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The Top 10 TV Series Right Now, According to Streaming Data

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5 August 2026 at 16:00
By: Stephen Johnson ·  Joel Cunningham

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

As much as Hollywood has been wringing its hands over franchise fatigue, consider this: In July, a Spider-Man movie made $168 million at the box office in one day, and the top streaming series was a Game of Thrones spinoff.

Fortunately, if you are hungering for something original, you can still catch innovative comedy series like The Bear and Widow's Bay, or tense thrillers like FROM and Cape Fear (well, OK, that last one is a remake of a 1990 Martin Scorsese movie that was a remake of a 1962 Gregory Peck movie that was an adaptation of a book, but the point stands). Here are all of July's most-watched series, according to data from streaming information repository JustWatch.

House of the Dragon

Seems we still aren't sick of dragons and incomprehensible political intrigue: The third season of House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel based on a fake history tome by George R.R. Martin, came roaring back to the top of the streaming charts. With the season finale landing this weekend, fantasy fans will have to wait until the arrival of season two of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for their next Westeros fix. You can stream House of the Dragon on HBO Max.

Silo

Another book adaptation returning for a third season, Apple TV's Silo continues to track the downward spiral of the dregs of humanity, living together underground in a cavernous edifice that goes all the way down. If you've been wondering how things got so bad, this season goes back in time to reveal the source of humanity's downfall. (Unsurprisingly, humans are to blame.) You can stream Silo on Apple TV.

The Bear

Across four seasons, we've watched neurotic chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) flame out as an elite chef, return to his humble beginnings in his family's Chicago sandwich shop, try to turn said sandwich shop into a fine dining establishment, experience ups and downs in his business and personal life, and finally, at the end of season four, quit the food industry altogether. Taking place mostly over the course of a single day, the fifth and final season explores the immediate aftermath of that monumental decision—on Carmy, and the rest of the restaurant's partners and kitchen staff. It's a fitting goodbye for one of the most lauded TV series ever. You can stream the final season of The Bear on Hulu.

Widow's Bay

This series from Apple TV has won nearly unanimous praise from both critics and audiences. It's a rare horror-comedy that manages to be genuinely scary and really funny. In the island town of Widow's Bay, literally everything is haunted, cursed, and otherwise beset with unspeakable evil, but Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) still really wants to bring tourism to the island. Mayor Tom is so married to his vision of Widow's Bay as the next Martha's Vineyard, he ignores the sea hags, fog monsters, and serial-killer ghosts surrounding him. The great Stephen Root plays Wyck, an old-timer who's always there to remind everyone that time is short and everyone is doomed. You can stream Widow's Bay on Apple TV+.

Lucky

Based on the bestselling novel by Marissa Stapley, Apple TV's latest hit stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the titular con artist. Her name proves to be a tad ironic after her latest job goes wrong and she finds herself the prime target of both the cops and the dangerous crime boss—who also happens to be her mother-in-law. Annette Bening is clearly having a grand time playing the ruthless Priscilla Masterson, who blames Lucky for the loss of $10 million she and Priscilla's son Cary (Drew Masterson) stole—never mind that Cary eventually ran away with it. With a supporting cast that includes Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Timothy Olyphant, it's a fast-moving thriller with a sense of humor and an irresistible lead character. You can stream Lucky on Apple TV.

Ride or Die

This London-set series stars the ultimate odd couple. Octavia Spencer plays Debbie, the American wife of a British politician, and Hannah Waddingham plays her good friend Judith, who happens to be a master assassin. After a hit gone wrong, Judith must go on the run to stay ahead of another assassin working against her, and to avoid running afoul of the ruthless agency (literally called The Agency) that employs her. Obviously, Debbie gets pulled along for the ride. It's a fast, tense, and funny thriller series. You can stream Ride or Die on Prime Video.

I Will Find You

Like Max Cady in Cape Fear, the main character in I Will Find You has been imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. But unlike Max Cady, David Burroughs (Sam Worthington) doesn't set out to murder his lawyer. He was accused of killing his own son, and when he sees evidence that the boy is alive, he escapes prison to find his child. It's a modern take on The Fugitive: with the authorities on his trail, David must unravel a twisting conspiracy to clear his name and bring his child home. I Will Find You is a perfect summertime thriller. You can stream I Will Find You on Netflix.

FROM

The residents of the unnamed town at the center of FROM cannot catch a break. If it's not worms crawling around under their skin, it's the mysterious Man in Yellow stealing people's souls. Season four of this mystery-heavy show from the executive producers of Lost sees the survivors pushed to their limits as the veil between the strange town and the real world gets thinner. You can stream FROM on MGM+.

Cape Fear

Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, Cape Fear is a 10-episode reimagining of a classic novel that has previously been adapted into two celebrated films. In this extended version, Amy Adams plays Anna Bowden, a defense attorney who unsuccessfully defended murder suspect Max Cady 17 years previously. Turns out he wasn't guilty, and Cady has had nearly two decades to plan his revenge against the woman he blames for putting him behind bars. Javier Bardem brings unsettling energy to the role of Cady, previously played by Robert Mitchum, Robert De Niro, and Sideshow Bob. If you like slow-burn suspense that gradually ratchets up tension, you'll like Cape Fear. You can stream Cape Fear on Apple TV+.

