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 S4S70Why the Holiday Movie Endures   This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.The question “What is a Christmas movie?” might seem straightforward. But there’s one film that has scrambled the logic of the holiday movie for years now—at least for those who probably spend too much time online. “Because of the dreaded incentives of social media, we force debate upon ourselves all the time, even at the most wonderful time of the year,” my colleague Kaitlyn Tiffany wrote in 2021. “According to Google Trends, search traffic for the phrase Is Die Hard a Christmas movie jumps every November and December.”
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S69High-Flying Frigatebirds Collect Data from the Top of the Sky  Scientists accidentally discovered a new way of monitoring the Earth’s planetary boundary layer: high-flying great frigatebirdsCLIMATEWIRE | Great frigatebirds are among nature’s most effortless fliers, routinely soaring more than a mile above the ground and sometimes staying aloft for weeks at a time.
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S38The Tantalizing Mystery of the Solar System's Hidden Oceans -copy.jpg) For most of humankind's existence, Earth was the only known ocean-draped world, seemingly unlike any other cosmic isle.But in 1979, NASA's two Voyager spacecraft flew by Jupiter. Its moon Europa, a frozen realm, was decorated with grooves and fracturesâhints that there might be something dynamic beneath its surface.
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S4835 Years Ago, a Brilliant Sci-Fi Sequel Launched a Lousy Franchise  Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is such an idiosyncratic work of art that it’s astonishing it launched a long-running franchise. There’s almost nothing in Barker’s BDSM-fueled vision of horror that suggests a string of sequels and a secure place in mainstream pop culture, and even as the movie became a box-office success, it didn’t seem like it could lead to an open-ended series in the vein of other lucrative 1980s horror properties.It’s really its first sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, that provided the foundation for the franchise to continue. With Barker credited with the story and as a producer, director Tony Randel and screenwriter Peter Atkins expanded on his initial vision to incorporate it into a more conventional horror-movie structure. Hellbound is still infused with kinky sexuality, but it also sets up a more clearly defined mythology that can be adapted into future films, providing actively evil intent for the demonic Cenobites.
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S47Danielle Brooks Comes Full Circle  Although Danielle Brooks has become most known for her role as Taystee, on the television show “Orange Is the New Black,” she is a creation of the stage. Our generation’s yen for Black-theatre revivalism is rooted in her gift for externalized performance: she is the kind of actor who interprets the monologue as she delivers it. As Berniece in August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” and as Sofia in John Doyle’s 2015 revival of “The Color Purple” musical on Broadway, Brooks has brought the ache of life to her characters, her voice piercing the artifice around her. For her, the act of inhabiting these women was personal. She recalled to me, recently, being fifteen years old, watching the performer LaChanze play Sofia in the original musical staging, and bursting into tears. Brooks won a Grammy and earned a Tony nomination for her own performance as Sofia, and she will take up the role again, in a film adaptation of the musical, which will première on Christmas.Hadn’t “The Color Purple” already been wrung dry? It has been more than four decades since Alice Walker published her epistolary novel—a long view of the oppression visited on Celie Harris, a young Black girl in turn-of-the-century Georgia—and, in the intervening years, Walker’s story has been made into a film, a musical, a revived musical, and now a film again. A few weeks ago, the latest film’s director, Blitz Bazawule, admitted in the Los Angeles Times that he initially “didn’t see why it needed to be remade.” “The Color Purple” of the twenty-twenties is a sweet, smoothed show: the hubris of the original film, directed by Steven Spielberg and derived from his belief that Hollywood can supplant history, is not Bazawule’s thing. Humility and redemption are. The Ghanaian director has gone for a high-style reverie, creating set pieces sprung from the imagination of Celie, played as a child by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi and as a woman by Fantasia Barrino, who is reprising her Broadway role. (Spielberg, as well as Quincy Jones, who produced the score for the 1985 film, and Oprah Winfrey, who played Sofia in that movie, serve as executive producers.) As Sofia, Brooks turns the sun-bleached world upside down. Barrelling into the lives of Celie, Mister (Colman Domingo), and Harpo (Corey Hawkins), Sofia embodies self-determination, an idea that Celie, passive and somnambulant, has not yet encountered. It is with a totalizing passion that Brooks plays her Sofia, the link between the actor and the character having been strengthened over so many years of knowing. Even when the film’s gloss aroused doubt in me, I could not help but let Brooks bowl me over.
