After explaining the origin of House of Pain’s biggest hit in last week’s teaser, Everlast’s full, super-sized episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli has arrived.

In this week’s episode, the Golden Era pioneer breaks down a number of topics, from representing his Irish heritage and swapping straight-up rap for rock on Whitey Ford Sings The Blues to how he formed his hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra with B-Real, Ill Bill, and Sick Jacken. He also details his infamous beef with Eminem, how that beef wound up pulling in Dilated Peoples, and how it was eventually squashed with the help of B-Real.

“We were the only guys that battled on Napster, honestly,” Everlast admits, referring to the equally infamous file-sharing service that once shook the music industry to its core. “The only time it became a stress factor,” he says, “At our first initial meeting, I tried to shake [Eminem’s] hand and just kinda felt like I got igged. So I put a little kind of, what they’d call a subtweet… It got noticed, and the funny part was that I got called by B-Real,” who was also managed by Paul Rosenberg at the time, as Eminem was. Everlast breaks down how he and Eminem traded shots but ultimately let it go, because there were so many mutual connections and that alternative stations picked up on the beef and started leaving him off their festivals because they didn’t want to offend Eminem. Eventually, B-Real jumped in and helped mediate the feud. Everlast maintains that the only thing he would have done differently is change a line about Eminem’s kid.

Watch Everlast’s full interview above.

People’s Party is a weekly interview show hosted by Talib Kweli with big-name guests exploring hip-hop, culture, and politics. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Ken Block is no stranger to entertaining. The famed rally car driver and member of the Hoonigan Racing Division has spent years behind the wheel, whether it be for a race, a television show, or his YouTube channel, which boasts 890,000 subscribers as of this writing.

Now, Block is one of the many names to hop on board with Quibi for the first wave of shows during the mobile streaming app’s launch. In the aptly named Block vs. Elba, Block and Idris Elba go head-to-head in a collection of car-themed challenges. While logic would dictate that Block has a major leg-up, Elba is no slouch behind the wheel, either, and without giving anything away, the show’s second episode features him being far more eager than Block to do a particularly dangerous challenge.

Block vs. Elba made its debut last week, and Uproxx Sports caught up with Block to discuss how this came to fruition, making the show, and why he thinks it’s perfect for Quibi.

How did it come about and what was the timeline on making this show go from an idea to reality?

Yeah, good question. The impetus of it was really Idris. Idris really likes cars and likes to do car-type activities, everything from racing to the shows. So he sought me out, came out and visited me in a race a couple of years ago in England and we hit it off and really enjoyed hanging out with each other. So he pursued a couple of different show ideas with myself, and the first one that we’ve done now is this show with Quibi. So this was his production company that did it, it was their idea and I just came along for the ride, which I gladly did because I liked the idea of it, I liked working with Idris, and I think they did a great job.

Filming the show, can I get a general timeline of how that looked, where it happened, and then just the sheer amount of organization that goes into setting up the various challenges that you two put yourselves through?

Yeah, the show was filmed last June in a part of London by the London airport ad it took three or four days to shoot, I think a total of four days. Some of the stuff, interviews and little bits between Idris and I were done separately, but then a bunch of the competitions were obviously done together. So it was really quite fun to do and quite a challenge for the production team to do all those different set-ups in a small area.

The ones that I saw were the obstacle course in the first episode, the long jump, and then driving on two wheels. Why were those things that you guys wanted to get into this as challenges?

Well I think the basic impetus of it was Idris knew if we just went out and raced that, most likely, my experience in the racing field would put him at a disadvantage. So they came up with a bunch of fun and interesting challenges that would challenge us in different ways, because I’ve never driven a vehicle on two wheels, so that was something that we kind of equaled the playing field because we both have skills in the car but this challenges those skills in a totally different way. So I enjoy adapting and approaching each challenge as a unique way to challenge all the race craft that I had, but I think it was a great way, like I said, to make the challenges an equalizer that didn’t make it just so the race car driver went out and beat the non-race car driver.

