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Jenna Ortega is slowly but surely becoming Gen Z’s Scream Queen. After starring in the stalker-thriller You, she single-handily brought back the Scream franchise from the dead and then starred in A24’s erotic horror thriller X. Now, Ortega is set to star as the equally horrifying Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton’s new Netflix series.

Netflix has released a full family portrait of the Addams Family, featuring the iconic gaggle of creepy family members. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman will portray Morticia and Gomez Adams, while Pugsley will be played by Isaac Ordonez. Christina Ricci will reportedly also make an appearance.

The series will follow Wednesday as a teenager, which some may argue is the scariest age of all. Creators Miles Millar and Alfred Gough says that while she is slightly scary, her family sees her as just another lovable member of The Addams Family. “Wednesday’s not scared of sharks or creepy crawlies or anything, but she’s afraid of emotion,” Gough told Vanity Fair. “Their overt displays of affection drive Wednesday crazy.”

Wednesday is one of Burton’s first official TV show attempts (who remembers the short-lived Beetlejuice series?!) though if there is anything in the world that screams Tim Burton, it’s the creepy and pale supernatural family known as The Addams family. So he probably knows what he’s doing. Burton will direct four of the eight episodes, along with producing. Burton famously pitched to make the 1991 movie adaptation of the family but decided against it.

Wednesday premieres this fall on Netflix.

(Via Vanity Fair)

Psilocybin mushrooms aren’t for everyone, but they’re not exclusively for people who say things like “mind trip” or call a weekend in the woods a “journey” either. Creatives, scientists, the tech industry, wellness experts, regular people just trying to get by, and even chefs have found a variety of benefits in the unique experience that psilocybin can provide. The United States government might still view magic mushrooms as a potentially dangerous substance (the drug has had federal Schedule I designation since 1970, suggesting a high potential for abuse; research-wise it’s actually one of the safest drugs) but magic mushrooms have been used for centuries all over the world both as part of religious ceremonies, for medicine, and, yes, just for fun.

Now, thanks to a spate of recent studies that show the many therapeutic benefits of psilocybin, a shift has begun. America is reexamining the therapeutic potential of these powerful fungi. Just as the world’s top streamer, Netflix, which released both Fantastic Fungi and How to Change Your Mind this year — with both featuring psilocybin extensively and framing its usage in an overwhelmingly positive light.

Similar to cannabis, psilocybin seems to be on a steady march toward federal legalization while being legalized/ decriminalized by cities or states in the meantime. The willingness of governing bodies to reevaluate the old laws is due to the various health benefits the shrooms appear to hold, including the potential to help with depression, addiction, eating disorders, and post-traumatic stress. Those therapeutic effects challenge the Schedule I definition of psilocybin as a substance with “no currently accepted medical use,” and as more studies come to light, there is no doubt that broader legalization is in our near future (multiple states have legalization measures on the ballot for 2022).

So what’s the deal with magic mushrooms? Where can you legally enjoy them? And what resources are available to you if you want to learn more about this deep and rich world? We’re breaking that down in this explainer on all things psilocybin!

How Does It Work & What Does The Science Say?

When psilocybin — a naturally occurring psychoactive hallucinogenic compound — enters the body it turns to psilocin, which then binds to the 5-HT2A receptors in the brain. Those receptors regulate neurotransmitter chemicals related to mood, anxiety, appetite, and more which is why mushrooms might hold promise for people suffering from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, addiction, and other psychological issues. It’s also what provides the visual altering, sense-enhancing, and intense sense of well-being that is characteristic of the mushroom “hero dose.”

Having said that, psilocybin isn’t for everyone, people who are actively taking SSRIs (though a recent study calls that into question), or who have a family history of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are not currently advised to take magic mushrooms, especially in heavier doses.

Currently, there are only a few reputable published studies to back up the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin. Because federally psychedelic mushrooms are still illegal, large-scale studies are hard to come by. What’s out there so far is promising, though.

The most extensive studies have been conducted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and have been subsequently published in reputable scientific and medical journals. One study found that psychedelic treatment with psilocybin helped to relieve depression for up to a month in adults with a long-term history of depression. A follow-up study was conducted to measure the long-term effects which showed even more promise. Researchers found that psilocybin treatment produced large decreases in depression, with participants recording their depression severity as “low” for up to 12 months after initial treatment.