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S512023's Most Unlikely Hit is a Perfect Antidote to Hollywood's Turbulent Year  Wonka is a lot of things, but a logical prequel to 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory isn’t one of them. The new film from Paddington 2 director Paul King is a family-friendly comedy that’s overflowing with optimism and obvious moral lessons. It isn’t particularly weird, nor is it the least bit scary, which makes it an undeniably strange companion piece to both Mel Stuart and Tim Burton’s previous Willy Wonka movies. It’s a musical full of earnest songs, earnestly sung.And yet Wonka still carries more weight than one might expect. The film, which purports to tell the origin story of its eponymous chocolatier (played with admiral zeal by Timothée Chalamet), paints Willy Wonka as a young artist trying to make his mark in an industry run and lorded over by the same select executives who have been in control of it for decades. When Willy introduces something new to the chocolate market, they respond aggressively.
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S50Ozempic and Other Weight Loss Drugs Might Also Slash Inflammation  If you thought weight loss headliners like Ozempic and the latest Zepbound were only good for shedding pounds, think again: These drugs may help the body fight inflammation.That’s according to new research out of Canada that found the class of drugs Ozempic belongs to — called GLP-1 receptor agonists — may be tempering inflammation in all parts of the body through a gut-brain-immune system pathway. When researchers induced a systemic inflammatory condition known as sepsis in mice, the drug reduced inflammation throughout different organ systems as long as it could still interact with the brain.
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S57The Great Resignation Didn't Start with the Pandemic  Covid-19 spurred on the Great Resignation of 2021, during which record numbers of employees voluntarily quit their jobs. But what we are living through is not just short-term turbulence provoked by the pandemic. Instead, it’s the continuation of a trend of rising quit rates that began more than a decade ago. Five main factors are at play in this trend: retirement, relocation, reconsideration, reshuffling, and reluctance. All of these factors, the authors argue, are here to stay. They explore each in turn and encourage leaders to examine which of them are contributing most to turnover in their organizations, so that they can adapt appropriately as they move into the future.
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S29S33The mystery of the medieval fighting snails  The knight pulls his arm back, poised to strike. He's dressed in the typical armour of the 14th Century, with a chainmail suit, belted tunic and bucket-style helmet. Standing within a small grassy clearing, he's holding up a shield which, inexplicably, has its own face. He also wields a club, which brushes the bottom of a swathe of religious text on the yellowed page of the medieval book he's drawn onto. But even within the pages of antique tomes, knights must face mortal perils. This one's chivalric opponent is a particularly slippery beast – a foe often found slinking along in their margins and engaging noblemen in deadly combat. Sometimes the creatures appear to be hovering, attacking knights in mid-air. Occasionally there is more than one. This is the uniquely medieval phenomenon of the fighting snail – and to this day, why they were depicted remains utterly mysterious.
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S53What Do Dogs Dream About? A Psychologist Has Answers  “A dream pointer will point at dream birds and a Doberman will bark at dream burglars.”It’s the cutest when your pooch starts snorting and twitching in their sleep, a sure sign that they’re dreaming. Maybe you’ve even wondered what they dream about: Playing fetch? Finding treats? Or outlandish things, like flying and showing up to a college course in their underwear?
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S65S43Why Black Jesus Made My Grandmother Uncomfortable  The Washington, D.C., my sisters and I grew up in was known as Chocolate City for good reason. As Black children in the city then, we were a majority. We sauntered from school to store to home to kickball field, oblivious to our segregation. When I was a tween, and just beginning to be conscious about the giving of gifts, my sisters and I were Christmas shopping at one of the festive pop-up markets in our corner of the city. We found a stellar gift for one of our grandmothers, which we knew for sure she would love. We knew for sure because of her religiosity.No one was more openly devoted to the will of the Lord than Ma Jones, our father’s mother. Mabel Irene Young Jones was her name. She traveled very few miles in her lifetime, and yet she traveled a long way during her 65 years in Northwest Washington, D.C., where she was born, Black and poor, in 1912. When she died, in 1977, she was proud to have obtained with her mother and daughter a rowhouse, which they’d purchased collectively and occupied as multiple generations.
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S68What happens when you take too much melatonin?  Hands up those who use their smartphone in bed. From frantically scrolling to catch up on the latest news, to browsing social media channels at night – the blue light of the smartphone is never far away.Yet studies show replacing bedtime with screentime is having a devastating impact on our sleep. The reason is all down to melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain's pineal gland. Melatonin has a key role in regulating the body's sleep-wake cycle. It is sometimes referred to, rather spookily, as "the hormone of darkness", as levels are low during daytime, but rise at night once darkness descends.