Yeah, I was going to say that second episode, it seemed like you were a bit surprised that Idris was so gung-ho about having a car launch off of a ramp and onto a bed of other cars. Did you kind of get surprised by his desire to do some of those crazier things that you might not expect that a Hollywood celebrity would be into doing?

Well, he comes from a slightly different world where stunts that normal stunt drivers do. Like, jumping a car to a dead stop is kind of normal but for me that’s the opposite of what you want to do. Every jump that I do is a very calculated jump with a take-off ramp and a landing ramp. I want to roll away from the jump, I don’t want to come to a dead stop. So I think that one just came more as a surprise to me that people wanted to do that. But for him coming from the world that he comes from, he sees a lot more of that stunt action, which is a bit more standard in that world and that’s something that excited him a lot more than it excited me.

What’s the number one thing that you wanted to accomplish with this show?

Well for me it was great to be able to have someone like Idris challenge me in this way and it was a lot of fun to do. But also there were certain challenges in there, like driving on two wheels, like driving a monster truck and doing the Wall of Death. These were things that I always looked at as interesting and fun things to do with vehicles that I just had never gotten the chance to do. So this show gave me the opportunity to go out and do some things that were just on my bucket list to try but I just never had the chance to set them up. So for them to set up a fun show for me to go out and compete against a great guy like Idris and create really fun content on a new app, that’s very cool. I like Quibi, it was just a very great opportunity for me.

In that first episode you say, I think verbatim, “I really don’t think Idris has a chance here. He’s basically screwed.” For someone like you who has done this competitively for years, does your competitive spirit kick in right away, or do you take more of a “this is supposed to be fun” approach. How does doing something fun like this mesh with Ken Block, the person who has done this competitively for years?

I’m competitive no matter what I do. So I always try and have fun and enjoy myself, but at the end of the day, I want to put myself in the position to win. So when we originally started looking at this, I thought, “Crap, Idris is going to come out looking pretty good no matter what in this.” Because I’m the race car driver, I’ve got everything to lose. So if I lose, that’s going to make me look pretty bad. But if he wins, he just has a nice upside really, no matter what. Even if he comes close to beating me, it still looks great for him.” So yeah, there was a bit of extra pressure on my side, but I wanted to have fun and enjoy myself competing with Idris. But at the end of the day, I want to win no matter what.

Of all the challenges you did in this show, what was your favorite one and why?

I would say my favorite one was actually driving on two wheels. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time and my buddy Terry Grant, that’s a stunt driver in England, has taken me for several different rides on two wheels at events like Goodwood Festival of Speed or a demo somewhere like Gymkhana GRiD. So I’ve always been intrigued by that but never had the opportunity to learn it. So that was a huge challenge and it was a lot of fun to kind of unscrew my brain and try and learn a new skill that just made no sense to me, so that’s the one I enjoyed the most.

It seems that you and Idris both had a blast. What was the most fun part of all of this?

I would say the most fun part was really interacting with Idris and really the sportsmanship and the challenge of trying to beat someone else, and he’s genuinely like a car guy and a fun guy to compete with. So just that whole interaction of trying to outdo a guy like Idris was just a really fun part and now that I’m doing all this.

I know you’ve done plenty of TV over the years. How do you think a medium like Quibi is right for this kind of show?

Well, I think that all of us are kind of experiencing really the birth of the internet and social media and how us as humans are using it and to watch new apps come along and be very successful based on the way that we consume media. So I think Quibi is really found a niche in the idea of making short, high-quality content that people can watch sitting on a train or in between appointments or however they want to do it. And it really resonates with me because a lot of the things that I do, especially like the Gymkhana videos, average around 10 minutes. So for me it’s something that I really appreciate. I think it goes right into sort of my sensibilities of how I like to use my phone and watch content. So I think they’ve done a great job.

Have you and Idris spoken about possibly doing a season two? Would there be any interest in that sort of thing?

Yeah, we’ve had a couple discussions about it. I mean instantly when we got done filming this show, he was talking about trying to do a second season, so I’m game. I really enjoyed it. I think there’s ways that we could even up the level of the competitions even more next time. So I really hope it happens.

