Pop Culture

Matt and John Ourand discuss the new sports streaming platform deal, what it will mean for the future of cable, its drawbacks, and more! Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Matt is joined by sports business journalist and Puck contributor John Ourand to discuss ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery teaming up

Dave, Neil, and Joanna debate Brooks’s best movie: ‘Spaceballs,’ ‘Young Frankenstein,’ ‘Blazing Saddles,’ or ‘Robin Hood: Men in Tights’ Brooksfilms This week, in honor of the 50-year anniversaries of Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, Dave, Neil, and Joanna are debating the best movie directed by Mel Brooks! They start by talking about the legend that

The Midnight Boys discuss all of their favorite Black heroes in honor of Black History Month MGM In honor of Black History Month, the Midnight Boys present the third (and final) “Black Heroes of Fandom” draft (08:12). Bringing the best of Black heroes across fandom and their hearts along with an honorary category to honor

Music journalists Julianne Escobedo Shepherd and Clover Hope join the pod to talk about what makes Usher’s collabs so special Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for ABA In anticipation of Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday, Erika and Steven talk about their favorite Usher collaborations with the producers, friends, and artists in his circle

It starts with a high five. Then two backward fives. Hip check—woo!—lean back, snap. Twin sprays of blond are tossed over shoulders, red-stained lips part in cheers, and the not-so-secret handshake is complete. Touchdown! You are watching the NFL. In most years, the aesthetic beats of a football season are consistent and predictable. The mood

Ten years ago today, ‘The Lego Movie’ gave Hollywood an early template for how to adapt a toy line into a successful—and critically acclaimed—film Getty Images/Warner Bros./Ringer illustration The turning point was a Hillary Clinton tweet. When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, the Barbie duo of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie missed out

Nora and Nathan dive into the track list to determine what the album is about, talk about how the announcement went over, and more! Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Nora and Nathan convene for an emergency pod after Taylor Swift announced her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, at the Grammy

Mal and Jo are here to talk about their plans to cover ‘Avatar,’ ‘Dune: Part Two,’ and so much more! Netflix From Dune to dragons and everything in between, Mal and Joanna are here to answer all of your burning questions in the 2024 Winter Mailbag (00:00). They give all their updates on Cobb Vanth,

Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay react to an eventful Grammy Awards ceremony before discussing Killer Mike’s arrest, a Dallas food truck, and more Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay react to an eventful Grammy Awards ceremony (15:15) before discussing Killer Mike’s arrest and recent vague comments about the 2024 presidential election (35:43). Plus, a Dallas food

Juliet and Amanda are here to give you all their thoughts on the fashion, performances, and results of the Grammys! Photo by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic The ladies return this week with their unfiltered thoughts on this past weekend’s 66th annual Grammy Awards (0:36), discussing everything from the performances to the outfits to the awards to the

Bill, Chris, and Mal kick off the ‘Rewatchables’ Cold Weather Tour by revisiting the timeless classic ‘The Fugitive’ Warner Bros. Live from every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in Chicago, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Mallory Rubin kick off the Rewatchables Cold Weather Tour by revisiting timeless classic The Fugitive, starring Harrison

Matt and Lucas Shaw chat about Taylor Swift’s new album, the hip-hop problem at the Grammys, and more Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the highlights, lowlights, and most pressing music industry questions after the 2024 Grammy Awards. Matt and Lucas check in on the

Come, friends, let’s scream into the abyss Amazon Prime/Getty Images/Ringer illustration Hello. You have reached this blog, I presume, because you, like me, finished the new Prime series Mr. and Mrs. Smith. You, like me, sat through seven episodes of romance-inflected espionage, and then you, like me, dialed up the season finale to see how

To Tom Ewing’s knowledge, only two prominent musical artists have publicly used the phrase “imperial phase”: Neil Tennant and Taylor Swift. Tennant, the taller half of British synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, coined the term in his notes for a 2001 reissue of the group’s 1987 album, Actually. Ewing helped popularize it in a 2010

Episode 4 presents some significant progress in the Tsalal murder case as the spirit world and reality continue to meld HBO/Ringer illustration After four years away, True Detective returns for a new season with a sinistrous subtitle. We’re in Night Country now, and we’ll be following along each week to try to piece together, with

The new spy caper might be an absolute slog to sit through, but we should appreciate that it exists to begin with as part of Apple’s revamped movie strategy Getty Images/Ringer illustration When the Jake Gyllenhaal–led Road House remake has its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March, director Doug Liman won’t be

Larry David — social assassin, four-eyed fuck, utmost respecter of wood — is about to premiere the 12th and final season of his HBO show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Which means it’s time to reflect on some very important questions: Can you pause toast? Is the chat-and-cut a morally indefensible move? And, of course, what is the best episode of

In the summer of 1998, John Slagel received an assignment: Give gamers unprecedented power to blow stuff up. Slagel was a programmer at Volition, a Champaign, Illinois-based video game developer known for the Descent series of fully 3D, flight-based, first-person shooters, which had started at Volition’s precursor studio, Parallax Software. When Descent 4 was canceled,

Sean is joined by actor and physical media enthusiast Tim Simons to refresh their conversation on the state of physical media in the world of cinema Photo credit should read TORU YAMANAKA/AFP via Getty Images Sean is joined by actor and physical media enthusiast Tim Simons to refresh their conversation on the state of Blu-rays

The linebacker turned actor who died this week at age 76 was famous for playing Apollo Creed in ‘Rocky,’ Chubbs Peterson in ‘Happy Gilmore,’ and Greef Karga on ‘The Mandalorian.’ But he was the embodiment of charisma and charm—in victory or defeat. Getty Images/Ringer illustration I heard the news, and my face fell, but then