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S64S36The 46 Best Movies on Netflix This Week  Netflix has plenty of movies to watch, but it’s a real mixed bag. Sometimes finding the right film at the right time can seem like an impossible task. Fret not, we’re here to help. Below is a list of some of our favorites currently on the streaming service—from dramas to comedies to thrillers.If you decide you’re in more of a TV mood, head over to our collection of the best TV series on Netflix. Want more? Check out our lists of the best sci-fi movies, best movies on Amazon Prime, and the best flicks on Disney+.
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S14'Doctor Who' Revives an Old Tradition -- And Starts a Historic New Era  The Doctor Who 60th anniversary celebration has come and gone, but there’s still time for a new episode — and a new Doctor — before we ring in 2024. The 2023 Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” will see Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th Doctor crossing paths with his soon-to-be companion, Ruby Sunday, one Christmas Eve. But just when can you watch this? This episode will arrive on its new streaming home of Disney+ at an unusual time to coincide with its original BBC air time, so here’s everything you need to know about streaming the episode as soon as possible.
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S62S39Our Favorite Strollers for Carting Kids  If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDWhen I started shopping for a stroller, I purchased the cheapest one that worked with my car seat and called it a day. To no one's surprise, that stroller is terrible, and both my child and I hated using it.
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S26S41The Middle East Conflict That the U.S. Can't Stay Out Of  An Iranian-backed group is attacking an essential shipping route through the Suez Canal. The U.S. will have to step in.The sooner President Joe Biden acknowledges that Americans will likely be drawn into a fight to protect shipping traffic through the Suez Canal, the more time the U.S. military has to plan, and the less severe the harm will be to the global economy. For months, ever since a deadly Hamas incursion into Israel triggered a massive Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the United States has sought to deter Israel’s enemies, most notably Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, from spreading the conflict to other fronts in the Middle East.
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S61S34Intervention at an Early Age May Hold Off the Onset of Depression  Preventing initial episodes might stop depression from becoming a disabling chronic conditionEsther Oladejo knew she'd crossed an invisible boundary when she started forgetting to eat for entire days at a time. A gifted rugby player, Oladejo had once thrived on her jam-packed school schedule. But after she entered her teenage years, her teachers started piling on assignments and quizzes to prepare students for high-stakes testing that would help them to qualify for university.
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S5660 Rad Things for Your Home That Are So Freaking Cheap on Amazon  If your Amazon cart is rarely full of home goods other than the occasional hand soap refill, you have to take a peek at this list of clever finds to instantly elevate your space. They’re all practical and functional around the house, but they’ll also make your home look super impressive (with barely any effort). Best of all, these 60 home finds are all so freaking cheap that you’ll want to start redoing your home ASAP.These reusable dishcloths will last for up to 100 uses, and they come in a bulk pack, so they’ll be a super long-lasting addition to your cleaning closet. Their absorbent and scrubby texture is also durable enough to clean up anything — including dirty mirrors without leaving streaks.
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S35How to Escape a Time Loop You Don't Really Want to Leave  Time and grief are two inexorable companions in life, even when we are falling in love. It is truths like this one that set the scene for A Quantum Love Story. Tragedy has already struck when the novel begins, as neuroscientist Mariana Pineda has just lost her best friend, Shay. Carrying Shay's framed portrait, Mariana is headed to marvel at the new Hawke Accelerator with the team from ReLive, an experimental program that allows people to reenter their memories and live those moments once again. Mariana has given up her old life to start working at ReLive just before disaster hits.One morning she runs into Carter Cho, a mysterious man bearing doughnuts and a surprising amount of knowledge about who she is and what she's after. Carter tries to explain something to her about how they've been there before and how he needs her to remember. Carter, who has an eidetic memory, can do nothing but remember. He knows what's about to happen: there's going to be an explosion at Hawke, and time is going to bend around them in a time loop that restarts every four days.