Is there anyone else off the top of your head you can think of that you’d be interested in competing against in a format like this or is number one you want to run it back with Idris and see what else you guys can cook up here?

Well, I enjoyed working with Idris because he’s definitely a car guy. I get to compete against all sorts of different race car drivers around the world from the likes of Petter Solberg to Vaughn Gittin, doing different things. So I enjoy that element of it. But this, doing it with an actor and a personality like Idris was really cool. So I’d love to do that again but if I had to pick someone else, I’d love to do it against another celebrity like Idris, or like a Brad Pitt, or someone like that that’s really into cars and competing. But I really hope that we do a second season of this show because I enjoyed working with Idris and his production company, so I hope Quibi makes it happen.

With today’s plethora of social media platforms, it can be hard to decipher where exactly a piece of art originated. Because of this, many musicians have been accused of using artwork without an artist’s permission. Kanye West and Nas were charged with lifting artwork from a Bay Area producer in 2018. Just a few months ago, Lil Uzi Vert offered to pay money to an artist whose drawing was used as inspiration for his “That Way” cover art. Now, rapper IDK is on the other side of the debate. IDK has called out Netflix for creating a thumbnail that is suspiciously similar to one of his album covers.

IDK took to social media to slam Netflix for the thumbnail from their new series The Innocence Files. The Netflix Original series’ graphic touts a similar look to IDK’s IWASVERYBAD album cover. Addressing Netflix directly, IDK expressed his frustration. “I woke up in the middle of the night to this,” the rapper began. IDK then went on to explain the sentimental meaning behind his original album cover:

“Another big company praying on the creativity of someone who they think doesn’t have a voice and can’t do anything about. Since you all were inspired enough to to use my artwork rom IwasVeryBad, let me explain the origin of where it comes from. The dove on the back of my shoulder represents my mother (RIP) the person that I though had no love for me, the person I thought wanted me to be something outside of what I wanted to be. The person who told me ‘if you ever go to jail, don’t call me b/c I won’t pick up’. When I went to jail, forget my friends who I use to run with, forget any girls or even other family member. She was the only one that had my back during these times. And this artwork was for her.”

Read IDK’s full letter to Netflix and The Innocence Files above.

Some of the musicians covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

We’re all looking for things to listen to while we’re stuck in quarantine. With digital streaming platforms, we have all of the music in the world at our fingertips, but still can’t seem to figure out exactly what we want to hear. Lucky for all of us, Geoff Rickly is here to help with Making A Mixtape, the new video offering from Uproxx’s Indie Mixtape. As the singer for the post-hardcore band Thursday, Rickly has a unique and experienced perspective on what it takes to craft an epic mixtape.

After creating a “Moody” list with Cloud Nothings and an “Energy” list with Girlpool, Rickly is joined by Gordi to examine the unique and exciting “Details” that can make a song special. With certain tracks, it can be a single image in a lyric, a synth swell, or even just a little vocal inflection that keeps you coming back for more.

Check out the new episode of Making A Mixtape above, and follow the “Energy” playlist here.

Mannequin Pussy — “Drunk II”
Better Oblivion Community Center — “Dylan Thomas”
Bon Iver — “Hey, Ma”
Gordi — “Aeroplane Bathroom”
Helado Negro — “Please Won’t Please”
Waxahatchee — “Can’t Do Much”
Porches – “Patience”
Angel Olsen – “Acrobat”

Follow us or subscribe to the Indie Mixtape newsletter to hear about future episodes.

As it approaches 20 years since its 2001 debut, Scrubs has quietly become one of the most celebrated and beloved sitcoms of the century. While it doesn’t get as much attention as The Office or 30 Rock, and while it doesn’t have the cult following of Community, and while it’s not as known for its sense of optimism as Parks and Recreation, Scrubs in a lot of ways helped pave the way for the success of those single-camera comedies and others in the 2000s.