“Psilocybin not only produces significant and immediate effects, it also has a long duration, which suggests that it may be a uniquely useful new treatment for depression,” says Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D. the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research in a news release on the study, “Compared to standard antidepressants, which must be taken for long stretches of time, psilocybin has the potential to enduringly relieve the symptoms of depression with one or two treatments.”

That’s huge, and it only scratches the surface of what researchers at Johns Hopkins have found. Since 2014, John Hopkins has conducted studies on psilocybin’s potential to help longtime smokers defeat nicotine addiction, ease the existential anxiety of cancer patients suffering from depression, assist in mitigating dependence and abuse of alcohol, and has called for the reclassification of psilocybin as a Schedule I drug to a Schedule IV drug — the same scheduling enjoyed by legal substances like Xanax, ambient, valium, and soma, to name a few.

In 2021, Johns Hopkins received the first federal grant for psychedelic treatment research in 50 years, which will be a big step in our exploration and understanding of the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin. So how are states reacting?

Where Are Magic Mushrooms Legal?

It’s important to point out that despite the research and the growing acceptance, psychedelic mushrooms are still illegal in the United States… for the most part. A few states have made recent efforts to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms. Decriminalization is not legalization, so as of now psychedelic mushrooms are in a sort of weird legal limbo. Here is an updating list of the current rules in the decriminalized states.

California:

Since the passage of a 2019 citywide resolution, psychedelic mushrooms have been decriminalized in Oakland, along with other psychedelic plant-based entheogens including iboga, ayahuasca, and mescaline cacti. Santa Cruz followed in 2020 by decriminalizing the possession and cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms.

Colorado:

Colorado was the first state to decriminalize magic mushrooms in 2019, though that status only applies to the city of Denver. In 2022 Coloradans will vote on the proposed ballot initiative #58, Access to Natural Medicine, which sets to redefine psychedelic plants and fungi, including DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, and psilocybin, as natural medicine and decriminalize the personal use, possession, growth, and transport for people over the age of 21, statewide.

Massachusettes:

Psilocybin is decriminalized in four municipalities across the state of Massachusettes including Cambridge, Northampton, Easthampton, and Somerville. The commercial sale of psychedelics is still prohibited statewide.

Michigan:

Psychedelic mushrooms enjoy decriminalized status in Ann Arbor and Detroit and voters are currently proposing a similar ballot measure to Colorado’s for 2024. The Michigan Decriminalization of Psilocybin Mushrooms and Other Plants and Fungi initiative is set to appear on the ballot in the 2024 election.

Oregon:

Thanks to the passage of Measure 109 in 2020, Oregon is the first state to not only decriminalize psilocybin but outright legalize it for therapeutic use. The state is working out the kinks but it is set to be the first where you can legally obtain mushrooms from a licensed facility, so long as it’s for therapeutic use.

Washington:

In Seattle, psilocybin is decriminalized. Recently Washington state legislators filed SB 5660, aka the Washington Psilocybin Wellness and Opportunity Act, which will appear on the 2022 ballot and would enable the Department of Health to issue licenses to psilocybin manufacturing facilities, testing labs, service centers, and facilitators.

How To Get A Handle On Dosing

It’s not always easy to get a handle on dosing mushrooms as there are a lot of factors to consider including the species of mushrooms (in the US it’s often psilocybe cubensis, but not always), the strain, your weight, your state of mind, the last time you ate, and the amount you’re consuming at one time. It can all have a considerable effect on the experience. The general consensus is that if it’s your first time, you should start with a low dose, which should bring on feelings of euphoria and may enhance your senses a bit but even a “small dose” can range anywhere between .25 to 1 gram of dried mushrooms. A low dose is not a microdose, so if you’re interested in microdosing mushrooms, you’ll have to go even lower (often .1). Note: Most of the (many) studies on microdosing psilocybin refer to sub-perceptual doses, meaning you don’t consciously feel the effects.

Because there is no scientific consensus on this just yet, we recommend referencing a variety of different dosing guides. Leafly has a great one that underlines what to expect from a low to heavy dose and Sam Woofle put together a pretty comprehensive guide that covers dosing (from micro to heroic) and what sort of environments are most conducive to each dose on his blog Retreat.Guru.

Dosing is a very personal decision and it’s best not to let other people talk you into how little or much you should take. Play it safe and work your way up! A new study published in The Journal of Psychopharmacology and conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College In London found that psilocybin can be safely administered at doses of either 10mg or 25mg (about 1-2 grams of dried mushrooms) with no short or long term detrimental effects in healthy people.

