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It’s been a while since Alex Jones, arguably America’s most famous conspiracy theorist, has made news. The last time was back in May, when the Infowars guy fell for a fake AI Tucker Carlson who suggested they suck on each other’s nipples. But now he’s made a big comeback by going on Russian state TV, where he proceeded to trash America, almost cry, and almost vomit.

As per Newsweek, Jones was a guest on Full Contact, hosted by top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. There he called America under Joe Biden an “occupied globalist country” run by “oligarchs” like “Klaus Schwab and Bill Gates.” He also claimed that the government is “arresting everybody” and that “our country is captured.”

To really class up the joint, Jones compared government officials to “hijackers who take over an airplane,” adding, “They’re flying the American airplane into the building—like 9/11—that is Russia. And so I’m trying to stop that.”

Jones also asserted that he’s facing “assassination” attempts, even going so far as to say, “This could be my last message.” About the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said, “we have to tell the truth about what’s happening in Ukraine, even if it gets us killed, because the globalists are insane, mentally [sic] degenerates.”

He also claimed that Tucker Carlson, already a Putin fanboy, is about to go “all in” for Russia over Ukraine. At one point he said, “The globalists want to eat Russia and they want to eat me. To understand their mindset, they’re cannibals.”

At one point Jones got so worked up that he started tearing up. At another, he started to gag repeatedly, looking off-screen for, presumably, a bucket.

Solovyov gushed about Jones, comparing him to Rush Limbaugh and calling him a “great knight in shining armor.” He also invited him to stay at his family home.

Does this mean Jones will be hightailing to Russia, to live where there’s no McDonald’s? Will Tucker join him? Stay tuned, apparently.

(Via Newsweek)

Who doesn’t love Martin Short? Some people, evidently. On Friday, Slate published a hit piece on the beloved performer, who’s currently enjoying a career renaissance thanks to the delightful Hulu comedy Only Murders in the Building. Entitled “Why We Keep Putting Up With Martin Short,” it argues that Short’s “over-the-top characters” — from Ed Grimley to Jiminy Glick to Building’s Oliver Putnam — are “unbelievably annoying.” Alas, it seems few agreed. Instead, many rushed to Short’s defense.

In an instantly ratio-ed piece, writer Dan Kois confidently asserts that he’s “not the only one” who’s allergic to the Canadian entertainer’s shtick:

I find Martin Short’s whole schtick exhausting, sweaty, and desperately unfunny. Throughout his evolution from sketch-comedy standout to uneasy movie star to twice-failed talk-show host to enthusiastic song-and-dance man, I’ve wrinkled my nose. Every time he dresses up in a silly outfit or says something outrageous or mugs for the audience, I want to shout at the screen: Why are you being like this? Only Murders in the Building has fun with this reputation, making Oliver Putnam a try-hard only in comparison to his staid friends Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Charles (Short’s longtime comedy partner Steve Martin)—a gentler version of Short, one who in Season 3 must tamp down his personality further to avoid a second heart attack. But even in this quasi-naturalist mode—directing actors, interviewing witnesses, or wooing Meryl Streep—you can always see the mischievous glint in his eye.

Kois’ piece probably got clicks. But instead of people agreeing with him, they did something better: It encouraged an outpouring of love. Confronted with the idea that someone who’s been a fixture of the entertainment industry for over four decades could inspire vitriol from anyone, people stopped taking Short for granted and offered proof of his genius.

People shared Jiminy Click clips.

SNL clips (like this one).

SCTV clips.

Clips from his movies.

Talk show appearances (like this one).

Assorted other media appearances.

They shared fun stories.

Interviews with him.

They made jokes at the article’s expense.

Others simply praised Martin Short.

You know you’ve made a dent in the world when social media is clogged with your work for hours and hours and hours. Hopefully Martin Short feels the opposite of hated right now.

It’s only been about a day since Olivia Rodrigo dropped her anticipated sophomore album, Guts. However, people are already dissecting the songs for easter eggs and meaning from Rodrigo’s personal life.

The song arguably causing the biggest debate is fittingly titled “The Grudge,” which finds Rodrigo reflecting on a moment in May where someone severely hurt her.