While Scrubs may not have been quite as popular as The Office, while it may not have had as much heart as Parks and Rec, and while it may not have been as irreverent as Community, the Bill Lawrence series successfully managed to triangulate the sensibilities of all three. It was a brilliantly funny show popular enough to run for nine seasons, but it also had a huge heart and some of the best sitcom gags of all time. Scrubs was a remarkable celebration of friendship, of mentors, and of medical workers. But like the HBO drama Six Feet Under, the series also spoke frequently on the subject of death in sometimes heartfelt and other times devastating ways.

Plus, Scrubs featured the Turk dance.

Currently, Scrubs‘ stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison are rewatching all the episodes for their podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends, produced by iHeartRadio, and it is a legitimately fantastic podcast and a fun trip down memory lane that reveals Braff and Faison to be very similar to their Scrubs character counterparts in the best possible way. (Our Brian Grubb recently spoke with Braff and Faison about the podcast.) It’s worth revisiting all nine seasons of the series (even that final season, which is much better than it gets credit for), but these 15 episodes are not just the best of Scrubs, but the iconic Scrubs episodes that every superfan should know.

15. My Last Chance (Season 4, Episode 8)

The Story: J.D. makes-out with Molly at her going-away party. He then gets approval from Elliot to sleep with Molly before she moves away. Dr. Cox has to complete community service in an ambulance with a paramedic who talks endlessly.

Why It’s On the List At the end of Heather Graham’s arc on Scrubs, J.D. is granted permission from Elliot (who slept with J.D.’s brother, after J.D. dumped her) to sleep with Dr. Molly Clock, but the Janitor hilariously drives him out into the middle of nowhere and abandons him (“It’s been four years! How did you not see this coming?”). It’s a race to get to Molly before the end of the night, only for J.D. to realize that Eliot snookered him. Dr. Cox, meanwhile, is partnered with an EMT driver played by Molly Shannon, who drives him absolutely insane but he digs deep and finds a soft spot for her when he finds out that her son died when he was 10. It’s one of those really fantastically written episodes that ends with a hilarious storyline to offset the more heartfelt one, because the best Scrubs episodes also leave us with a bittersweet emotional high.

14. My Half Acre (Season 5, Episode 9)

The Story: When a potential new girlfriend enters J.D.’s life, Elliot offers J.D. relationship advice and tries to help break his bad habit of ruining romantic moments by uttering really inappropriate things. Meanwhile, Jordan and Carla each have problems with Dr. Cox, and Turk joins the hospital airband.

Why It’s on the List: It’s the Turk dance episode, people. What else do you need? If there was nothing else in the entire episode, the Turk dance would get it into the top 15. But it also features Mandy Moore as a hilariously, ridiculously klutzy love interest, plus Dr. Cox finds out how to save the life of a Jehovah’s Witness without a blood transfusion. Oh, and it ends with a brilliant air-band rendition of Boston’s “More than a Feeling” that I still watch at least twice a year if I need a pick-me up.

13. My Occurrence (Season 1, Episode 22)

The Story: When Jordan’s Brother, Ben, comes in for a medical exam, Dr. Cox reveals his more compassionate side and J.D. must reluctantly deliver the bad news about Ben’s health.

Why It’s On The List: The first of three appearances of Brendan Fraser’s character, Ben (all three episodes are represented on this list). Ben is Jordan’s brother and her ex-husband Dr. Cox’s best friend. Dr. Cox has always been a tyrannical hard-ass, but it’s Ben that occasionally brings out Dr. Cox’s softer, more compassionate side. Scrubs is never more affecting than when Dr. Cox drops the veneer, and we see that for the first time here when J.D. delivers the news to Ben that he has leukemia.

12. My No Good Reason (Season 6, Episode 14)

The Story: Laverne and Dr. Cox get into a debate about Laverne’s Christian belief that everything happens for a reason.

Why It’s on the List: There is a very unfortunate subplot in this episode about Turk’s nanny that does not hold up well at all in 2020. However, in the other storyline, Dr. Cox and Nurse Roberts argue about whether there is a reason for things happening, and it looks like Laverne will win the argument when they discover a tumor in an eight-year-old who is otherwise senselessly stabbed. However, Dr. Cox ultimately seems to win the argument in the worst possible way when Laverne dies in a car accident, delivering one of the biggest gut punches in the sitcom’s history.