The Agency

The spy thriller returns for its second season. Michael Fassbender plays Brandon Colby (code name Martian), a former CIA field agent who now runs operations for London Station, the agency's home office in the U.K. This season, the spy action grows more intricate, as Martian works to clear the name of his lover (Jodie Turner-Smith) while also going head-to-head with a possible double agent within the Agency's own ranks. You can stream The Agency on Paramount+ With Showtime.

The Top 10 Movies Right Now, According to Streaming Data

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4 August 2026 at 18:30
By: Stephen Johnson ·  Joel Cunningham

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

After years of post-COVID uncertainty, are the movies finally back? Judging by July's box office returns, that certainly seems to be the case: Debuting in theaters within weeks of one another, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day both have experienced record-breaking runs (the latter even claimed the largest opening weekend of all time, banking $360 million in the U.S. alone).

But if you ask me, the biggest box office success story of the year was much more unpredictable than seeing a movie from the world's most beloved director (or starring the most popular superhero) make bank: Obsession, a gnarly, R-rated horror flick produced on a budget of less than $1 million, went on to make more than $262 million in ticket sales—a true word-of-mouth phenomenon. On the other hand, with numbers like that, it's no surprise to see Obsession topping the streaming charts now that it is available to watch at home. Here are the other streaming movies that drew eyeballs last month, according to data from JustWatch.

Obsession (2026)

Arriving out of nowhere from first-time director Curry Barker, who got his start making sketch comedy videos on YouTube, Obsession debuted to higher-than-expected box office returns its opening weekend, and then just never stopped making money. It seems horror fans couldn't get enough of the story of a hapless teenager (Michael Johnston) who gets more than he bargains for when he picks up a "One Wish Willow" gag toy and expresses his heart's desire: that his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) would fall in love with him. His wish comes true, and then some—with blood-splattering results. Stream Obsession on Peacock.

Project Hail Mary (2026)

In this crowd-pleasing sci-fi, Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher who is blasted into the firmament in a last-ditch effort to save the world. Grace is the only person on Earth who might know how to protect the sun from a cosmic infection that threatens all life, but he's definitely not an astronaut and doesn't see himself as a hero either. Will he rise to the occasion and learn something about his inner strength and resilience while saving us all from death? My money is on, "yeah, probably." Project Hail Mary is streaming on Prime Video and MGM+.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)

Legendary director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean) is back with a satirical, gleefully maximalist science fiction comedy that takes on AI, social media addiction, VR, and the modern world itself. Sam Rockwell plays a man from the future who shows up in an LA diner demanding that customers help him save the future from an artificial intelligence that is about to be born. Being a time traveler, Rockwell has tried this many times before and has always failed, but this time, it's going to be different—or everyone is going to die again. Part Terminator, part Black Mirror, Don't Die is a throw-everything-at-the-wall movie that goes so far over the top, you'll be forced to submit to its weird logic and style out of sheer exhaustion. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is streaming on Hulu, or you can rent it from Prime Video.

The Sheep Detectives (2026)

A family movie with enough darkness to balance out all the cute sheep, The Sheep Detectives tells the tale of an English farmer played by Hugh Jackman who reads mysteries to his flock of sheep every night. When he's found dead, the authorities attribute it to natural causes, but his sheep know better, and they set out to find the culprit using what they've learned from all those whodunnits. If you like the Babe movies, you'll like The Sheep Detectives, and if you think you're too cynical to get into a movie like this, you're probably wrong: It is charming and fun. The Sheep Detectives is streaming on Prime Video.

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026)

A sleeper hit from 2019, Ready or Not followed a woman (Samara Weaving) who went to meet her fiancé's parents and wound up being hunted by them—their next target in a game of demonic ritual sacrifice dating back generations. The unlikely sequel picks up mere minutes after the first movie ended, with the other ultra-rich, ultra-powerful families in thrall to the same evil turning up to kick off round two. With a killer cast (including Sarah Michelle-Gellar, Elijah Wood, and director David Cronenberg) and a darkly hilarious skewer-the-rich vibe, it's bloody good fun. You can stream Ready or Not 2 on Hulu.

Troy (2004)

Why is a 22-year-old, vaguely remembered Brad Pitt historical action flick suddenly appearing on the streaming charts? It makes sense when you consider that Troy essentially serves as a prequel to 2026's The Odyssey. This flashy but shallow epic from director Wolfgang Petersen stars Pitt as the legendary warrior Achilles, who sets sail in the service of his king, Agamemnon (Brian Cox), to lay siege against the title city to recover Helen (Diane Kruger), wife of the Spartan King Menaelus (Agamemnon's brother), from her "captors," Hector and Paris, young princes of Troy. If you've studied your myths (or if you've seen Christopher Nolan's new film), you know how it all turns out (it involves a horse). You can stream Troy on Peacock.

Masters of the Universe (2026)

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with He-Man—me and all of the other boys born between 1975 and 1982. I dreamed of seeing the musclebound hero on the big screen, but I was merely nonplussed by the 1987 Dolph Lundgren-starring adaptation, which looked nothing like the toys and cartoons. Turns out I just needed to wait 40 years, because the 2026 version, from Kubo and the Two Strings and Bumblebee director Travis Knight, is, if anything, too faithful to the campier aspects of the franchise, with a tone that walks the line between serious action epic and Barbie-style sendup. As a result (or perhaps just because 40 years is a really long time to expect people to care about a Hercules knock-off), the movie bombed at the box office—but perhaps it will find its audience of now-middle-aged men on streaming. You can watch Masters of the Universe on Prime Video.