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S1215 Years Later, a Forgotten Star Wars Artifact Could Bring Back a Fan-Favorite Jedi  Star Wars canon keeps getting more and more expansive, but the timeline is firm. In movies and television, Star Wars as we know it begins with the discovery of Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine in The Phantom Menace, and ends with Palpatine’s return and defeat in The Rise of Skywalker. However, that’s set to change with 2024’s The Acolyte, Leslye Headland’s Disney+ series about Sith shenanigans set a century before the prequels. The Acolyte’s timeframe makes it seem like it’s completely separate from others like Obi-Wan Kenobi or Ahsoka, but an ancient object from an old comic book could actually tie the shows together perfectly, bring back a beloved character, and introduce a popular comic book character or two to the current canon.
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S70Decoding Your Hunger During the Holidays  Deciding when and what to eat is a complex calculus incorporating input from your eyes, your gut and your vagus nerveThe following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.
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S15This Bizarre Idea For A Supplement Reveals An Enduring Truth About Endurance Sports  Ketchup packets won’t enhance performance, and consuming enough beneficial compounds from ketchup seems impractical.In the world of endurance sports, how athletes fuel themselves can be the difference between success and struggle. Traditionally, athletes have relied on specialized energy gels for a quick and easily digestible source of carbohydrates during extended workouts. But now a surprising contender has emerged: Heinz ketchup packets, thanks to a new ad featuring runners using them as their supplement of choice.
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S405 books you probably haven't read (and how to pretend you have)  For one reason or another, you sometimes have to talk about a book you haven’t read. It might be that you want to impress your boss or appear intellectual on a first date. It might be that you’ve got a selection of books on your shelves that one looks suspiciously new, with its pristine spine and unthumbed pages. So, what do you do if someone asks you about those books? How do you respond if someone presses you for more than a blurb’s worth of information?To help you on your way to Blagville, we’ve compiled five of the most common books people pretend to read and explain how to bluff your way through a conversation about them.
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S31Shukubo: The Japanese temples where you can sleep alongside monks  In the serene world of Japanese Buddhist monks, life takes on a distinctive form, interwoven with discipline and mindfulness. These monks subscribe to a unique method of meditation, often sitting upright, supported only by a modest cushion. In this position, they uphold a constant state of awareness, embodying the Buddhist quality of prolonged concentration. This approach to faith is just one facet of a monk's lifestyle, which revolves around spiritual dedication and mindfulness.Their days typically commence with pre-dawn meditation, followed by a simple breakfast composed of vegetarian or vegan offerings. As the sun rises, the monks chant to foster self-awareness and inner peace.
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S192023's Last Great Film is the Perfect Comeback for a Legendary Director  Michael Mann has never really made a movie like Ferrari before. It’s a racing drama that is essentially split, both visually and narratively, in two. One half of it is a stately character drama about a man (Adam Driver’s Enzo Ferrari) trying to reckon with his dueling responsibilities to his mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley), and their young son, and to his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), whose marriage to him has been in shambles ever since the demise of their one and only child. Its other half is a tactile thriller that puts you in the front seat for all of its dangerous, shockingly deadly races.Over the course of its 124-minute runtime, Ferrari keeps the two halves of itself largely separate. Like Enzo’s two families, though, the line separating Ferrari’s austere and thrill-seeking sides eventually crumbles. When it does, the film emerges as a bittersweet tale of masculine egotism and moral compromise. The drama, in other words, fits right in with so many of the other films that Mann has made throughout his staggering career. Few filmmakers have depicted the difficulties of achieving personal and professional fulfillment as beautifully as Mann has over the past 40 years.
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S55S46Canadians are losing faith in the economy -- and it's affecting their perception of inequality  Nearly half of Canadian workers feel as though the economic conditions in Canada are “poor,” according to our survey of 2,500 Canadian workers in September of 2023. And another 38 per cent said they believed economic conditions are “only fair.”These findings are unsurprising, given the poor state of the Canadian economy and the growing pessimism among Canadians toward it. Inflation and interest rates both remain high, and job openings are struggling to keep up with the growing labour force.
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S45We Love in the Only Ways We Can  What’s the point, now, of crying, when you’ve cried already, he said, as if he’d never thought, or been told— and perhaps he hadn’t— Write down something that doesn’t have to matter, that still matters, to you. Though I didn’t know it then, those indeed were the days. Random corners, around one of which, on that particular day, a colony of bees, bound by instinct, swarmed low to the ground, so as not to abandon the wounded queen, trying to rise, not rising, from the strip of dirt where nothing had ever thrived, really, except in clumps the grass here and there that we used to call cowboy grass, I guess for its toughness: stubborn, almost, steadfast, though that’s a word I learned early, each time the hard way, not to use too easily.
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