Category: News

Ten years ago, giant television screens, surround sound systems, and cool mood lighting were all novelties. Now they’ve become staples of most people’s living rooms. With some of the year’s biggest movies hitting streaming sites and the theater simultaneously, watching movies and peak TV at home feels more like an event now than it ever has. While home viewing will never truly match the communal experience of hitting a packed movie theater, it’s getting pretty damn close.

If you want your home viewing experience to fully capture the magic of going to the cinema, you’re going to need to make sure you have the best popcorn on hand. So who is making the best? We bought all the microwave popcorns we could find to get an answer!

To get more in line with the sort of stuff you’d find in the theater we defaulted to “Movie Theater Style Butter” or “Butter Lover’s” variations from every brand we could. If a brand didn’t have an extra butter style, we just went with the default butter flavor — making a small exception for one health-conscious brand because, well, some people want to stay away from butter and we can respect that. While we gravitated toward heavy-butter styles, this isn’t a ranking that is interested in finding the most buttery popcorn, that’s far too easy. Instead, we’re looking for the full experience: the texture of popcorn, the smell, and the overall balance of flavors.

Here’s our class:

• Act II — Butter Lover’s
• Cousin Willie’s — Movie Theater Butter
• Jolly Time — Blast O Butter Ultimate Theatre Style Butter
• Kroger — Movie Theater Butter
• Market Pantry — Butter
• Orville Redenbacher’s — Movie Theater Butter
• Pop Secret — Movie Theater Butter
• Simple Truth — Organic Butter Flavor
• Skinny Pop — Butter
• Trader Joe’s — Movie Theater Butter
• Whole Foods 365 — Organic Buttery Flavor

Part 1: The Tasting

Taste 1:

Seriously lacking in butter but the corn itself has a very pleasant sweet and delicate flavor. The texture of this popcorn is very fluffy, with a soft mouthfeel that has a satisfying amount of snap before melting in your mouth.

With some added butter this could be a real contender for the top spot, but as it stands out of the bag, it’s just a bit too boring.

Taste 2:

Really sweet and buttery on the nose. The smell is very close to what you’d find at the movie theater, it jumps out at in a very appetizing way. The flavor is nothing to celebrate though, it’s very salty and each popcorn is small in size and full of kernel shards.

I’m not sure if sharp kernels are a marker of low quality, but this comes across as some low-quality popcorn to me.

Taste 3:

Almost wet with butter! This popcorn has that oily movie theater flavor with big fluffy bites. Very salt-forward with a pleasant subtly sweet finish.

Taste 4:

Big fluffy popcorn pieces with a real butter-forward flavor. This doesn’t taste like some overly salted oil, I’m getting the sense of real butter here. On the aftertaste, you get a lot of natural corn flavor with some interesting toasted notes.

This is the closest microwave popcorn has ever tasted to something prepared stovetop.

Taste 5:

This has a sort of stale vibe to it. Something about the texture seems old but the flavor really delivers. The initial flavor is buttery sweet with some salty notes coming out as you chew through it. This also has a toasted quality to it like the last taste, but it’s less pronounced.

Pretty good but it’s missing something to make it great.

Taste 6:

Something about this popcorn tastes old. It has a very stale texture and the butter, while I can see it, doesn’t really give off a lot of flavor. This popcorn is more texture than anything else.

Taste 7:

This one tastes pretty middling. It’s buttery, but not exceptionally so, and you don’t really get any sense of actual corn flavor as you bite into it. It’ll satisfy your craving for popcorn, but it pales in comparison to what you’d find at a movie theater.

Taste 8:

Once I tried Taste 8 I was beginning to think I was just tired of popcorn because of how many of these tastings were consecutively bland (I wasn’t, see Taste 9). I wouldn’t ever describe eating popcorn as “exciting” but this is by far the most boring popcorn I’ve ever tasted. Aside from a very lightly salted flavor, this is flavorless. You don’t get any sense of butter on this one at all.

Stay away from this brand, this is easily our bottom pick.

Taste 9:

This one was dripping in oily butter with a very artificial smell. Despite its wet appearance and off-putting smell, the flavor is great! It’s very indulgent, salty, buttery, and incredibly satisfying. Eating this popcorn doesn’t leave you wanting more butter, and that’s always a good thing.

If you can get past the smell and the radioactive-looking butter, this is a real winner.

Taste 10:

Another incredibly stale popcorn. The texture here is all off, it’s too soft and doesn’t have any snap. It gets stuck in your teeth like if you’re chewing on styrofoam or something.

There is also not nearly enough butter, despite the color.

Taste 11:

A lot of sharp kernel shards but a great flavor. It’s nicely balanced between salty, sweet, and buttery notes. It’s not quite as buttery as we’d want it to be to really capture that movie theater vibe, but that’s easily remedied by melting some of your own and pouring it on top.

