In times of civil unrest, certain thematically relevant songs that are appropriate for the moment tend to get more plays. One of those that immediately comes to mind is NWA’s classic “F*ck The Police,” and naturally, it has seen a significant jump in listens following the death of George Floyd.

Citing figures from Alpha Data, Rolling Stone notes that from May 27 to June 1, “F*ck Tha Police” experienced a 272-percent increase in on-demand audio streams compared to the five-day period before Floyd’s death. The song did particularly well this past Sunday and Monday, racking up 765,000 streams during those days, which is about five times the amount of streams on those days before the protests began.

Meanwhile, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” has also picked up steam over the past month or so, thanks to TikTok posts about the death of Ahmaud Arbery. Also from May 27 to June 1, “This Is America” had a 149-percent jump in streams.

Other songs that experienced increased streaming activity included Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” (up by 89 percent), Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” (71 percent), D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s “The Charade” (122 percent), Killer Mike’s “Don’t Die” (542 percent), Beyoncé’s “Freedom” (70 percent), James Brown’s “Say It Loud — I’m Black And I’m Proud” (455 percent), and Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” (34 percent).

In a 2016 interview, Ice Cube was asked if he believed things were getting better in terms of police brutality and racial equality, and he responded, “No. The problem is that they’re just the same. People don’t change their stripes. That’s just what it is. It ain’t changed.” He also said, “As a Black person, it’s always seemed like it’s a war on us. It’s just terrible. They wonder what I’ve got to complain about at this point in my life. I’ll tell you: People are only nice to me because they know who I am and they like my work. It shouldn’t have to be like that to get people to respect you.”

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Did Woody Harrelson’s father, Charles Harrelson, really assassinate a federal judge, a crime for which he was convicted and sentences to life in prison? Or was he framed for it? How could Charles Harrelson — a supposed mafia hitman who was so broke he accepted a pittance to murder a man — afford Percy Foreman, one of the most celebrated criminal defense attorneys of his era, and the guy Jack Ruby asked to defend him? Was Charles Harrelson involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy? What does Woody Harrelson think about his father? Has Woody tried to keep a lid on his father’s conviction to protect his career?

None of these questions are particularly novel, and the fact that Woody Harrelson’s father was a hitman is not exactly a big Hollywood secret (it’s been written about here before). What’s new, however, is that someone is actually trying to explore these questions. He’s a journalist by the name of Jason Cavanagh, and he hosts a new Spotify podcast, Son of a Hitman, which does a deep dive into the crimes of Charles Harrelson. In doing so, he talks to Charles’ other two sons, as well as the family members of the Senior Harrelson’s victims.

It is a thorough, in-depth investigation of Charles Harrelson, so much so that Brett Harrelson — the son of Charles and brother of Woody — ends up learning a lot about his own father through Cavanagh’s investigation. One wonders, however, if Woody would have welcomed the investigation.

“Woody Harrelson doesn’t want it, and he has a lot of power in Hollywood, but I knew that it would eventually come out,” says the daughter of Jamiel Chagra in episode five of Son of a Hitman. Chagra was one of the biggest drug traffickers in the country back in the 1970s, a man who purportedly paid Charles Harrelson to assassinate United States District Judge John H. Wood Jr. The account of Chagra is an insane, multilayered story in and of itself, and that, too, is explored in Son of a Hitman, which will also touch upon the most insane conspiracy surrounding Charles Harrelson: Was he involved in the murder of JFK?

It sounds farfetched, and it is, but Cavanaugh follows that trail, anyway, to see if there is a trail that connects Charles Harrelson to JFK. Through five episodes, so far, there are a few breadcrumbs, and fans of Woody Harrelson, true crime, or podcasts would be served well to tune into Son of a Hitman to see if Cavanagh can connect the dots to JFK or definitively discover whether Harrelson was framed for the murder of a federal judge.

(Via Son of a Hitman podcast)

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Athletes from across the sports world have spoken out over the past week about racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Some have participated in or organized protests nationwide, while others have used their platforms to continue to put the message that Black Lives Matter in front of the public in an inescapable manner to continue to shine a light on the police’s treatment of the black community.