The Long Walk (2025)

This chilling adaptation of one of Stephen King's earliest novels feels ripped from the capitalist hellscape of 2026: In an alternate 1970s U.S., a fascist government has taken over and, as a means of control, stages an annual "contest" known as The Walk, wherein a group of 50 boys is forced to compete in a non-stop, cross-country walking contest. The winner gets one wish granted, while the losers all get a bullet in the head. Two contestants (played by Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson) are competing for their lives, closely watched by the ruthless Major (played by Mark Hamill in full villain mode). Stream The Long Walk on HBO Max.

Pressure (2026)

If you haven't heard of Pressure, ask your dad: This WWII flick, starring a post-Oscar Brendan Fraser as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, is prime Dad Movie material. It focuses on the lead-up to the Normandy invasion and is all about Eisenhower working closely with meteorologist (no, really) James Stagg (Andrew Scott) to determine if the conditions will be right to launch their planned invasion. Though it got good reviews, this one underperformed in theaters, but its modest charms seem right at home on streaming. You can stream Pressure on Peacock.

Independence Day (1996)

It's no mystery why this oversized alien invasion blockbuster hit the streaming charts in July. Even 30 years later, everyone likes to spend their July 4th watching Will Smith throw around one-liners as stuff blows up real good all around him (all capped off with a rousing speech from President Bill Pullman). You can stream Independence Day on Hulu.

Google Never Should Have Put Nano Banana Into Google Earth in the First Place

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3 August 2026 at 20:00
By: Jake Peterson

Last week, Google rolled out its AI image generation model, Nano Banana 2, to Google Earth, its world explorer program. The company advertised the integration as a way for people to create infographics about different locations around the globe, or to generate historical landscapes of modern-day imagery. Users were also invited to generate their "dream homes" against real-world backdrops—so if you had plans to build an extension on your home, or visions of a vacation house on the lake, you could visualize it with Nano Banana 2 in Google Earth.

The news followed a trend of Google integrating its AI platforms into just about every one of its products and services (for example, last week it added new Gemini capabilities to Google Docs for Workspace users). From the company's perspective, it likely made total sense to add Nano Banana 2 to Google Earth. As it turned out, however, this is one product that Gemini wasn't meant for.

Google Earth has already dropped Nano Banana 2

Just one day after Google launched this big Nano Banana 2 integration, it rolled it back. The company issued an update to its original announcement, which read: "We know that people uniquely trust Google Earth for a reliable view of the world. We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes; however, we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery that appear to violate our policies. So we’re rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails. It's important to note that generated images didn’t appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI-generated."

This statement doesn't properly describe the images that users were generating with this tool. In my view, it went beyond "violating" Google's policies: The internet, predictably, used Nano Banana 2 to generate inappropriate and insensitive images based on real locations. Perhaps it won't come as a surprise to learn that one of the images that took off most was of a plane crashing into the new World Trade Center in Manhattan. Other images depicted the Eiffel Tower destroyed, or the Egyptian pyramids collapsing into a sinkhole. While many would likely understand these were produced in jest, plenty more could see these "official" Google Earth images online and assume the worst.

But beyond the jokes, the potential for misinformation and disinformation was alarming. For example, one user demonstrated how they used the tool to place refugees shoulder to shoulder near the Mexican border. One could imagine such an image going viral, with viewers tricked into thinking the Google Earth still was an actual satellite image. Google likely has some guardrails in place preventing many image generations from taking place, but clearly those limitations weren't strong enough. And since anyone, whether they paid for Google's AI features or not, could use Nano Banana 2 with Google Earth, all one had to do was open Google Earth and fiddle with a malicious prompt until Nano Banana 2 complied.

Generative AI has no place in a tool like Google Earth

It doesn't take an AI skeptic to explain why this was a bad idea in the first place—but then again, few AI companies seem to be employing any skepticism before jamming generative AI features into their products. Tools like Google Earth are meant to be educational. You use them to learn about the world, its geography, and what different cities and landscapes look like. I personally love spending time spinning the digital globe around to learn about a new location, and often drop a pin on a random spot to see what it looks like on Street View. The reason I do this is that I understand Google Earth to be an accurate, reliable look at the world; if that weren't the case, why would I bother?

As such, it makes no sense to me for Google to introduce a tool that, by necessity, generates inaccurate and false views of the world. One of its selling points was viewing a place on the map as it looked in the past, but that's not what Nano Banana 2 was doing. Instead, the AI would pull from its training data to generate what it thought a historical representation of the area in question would be. If you asked it to show you what Paris looked like in 1726, it would likely overlay generic buildings and structures onto the map, rather than depict what Paris actually looked like three hundred years ago. What you're getting is the illusion of history; entertaining, perhaps, but certainly not educational—no better than scrolling through AI history slop on social media.