I hear your voice every time that I think I’m not enough,” she sings. “You built me up to watch me fall / You have everything and you still want more / I try to be tough, I try to be mean / But even after all this, you’re still everything to me / And I know you don’t care, I guess that that’s fine.”

Because of Rodrigo describing someone setting her up and still having to hear the voice of someone she presumably looked up to, many have suspected the song is about Taylor Swift.

For a while, there have been rumors that while Rodrigo looked up to Swift, it turned into a don’t-meet-your-heroes situation. Things apparently went south after Swift got partial credit for Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu” — given the similarities to her 2019 song, “Cruel Summer.”

They also haven’t interacted much since then, with Rodrigo being noticeably absent from going to any of The Eras Tour dates.

While we’ll likely never know for sure if Rodrigo’s “The Grudge” is about Swift, you can find some fan speculation below.

Alan Moore, 69, is a legendary comic book writer best known for “Watchmen,” “V for Vendetta,” “The Ballad of Halo Jones,” “Swamp Thing,” “Batman: The Killing Joke” and “From Hell.”

Moore is known as one of the best comic book writers in the English language, and his advice for fellow scribes is a bit counterintuitive. He believes that it’s as important to read “terrible” books as it is classic literature.

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“As a prospective writer, I would urge you to not only read good books. Read terrible books as well, because they can be more inspiring than the good books,” Moore says in a clip taken from his BBC Maestro online storytelling course.

“If you are inspired by a good book, there’s always the danger of plagiarism, of doing something that is too much like that good book,” Moore says in the video. “Whereas, a genuinely helpful reaction to a piece of work that you’re reading is, ‘Jesus Christ, I could write this sh*t!’ That is immensely liberating — to find somebody who is published who is doing much, much worse than you.”

Moore also believes that being exposed to bad writing can help you learn from other writers’ mistakes. Knowing why something doesn’t work can be as valuable as understanding why something succeeds.

​“And by analyzing why they are doing so badly, this will immensely help your own style. You’ll find out all of the mistakes not to make,” Moore continues. “‘Why did this story offend me so much?’ Analyze that. Find out why you didn’t like it. Find out all of the examples of clumsiness or bad thinking that spoiled the story for you.”

So, next time someone judges you for reading something that some would call “terrible,” remind them that the only way to be great is to be able to understand the awful.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is continuing with his lawsuit against the liquor brand Diageo after a judge ruled earlier this week to reject the company’s request to dismiss and/or make it a private matter, according to Billboard.

According to Rolling Stone, Diddy’s lawsuit will now be held in New York and is going to be open to the public.

“I’m fighting for fair and equal treatment for everyone,” he shared in a statement to the publication. “This isn’t just about me. I look forward to continuing this fight in court. We all deserve the same 24 hours.”

Meanwhile, Diageo has pushed back against the judge’s decision.

“It is important to underscore that this is not a ruling on the merits of the claims, which we maintain are false and baseless,” the company’s spokesperson said to Billboard. “We are currently considering all legal options.”

Diddy first filed a lawsuit against Diageo in May, claiming “discriminatory treatment” and that they failed to invest in Ciroc and DeLeón — as it was allegedly only being marketed to “urban” brands.

He also alleged that Diageo’s Stephen Rust, the President of Reserve and New Business, told him that “race was part of the reason Diageo limited the neighborhoods where the Combs brand were distributed.” The company has continued to deny all claims.

Hank Azaria has starred in dozens of TV shows and movies, both as a full-bodied actor and as a voiceover artist. But the roles he’s best known for are the multiple characters he has voiced on “The Simpsons.”

One of those voices helped win Azaria multiple Emmy awards, but also landed him in hot water—his portrayal of Indian shopkeeper Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

A documentary by Indian comedian Hari Kondabolu, “The Problem with Apu,” examined the issue of Apu being a racialized stereotype, no matter how beloved the character was. Kondabolu himself started of as a fan of the character. “Apu was the only Indian we had on TV at all so I was happy for any representation as a kid,” he told the BBC. But that perspective changed as he got older. “He’s funny, but that doesn’t mean this representation is accurate or right or righteous,” he said. “It gets to the insidiousness of racism, though, because you don’t even notice it when it’s right in front of you.”