11. My Long Goodbye (Season 6, Episode 15)

The Story: Laverne was in a car accident and is in a coma. Everyone has a hard time dealing with it. Jordan is having her baby, but Dr. Cox doesn’t want everybody knowing about it. J.D is the only one who knows about the birth and is obsessed with becoming the baby’s godfather.

Why It’s on the List: In eight seasons of Scrubs (plus that other season), Laverne is the only series regular who is ever killed off the series (nevermind that her “twin” returns). It’s a heartbreaking follow-up to “No Good Reason,” where Sacred Heart says goodbye to Laverne one by one, while Laverne — in a coma — continues to hang on until Carla can finally say goodbye. Meanwhile, Dr. Cox and Jordan have a daughter, but Dr. Cox doesn’t want it to overshadow Laverne’s death or vice versa, so he keeps it from everyone else except J.D., who eventually convinces Jordan to name him the baby’s Godfather. Again, this episode does what Scrubs does best, which is to mix the sweet with the sorrowful.

10. My Cake (Season 4, Episode 6)

The Story: J.D.’s brother Dan comes back to tell J.D. their father died.

Why It’s On The List: After J.D.’s father dies, Dr. Cox can’t bring himself to comfort him, and his misguided attempts to do so only make it worse until he joins forces with J.D.’s brother Dan, another emotionally crippled narcissist. The two manage to have the necessary conversation with J.D. about his father’s passing by wearing sports jerseys and watching football. Elsewhere, Turk is diagnosed with Type II Diabetes but can’t bring himself to tell Carla, even though Carla knew all along. The episode’s real comedy, however, comes from The Janitor gaslighting Dr. Kelso in order to convince him that he has Alzheimer’s until it spectacularly backfires. It’s not completely apparent until the last two minutes, but it’s a remarkable episode, and one that is dedicated to John Ritter, who played J.D.’s father and passed in real life. It’s also one of those episodes that really highlights the importance of Neil Flynn’s Janitor character to the series.

9. My Catalyst (Season 3, Episode 12)

The Story: Dr. Kevin Casey the medical attendant and surgeon comes to the hospital to impress them with his extraordinary medical skills, and his severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Why It’s On the List: In the first of his two episodes, Michael J. Fox guest stars as Dr. Casey, a brilliant doctor (and former classmate of Dr. Cox) with OCD. Dr. Cox develops an intense case of professional jealousy, especially as J.D. looks up to Dr. Casey as his mentor, until Dr. Cox realizes that being the best doctor in the hospital comes with its own heartbreaking downsides. It’s a terrific episode that emphasizes the importance of work/life balance, but it also features a truly remarkable performance from Michael J. Fox, which ultimately put him on the path of a series of Emmy-nominated guest turns in other series.

8. My Hero (Season 1, Episode 23)

The Story: Ben’s diagnosis sends shock waves throughout the staff at Sacred Heart. Surprisingly Cox is the man keeping everyone afloat.

Why It’s On the List: Part 2 of the first Ben episode with Brendan Fraser, “My Hero,” is the episode that really elevates Dr. Cox into a full-fledged character on Scrubs instead of a ranting, abusive antagonist. Here. J.D.’s hero, Dr. Cox, shows his vulnerable side when he’s too scared to be there for Ben. “The day we admit we’re not heroic is the day we’re the most heroic of all,” J.D. says of Dr. Cox. It is also, I believe, the first time that Ted introduces his A cappella group, a recurring mainstay on the series.

7. My Musical (Season 6, Episode 6)

The Story: A patient hears singing from everyone, turning Sacred Heart into a musical extravaganza. Meanwhile, Elliot determines whether or not J.D. should move in with her, and Carla determines whether or not to go back to work.