The same goes for the AI's "infographics." Companies like Google love to tout AI's potential as an educational tool, and on the surface, it seems like a great thing for Google Earth to generate learning graphics to teach you about a location on the map. But your generated graphic isn't vetted by anyone, and definitely not by an expert: The image that Nano Banana 2 spits out could be full of half-truths and hallucinations, and, what's worse, it won't offer any sources you can click through to check the AI's work. Casual users may retain the information they "learn" from these infographics, whether that data is correct or not.

At its worst, this feature was a disinformation machine. If you wanted to convince people that something bad happened in a particular part of the world, you could just type your request in, and Nano Banana 2 could spit out a realistic satellite image of your idea for easy sharing on social media. At a time when AI is spreading misinformation at a rapid rate, this only pours fuel onto an already raging fire. Companies like Google should be looking for ways to separate AI slop from real information, not helping it grow.

This isn't an argument against AI tools in their entirety, but it is an argument against embedding generative AI into an educational tool. What utility Google believes AI serves by taking truth and clouding it in falsehoods I do not know—other than giving it yet another example it can point to in order to tout its AI "success."

If You Loved 'Gilmore Girls,' There's One Movie You Need to Watch Next

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31 July 2026 at 16:50
By: Jeff Somers

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Gilmore Girls is pure comfort viewing. We all wish our lives were filled with more sparkling, quick-witted dialogue spiced with deep pop culture references, and that we lived in a warm, quirky place like Stars Hollow—and that’s why it’s one of those shows that folks binge over and over again. It’s like getting together with some old friends—it never gets old. But true fans know that to keep up with the Gilmores, you have to absorb a lot of pop culture. If you’ve already watched the shows that fans of Gilmore Girls will love, it’s time to hop over to the movies that Rory and Lorelai would approve for movie night.

Why fans of Gilmore Girls should watch Mermaids

Mermaids is set in the 1960s, but the similarities with Gilmore Girls are strong. Winona Ryder plays Charlotte, a 15-year-old whose mother, Rachel (Cher), has a habit of moving to a new town every time she breaks up with a boyfriend. Adding to Charlotte’s growing sense of disruption is the fact that Rachel, who had Charlotte when she was just 16 herself, acts like her friend instead of her mother. When Rachel moves with Charlotte and her younger sister, Kate (Christina Ricci), to the small town of Eastport, Massachusetts, things begin to change.

If you loved the dynamic between Rory and Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, you’ll love Charlotte and Rachel. The show is pitched a little higher on the drama scale, but the funny, sharp dialogue between the women and the deep love between them is very Gilmore-esque. Like Rory, Charlotte is precocious and smart, though she’s a bit more prone to fantasy; despite being Jewish, she becomes obsessed with Catholicism, which causes her a lot of distress when she crushes on the local convent’s caretaker, Joe. And like Lorelai, Rachel is a strong woman who finds love in a small town without sacrificing her sense of self and independence. Their comic timing is flawless in this film.

That small-town, East Coast vibe in Eastport will also appeal to fans of the show. Eastport is depicted as a vibrant, tight-knit place where the locals are kind and weird in the best ways. When Rachel meets Lou (Bob Hoskins), the local shoe salesman, she resists falling in love for fear of losing her independence, but their blooming relationship is sweet and satisfying, and the town is populated by memorable characters just like Stars Hollow.

If you’re looking for banter, romance, and a town you wish you lived in just like Gilmore Girls, go watch Mermaids.

Stream Mermaids on Fubo or rent it on Prime Video.

More movies for fans of Gilmore Girls

Mermaids is terrific, but it’s not quite two hours long—so you’re going to need to add more movies to your list. Here are a few more that Gilmore Girls fans will love.

His Girl Friday (1940)

One of the many films directly name-checked in Gilmore Girls, His Girl Friday is way ahead of its time and the perfect match. The story, about a newspaper editor (Cary Grant) using a variety of shady (and, from a modern POV, kind of sketchy) tricks to win back the woman who is both his best reporter and his ex-wife (Rosalind Russell), is surprisingly gender-blind for a film released in 1940. And the dialogue—racking up an astounding 240 words per minute, on average—is so fast, so sharp, and so overlapping you’ll have to watch it three times to catch every joke and reference. If you come back to Gilmore Girls for the banter, you will love this movie.

Stream His Girl Friday on Fubo or Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.

Juno (2007)

Another movie known for its sharp, rapid-delivery dialogue, Juno is also the perfect choice for Gilmore fans because of its main character, Juno MacGuff (Elliot Page). Sixteen years old and finding herself surprisingly pregnant, Juno navigates the emotional and social fallout with a sharp tongue and a bright mind that’s very much how you might imagine Rory dealing with a teen pregnancy. Juno agrees to let a childless couple (played by Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) adopt her baby, but as she grows closer to the husband, the film digs into complex relationship dynamics that fans of the show will appreciate.

Rent Juno on Prime Video.

Booksmart (2019)

One of the great things about Gilmore Girls is that it’s a show that celebrates intelligence and knowing things. The Gilmores and the people they surround themselves with are smart, and they enjoy being smart. So do Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) in Booksmart: They’ve skipped so many parties and hangouts in order to excel at school and get into Ivy League schools, and their quick, hilarious dialogue reflects how smart they are. When they learn that their hard-partying, much lazier classmates also got into great schools, they suffer what can only be termed a mild existential crisis, with hilarious results.