Azaria spoke to his own obliviousness and his years-long journey from defending his portrayal of Apu to co-founding an anti-bias non-profit aimed at educating people about why such portrayals are harmful on The Man Enough podcast.

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“So what happened to me with Apu was that got pointed out to me,” he told host Liz Plank and Jamey Heath. “It’s like, your well-intentioned character that was very funny and made a lot of people laugh, and won you Emmys, and helped create an iconic, wonderful television show—and all those things are true about it—but it had some blind spots baked into it, in its groundwater that came through me and the writers and the creators, that had unintended negative consequences. And the fact that I was oblivious to it only underlined how much I needed to look at it.”

That wasn’t his first reaction, though. He said he got upset and “very defensive” at first, reacting in a way that many people find familiar.

“I was like, ‘Well, where does this end?’ And I hear now a lot of people say it today. They say it to me: ‘Isn’t this all silly? It’s gone too far. Where does this end? Can you not do an Irish accent? Can you not do a Polish accent? You’re not a policeman. How come you can play Police Chief Wiggum? I mean, where does this nonsense end?’ kind of thing. And that was my first, second, and third reaction.” He said to him, it was just another thing he was imitating as a voice actor. He didn’t see the difference between imitating an Indian or a Black person versus a French or German person.

@wearemanenough

Taking accountability for the past 💛#growth #mindset

“Learning that difference became important to me,” he said. That was the beginning of his gaining a deeper understanding of how his voicing of Apu could be problematic.

Interestingly, Azaria’s experience with a 12-step recovery program helped him process the backlash he experienced in a healthy, accountable way. He pointed out that a part of recovery is denial, but once you get past that, you start owning your part in the issue.

“Even if, in the end, you decide, well, my part of this, I think, is only 10% of the whole thing, I think somebody else is maybe 90% of this…you can only really work on your end,” he said.

“Step four is that inventory. What am I doing here? Who am I? Where was I at fault? Where am I to blame? What’s my part? How am I accountable?” he went on. “And step nine is amends. Now how do I make this right? How do I make up for it? Sometimes that can be 20 minutes. Sometimes it can take you years to work through that.”

Azaria also had a professional and personal choice to make. “Am I gonna keep doing this voice or not?” he asked. “It wasn’t so apparent to me what to do, especially when I was so defensive at first, because on the one hand, I didn’t want to just bow to what we called then ‘PC pressure.’ Now there are other words for it, right? I didn’t want to ‘fold to the woke mob’ or ‘give in to cancel culture,’ whatever we wanna call it. But more to the point, I didn’t want to just, for appearance’s sake, fold, because I was afraid of criticism or looking like a bad guy. On the other hand, I certainly didn’t want to continue to do harm and perpetuate a stereotype and hurt people and marginalize people I really didn’t know.”

Azaria shared that one reason he didn’t participate in Kondabolu’s documentary was that he was afraid he would misstep and say things that would hurt both himself and other people. He said he was still learning and knew he needed to keep his mouth shut and his ears open. He started reading and attending seminars and talking to people.

“And these are conversations I had never had before,” he said. “I don’t think I’d ever had a conversation about race with anybody before, except in college, in a class where I was mostly just taking it in as an intellectual exercise.”

Through that learning, Azaria began to recognize what many would call “white privilege,” but that Azaria refers to as “relative advantages.”

“I realized one of the main relative advantages or privileges I enjoyed is never having to think about that stuff. Never ever once. Didn’t impact me. It’s why I didn’t take a pause when I did the voice of Apu or others, because it didn’t occur to me that there would be any kind of impact beyond either a laugh or not a laugh, a successful show or not a successful show.”

The more he learned, the clearer the reality became for him and he was able to make the decision to stop voicing Apu in 2018. Since then, he has gone on to work closely with The Soul Focused Group, a Black-led organization that focuses on building connections and raising the consciousness of people to help bridge divides that keep us apart. He also partnered with the group to found The Human Solidarity Project to remove financial barriers to the services The Soul Focused Group offers.

Azaria’s evolution is fascinating to hear about and a great example of how education, open-mindedness and open-heartedness can lead us to a deeper understanding of and connection to one another.

Watch the entire interview below.