Part 2: The Ranking

11. Skinny Pop — Butter (Taste 8)

Price: $4.84

I’m sorry to the health nuts out there but this brand is the worst. Skinny Pop is made with sunflower oil and sea salt, and the box even proclaims that it’s ‘chemical free’ which is sort of meaningless, but sure does sound great. But this brand also flavors this popcorn with something called “Natural non-dairy butter flavor” which isn’t at all the sort of thing you want if you love buttery popcorn. Skinny Pop calls itself “non GMO, gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, tree nut free, preservative free, no artificial flavors, and delicious” but that last part is an outright lie.

If you’ve eaten popcorn and ever thought it was bad, you were probably eating Skinny Pop.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t let the “Natural” marketing fool you, this is the worst popcorn you’ll ever eat.

10. Simple Truth Organic — Butter Flavor (Taste 10)

Price: $3.99

I don’t really understand healthy popcorn brands, popcorn is a relatively healthy snack. It’s full of fiber, and low in calories, even when it’s doused in butter. So who is buying this stuff? Simple Truth features organic yellow corn with “butter flavor” and organic annatto. I’m not sure where the annatto comes into play (I can’t taste it at all) but for whatever reason, it’s in there.

The flavor is okay here, but overall it’s just too stale for us to recommend.

The Bottom Line:

Beware of health brand popcorn. It’s a red flag for staleness.

9. Pop Secret — Movie Theater Butter (Taste 6)

Price: $4.29

This one was a major surprise to me. Pop Secret is one of my go-to brands, I’ve always just thought of it as being pretty solid and it is, but it doesn’t stand out as being particularly great. This is another brand that uses annatto seed as a flavoring as well as paprika, but again, you don’t really get a sense of that in the popcorn. Not sure what those ingredients are for, but they don’t do a lot to make this particular brand stand out.

The Bottom Line:

I know, it’s a shock to me too! Pop Secret has always been a go-to brand for me but in a blind taste test it just didn’t stand out.

8. Act II — Butter Lover’s (Taste 7)

Price: $3.42

Act II landed pretty much where I expected it to land. Butter Lover’s was the brand most present in my household as I grew up so I know this flavor pretty well. Ultimately this is a very middling brand that tastes fine enough, but won’t jump out at you as exceptionally delicious. Despite its name, there is no actual butter anywhere to be found in this popcorn, it’s instead flavored with “natural flavors” and doesn’t come across as particularly buttery in the first place.

The Bottom Line:

If you love butter, Butter Lover’s isn’t for you. This is mostly salty and little else.

7. Market Pantry — Butter (Taste 11)

Price: $2.49

Market Pantry is Target’s in-house brand and for the most part, the label does every food it attempts justice. But we’re not looking for justice, we’re looking for exceptionalism, and this popcorn, as good as it is, isn’t exceptional. It has a very balanced sweet and salty flavor, but we’d like more butter here.

Target has an Extra Butter variation of this brand, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find it at either of the two Targets I went to.

The Bottom Line:

A good but not great popcorn brand.

6. Whole Foods — Organic Buttery Flavor Popcorn (Taste 1)

Price: $5.29

Before embarking on this blind taste test, I had no idea so few popcorn brands use actual butter in their recipe, so I was shocked to find out that even Whole Foods uses “Organic Natural Flavor” instead of good ‘ol butter. This makes sense as microwave popcorn needs to be shelf stable, but it’s still a bit of a shock to me. Whole Foods popcorn doesn’t really deliver on the promise of butter, but what this lacks in sweet-salty goodness it makes up for in natural flavor.

You can really taste the corn here, each popper kernel tastes great, but to take it to the next level you need to add your own butter.

The Bottom Line:

Add your own butter and it’ll be some of the best popcorn you ever eat. As it stands, there are better brands out there that deliver more flavor.

5. Trader Joe’s — Movie Theater Popcorn (Taste 5)

Price: $8.90

Trader Joe’s is too snobby to have microwave popcorn, so instead, they have this pre-packaged form that honestly should’ve been disqualified, but we know people ride hard for Trader Joe’s so we had to give TJ’s some love. And we’re glad we did because despite this not being microwaveable, it’s actually pretty damn tasty. It does suffer from a staleness, but the flavor really delivers. That’s probably because unlike most of the popcorn brands on this list, Trader Joe’s uses clarified butter in its recipe, allowing for a very satisfying salty and sweet flavor.

It’s just not buttery enough.

The Bottom Line:

It’s not microwave popcorn and as such, it suffers from staleness. If you can get past the soft texture, the flavor is great!