What Resources Are Out There?

So you’ve read the science and you live in (or are visiting) one of the decriminalized states — how do you get your hands on magic mushrooms? For legal purposes… we can’t say, but there are a whole variety of online communities where you can connect with people who know the ins and outs of psilocybin. Sites like the Fungi Academy are incredibly helpful for both casually interested users and would-be amateur mycologists.

Reddit is also helpful (even for amateur growers). Communities like r/Psychonaut and r/Shrooms are great places to share experiences, learn more, and talk about the magic of mushrooms and other psychedelics, as well as learn safety measures and good practices for first-timers. As with any mind-altering substance you’re putting in your body, you’re going to want to do as much research as possible before you attempt to experience the world of psilocybin.

For those ready to embark on more learning on this subject, we wish you well. And have a good trip!

YG‘s Mary J. Blige-sampling new single, “Toxic,” is off to a strong start after dropping on Friday, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t about to help it along with some promotion of his own. YG made the trip to Colors Studios to deliver a smooth performance of his new song for the fan-favorite A COLORS Show. As usual, he’s decked out in bright red, with a paisley-printed jacket setting off his leather pants and unsubtle jewelry collection, choosing a lavender backdrop that highlights his favorite color rather than contrasting it.

The lyrics of “Toxic” find YG contemplating the dissolution of a situationship as his would-be paramour realizes that his attentions come cheaply, no matter how much money he spends. “But she confused, she want titles and I tell her ‘Nah’ / She confused, us together is what she saw / She confused, ’cause I love her so that’s what she thought / She’s confused and that’s ’cause I be in it raw.” In the end, it turns out that the woman YG has lavished with gifts and money is just a sidepiece who has to be content with playing her position.

“Toxic” is the fourth single YG has released this year after “Sign Language,” “Scared Money” featuring J. Cole and Moneybagg Yo, and “Run” with Tyga, 21 Savage, and BIA. It’s thought that these songs will all appear on his upcoming album, I’ve Got Issues, due in September. The album will be YG’s first after completing his five-album deal with Def Jam, although he did re-up on a licensing deal with his old label to make sure he retains ownership of his music.

Watch YG’s A COLORS Show performance of “Toxic” above.

Bay Area rapper Rexx Life Raj dropped one of the most powerful and emotionally stirring hip-hop albums of the year in The Blue Hour. While it presents Raj as the dexterous, creative lyricist that he is, the album largely deals with the trials and tribulations of Raj’s last few years amid the death of both of his parents, who he cared for in their final days. The album is triumphant in Raj’s perseverance at every turn, and he made an appearance on the Sway’s Universe radio show on SiriusXM this week to talk about it and spit one of the most memorable freestyles you’ll hear this year.

Raj gets deep with Sway and co-host Heather B, talking about his loss, the music that came from it, and questioning his faith in the process. The show took multiple callers who talked about their similar experiences with losing loved ones and dealing with cancer as a family. It’s clear that Sway has an affinity for Raj, as he calls The Blue Hour “one of the most important albums to come out of the Bay in a recent while.” He also lauds it for its honesty. Then Sway drops a beat out of nowhere and puts Raj on the spot for a freestyle — although he also calls him a “singer,” which the rapper must’ve taken personally [insert Jordan meme].

The clip above follows the first two minutes of Rexx Life Raj’s flow and presents the moment where he just snapped, rapping: “N****s try to make this sh*t seem hard when it really ain’t / I watched my Momma take her last few breaths, this sh*t is cake / What’s hard when you still got my brother locked in a cage? / A real first diagnosis is cancer in final stage.”

Raj tipped a cap to his days as an offensive lineman for the Boise State Broncos as well, name-checking former QB (and now Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator) Kellen Moore. And then might’ve been the first dude to ever slip in Packers tackle David Bakhtiari’s name in a freestyle: “I pray for positivity and optimism / To turn life lessons into gems that I can drop on n****s / Still giving credit to the ones who never did it hardly / ‘Cause do you get an Aaron Rogers without Bakhtiari?”

Sway flies out of his seat when it ends and you probably will too. Watch the snippet of the freestyle above and check out Rexx Life Raj’s full appearance on Sway’s Universe below.

From the first moment it appeared on screen, Steve Harrington‘s luscious mane has been the stuff of legends and one of the reasons Stranger Things continues to be a pop culture juggernaut. Part of the show’s appeal has been its exacting attention to detail in recreating the look and feel of a small town in the ’80s right down to the wood-paneled walls and, of course, the massive hair.