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Olivia Rodrigo sat down with Zane Lowe from Apple Music to talk about her new album, Guts. During their chat, she revealed the difficulties she encountered during the creation process.

“I think the first time around I was just filled with so much adrenaline, I was like, ‘Okay, wow, this is happening. I’ve never done this before,’” Rodrigo shared. “This time it feels a little more real, and it’s a scary thing to know that people are going to be curious and they’ll maybe have a lot of ears on it.”

Despite her being anxious about making a sophomore record, she did feel that doing it gave her “a lot of confidence as a songwriter.”

“I think this time I was in a different place, and I was having a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations placed on me, and I think I really had to try to block out the noise and just focus on the craft of songwriting,” she noted. “I wasn’t going through my first 17-year-old heartbreak, and I think that it forced me to be maybe a little bit more creative in the way that I write.”

Later on, Rodrigo also discussed her love for Phoebe Bridgers. The two recently had a conversation, as Rodrigo was on the cover of Interview Magazine and Bridgers was conducting it.

“It was so much fun talking to her,” she added. “I think she’s so smart and obviously such a brilliant songwriter, but she’s just really, really gracious and really down to earth and it’s been really nice to have some interactions with her. I think she’s just great all around.”

Check out the full video above.

Goose treated fans to a new surprise EP, Autumn Crossing, which features three live rare songs that have been dubbed the “Travelers-Elmeg Suite.”

The release came with a music video directed by Will Thresher, Michael Nuchereno, and Aaron Mannes. Filmed in western New York, the nature shots add to the calming nature. And it even takes viewers to space, just to give off the psychedelic vibes.

Fans will also be able to purchase a limited 12″ vinyl version of the EP, with artwork from Jonathan Lovering etched into it.

“This is a meaningful one for me,” Rick Mitarotonda, the band’s guitarist, shared in a statement. “It’s among a collection of material I wrote in the years prior to Goose forming. This band is interesting to me in that way, it draws from many different times and places, and there’s a particular freedom to that. This one was a special time and place for me personally.”

Starting next week, Goose will be heading out on the road, playing shows across North America and Europe through December. A complete list of dates and more information can be found here.

Check out the video for “Travelers I,” “Travelers II,” and “Elmeg The Wise” above.

Autumn Crossing is out now on streaming platforms. It will be available on vinyl starting early December. Find more information here.

Even though many of the plot points and mysteries from season two of The Afterparty have been solved, the AppleTV+ show could still have some more tricks up its sleeves.

The murder mystery stars Tiffany Haddish as a former detective who first solves a series of suspicious murders which inspire her to write a book. Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, John Cho, Ken Jeong, and Anne Knokle also star in the series, which is told through various perspectives by using different genres. It’s fun and different! We need more of that.

The second season just wrapped up, and many fans are wondering if there will be a third. The answer is a little complicated. “We have a lot of ideas, but right now we’re on strike,” executive producer Anthony King told TVLine. While they are unable to make progress with a new season, King confirmed that they do have some ideas. “Until the AMPTP comes back to the table and makes a good deal with the writers, none of those things can come to fruition. They all have to stay just ideas, so we’re waiting on that.”

Earlier this week, King, along with fellow EP Phil Lord and creator Chris Miller, expressed their interest in a third season (Via Variety).

Miller: We would love to do a Season 3, not only because we have lots of great ideas, but also because that would mean that the AMPTP would have given a fair deal to the writers and we could all be back to work.

Lord: This is what we’re striking for.

King: It’s in the list of demands.

Miller: We snuck it in along with the AI language, that there will be a Season 3 of “The Afterparty.”

So, as long as some demands are met, it seems pretty likely that we will get a third season of shenanigans…eventually.

(Via TVLine)

Midway through the second quarter of Friday’s FIBA World Cup semifinal between Germany and the United States, Daniel Theis attempted to float an entry pass inside to Johannes Thiemann, who held an advantage against the smaller Mikal Bridges. Except, Bobby Portis interrupted Theis’ plans and deflected the pass, which caromed toward Isaac Bonga. Immediately and without hesitation, the lanky German forward redirected the ball into Thiemann’s clutches and helped Germany knot the score at 41.

While the sequence marked Bonga’s lone assist of the evening during a game his preeminent contributions occurred defensively, it also revealed a few themes central to Germany’s 113-111 victory over the U.S. that propelled it into Sunday’s title game against Serbia.