4. Jolly Time — Blast O Butter (Taste 9)

Price: $3.88

We know, this looks and sounds really gross, but Jolly Time has actually managed to capture a lot of the magic of actual movie theater popcorn. This is intensely buttery and salty, with a noticeably wet appearance that looks like you just had that movie theater butter oil poured on your bowl. The result, while kind of stinky, is a salty, sweet, and buttery-tasting popcorn that’ll have you feeling like you just picked up a fresh batch from the theater. Albeit a cheap theater where the floors are sticky and the seats don’t recline.

The Bottom Line:

It’s a bit trashy and artificial but it tastes delicious and delivers on the promise of extra butter.

3. Kroger — Movie Theater Butter

Price: $3.79

Kroger products aren’t supposed to top rankings — they look cheap, are cheap and generally taste cheap — so we’re happy to see that our blind taste test had this brand punching well above its weight. This popcorn is great, it has a perfect balance of salty and sweet flavors with a great fluffy texture. The only downside here is that for whatever reason, this popcorn has a lot of kernel shards.

Eating a bag of this will require some after-movie flossing.

The Bottom Line:

Don’t sleep on Kroger just because it’s a generic store brand, this is simply one of the best-tasting microwave popcorns you’ll find for a price this low.

2. Cousin Willie’s — Movie Theater Butter

Price: $2.49

Cousin Willie’s looks like a disaster, it has probably the worst box art of all the microwave popcorn brands (or the best depending on whether you’re high or not) and it’s dirt cheap but goddamn is it delicious. If you like your popcorn practically dripping with butter, this is your brand.

It’s very salty and butter-forward and actually has that movie theater popcorn smell. While the flavor is good, it’s not made using the purest of ingredients, instead, its seasoned with ‘”artificial flavors” with added beta-carotene for color.

The Bottom Line:

If all you care about is flavor, this is your brand, if you want something better sourced, hit our number one pick.

1. Orville Redenbacher’s — Movie Theater Butter

Price: $6.36

Orville Redenbacher’s Movie Theater Butter is hands down the best microwave popcorn brand on the market and the only one that deserves permanent shelf space in your pantry. In researching the brand, I found out that Orville is actually the brand of popcorn that most big movie chains carry — so it’s no surprise that this one capture that movie theater magic so closely.

It’s not just the appetizing smell and heavy butter-forward flavor that makes Orville our number one choice, it’s the kernels themselves, which pop up nice and big — offering a fluffy bite with a great texture and mouthfeel that tastes akin to stove-top popcorn. There is enough buttery flavor here to satisfy even the biggest butter lovers and it tastes even better when you melt your own over it and toss it in a bowl.

The Bottom Line:

If you’re looking for the best popcorn to stock on your movie nights, Orville Redenbacher is the way to go. In addition to the great buttery flavor, the fluffy texture and consistent popping make it so that your first handful of popcorn is as good as what’s at the bottom of the bag.

This article originally appeared on 02.02.22

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” (written by “Dillon His Self”) in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads “Made in Idho” [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children’s section.

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The library Facebook page shared that it had officially added the book to the collection at the branch, writing, “Imagine our surprise yesterday when Dillon’s mom called to tell us that her son had authored an entire book, shelved it at the Lake Hazel Branch, then announced to his family later that he had written a book and it could be checked out at the library.”

The library also announced that Dillon’s book had won the first-ever Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist—an award created in his honor.

Dillon told local news station KTVB that the book features him, his mom, Santa, a bomb, a portal and a giant carnivorous turkey. Because of course.

“I’ve been wanting to put a book in the library since I was five,” Dillon told the station. Nearly half his life, in other words.

Dillon said there were a lot of librarians he had to sneak past with his book to surreptitiously put it on the shelf, but he did it.

“I’ll always be sneaky, like how I get chocolate,” he explained. Classic.

The adults on every front handled this kid’s creativity and determination the best possible way. His mom called the library to let them know the book was there so it wouldn’t get lost or taken. And rather than just returning the book, the librarians actually put it into circulation.

“His parents were worried we would find his book and we would get rid of it,” Lake Hazel Branch Library manager Alex Hartman told KTVB. “Which was an unfounded fear because if there’s ever a place a book would be safe, it would be here.”

The librarians loved Dillon’s book.

“It deserves a spot on our library shelves,” said Hartman. “It’s a good story.”

At the time of this local news report, the book had a handful of people in line to check it out. But The New York Times reports that as of the end of January, the waiting list has grown to a whopping 56 people. If each person kept the book for the maximum four-week checkout period it would take four years to get to the people at the bottom of the list.

The experience has made Dillon decide to become an author, his mom said, and he even has some career goals laid out.

“I’m going to stop writing when I’m 40,” Dillon said. After that, he will switch to game creation. In the meantime, he has a sequel to his first novel in the works.

“My next book is going to be called ‘The Jacket-Eating Closet,’” he said, “based on actual events.”

Amazing. Kudos to Dillon for following his dream and making it happen, kudos to his mom for encouraging him and kudos to the librarians who saw an opportunity to support a child’s creativity and ran with it.

