week 3 NFL picks, will Rams win Sunday Night Football?
Will the Rams beat the Broncos in Week 3?
Feline film fest, kid builders and a wild gala at the LASM: 3 things to do this weekend
Our top 3 picks for your weekend ...
Pete Alonso unanimously named Most Valuable Oriole
There was only one real choice and that’s exactly who everyone picked.
What We Learned About College Football in Week 3
Trinidad Chambliss Vaults Up the Heisman List Chambliss finished eighth in Heisman votes in 2025, but if voting took place following the playoffs the odds are that Chambliss would have been second after Fernando Mendoza. Chambliss has picked up right where he left off, and should be the current frontrunner after another incredible display to […]
Denny Hamlin: Carson Hocevar Always Picks the ‘Nuclear Option’
With Ryan Blaney sitting across from him, Denny Hamlin broke down the Bristol wreck and said Carson Hocevar always reaches for the nuclear option. Hamlin also pointed to his own 2017 mistake at Martinsville as the reason he sees it…
What would nearly brand new Scotland XI look like?
Eight of the Scotland squad are uncapped so what would the least experienced XI look like? And who would you pick for your starting line-up?
'Cahill calm over owners unlikely to ease fan concern'
Tim Cahill has suggested Everton fans should not be concerned about the owners' lack of visibility and that supporters "have to be careful what you wish for". Most understood The Friedkin Group needed time to unpick the tangled financial web left behind by the Farhad Moshiri era. The early business deals, such as consolidating the club's high-interest debt and replacing it with a long-term financing deal with JPMorgan Chase, felt a healthy step forward.
Clippers Get More Bad News With Brandon Ingram Injury Update
The Los Angeles Clippers have had one of the worst months in NBA history, and things could be getting worse. Fans of the franchise are still reeling over the news of losing five future draft picks to doom their future as punishment for the Kawhi Leonard salary cap circumvention. More bad news comes in the […] The post Clippers Get More Bad News With Brandon Ingram Injury Update appeared first on HEAVY.
Ex-Bills WR Brandin Cooks Signs With Super Bowl Contender
Former Buffalo Bills WR & 1st-round pick Brandin Cooks signs with Super Bowl contender. The post Ex-Bills WR Brandin Cooks Signs With Super Bowl Contender appeared first on HEAVY.
Former Saints WR Brandin Cooks Gets Big NFL News: Report
Brandin Cooks’ Saints reunion ended after 10 games. Now the former first-round pick has another NFL opportunity — and a milestone within reach. The post Former Saints WR Brandin Cooks Gets Big NFL News: Report appeared first on HEAVY.
Tyrone Tracy News: Steelers, Giants Connected In Trade Rumors
Tyrone Tracy is still a member of the New York Giants, but that may not be the case for long. A former fifth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Purdue product began his career on a relatively high note. Appearing in all 17 games while making 12 starts, the rookie finished his inaugural campaign …
5 waiver wire pickups in fantasy football in Week 3
Here are five of the top NFL fantasy football waiver wire pickups heading into Week 3, including QB Bryce Young.
Scientists tested the five-second rule by dropping food onto contaminated surfaces 2,560 times — bacteria could transfer almost instantly, and watermelon picked up as much as 97 percent of what it landed on
The bacteria transfer begins before you can blink, and some foods absorb pathogens as readily as a sponge absorbs water.
Torino push for Adams renewal with contract entering final year
Torino want to tie Che Adams to a new contract, with the Scotland international’s current deal running out at the end of the season.According to Tuttosport, via TuttoMercatoWeb, the forward picked u...