With four seasons under her belt as the head of Stranger Things hair department, Sarah Hindsgaul has managed a small army of wigs, and now, she’s spilling her secrets for making the Netflix show look like it was plucked directly out of the Reagan years. In a new interview with Mashable, Hindsgaul walks through her process, which includes an extensive collection of wigs that still has to be shared with actors because, again, there’s a whole lot of ’80s hair to get on-screen.

However, when it comes to Steve, actor Joe Keery is one of the few actors who’s not sporting a rug, but he is subjected to a feline grooming trick to unlock his righteous look:

“We put products in [his hair] and then you squeeze like a cat.” Hindsgaul demonstrated by kneading her hand just like a cat paw. “I get all the texture into it and dry it hard into his hair so we get that wave texture. Otherwise, it gets really straight.”

“The cat paw” became a shorthand term on set. Hindsgaul said that if someone other than her was working on Keery’s hair, she’d just ask them to do “the cat paw” and they’d understand. So the secret to Steve’s glorious hair isn’t just four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray, as Steve tells Dustin in Season 2. It’s also cats.

On top of sharing the secret to Steve’s legendary hair, Hindsgaul also revealed that while Keery is one of the few actors who doesn’t wear a wig, he does have extensions in the back. Our apologies if your whole world seems like a lie right now.

(Via Mashable)

It would take roughly five days to watch every episode of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and the oft-forgotten (but pretty good!) El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Who needs bathroom breaks and other television shows when you’ve got Walter and Saul and Kim and Huell and Todd and especially Lalo to keep you company? It’s maybe the most accurate way to determine the “best” season of the combined shows, but if you don’t have a work week to re-watch the Breaking Saul (Better Call Bad?) saga because you’re too busy deciding which of your two copies of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium to plop into the DVD player, Rotten Tomatoes has done the dirty work for you.

Of the 11 combined seasons of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, two have a 100 percent “Fresh” rating: seasons three and four of Breaking Bad. They both have the same number of reviews under “Critic Ratings” with 35 (user ratings should always be ignored), so for all intents and purposes, they’re tied for the best season.

Of course, this comes with the usual caveat of Rotten Tomatoes scores are reductive, a positive review can get a green splat, a negative review can get a red tomato, etc. That being said, Breaking Bad was, I believe, at its peak in those seasons, so you’ll find no complaints here. Three other seasons have a near-perfect 99 percent “Fresh” rating: seasons four, five, and six (which includes the series finale) of Better Call Saul. In last place, so to speak? The first season of Breaking Bad with 86 percent. Still pretty good!

Here’s the full ranking:

1. Breaking Bad season 3 / Breaking Bad season 4 (100 percent)
2. Better Call Saul season 4 / Better Call Saul season 5 / Better Call Saul season 6 (99 percent)
3. Better Call Saul season 3 (98 percent)
4. Breaking Bad season 2 / Breaking Bad season 5 / Better Call Saul season 1 / Better Call Saul season 2 (97 percent)
5. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (92 percent)
6. Breaking Bad season 1

(Via Rotten Tomatoes)

Walmart has apparently found the perfect streaming platform to help it compete with Amazon. Following reports that the store was looking for a partner to offer movies and TV on its Walmart+ monthly subscription plan, the store announced on Tuesday that Paramount+ will soon be available for subscribers.

In a post on its website, Walmart detailed the addition, which will start in September for subscribers, and apparently won’t involve raising prices on its current $12.95 a month cost.

The streaming service benefit becomes yet another way Walmart is uniquely positioned to give members more for less with Walmart+, whether in-store, at the gas pump, on groceries, listening to music, and now when watching their favorite movies and shows. Walmart+ will remain $98 a year or $12.95 a month and include the Paramount+ Essential Plan subscription with an added $59 value.

“We know Walmart+ is providing members real value in their every day – from grocery shopping to filling up their tank and more,” said Chris Cracchiolo, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart+. “With the addition of Paramount+, we are demonstrating our unique ability to help members save even more and live better by delivering entertainment for less, too. Eighty-five percent of U.S. households use streaming services1 and Paramount+ has the premium content and broad appeal that our members are looking for – like Walmart, they have something for everyone. We’re excited about the launch and what comes next for Walmart+.”