This story originally appeared on 05.03.22

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who’s known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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@becccamooore

the uber driver that saved me from going missing is @buds4u559!! 😭 after spending the day w him he told me his daughter is a senior in high school & is having a hard time going through chemo. i made a gofundme, he could’ve left me and didn’t have to help me the way he did! I’d love to help his fam give his daughter a normal end to her senior year of high school this year (prom!!) i’m putting it in my bio!!

“A normal Uber driver takes you to a place and then drops you off. He insisted on coming in with me and making sure that I was going to have a ride after that,” Becca said.

The store wasn’t able to get her a new phone because she didn’t have access to her current plan. But Raul wouldn’t give up, so he took her to the local police station where they were able to locate the Airbnb where the thief was staying. The police let them into the room and they searched it but couldn’t find the phone.

After the big let-down, Becca and Raul decided to take a break from their quest and refresh their spirits with some margaritas, on Raul. “Just because he’s an angel on this Earth,” Becca said in her TikTok video.

While the two bonded over drinks, Raul told Becca his daughter had been battling cancer and that’s why he’s been working as an Uber driver. “He told me all he wants is for his daughter to have a normal end to her senior year, and to be able to go to big events like prom and graduation,” Becca said.

Raul also revealed that his father had cancer as well.

His revelations put Becca’s troubles in perspective and made his decision to drop his driving for the day to help Becca all the more incredible.

@becccamooore

thank god he refused to leave me 😭 raul’s tiktok is @buds4u559. also you can donate to the fam in my bio!! thank you all for your donations and generosity. you today, me tomorrow!! #TipsForRaul

After the final slurps of their margaritas, Becca still wasn’t sure how she’d get home. But Raul wouldn’t give up. “We’re getting your phone,” he exclaimed. He drove her back to the thief’s Airbnb where she found the phone sitting on top of the outside gate. Becca believes the robber abandoned the phone after realizing the police were involved. Then, Raul helped Becca get a rental car so she could get home. Before saying their goodbyes, the two had spent eight hours together.

“Raul ended his Uber shift that morning to spend his day helping me, expecting nothing in return,” she said in her TikTok video. So she used her considerable audience to ask followers to help contribute to a GoFundMe page for Raul and his family. Over the first 4 days, the campaign has raised over $144,000.

“When I was in the car with him it seemed like we were both so focused on my situation. We were only talking about me getting a phone and like things that did not matter. And he completely glazed over the fact that his daughter and his dad were the ones that needed help,” she admitted.

On Friday, April 29, Raul’s dad passed away from cancer.

The story of Becca and Raul is a great reminder that no matter how big our troubles seem, it’s always important to put them in perspective.

Since Trump’s right-leaning Supreme Court nuked Roe v. Wade, much of the country has been up in arms. Turns out destroying the right to safe and legal abortions is incredibly unpopular! It might have even torpedoed the GOP’s attempt to flip the House and/or Senate. But Lindsey Graham — who as recently as last month vowed to leave the matter to individual states — came up with a cunning plan: double-down by threatening to ban abortions at the federal level. Alas, it looks like he might not have run this one by any other party leaders.

Graham’s proposal isn’t a total abortion ban; it “only” prohibits them after 15 weeks, just barely into the second trimester. On Tuesday, he held a press conference about it, where he vowed to hold a vote for the abortion plan should Republicans reclaim the Senate. He seemed confident that the plan, when fully revealed, would do “really well” with the American public.

Thing is, others in his party not only didn’t seem to agree; they didn’t seem to have any idea what he was talking about. Take Mitch McConnell, who squirmed when asked about Graham’s abortion ban plan, then said, “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”

Texas Senator John Cornyn — hardly a fount of progressive politics — tried to distance himself and other GOP members from the high-ranking Graham. “That wasn’t a conference decision. It was an individual senator’s decision,” he said. “There’s obviously a split of opinion in terms of whether abortion law should be decided by the states, which is my preference … and those who want to set some sort of minimum standard.” Still, he concluded, “I would keep an open mind on this but my preference would be for those decisions to be made on a state-by-state basis.”

West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito was also baffled. “I don’t think there’s an appetite for a national platform here. My state, today, is working on this,” she said, as per Politico. “I’m not sure what he’s thinking here. But I don’t think there will be a rallying around that concept,” she said concluding, “I don’t think there’s much of an appetite to go that direction.”

Politico also reported that Joe O’Dea, Senate candidate for Colorado, outright torched, while trying to slam the sitting president in the same breath, of course. “I don’t support Senator Graham’s bill,” he said. “A Republican ban is as reckless and tone deaf as is Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s hostility to compromise.”

At least Graham had one semi-defender: controversial Georgia Senate candidate Herchel Walker. He offered a predictably sloppy take, saying, “I believe the issue should be decided at the state level, but I would support this policy.”