TV and streaming viewing picks for September 22, 2026: How to watch WNBA on ESPN
All Times Eastern College Basketball ACC Network Basketball Podcast — ACC Network, 5 p.m. College Football Florida Atlantic Weekly Press Conference — ESPN+, 11:45 a.m. Cincinnati Football Press Conference — ESPN+, noon Oklahoma Football Press Conference — SEC Network, noon Iowa State Football Press Conference — EPSN+, 12:55 p.m. B1G Live: Football Coaches Press Conferences…
How lip-syncing to AI let Forced Entertainment ‘play the game of theatre’
Today we have a fascinating piece by long-time Forced Entertainment fan Ben Kulvichit, speaking to Tim Etchells about their latest show Cold Sweat, how they are integrating lip-sync and AI voices into their work, the question of ‘authenticity’ on stage, and how lip-sync has even opened the door for them to make “something a little bit like drama”. This piece is a paid partnership with the Southbank Centre, where you can see Cold Sweat next month – we’re very grateful to the Southbank Centre for their ongoing support for Exeunt. Holly Williams ‘It was immediately interesting and uncanny’ **By Ben Kulvichit** “Is the microphone on?” So goes one of the opening lines of Signal to Noise, delivered by a human performer lip-syncing to an AI-generated voice. The voice is American, cheery but sluggish, slowed down into a gelatinous drawl. It repeats ad infinitum in a farce of stuckness; an answer never materialises. I find myself asking the same question as I hop on a Google Meet call with Tim Etchells, the artistic director of Forced Entertainment. We spend five or ten minutes frowning at each other, muting and unmuting, me gesticulating in semaphore into my webcam, checking if I am coming through now, restarting the laptop. To Etchells, I appear exaggeratedly mouthing words, my voice missing. In this gloopy purgatory of broken communication, life imitates art imitates life imitates art. We try a Zoom instead. Forced Entertainment, the pioneering British theatre company who have been at the avant-garde of performance since the 1980s, turned an interesting artistic corner with Signal to Noise, created on the occasion of their 40th anniversary. The whole performance employed this lip-sync technique to AI voices; on the face of it a left-field move from a company whose identity has long been grounded in the earthy, immediate presences of its performers and its unassuming, low-tech approach to theatricality. The technique, however, turned out to provide the company with a “rich new seam” of artistic enquiry, and has now spawned a trilogy of works. The second instalment, Cold Sweat, plays at Sheffield Theatres, Southbank Centre, and Lancaster Arts in October, while the third part, Everything Must Go, has been touring in Europe and is slated to come to the UK in 2027. As is often the case with Forced Entertainment shows, the main conceit for this work didn’t arrive until quite late. They were “four or five weeks into rehearsals for Signal to Noise,” Etchells recalls, and getting nowhere. Away from rehearsals, he had been playing around with feeding “weird texts” to AI voices to see how they would cope with them – “basically for my own amusement” – and was compelled by the uniformly “serviceable, benign, good-natured” tone they would read in, no matter how poetic, fractured or experimental the writing. On a hunch, he brought some examples into rehearsals and the performers gave lip-syncing a go. “It was immediately interesting and uncanny,” he recalls, with the performers having to deal in the moment with the problem of mapping themselves onto another artificial ‘performer,’ which itself was dealing with the problem of a very human text. “Almost all the writing for these projects would be useless to us unless it was done in this way,” says Etchells. “We wouldn’t know what to do with it. It’s too poetic. It’s too fictional. It’s too tangled.” But exploring lip-syncing along to the text has opened “an enormous reservoir of ways of thinking about writing and performing.” Subscribe to Exeunt, and get two in-depth pieces on theatre a week, direct to your inbox Subscribe Forced Entertainment have long been sifting through the detritus of popular culture, from daytime TV to end-of-the-pier vaudeville, magic acts and clown shows, to find frameworks for their own unusual entertainments. Lip-syncing, then, makes sense for them to experiment with. As a mode of performance, it’s wired into popular consciousness through pop stars trying to convince stadium audiences of their liveness, or those same voices as channeled through the made-up lips of contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or movie dialogue spreading virally through the host bodies of TikTok users. For Etchells, lip-syncing is often about “approaching real voices and trying to take on their aura,” subsuming that original human presence into yours. “There’s a very basic, elemental sort of theatre magic to it, produced in this very easy way.” This broad approach resonates with instances of lip-syncing within contemporary performance, too. In works like Re-Member Me and Showmanism, performance artist Dickie Beau acts as a kind of spirit medium for archival recordings (this process of re-membering – as in, giving corporeal form to voices – relies on his masterfully precise actor’s technique), while Frankie Thompson is similarly possessed by a host of characters ranging from a nine-year-old Jacob Rees-Mogg to Cliff Richards, all of whom she finds compellingly nauseating, in the exorcism ritual that is her latest show, Horrible Things. What’s different about Forced Entertainment’s use of lip-syncing is that here, there is no original presence to be channeled. The performers are instead taking on what Etchells describes as “the voices of nobody,” or rather the “phantasmic, aggregated echoes” of the many many voices on whose data the AI has been trained, and which are now conjuring into existence words they never actually said. There is a sort of mournful, empty quality to these voices, having “washed up” far away from the people they originally belonged to, to find themselves in stranger’s mouths listing objects, wondering if anyone can hear them and glitching in interminable loops. There is a cold, sad anonymity to it all. Etchells remarks that occasionally the software company he used has notified him that particular people are withdrawing their voices from the platform, instructing him to cease use of those voices. Using these technologies in performance