In a lot of ways Paramount+ feels like the most Walmart of streaming services, so a lot makes sense here. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the partnership is good for two years, which may or may not be enough time for the big box store to catch up to Amazon’s 200 million subscribers and counting.

Yesterday (August 15), Kehlani had a show at Philadelphia’s Mann Center. Unfortunately, it was cut short, as Kehlani opted to end the concert early after multiple fans apparently fainted in the audience.

Before walking off stage and ending the show, Kehlani told the audience (as seen in fan-shot videos), “I can’t have this. This is not OK. I don’t feel comfortable. I don’t feel OK. I don’t feel like anybody is safe right now. […] I love you so much. I do not have more words about how disappointed and heartbroken I am. I love you, get home safe.”

In a couple Instagram Story posts after the show, Kehlani wrote, “philly thanks for an incredible evening. i care about you guys more than anything & i put you before anything else. thank you so much to the venue and staff for your diligence swift care for everyone in my audience. outstanding job. i can’t wait to come back. love you Philly. cannot stress how much i love all of you, and how important you are to me. seeing you all on tour for the first time in so many years has really reminded me what i do it for. i hope you know how deep my love runs. thank you for everything.”

Rolling Stone reports that according to officials at the Mann Center, nobody was transported to the hospital during the concert, but three people were given “minimal treatment on site.”

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

Eric Trump would like you to believe that Americans are so mad about how the FBI is treating his family that they’re fighting amongst themselves to pay his dinner tab.

Trump’s most-forgotten-about middle child went on Sean Hannity’s show Monday to spin a wild yarn about how beloved he is by MAGA supporters — enough that they’re apparently jumping over each other to pay for his steak dinner (which he probably orders well-done with ketchup on the side.) Trump told Hannity he was out to eat with his wife Laura recently when an argument ensued between two patrons over who would get the privilege of paying for the nepo baby’s meal.

“Last night, I had an argument between two people who were trying to buy Lara and I dinner to apologize for what the United States Government has done to our family,” Trump said. “You wouldn’t believe the energy out there, I have been through all of these firestorms over the years, I have never seen America more mad than it is right now.”

Trump is presumably talking about the recent FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago and the 11 boxes of classified material seized by the government, material Donald Trump was required by law to hand over before he left office. Those boxes allegedly contained everything from presidential pardon information to dossiers on fellow world leaders to materials on our nuclear weapons program. Trump first claimed he had declassified the documents (he didn’t have the power to do so), then claimed they were planted by FBI agents (they weren’t), then threw a fit that the government had stolen his passports (they didn’t). Still, Eric Trump is really lapping up this chance to play the victim, telling Hannity, “They are targeting Donald Trump, they are targeting his family, everyone around him, his lawyers, anybody who is close to Donald Trump. Anybody who is effective, they are targeting right now.”

“Effective” feels like high praise for a guy whose own father probably has to have a daily calendar alert to remind himself his middle son even exists but sure, enjoy that free charred cow meat, Eric.

(Via Newsweek)

A decade ago, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o had become one of the most decorated defensive players in college football. He was the unquestioned leader of the team heading into the BCS national championship game. But none of that really matters anymore. That’s because Te’o became embroiled in one of the weirdest and most notorious catfishing cases ever. Te’o had forged an online relationship with who he thought was a college student named Lennay Kekua, who had been in a car accident and was diagnosed with leukemia. His supposed girlfriend’s tribulations were framed as a sort of inspiration for Te’o on the field, until he found out… that she didn’t exist.

Long story short, Kekua was actually a male named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who has since transitioned and is now Naya Tuiasosopo. While Tuiasusopo explored their gender via the online relationship, Te’o was catfished. Some pundits tried to accuse Te’o of being in on the ploy, but by all accounts he was an unknowing participant. The scandal went very public and Te’o’s draft stock slipped, sending him to the Chargers in the 2nd round. Today, he’s out of football after stints with the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears and he’s never really spoken at length about the scandal until now, and he says Jay-Z inspired him to do so.

With the recent release of Netflix’s documentary, Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist, viewers will soon be privy to the ins and outs of the catfishing hoax. But Te’o said he wouldn’t have spoken out about it — let alone for a documentary — until something Jay-Z said at a concert made him change his tune. He explained that he went with some Saints teammates to the concert in 2017, saying on CBS Mornings, “And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words: ‘You cannot heal what you don’t reveal.’ And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks.” He added, “In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it.”

Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist is streaming now on Netflix. Watch Te’o’s full CBS Mornings appearance below.