While formally presenting his instantly divisive federal abortion ban plan, Graham got really testy, complaining about Democrats who’ve pointed out Republicans’ draconian plan to destroy abortion. “You’re going around calling all of us every name you can think of — we’re a bunch of wackos,” he said. “Your idea’s wacko, not ours.”

In short, don’t call Graham names because he may take an already unpopular idea that’s tanking his party and make it even worse.

(Via Mediaite and Politico)

It’s official: Giannis Antetokounmpo will not at “EuroBasket winner” to his lengthy list of accomplishments. Antetokounmpo and Greece took on Germany on Tuesday, and despite the team holding onto the lead at halftime, the Greeks were unable to fend off the Germans during a torrid second half that saw the tournament’s host nation pick up a 107-96 victory in Berlin.

Unsurprisingly, Antetokounmpo had a monster game, which has been par for the course for him during the tournament. But he was unable to see out the final five minutes or so of action, as the former NBA MVP was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for a hard foul on Germany’s Johannes Thiemann following a rebound — Antetokounmpo swung his arm across the face of the Alba Berlin player.

This marked the second unsportsmanlike foul of the game for Antetokounmpo, which meant he was automatically ejected from the game. It was an abrupt end to the evening for the Milwaukee Bucks star, who scored 31 points on 13-for-22 shooting with eight assists, seven rebounds, and three steals before he made his way into the locker room.

As for the Germans, the win means they move on to the semifinals to take on Spain, which beat Finland, 100-90, earlier in the day. On the other side of the bracket, Slovenia will play Poland and France will play Italy on Wednesday to determine the other two semifinalists in the tournament.

If there is a single takeaway from These Times, it’s that nothing is certain when it comes to streaming sites. Netflix used to be the pioneer in streaming, and even they are struggling. HBO Max is undergoing major changes and cancellations, meanwhile, Hulu is still raising its prices while hoping to get new viewers on board. Overall, it’s tough times for the big guys, and it’s even tougher for the smaller streaming services, like Showtime. It seems like this has become a problem for the service, who might be looking to migrate over to the other side of that snowy Paramount mountain.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Paramount is considering shutting down Showtime’s service and merging its content to Paramount+. The move is not official yet, though WSJ claims that they are in the “early discussion” phase of the merger, which would bring Showtime originals like Billions and Yellowjackets over to Paramount’s service, which includes everything from Star Trek to South Park.

Showtime launched its streaming service in 2015 before bigger sites like Disney+ and HBO Max were even available. Last month, Paramount+ announced that they had reached 43.3 million subscribers after launching in March 2020. The company does not disclose how many subscribers use Showtime, but Paramount has been bundling the two streamers as of this summer at a discounted rate, so merging the two would be a no-brainer. But, if it does happen, they would have to decide on a fun name, like ParamountTime or ShowMount. Just some ideas.

(Via The Wall Street Journal)

After finally making his way to the Jeopardy! podium thanks to a fan campaign (which included a few notable celebrities), LeVar Burton saw his chance of becoming Alex Trebek’s successor disappear as quickly as it arrived. The beloved Reading Rainbow host was not chosen for the top spot as Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards named himself as the new host, which immediately mired the classic game show in scandal. (Richards would step down after less than a week of filming.)

While Burton has hinted at the “humiliating” process before by ominously saying that “the fix was in,” he’s now speaking more candidly about the whole ordeal. When asked what he’d do differently, Burton had harsh words for Richards who reportedly told Burton twice that he wasn’t interested in the hosting job. Via TV Insider:

“So if I were to do it all over again, I wouldn’t trust him,” Burton continued. “But I would insist on knowing that this was a real audition for the job because that’s what I thought I was asking for.”

Burton went on to say that it felt like he was “pulled into a publicity stunt” but added, “I went in willingly. I own my actions 100%. I just wish they had been more forthcoming at the beginning.” He also said he “loved every moment” of hosting the show itself.

Despite the Jeopardy! fiasco, Burton would ultimately land a game show hosting gig. He’s currently developing a TV version of Trivial Pursuit that will allow the Star Trek: The Next Generation star to work his magic at a podium that’s completely his own.

(Via TV Insider)

In the first week of September, a sprawling dust-covered landscape where swirling haboobs, crackled clods, and cloud porn are staples of the now-dried prehistoric lakebed of the Black Rock Desert, Nevada’s annual Burning Man returned after a two-year-long hiatus. With the pandemic in the rearview (…sorta), it’s here that wanderers, lovers, and dreamers converged in a grand social experiment where art, unity, and wonder bring Birkenstock-wearing weirdos from around the world together. Through the chapped breezes and gusting dust bunnies, Black Rock City was the canvas for a collaborative art project so vast and complex that many who experience it have lovingly likened the iconic Summer festival to a full-fledged ecosystem of its own.