Why It’s on the List: Creator Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff are huge fans of musicals. Midway through the sixth season, it was probably difficult to keep a show like Scrubs creatively juiced, but they came up with a terrific musical episode that brilliantly pays homage to a number of other musicals. The songs include one about fecal samples, “Everything Comes Down to Poo”; a song about Carla’s conflicting feelings about staying home after having a baby, “It’s Going to be a Long, Long Year,”; and, of course, “Guy Love,” about the heterosexual bromance between Turk and J.D. This episode really illustrated the range of talent on the show.

6. My Way Home (Season 5, Episode 7)

The Story: As a tribute to “The Wizard of Oz,” the four companions go on a similar journey.

Why It’s On the List: A brilliant Wizard of Oz homage begins with J.D. — who Dr. Cox calls Dorothy — listening to Toto ‘s “Africa,” on his day off, but when he’s called back into the hospital, he is thwarted from returning home by Carla’s lack of courage over having children, Turk’s inability to talk a family out of letting their son pass away so that they can have his heart, and Elliot’s need for brains to teach a class. The whole episode is stacked with clever Oz references, the back half is shot in something akin to “technicolor,” and somehow, Ted’s A capella group’s performance of “Maniac” from Flashdance may still be the best part of a phenomenally fun, funny, and heartfelt episode. It’s a little corny, but it is a terrific 22 minutes.

5. My Old Lady (Season 1, Episode 4)

The Story: The whole crew learn their share about death when JD takes care of an old woman ready to die, Elliot and Carla watch over a woman who can’t speak English, and Turk becomes too close with a patient.

Why It’s On the List: The series’ fourth episode ever features guest star Kathryn Joosten, the late actress probably best known for playing Mrs. Vanlandingham in West Wing, and her character in this episode meets the same fate. This episode is where Scrubs really started to gel — and where Carla and Elliot first bonded — and where the series’ trademark whiplash poignancy began to take shape. It also highlighted that the series’ true villain wasn’t Dr. Kelso, it was death, the one character everyone on Scrubs could rally together against. What may be best remembered, however, was how a patient helped J.D. cope with her death, a poignant reversal of roles.

4. My Lunch (Season 5, Episode 20)

The Story: The Sacred Heart Staff, under the leadership of Dr. Cox, works to keep three patients who need transplants alive. Meanwhile, J.D. runs into ex-patient Jill Tracy, who he finds extremely annoying, and Carla and Elliot pry into Todd’s personal life, but Turk warns them to leave it alone.

Why It’s on the List: This is one of those episodes that starts out as a funny episode about an annoying former patient and The Todd’s sexual orientation, but then takes a hard turn after the annoying former patient presumably kills herself. Her organs are harvested for the three transplant patients, but because she actually had rabies, all three organ recipients die and Dr. Cox spirals in the absolute most devastating episode of the series. It’s a tour de force performance from John C. McGinley, who did a lot of dramatic heavy lifting in the series. Through nine seasons, it’s this one he’ll probably best be remembered for.

3. My Fallen Idol (Season 5, Episode 21)

The Story: Carla persuades all her coworkers to rally around a despondent Dr. Cox, after three of his patients die because of his mistake. Everyone participates except J.D., who thinks his selfish reaction crossed the line.

Why It’s on the List: After the devastating events of the previous episode, the typically unflappable Dr. Cox spirals into a rage depression. Consigned to his couch, no one can bring Dr. Cox out of his funk, and J.D. won’t show up for his mentor because he lost respect for him for showing up to work drunk. It’s another turning point in the series, where J.D. realizes that his mentor is not invincible, but he also helps Dr. Cox see his failure from another perspective: “I’m proud of you,” J.D. tells him, “because after 20 years, you still get broken up when you lose patients.” This is the second part to “My Lunch,” but it’s also the spiritual counterpart to “My Hero.”

2. My Finale (Season 8, Episodes 18, 19)

The Story: J.D. continues his last day at Sacred Heart, and tries to hold out hope for a great sendoff.