certainly brings up ethical questions around digital rights, consent, identity and ownership, although in the grand scheme of things, Etchells is fairly blasé about it: of all the purposes someone’s voice might be put to without their knowledge, “an avant-garde performance is probably the least of their worries.” [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) [ Frankie Thompson: How I manage my own ‘horrible things’ at the Edinburgh Fringe ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) Exeunt · Aug 25 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/frankie-thompson-horrible-things-essay-mental-health-compulsive-behaviours-pleasance-courtyard-soho-theatre) For the performers, though, lip-syncing to these strange, artificial voices is an odd task, requiring them to bend their live, human presence into the shapes produced by machines. Politically, it mirrors processes that are already at play in the continued computational automation of human life. Etchells brings up James Bridle’s writings on new technologies as a reference point: one example Bridle gives is of “chaotic storage”, a logistics technique employed by Amazon fulfilment centres whereby items are stored not according to traditional methods of categorisation or alphabetisation, but in a way that an algorithm determines to produce the most efficient routes for ‘picking’ based on customer purchase patterns. This appears completely random and incomprehensible to humans, with paddling pools sitting next to USB sticks sitting next to blowtorches, and so for the warehouse workers, the process of picking items becomes completely reliant on technology which tells them where to go. Our world is increasingly being designed not with humans in mind, but rather machines. As Etchells puts it, “technology malforms the space, and then you end up having to live in it.” Initially, Forced Entertainment tried their best to live in the world of machines: “I was in the it’s-got-to-be-perfect school of lip-sync,” says Etchells. But with their aesthetic being so tied to the failing act, the slipping mask, the shoddy costume, “it’s no surprise really that that didn’t last.” Instead, the performers got to enjoy being late for a line, or playing games with each other, “stealing” each other’s voices. Etchells compares it to the principles of ventriloquism, in which a free-floating voice unattached to a body is fundamentally discomforting and “sort of traumatic”. That discomfort is equally as alluring to Forced Entertainment as the satisfaction of precision, the pretence of authenticity only interesting if shown to be a pretence. Lip-sync has also opened up new avenues for the company. Having been allergic all their lives to Plays-with-a-capital-P, with Cold Sweat Forced Entertainment find themselves approaching something a little bit like drama. Rather than the presentational arena of Signal to Noise’s open white stage, Cold Sweat places us more decisively in a “fictional locale”: what appears to be “the aftermath of some disastrous party or backyard drinking binge” where three figures – family members, or neighbours, perhaps – are the last ones standing. “It’s all quite acrimonious and accusatory, everyone’s talking over each other.” For Etchells, this more fictional mode is “a door that we’ve never been able to open. We’ve just never really gone there.” Perhaps it is the technique of lip-syncing, an extra buffer of mediation, that allows them to venture away from the here-and-now without feeling that they have to commit to the “psychological claptrap” that comes along with acting; to be able to “play the game of theatre, without getting one’s hands too dirty.” As I wonder how else the impulses behind Forced Entertainment’s work have changed over time, it occurs to me that over the last ten years of new creations, with the exception of If All Else Fails, the company’s performers haven’t ever spoken on stage: there were two shows without any language at all, Out of Order and Under Bright Light, and then this trilogy of lip-sync works. Etchells agrees it’s a shift away from earlier productions, that were so often about “the actual voices of the performers and their actual presences. We had a lot of money, in some ways, on an authentic approach to what it might mean to speak on the stage.” But this sense of authentic presence itself had a fakeness to it; these days, Etchells can’t stand that mode of being onstage where performers “are here to be cheeky and witty versions of themselves. I don’t want to be charmed.” Pulling back into a more anonymous space has resulted in works that feel slightly sharper-edged, more brutal in a way. “All of these shows are post-Brexit, post-Trump, post-truth, post-everything,” Etchells notes. Speech, charisma, authenticity – these things feel politically loaded, and perhaps warmth and openness just don’t feel like the right tools to reflect the world we’re living in. “It feels like the space is closing down, and we’re trying to deal with the fact that the system, the structure that you’re in, is more oppressive and more powerful. It probably always was, but I think we’re just more tuned to it now.” Yet even without their voices, the performers’ distinctive presences – ones that many audiences have followed around for years, if not decades – still, inevitably, shine through as they physically navigate whatever unending task the system of the piece has set for them. They’re still trying to keep up with the onslaught of text, still running about, changing costumes, moving stuff around. The human is always stuck in the teeth of the machine, jamming the smooth, frictionless cheeriness of the not-real, gesticulating silently, trying desperately to communicate. Cold Sweat is at Sheffield Theatres, 2 to 3 October; Southbank Centre, London, 9 to 10 October; Lancaster Arts, 14 October [ ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) [ Exeunt recommends... the best autumn theatre ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) Exeunt · Sep 16 [ Read full story ](https://exeuntmagazine.substack.com/p/exeunt-recommends-the-best-autumn-theatre-2026-lives-of-others-standard-of-living-our-friends-in-the-north-lanny-) This piece was paid for by the Southbank Centre. Such support helps Exeunt to keep publishing the most interesting writing, about the most exciting theatre. Interested in partnering with Exeunt? Visit our Advertise with Exeunt page, where you can get more information, download an advertising pack, and find our contact details.