Whether through some human-made miracle or something more divine, Burning Man is so well known for its life-changing experiences that (they say) identifying a Burner is as easy as listening for that token phrase “one time at Burning Man…”

Given the fact the most recent iteration of the Burning Man was anticipated with more fervor than any other in recent history, it only stands to reason that the moments and memories made this year would be some of the most important to Burning Man-goers to date. Sure, what happens at Burning Man practically never stays at Burning Man, but in the storm of so much going down it can be easy to miss a single experience — especially if it’s over in a flash. Fortunately, UPROXX was there collecting the most exceptional stories guaranteed to fill you with FOMO.

To learn more about what we heard, read on and peruse a few of our favorites in the sections ahead!

Burning Love

The first year I went to Burning Man, it was 2011 — I was starting my sophomore year at Reed and I had met a boy that summer who found his entire life purpose at burning man 7 years prior. He wanted to share it with me — so I went and missed a few first days of the semester. It felt worth it — we were riding bikes when he asked me to be his girlfriend. I must have been 19 or 20 — he was my first ‘adult’ relationship.

Somehow, I had forgotten about that moment until this year biking at dusk in the desert again, 11 years later.

Burning Man that first time felt like coming home, and it still does. It’s always a new amalgamation of people — a living organism constantly in flux. People from all parts, all moments of our historical selves, appear. It’s always magic. It’s always the music, for me. It’s the new experiences, the conversations and collective dreaming, awake — this time: my all-girl build and breakdown team in tiny shorts and wide smiles, the lightening storm we thought was BM art only to find out it was nature’s installation, which we followed with our conceptual fireside chat.

Burning Man is alive, and it brings me into a heightened state of living in presence. It’s so nice to share it with people I love spending time with

— Genevieve Medow-Jenkins, founder of Secular Sabbath

Acid in the Dark

Every year at Burning Man I take a tab at about 4 pm and bike over to the temple [perimeter] to spin fire. I bring my own music and I just sink deep into that temple energy while I’m dancing. It’s dark and I love it.

— Sam Tobey, Professional Fire Performer

Nudity as Therapy

Burning Man has been in the periphery of my life since I was a kid. A couple of days ago my fiance and I stripped down nude and walked around. I wanted to show myself as who I am and feel more comfortable in my skin, but I also wanted to meet other people — so we went to the Interaction Cafe where we met a server named Bubbles, and through that, I was able to reframe an embarrassing experience that has been traumatizing for me my whole life where a substitute teacher from my childhood scolded me hard… Finally, through this, I was able to ask for forgiveness for Miss Feinstein and even though the weight of this was small it stings and it really speaks to the power of this place.

— Dave Roston, Psychedelic HipHop Puppeteer in The Fungineers

Hell and back – with superpowers!

Going to Burning Man is like going to hell, surviving, and then celebrating your newfound superpowers. The elements and environment are so incredibly difficult and uncomfortable that none of us could do it alone. But once you figure out the basics and you begin to look around you can’t help but be amazed at all the wonder. Unique humans, incredible mind-blowing art, flowing cocktails, and the culture of generosity and kindness that has clearly been cultivating for years-it’s crazy-and now I have proof that it’s possible!

The group foam shower with hundreds of new friends was probably my favorite experience. It was liberating to feel seen and safe while being so very naked. It was so refreshing to finally get a good foamy wash in the land of eternal dust. And then the music and high-energy dance + lotion party that followed was super clutch!

–Honey Larochelle aka the Berry Fairy, The Fungineers

Making My Friends Cry

I kept making all these jokes about my sunrise set that I was just gonna make everyone cry. Then in the middle of my set I was like “God, I’m making myself cry so much” and then I have looked around and then everyone was crying, so it was a really beautiful moment that I’ll never forget.

–Danielle White, DJ DivaDanielle

Making a Difference with my D*ck Out

We rallied and marched against the Instagrammers and influencers that have been commodifying Burning Man and what happened this year was nothing short of unprecedented. D*cks came from far and wide to participate. We shirt-cocked [defined: nude, except for a shirt] to stand for something and it was activism. With any luck, our dusty genitalia will haunt their nightmares forever.

–John Cameron, Swig’N’Swing Instigator, and Shirt-cocking Activist

Connecting with Others like Me

So this is my first Burning Man and I only got here Wednesday evening, but so far the most special thing that I’ve been a part of has been the big photograph we took for the Black House Street Project — it was all a bunch of Black and persons of color that got there to take a picture together. Just to see the sheer volume of people who look like me here at an event where a Black person or a person of color may not feel like this is an event that we are meant to be at.

It’s great to see that there are people who are like “naw, fuck that. We can be here and still be Black, and still be beautiful, and all that!”