Why It’s on the List: It’s J.D.’s last day at Sacred Heart, and the end of Scrubs 1.0. The first episode is total build up — no one, in particular Dr. Cox will give J.D. what he wants, which is a big, emotional send-off. He doesn’t get it until the second episode, where he gets a goodbye from everyone else. We also finally find out The Janitor’s name, sort of (it’s Tony, not Glen Matthews, as he tells J.D.). Ultimately, it’s a low-key but very sweet send-off for J.D. that also previews his future with Elliot, their kids, and their lifelong relationships together. It’s a terrific episode and a better overall episode than the 15th episode that season, “My Soul On Fire,” but I still like to consider this clip from that episode to be the real series finale (notwithstanding season 9).

1. My Screw-Up (Season 3, Episode 14)

The Story: It’s Jack’s first birthday, so Jordan’s siblings Dani and Ben are in town. Dr. Cox tells J.D. to leave a patient for half an hour and check up on Ben’s leukemia, but when a patient dies, Dr. Cox blames J.D. and takes over his patients. Carla and Turk argue about Turk getting rid of his mole and Carla taking Turk’s last name.

Why It’s On The List: Scrubs pulls off a remarkable and heartbreaking M. Night Shyamalan twist in “My Screw Up,” which sees Dr. Cox so heavily in denial that his best friend, Ben, is dead of leukemia that his guilt-ridden brain invents a birthday party for his son to emotionally protect himself from the truth of Ben’s funeral. I’m not sure I have ever seen a half-hour comedy either before or since this capable of bringing viewers to tears. For 20 minutes, “My Screw-Up” is a hilarious episode — Turk has his mole/tickle button removed — but the final 30 seconds and the Joshua Radin song are absolutely devastating. It’s not just the best Scrubs episode, but one of the absolute best sitcom episodes of the 21st century, one capable of sticking with its viewer for days afterward.

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New York-based burger joint Shake Shack came under fire recently for gobbling up $10 million of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program. The $349 billion program was designed to help small businesses pay their workers and keep operations going during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The program ran out of money after just two weeks, leaving many small businesses without any funding options and their workers without paychecks.

Shake Shack was able to get the loan because the program covers any company with fewer than 500 workers at a single location. Shake Shack has 8,000 people at its 189 locations.

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“Few, if any restaurants in America employ more than 500 people per location,” Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti wrote in a statement. “That meant that Shake Shack — with roughly 45 employees per restaurant — could and should apply to protect as many of our employees’ jobs as possible.”

Shake Shack currently has over $104 million in cash and liquid assets.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House ($20 million), Potbelly Sandwich Shop ($10 million), and Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc ($10 million), the owners of Taco Cabana, have also been criticized for taking up large chunks of money intended for small businesses.

The public pressure caused Shake Shack to give back the $10 million dollar loan. In a statement posted to LinkedIn, Shake Shack noted that small businesses were shut out of the program and that was the fault of the government.

“Late last week, when it was announced that funding for the PPP had been exhausted, businesses across the country were understandably up in arms,” Garutti wrote. “If this act were written for small businesses, how is it possible that so many independent restaurants whose employees needed just as much help were unable to receive funding?”

It then announced it had received alternative funding and will return the $10 million to the Small Business Administration.

“We’re thankful for that and we’ve decided to immediately return the entire $10 million PPP loan we received last week to the SBA so that those restaurants who need it most can get it now,” Garutti continued.

via Lukas Richarz / Flickr

Garutti ended the statement by suggesting some positive steps that Congress can take to help all restaurants across the country.

“We urge Congress to ensure that all restaurants no matter their size have equal ability to get back on their feet and hire back their teams,” he wrote. “We are an industry of 660,000 restaurants with nearly 16 million employees.”

The lockdown has put a lot of America’s businesses in peril. So it’s our job as consumers to try and support those businesses as best we can to help them get through the crisis. Americans should take note of which ones are being ethical during the pandemic and support them as best they can.

It may have been wrong for Shake Shack to take funding that could have helped countless businesses make it through the crisis, but at least they’re owning up to their decision. Hopefully other businesses who’ve been criticized will follow suit.

The flirting on the Scrabble app has got to go.

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The world needs more of this.

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These masks are up to the task.

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