Rent Booksmart on Apple TV.

Before Sunset (2004)

The Gilmores often display an enviable dynamic: relaxed, affectionate, and challenging. Rory and Lorelai like to debate, to converse, to dig into their assumptions and have real conversations—the kind we all wish we were having on the regular. If you ever wished some of those conversations in Gilmore Girls would go on for, oh, a few hours, check out Before Sunset—it’s almost all conversation. It’s the sequel to Before Sunrise (the trilogy—itself basically one enormous conversation—ends with Before Midnight), but the second film is a closer match to the deep relationship between Rory and Loralei that makes the show special. The story sees author Jesse (Ethan Hawke) reunited with Céline (Julie Delpy), once again spending a day together in Paris nine years after a 24-hour conversation changed their lives, chatting in a way few people ever get to.

Stream Before Sunset on The Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video.

Waitress (2007)

Quirky small town vibes, a loving found family, and an unplanned pregnancy—Waitress is what Rory or Lorelai’s life might have been like with some different choices or simple bad luck. Jenna Hunterson (Keri Russell) is a small-town waitress trapped in a miserable marriage; her plans to save up money and flee are complicated when she finds herself unexpectedly knocked up. She begins an affair with her new obstetrician (Nathan Fillion, so: understandable) and learns that she has more friends—and better friends—than she imagined.

Rent Waitress on Prime Video.

Google Docs Is Rolling Out These Three New Gemini Features

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30 July 2026 at 18:30
By: Jake Peterson

Google makes both Gemini and Docs, so it's not surprising that you'll find plenty of the former's features while using the latter. Gemini has a ton of Google Docs integration, including reading your text out loud, searching and summarizing your Docs in Drive, and a "Gemini bar" embedded into the app for prompting anytime. It's to the point that it's tough to avoid, which isn't great news for Google Docs users uninterested in AI features.

Of course, that won't stop Google. The company continues to add new Gemini features at a steady clip, and this week is no exception. As Android Authority notes, Gemini is now rolling out new image creation and editing abilities available directly in Google Docs. Google announced the changes in a Workspace update on Tuesday, highlighting how Docs users can tap into Gemini to create and edit images, diagrams, and infographics in their documents.

How Gemini's new Google Docs features work

According to Google, Gemini has three new functions Workspace users can take advantage of. First, users can create infographics or diagrams that summarize the doc in question. You could ask Gemini to do something like "add a diagram that explains the proposal at the top of this doc," or "create an infographic that summarizes the doc visually." Google says Gemini will pull from the context of the doc for these graphics, so these images should reflect what you have written in your doc—excluding the odd hallucination, of course.

In addition, Gemini can "refine existing visuals." You can ask Gemini to adjust the images in your doc with requests like, "change the aspect ratio of this image to 4:3," or "match the image's style to the other images in this doc." Finally, you can also ask Gemini to generate or edit multiple images at once. You could request the AI to create infographics in each section of your doc, or update all images at once.

Who has access to these new Gemini features?

These new additions to Google Docs aren't rolling out to everyone. Instead, they're exclusive to Workspace users, which includes Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers. If you pay for Google's AI features, you can try these out once they roll out on your end. If your school, work, or organization uses Workspace, the same applies. Here's the full list:

  • Business: Business Standard and Plus

  • Enterprise: Enterprise Standard, and Plus

  • Education: Education Plus

  • Consumer: Google AI Pro and Ultra

  • Education Add-ons: Google AI Pro for Education; Teaching and Learning

If You Loved ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe,' There's One Movie You Need to Watch Next

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30 July 2026 at 17:32
By: Jeff Somers

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Stuart Fails to Save the Universe might be the most surprising series on TV right now. Another spinoff from the wildly successful The Big Bang Theory, the show’s focus on bit players from the original series and an enthusiastic embrace of its gonzo multiverse plot shaped a fun, fast-paced, and inventive sitcom that both scratches the nostalgic itch for more of that universe and offers something completely fresh and new in it. If you’re looking for more sci-fi hijinx and humor that embraces the multiverse with wit, imagination, and a robust supply of heart (and you’ve already burned through the shows that offer a similar vibe), then there’s precisely one movie you should watch immediately: Everything Everywhere All at Once.

After Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, watch Everything Everywhere All at Once

Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (aka the Daniels), Everything Everywhere All at Once is the story of Evelyn Quan Wang (Michelle Yeoh), an unhappy, middle-aged immigrant from China who runs a failing laundromat and is struggling in every aspect of her life, from her relationships with her father (James Hong), husband (Ke Huy Quan), and daughter (Stephanie Hsu) to her upcoming audit with the IRS. At her IRS interview, her body is suddenly controlled and she finds herself face to face with an alternate version of her husband, Waymond, who informs her that there are multiple universes and versions of her, and that she must access the skills and life experience of those alternate versions in order to save the multiverse from destruction by Jobu Tupaki—an alternate version of her daughter, Joy.