–Chinwe Oniah, First Time Burner

Finding Family in the Dust

I got married on white Wednesday and it made me so happy to be around my playa family. This whole atmosphere makes me feel like I’m at home finally, so just being around good people and being around happiness that you don’t normally feel in the normal world. It’s like here I’m safe to walk up to anyone and say ‘hello’.

— Jade aka ‘The Wanderer’, Dancer in the Wild

The Show Must Go On

I was supposed to get to the Playa by Wednesday evening for a show with my conclave. I flew into Reno but the friend that was supposed to pick me up — who had all my stuff — was hours behind… so I bought a standby ticket for the Burner Express and walked into Burning Man with nothing but a dead iPhone and a makeup bag. But I knew I’d be walking into a camp of my best friends and that I had nothing to worry about. No tent, no water, no worries.

We did make that show happen! That’s why I call Burning Man home.

–Katelyn Carano, Professional Aerialist and Fire Performer

Helping My Friends Build a Sound Camp

Burning Man gives us an opportunity to express ourselves on this clean slate. It’s the mutual appreciation that everyone has in that space and that time gives us a chance to be ourselves. The efforts combined are what make this all happen… The people that I came out here to work with, we overcame a lot of personal challenges individually to drag a bunch of things out here for other people. That’s what made me realize it’s not just about “radical self-reliance” it’s also about your radical ability to get just some shit done.

Whatever it takes, we all have to work together to help each other. All in all, it’s always a good time too.

— Ryan Culp, Crew at Camp Question Mark

Learning to Love Again

Really getting to drop in with new friends and old friends when we arrived and over the week just connecting in ways that are harder in “Default” (outside Burning Man) felt wonderful. I felt held and expansive. I even felt a lot of love.

— Annabelle ‘Monarch’ Catalano, Camp Crew at The Lusty Chantarell Kombucha Bar

Feeling Myself

At Ashram Galactica’s last blowout party of the week, I was dancing on the bar, but not for the crowd, a client, or some paycheck like I usually do. I was up there stomping my big black boots on the bar for me. At that moment, I released my inner critic and let my body move and vibe to some of the most incredible disco house I’d ever heard.

There I was, at 3 am in the morning in the middle of the desert covered in dust, remembering that I could do what I love for myself and still enjoy the hell out of it.

–Violette on the Rocks, Award-winning Burlesque Performer, Fire Dancer, and Go-Go Dancer

Integrating Ourselves with the Power of Hallucinogens

One of the things I found thematic over the time there is just how much of a gap there is between the Burning Man persona and their “default” life persona, and how integration is such a huge piece if not the main piece of what can help bridge that gap — which is exactly what I went over in the workshops and ceremonies that I led while there.

For non-burners, I lead these same sorts of events and integrations “off the Playa.”

—Green Dream, Mushroom Queen

Fire in Bed

I met this chick at a fire circle and we were vibing. We would see each other throughout the week running lit wicks across the body of the other, painting each other in the circle. Then later she took me back to her wooden yurt and we decided we wanted to get naked and play with more fire. I was breathing flames up and down her legs. Then I blew flames down her back and up her chest. We spent the whole night together… And she never even told me her name.

–Jesse Luis Rodriguez, Professional Fire Performer at Camp Kinetic

When Artists Make Art with my Art

This has been a really fuckin’ hard year, but also my most fun. I think it was really cool to be able to build a piece that I brought in 2019 with our camp instead of putting it out on playa. But I think one of my best moments was wandering out to the Museum of “One Time at Burning Man…” and running into the Kaleidoscope panel, that was really special… It’s like meta-art when somebody makes art out of your art. It’s really cool, and it feels really special to know that Michael Hartmann and I built a piece of art that other artists appreciate enough to include in a space like that.

–Deniz Nicole, Artist and Co-Creator of The Kaleidoscope

Sparking Inspiration

My girlfriend, Beth, and a pair of virgin burners lured by the promise of water spritzing stopped by Deaf Grandma’s Kitchen and were taught sign language, served watermelon, and truly came to appreciate the participatory aspect of on-the-fly randomness that ensued. It left me grateful, almost to the point of tears… It even inspired me to take do a few things differently next year at an event I co-produce with some friends near Los Angeles, called Teleport Art Car Festival.

–Christopher Taube, Founder Teleport Art Car Festival

Teaching Sexy

At my pole dancing workshop, I had a really good mix of men and women, and potentially some non-binary individuals. Some had only seen it in strip clubs and some had only ever done it as a stripper. One girl I actually met the day before when she roped me — like, physically with a rope — to force me to have a drink at her camp. It was really encouraging to see everyone try everything. Everybody was super encouraging with each other. I started off the class with a real sensual leg ab warm-up. I loved seeing the men get into it – especially the CIS men. It made me feel like I was achieving exactly what I wanted to, which was to make everybody feel safe and comfortable, in a consensual but also really open environment where you’re really stepping into your sensuality — and also just feeling really sexy in general. And everyone seemed like they had unlocked that and were tapping into that… And that’s really the whole point.