Often deploying some trio involving Thiemann, Theis, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, and Johannes Voigtmann, Germany constantly leveraged its size advantage to success, whether that be scoring at the rim, generating second chances or commanding double teams to produce fruitful looks elsewhere. It trotted out some massive quintets. USA’s interior depth is scarce, and an aversion to consistent two-big lineups or minutes for Walker Kessler only heightened that dilemma and gulf. Germany nabbed five more offensive rebounds and scored six more points in the paint than the Americans on Friday.

The gap in passing quality announced itself from the outset as well, reinforced by Germany’s 73.2 percent assist rate compared to USA’s 65.8 percent. Bonga’s improvisation to keep the offense humming provided a snapshot of how his side hung 113 points on its counterparts in a 40-minute game.

The shot-making numbers — 68.3 percent (28-of-41) inside the arc, 43.3 percent (13-of-30) beyond it — are eye-catching, but Germany routinely yielded high-quality attempts all over the floor because of its decisive, savvy passing. Beyond a stretch late in the fourth quarter when USA dialed up the contact point and physicality on switches and stalled the action a handful of times, Germany was a multifaceted juggernaut offensively. Its cohesion and connectivity were joys to watch.

Individually, names like Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner rightfully headline this squad. Both of them played well Friday. Schroder conducted the offense masterfully and discerningly, logging 17 points (7-of-13 shooting) and nine assists to zero turnovers. Wagner thrived in transition and notched 22 points (7-of-18 shooting), five boards, two assists, and one steal.

Yet the semifinal stars were Theis and Andreas Obst. Nobody played better than them. Theis was the foremost star. In 28 minutes, he slapped down 21 points (10-of-15 shooting), seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. His perimeter comfort on both ends was integral to Germany’s jumbo lineups. When they needed him to operate above the break as a floor-spacer or outside-in passing hub, he obliged. When he was thrust into pick-and-rolls, he converted. When he was the low man defensively, he rotated punctually. When he had to stunt or defend the ball-handler, he didn’t look out of sorts. His two-way fluidity popped.

Protecting the rim, attacking closeouts, providing diverse play-finishing, and looking sprightly in space, the 31-year-old cast an imprint in a multitude of facets. He blended his traditional NBA role player duties with heightened freedom this national team environment affords him. Never did it feel as though he had to impose himself, but he was always around, guiding Germany toward the gold medal game.

Helping lead that charge alongside Theis was Obst, whose sidestep triple with 75 seconds remaining served as the biggest shot of the night and dumped water on the fire of USA’s late, furious push. Obst scored a team-high 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting and added six dimes. Among screens into jumpers, drives, and second-side actions, Germany prioritized scheming him touches in motion. USA tried stashing Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson on Obst. That gambit was completely exploited. Their struggles with screen navigation continually rendered them a liability, underlined the roster’s shaky guard defense, and enabled Obst to thrive.

After he buried a couple long balls early in the first quarter, USA emphasized skirting him off the arc and forcing him to put the ball on the deck. That didn’t quiet him. His processing and playmaking were sharp counters whenever defenders keyed in on his scoring genes. Once he elected to pass, the ball really snapped out of his hand and left opponents scant time to rotate or recover.

The jumper, of course, is a marvel. There’s no wasted movement; it’s beautiful. He’s netted 16-of-35 threes in the tournament, including 4-of-8 in the semifinals. According to Basketball-Reference, on 501 cataloged attempts since 2014-15, he’s drilled 41.3 percent of them. He’s just an absolute marksman who showed out at a pivotal moment and was not confined to outside shooting as a means of impact.

As another World Cup reaches a conclusion without Team USA hoisting the trophy, focus from many crowds understandably shifts to limitations of the roster and how they can be remedied heading into next summer’s Olympics. To fixate solely on those angles, though, would be to disregard everything Germany excelled at on Friday.

That result is also a testament to what Germany has built with this group. The offensive schematics and synergy are tremendous. The personnel is well-constructed. Its top players fill many different gaps and do not overlap in infringing ways. All of that was on display as it dispatched USA and now stands on the precipice of its first World Cup title in team history.