If you love the wild ride that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe offers as the gang regularly slides into a new alternate world, Everything Everywhere All at Once is the perfect match. As Evelyn struggles to comprehend the nature of her existence in a multiverse and figure out how to survive the bizarre and mind-blowing attacks Jobu Tupaki sends her way, we are treated to a dizzying range of insane universes. We see Evelyn as a martial arts movie star (not unlike Yeoh in real life), a scientist, a teppanyaki chef, a woman with hot dogs for fingers (in a universe where everyone has hot dogs for fingers) and, in one of the most moving moments, as a literal rock.

If you’re digging the emotional core of the show as Stuart seeks a universe where he is worthy and hasn’t ruined everything, the core premise of Everything will hit you right in the feels. Evelyn has been chosen because she’s the worst version of herself—the version that has consistently failed in everything she’s tried, and thus the version with the most stored potential. Her emotional journey from nihilism and anger to love and acceptance as she learns to fight for what she loves is powerfully moving. Like the show, the movie leverages the character-building aspects of a multiverse, letting us see how a normal, regular person with normal, regular problems might face a terrifyingly abnormal challenge.

Plus, the movie is just fun. How can you watch a scene where mild-mannered Waymond Wang defeats a gang of security guards using multiverse-downloaded fannypack skills and not want to watch the rest of the movie?

Stream Everything Everywhere All at Once on Hulu, or rent it on Prime Video.

More movies to watch after Stuart Fails to Save the Universe

The multiverse may be infinite, but movies about them aren’t. If you’ve watched Everything Everywhere All at Once and need more fun sci-fi stories, here are a few more movies that catch that Stuart vibe.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Douglas Adams’ classic story of an ordinary guy named Arthur Dent who is rescued by his friend (and secret alien) Ford Prefect when Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass isn’t a multiverse story per se, but it has similar elements. That’s thanks to the Infinite Improbability Drive, which allows for faster-than-light travel by passing through every point in every possible universe simultaneously, resulting in some really, really weird stuff (the hilariously inconsistent timeline resulting from the many variations of the story also contributes a sense of multiversity craziness). It’s an absurdist’s dream, riffing on every conceivable sci-fi trope and delivering a surprisingly sweet story of a man struggling with his sense of unimportance in an increasingly confusing existence.

Rent The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on Prime Video.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

You want a bit more edge to your multiverse humor? Check out Deadpool & Wolverine, in which everyone’s favorite merc with a mouth (Ryan Reynolds) has to skip through various universes to find a replacement Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who famously and nobly died at the end of Logan in 2017, for, er, reasons. It’s absolutely riddled with hilarious bits, fourth-wall breaks, and hyperviolence—but there’s a gooey emotional core to it, as well.

Stream Deadpool & Wolverine on Disney Plus, or rent it on Prime Video.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

If Everything Everywhere All at Once is a bit too staid and sedate for your tastes, check out this 1984 fever dream of a sci-fi movie. When rock star, scientist, and surgeon Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) tests a device that allows him to pass through matter, he briefly engages with the 8th dimension—and unwittingly attracts the attention of aliens who wish to use his technology to free their brethren trapped there, putting the existence of humanity at risk. It’s one of the weirdest vibes ever captured on film, but it’s also hilarious and one of the most unique films you’ll ever watch.

Stream The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension on The Roku Channel, or rent it on Prime Video.

John Dies at the End (2013)

If you love the unexpected twists that Stuart Fails to Save the Universe serves up as he and his friends travel through alternate universes, strap in for John Dies at the End. To say the story is complex would an understatement—it slides between the past, present, and future of various dimensions at a rapid clip—but it kicks off when a man named David (Chase Williamson) is contacted by his recently dead friend, Rob, who tells him about a drug called Soy Sauce that lets folks remember the future and allows entities to creep from one universe into another—and they’re infiltrating David’s universe. It’s wild and often really funny, so if it’s extra you’re looking for, look no further.

Stream John Dies at the End on The Roku Channel, or rent it on Prime Video.

Galaxy Quest (1999)

If you want to lean a bit more into plain old funny stuff, this modern classic is perfect. There’s no multiverse here, but there is a lot of affectionate humor aimed squarely at sci-fi tropes (especially the Star Trek universe and its, er, passionate fans). Galaxy Quest was a Trek-like TV series that aliens called Thermians believe was a documentary. When their civilization is threatened by a villain named Sarris, they kidnap the cast (including Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, and Sam Rockwell) of the TV series to help them defeat Sarris, and, yes, hilarity ensues. But also a lot of heart and character development, if that’s your bag.

Stream Galaxy Quest on Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video.

Nano Banana 2 Is Coming to Google Earth

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30 July 2026 at 12:30
By: David Nield

Known by the codename Nano Banana 2, the most recent AI image generation updates added to Google Gemini have been a significant step forward in terms of quality and accuracy, and now similar capabilities are being plugged into the Google Earth app on the web. It means you're able to use the aerial, satellite, and 3D imagery packed into Google Earth as the basis for prompts for AI images—maybe peering into the distant past with a historical reconstruction or looking to the future with a sci-fi reimagining.

We've already seen just how precise and realistic the Nano Banana-powered features in Google Gemini are now, and Google has five suggestions for how you might deploy these capabilities in Google Earth. First, you can learn while exploring, so maybe getting the AI to build an infographic on the Statue of Liberty with key historical facts about it.