–Priscilla ‘Polezilla’ Somogie, Professional Pole Dance Instructor

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked like they might be in for a very long season on Sunday. While the team managed to outlast the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime and pick up their first win of the season, it came at quite the cost, as star linebacker T.J. Watt suffered a torn pectoral. Watt walked off the field in the second half and knew in that moment that he suffered the injury, as he told someone on the sideline that “I tore my pec.”

In the days since, the outlook has become far more optimistic for the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Reports in the last day indicated that Watt might be able to come back this season and avoid getting surgery, which he confirmed when he tweeted a GIF of Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator saying “I’ll be back.”

As for when he will be able to return to the field, both Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said he’ll only miss a few weeks, with Dulac indicating that Watt could be back on the field by mid-October.

It goes without saying, but this is just about the best-case scenario for the Steelers, as having Watt terrorize opposing quarterbacks off the edge completely changes their team.

This week was a real head-spinner. Obviously, the Don’t Worry Darling premiere at the Venice Film Festival stole everyone’s attention with all of its weird antics. There was also Charlie Puth’s steamy thirst trap and Blackpink’s album tracklist reveal; aside from these events, there were also a ton of great releases.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Rosalía — “Chiri”

Restless pop star Rosalía just released the deluxe version of Motomami, which featured four brand new tracks. “Chiri” is a highlight, bursting with the invigorating energy of a hit. Her vocals are strong and spellbinding against a catchy beat; it’s hard to believe it didn’t make the album originally.

Nessa Barrett — “Madhouse”

Nessa Barrett puts her haunting voice to use in this new track “Madhouse,” which radiates an eerie vibe off the bat. The Sylvia Plath-like lyrics come in a creepy deadpan “Make me a spectacle / I’ll have a beautiful chemical meltdown,” she drawls, and it successfully puts the listener in a trance.

Björk, Kasimyn —“Atopos”

It finally happened: Pop legend Björk made her return with this eccentric track “Atopos” featuring Kasimyn. Her vocals are one-of-a-kind as always, taking unexpected twists. Of course, it came with an equally unique music video full of mushrooms, which is the perfect visual accompaniment for the cinematic song.

Suki Waterhouse — “Nostalgia”

Suki Waterhouse’s vocals are sprawling and sparkling like a waterfall, and they’re even more mesmerizing when she digs into emotive storytelling, like on this new song “Nostalgia.” It’s unforgettable when she sings the visceral line: “You were so easy to forgive / But not so easy to forget.”

Trevor Daniel — “Story”

“Story” by Trevor Daniel is a pop punk-tinged anthem about the way love can give someone rose-colored glasses. Against a vehement, building rhythm, he sings: “I wonder which story you tell / One where we’re in heaven or you put me through hell,” and it’s a hell of a hook.

Carolesdaughter — “Sunshine And Roses”

Accompanied by a gorgeously old-timey music video, “Sunshine And Roses” by Carolesdaughter is about the pain of waiting and disillusionment. She captures the feeling with poetic imagery sung in a sticky staccato: “I’m livin’ in the dark blindfolded / This ashtray full of roaches is the closest / That I’ve gotten to clean.”

Natalie Jane — “Seven”

Natalie Jane’s “Seven” is a brooding anthem that may sound familiar from TikTok. Cushioned between slow-burning verses is a crashing chorus: “Was it ever really love if the night that we broke up / Both went out to go hook up / With the one we both told each other not to worry about?” The specificity and anger have resonated with people on the app; it’s the perfect soundtrack to a harsh breakup.

NGHTMRE, Oliver Tree — “Nothing’s Perfect”

NGHTMRE and Oliver Tree teamed up for this bombastic new track “Nothing’s Perfect,” a bitter anthem that’s sorting through the wreckage after a broken relationship. The beat is clubby and the lyrics ring with frustration: “Don’t tell me how you love me / While I’m here, left with nothing.”

Tom Odell — “Smiling All The Way Back Home”

Tom Odell’s “Smiling All The Way Back Home” is a sprawling piano ballad that paints a vivid scene of an intimate exchange after a party that holds a lot of promise and hope: “We’re sat there on a sofa / Kinda close, getting closer, / I know that you gotta go but, / I don’t wanna say goodbye,” he recounts in a voice full of longing.

EDEN — “Reaching 2”

“Reaching 2” by EDEN is a vibrant, glitchy adventure with his poignant vocals serving as the centerpiece. The song gets more emotional and powerful throughout as he reveals visceral details: “I didn’t feel the time slip by / I didn’t know that was a last goodbye,” he sings.

Oliver Tree is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.