Tuesday’s Everton News: International Blues, Garner callup, Pickford on Branthwaite
Recapping all the Everton news from yesterday
STHS Tahoe Science students clear 2,000 pounds of forest debris
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Tahoe Science students at South Tahoe High School recently put on hard hats, picked up loppers, and put in the kind of work that makes […]
Rams bounce back as Giants reel from Dart injury
The Los Angeles Rams bounced back from their season-opening flop in Australia to score a stylish 28-6 victory over the New York Giants on Monday.The Rams fourth touchdown made it 28-6 when Stafford picked out tight end Terrance Ferguson at the back of the end zone. rcw/sla
Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups After Week 2
Need help attacking the waiver wire ahead of Week 3? Click here for The Sporting News' waiver wire report.
Former First-Round Pick Named Breakout Candidate for Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets didn’t make any big-time additions over the offseason. So, in addition to health, the Rockets will need some of their younger players to step up if the team is going to take a step forward in the coming campaign.One particular young Rockets player has been named a potential breakout candidate heading into the […] The post Former First-Round Pick Named Breakout Candidate for Houston Rockets appeared first on HEAVY.
Health department seeks woman who picked up rabid bat in Minneapolis
Anyone who came in contact with the bat is urged to contact their healthcare provider.
Nets Could Land Domantas Sabonis in Proposed 3-Team Trade
The Nets could have an intriguing opportunity to turn Michael Porter Jr. into an established star and two first-round picks. A proposed three-team trade involving Brooklyn, Detroit, and Sacramento would give all three teams plenty to consider.
Scientists Release Details About Moon's New Massive Crater
It's easy to think of the Moon as the static constant companion in the night sky. Its face hasn’t visibly changed in millennia, and always faces us with the same side. But looks can be deceiving, as our closest companion is constantly bombarded by asteroids and comets that make small craters across the lunar landscape. While they might not be large enough for us to see with our naked eye, professional Moon watchers can pick up on them. And a recent paper published in Science Advances, describes the largest ever found in modern times.
Stand Up for Science Warns of Trump And Vought’s Backdoor Plan to Seize Control of Entire NIH Grant Budget
Signals another attempt to let White House pick winners and losers in American science, undermining decades of peer-reviewed research.
Stand Up for Science Warns of Trump And Vought’s Backdoor Plan to Seize Control of Entire NIH Grant Budget
Signals another attempt to let White House pick winners and losers in American science, undermining decades of peer-reviewed research.
MN Twins Calling Up Another First Round Pick
The Minnesota Twins are promoting former first round pick Aaron Sabato to the big leagues for his major league debut.
Pizza and pickleball: Check out 11 business updates in central, East McKinney
A roundup of 11 business updates in McKinney includes new openings, relocations, expansions and temporary closures.
Spurs fixture moved for TV coverage
The latest round of television picks have been announced with the Whites having one fixture selected for live coverage in November.Leeds United’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road will n...
Contest: Pick the winners in the Rhode Island's general election
Believe it or not, early voting in Rhode Island’s general election begins 23 days, and Election Day itself is just six weeks away.
Privileges of Membership
Unlimited car washes, community cinema, you-pick farm memberships: subscriptions aren’t just for periodicals anymore.
Who would you pick for Wales against Portugal?
Craig Bellamy's side take on Portugal in Lisbon on Thursday, 24 September. Who would you pick for Wales opening Nations League A fixture?
AI investments face ‘so much uncertainty’ on returns, expert warns
Bahnsen Group Managing Partner and CIO David Bahnsen analyzes the massive rise in artificial intelligence capital expenditures and highlights his energy stock picks on ‘Mornings with FOX Business.’
How to pick the best iPhone for you in 2026
Whether you want the flagship iPhone Duo or the most basic model available, we have buying recommendations for you.
People Were Asked Which TV Show They’d Watch 10 Times for $1 Million — the Answers All Have One Thing in Common
A Reddit post asking which TV show users would watch ten times over for $1 million drew 11,000 responses, with commenters gravitating toward short, rewatchable series as the obvious strategic picks. T...
Tampa Bay Buccaneers news: Bucs panic rising after Browns loss
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are picking up the pieces after their loss against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.
Southwest Golf Ranch transforms into family entertainment destination with $3M expansion
A $3 million-plus investment in sports simulators, pickleball courts and other upgrades is transforming a longtime Warren County driving range into a destination spot for family activities.
Southwest Golf Ranch transforms into family entertainment destination with $3M expansion
A $3 million-plus investment in sports simulators, pickleball courts and other upgrades is transforming a longtime Warren County driving range into a destination spot for family activities.
Ponte Preta end 22-game winless run in Série B
Ponte Preta beat CRB 1-0 and ended a 22-match winless streak in Série BCredits: Ponte Preta Flickr/DisclosurePonte Preta picked up its first Série B win in 22 matches this Sunday (21). This morning,...