Google Earth
One idea for the new feature: Infographics (the Statue of Liberty in this case). Credit: Google

A text prompt such as "reimagine this empty lot in Tokyo as a vibrant shopping and retail district with open spaces" would transform a rather bare part of the Google Earth 3D map into something quite different. You can also visualize personal projects such as a dream lakeside home or an extension for your current property. Google Earth would combine the existing landscape with whatever you prompted, and help you come up with ideas as part of the planning stage.

You can also look forwards and backwards. "Sometimes it’s fun to let your imagination run wild," says Google, suggesting that you might want to get the AI to imagine how a place might look in a hundred years. (It might be worth nudging your prompt towards a utopian rather than dystopian vision of the future.)

Finally, Google suggests you dive back into the past. The company showcased a demo with the prompt "render a hyper-realistic view of what these Pompeii ruins looked like in 78 AD," which could be used by teachers, for example. That would instantly transform today's ruins "into a bustling, colorful street scene from the Roman Empire," in Google's words.

These new features come with the usual AI image caveats, however. While Nano Banana 2 can pull real-world information and images from the web, and is able to render graphics with more consistency and accuracy than previous models, there's still going to be the usual weaknesses involved with AI: Your lakeside home might not be entirely structurally sound, and the Pompeii reconstruction may not be entirely authentic—so bear that in mind when your images are produced.

Google Earth
Pompeii in all its original glory, as depicted by AI. Credit: Google

When I asked Google about this, a representative emphasized the real-world knowledge base that Nano Banana 2 draws on, which includes all the text and graphics it can find online, as well as the vast number of images that have been plugged into the AI during its training. With Google Earth, it will also trace over the structure ruins that are still in place when it comes to Pompeii, for example.

For a bit more clarity, you can try quizzing the Nano Banana 2 model inside the main Gemini app: I got it to render an imagined scene from Pompeii just prior to it being smothered by Vesuvius, then asked about the image accuracy. The AI said it had combined a bunch of real, historical information points to render the scene, including details on Pompeii's raised sidewalks, and the clothing styles of the day. Google hasn't said anything specific about usage limits, but the Nano Banana 2 upgrade is rolling out now globally, for all users of Google Earth on the web.

How to Make Sure Your Claude Chats Don't Get Shared Publicly (Again)

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29 July 2026 at 17:11
By: Jake Peterson

If you use Claude, Anthropic's AI chatbot, you might be aware that your chats may have been exposed on Google. The news broke over the weekend, as Redditors discovered a treasure trove of conversations between Claude users and their AI bots. All one had to do was search for a keyword followed by "site:claude.ai/share" to find Claude conversations about that topic. It was, to be frank, quite the mess.

Luckily, Anthropic quickly plugged the security hole. Ever since, searching Google with "site:claude.ai/share" returns no results, so you can't find any of these chats today if you try. However, it's not necessarily a huge comfort to know that Google indexed these conversations in the first place—and for the second time in a year, at that. Anthropic dealt with a similar situation back in September, and while it isn't alone—Google once also indexed ChatGPT conversations—you might understandably be concerned about future chats leaking onto the web, as well as wonder whether your current chats were exposed.

Why were Claude chats exposed?

The thing is, it doesn't seem like every Claude chat had an equal risk of exposure here. Anthropic is adamant it doesn't share chat links to Google directly; instead, the vast majority (if not the entirety) of these chats appear to be conversations that individuals decided to share with others on the open web, according to Google. Claude lets you share your chats publicly if you wish, and while that can be convenient for showing friends, family, or colleagues a specific discussion, it might also open up your chat to Google's web crawlers, as when you share a chat, it generates a public link.

So, there's a silver lining in that private Claude chats that weren't shared are unlikely to be involved in this latest exposure. If you don't share your chats with anyone, you should be in the clear—though Futurism did report that one user in September's Claude debacle swears they never shared their exposed chats. However, if you do share Claude chats, your conversations might have been part of the indexing that happened over the weekend.

Further complicating things, it seems that Claude's "artifacts" are still visible on Google. Claude generates artifacts when the content of your project meets certain criteria, and can include anything like documents, code snippets, HTML sites, SVG images, diagrams, flowcharts, and Interactive React components. In many cases, users may want these artifacts to be public, as they may be meant to be shared widely. However, if you don't want your artifacts indexed on Google, you'll have to take action.

How to protect your Claude chats from future exposure

While there doesn't appear to be any reliable way to identify whether your chats and artifacts were included in this exposure, you can ensure that none of them are ever indexed by a search engine in the future. To do so, you'll essentially have to shut down sharing.

To start, head to Settings > Privacy in Claude, then choose "Manage" next to "Shared chats." Once this new page appears, you'll see all shared chats, including a link to the conversation and the date shared. From here, scroll through the list and select "Unshare" next to each chat you'd like to remove. This won't delete your chats; only their snapshots connected to these public links.

You Can Now Let Gemini 'See' Your Mac's Display for Free

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29 July 2026 at 15:00
By: Jake Peterson

It may be polarizing, but there are lot of people using AI right now. Most of those users are likely exclusive to a chatbot, like ChatGPT or Gemini, using it as a Google replacement (don't do that), or as a confidant (please don't do that either). But if your goal is to use AI as a personal assistant, listen up: On Wednesday, Google announced two new updates for Gemini on macOS, one of which may have some privacy and security implications for users—assuming they opt in to it.