While many have spoken eloquently and powerfully on the subject, from Stephen Jackson to Malcolm Brogdon, others have received backlash for their commentary on the situation and protests. Drew Brees found himself getting rightfully torched by teammates and the sports world as a whole on Wednesday after he once again misconstrued the protests of police brutality by Colin Kaepernick and others during the national anthem prior to NFL games in recent years as “disrespecting the flag,” earning him backlash from teammates like Michael Thomas and Malcolm Jenkins, a fellow star QB in Aaron Rodgers, and even LeBron James.

Late on Wednesday night, Florida State’s new head coach Mike Norvell found himself in hot water with his new team before ever really stepping foot in the Seminoles locker room, as he told The Athletic’s Tashan Reed that he “went back and forth individually with every player this weekend” about the protests and discrimination. Shortly after Reed posted that quote, All-American defensive tackle Marvin Wilson issued a statement on behalf of the FSU players, saying it was a lie, they got a “generated text” from Norvell, and there was not dialogue between the two sides.

I do not know what Norvell’s plan was in giving this quote beyond trying to win some PR points for being a good and caring players coach, but you can’t actually earn those points without putting the actual work in behind the scenes. Wilson says players are “outraged” by Norvell’s public statement since such conversations never really took place and will no longer be reporting to workouts until further notice.

It is really hard to lose the locker room before you’re even allowed to share the locker room together with your team, but Norvell has managed to do it. He tried to win on the recruiting trail with a nice quote about caring about his players and their journey and fight against discrimination and hate, but failed to, you know, actually care and talk with his players in the manner he suggests he did and now has some serious work to do to earn the trust of players he has earned no goodwill with.

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-Here are your quick, editorial-free NXT results for June 3, 2020. The go-home show for NXT TakeOver: In Your House feature Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae, Drake Maverick fighting for his job in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament final, and more. Make sure you’re back here tomorrow for the Best and Worst of NXT review.

NXT results:

1. Candice LeRae vs. Mia Yim ended in a double count-out. The women continued to fight after the match ended. Other members of the women’s roster tried to pull them apart, then a group of referees. Johnny Gargano and Keith Lee entered to support their significant others and the couples had a standoff.

– It was announced over the loudspeaker that William Regal was turning this brawl into a mixed tag team match.

2. Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano defeated Mia Yim and Keith Lee. LeRae pinned Yim with a roll-up after Gargano stabbed Lee in the eye with his car keys. Gargano stood over Lee’s title after the match.

– A video package about the upcoming Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross match included a promo by Ciampa.

– In a backstage interview, Dexter Lumis was asked who he thinks will win this weekend’s NXT Championship mask. He remained silent, left the scene, returned with an easel, and started to draw.

– In an interview earlier in the day, Drave Maverick said he felt no pressure about his upcoming match.

– A video package about the Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream’s title match included Cole hanging out with the rest of the UE at a restaurant, Dream seeing a motivational vision of Prince, and analysis from Sam Roberts, Peter Rosenberg, and Drew McIntyre.

– Dexter Lumis’s drawing was of himself driving a car with the UE tied up in the back.

3. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott defeated Tony Nese with a sunset flip counter to a sunset driver. Jack Gallagher attempted to distract Scott during the match, but it didn’t achieve anything. Nese and Gallagher swore revenge on Scott after the match.

4. Breezango defeated The Undisputed Era (Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong) and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to earn a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship. Tyler Breeze hit Fish with the Beauty Shot and Fandango put him away with the Last Dance. Imperium entered the venue after the match and Malcolm Bivens and Indus Sher entered after them. All three teams stared each other down until the commercial break.

– Backstage last week, Robert Stone and Chelsea Green cut a promo about the Robert Stone Brand. Green said after her win with Charlotte Flair, she’s the hottest she’s ever been – then fired Stone.

5. Santana Garret defeated Aliyah, who was supported by Robert Stone during the match.

– There was a video package about the upcoming NXT Women’s Championship triple threat with a similar format to the one for the In Your House NXT Championship match.

6. Cameron Grimes defeated Bronson Reed with the Cave In. Karrion Kross appeared in the ring after the match, hit the Doomsday Saito on Reed, and cut a promo on Ciampa.

– A six-woman tag team match was announced for In Your House: Mia Yim, Tegan Nox, and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Raquel Gonzalez.

7. Interim NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament final: El Hijo del Fantasma defeated Drake Maverick, pinning him after hitting Thrill of the Hunt to become Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion. As Maverick was making what looked like it would be his final WWE exit, Triple H entered and offered him a new NXT contract, which Maverick tearfully signed.