Gemini on macOS gets enhanced dictation

If you use dictation on macOS (i.e., speaking words out loud and having the AI type them for you), you might have a reason to use Gemini over Apple's built-in solutions. Going forward, Gemini on macOS has "intelligent dictation," which Google says polishes text "instantly at the cursor." That means Gemini will remove your stammers, like "ums" and "ahs" in between words, things you never would type out yourself. This works in any window on your Mac: You just press the Fn key, and start speaking.

We'll have to see this feature in action to know how well it works, but it does build off of similar enhancements Gemini has on other platforms. It's a small adjustment, but one that will make it possible to use Gemini to draft texts, emails, or documents without having to totally self-edit. That's the kind of utility I'm looking for from AI features. And since it's enabled by default, everyone using Gemini on Mac will be using it—unless they dig into their settings to turn it off.

Gemini can now "understand" your Mac's display

Google's second update for Gemini on macOS isn't so straightforward, nor is it enabled by default. Google calls it "screen-aware reasoning," a feature that grants Gemini permission to "understand" what's happening on your Mac's screen. The idea is to hand tasks over to Gemini: If you have your Notes app open, for example, you could press the Fn key and say "Turn these notes into an executive summary for the meeting this afternoon." Gemini will reportedly know to look at your Notes app, analyze your text, and configure it on your behalf, all without needing to work through a proprietary app.

You can stack together a series of commands, too: You could ask Gemini to draft an email for a team dinner, and pull from a select group of files on your Mac for important info (participants, budget requirements, dietary restrictions, etc.) You could continue on, asking Gemini to search Google Maps for specific types of restaurants, and include them as options for the team. And at any point, you can correct yourself, and Gemini will adjust accordingly. For example, if you said the team dinner should be at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, but later on in your command you say, "Sorry, dinner should be 7 p.m." Gemini should make the appropriate changes.

Sure, there's a usefulness to this type of feature. If you're already using Gemini on macOS, letting "see" your Mac's display makes it more helpful. Rather than rely on the Gemini app for all your tasks, you can expand its range to your whole Mac, and, if Google is correct, in quite a complex way. But there's always a privacy risk in allowing AI programs full access to what's happening on your personal computer, and perhaps a security risk as well. Do you want Google's AI to be able to see everything on your screen?

It's not as big a risk as a true agentic program, of course. If you pay for Google's most expensive AI plan, you can access Gemini Spark, which can run autonomously on your Mac. The biggest flag to note is "prompt injection," in which hackers hide malicious commands for your AI in websites. If you task the AI to do something, and it stumbles upon such a command, it will think the request comes from you, not from the hacker. So, when it processes a request like "open [malicious site] and download [malicious file]" it will without question; or "open [crypto wallet], log in with saved credentials, and send funds to [account]," it will follow suit. That shouldn't be an issue with Gemini as it stands, though it theoretically could, if you ask it to perform a task that exposes it to prompt injection.

If you're someone who is interested in the latest features, this isn't to dissuade you from using Gemini's new agentic feature on macOS, but it's worth considering the very real risks before you do.

Your Claude Chats May Have Been Exposed on Google

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27 July 2026 at 21:00
By: Jake Peterson

Chatbots are designed to make you feel like your conversations are personal. They're highly agreeable, and over-friendly, and simulate the experience of chatting with a friend online—assuming that friend can instantly generate a wall of text in a few seconds. In reality, however, they're far from personal, especially if your definition of "personal" includes "for your eyes only."

Claude chats were visible on Google this weekend

Some Claude users can attest to that fact after the weekend. As Cyber Security News reports, Anthropic's Claude share links have appeared in Google search results, indicating search engines like Google have indexed users' chats. Over the weekend, a viral Reddit post highlighted how, by simply adding "site:claude.ai/share" to your search queries, you could pull up real Claude chats directly in Google.

If a Claude user talked about the keyword you searched, and Google indexed that conversation, you could pull it up and read the transcript. According to Cyber Security News, that included lawyers discussing legal strategies, engineers talking through technical issues, and users being open with their personal problems. Depending on the conversation, that could range from mildly embarrassing to downright mortifying.

Now, some caveats: Anthropic quickly nipped the issue in the bud after the Reddit thread started making waves. If you try to search anything with "site:claude.ai/share" now, you'll simply receive a failed search result in return, so all your Claude chats should be safe going forward. Perhaps most importantly, it doesn't seem likely that these indexed chats affected everyone who uses Claude; rather, these were "share links," which Claude generates when you share a conversation with someone else. The glitch appears to stem from this feature—if you shared a chat from Claude, it may have ended up in this searchable database.

That said, not all the leaked chats might have fit that criteria. This same situation happened back in September, and, as Futurism reports, at least one affected user denied sharing their chats. Taken at their word, it's possible that some exposed Claude chats were also from users who never used the share chat function.

AI chats aren't private

Even if you're confident your Claude chats weren't shared, or trust that the leak has been plugged, that doesn't mean that your AI chatbot conversations should be treated with an assumption of privacy. Even if you never shared a conversation from Claude, and thus likely weren't affected by this issue, your chats may not be contained within your account. While you might think what you say with your AI stays between you and the chatbot, everything you say to your bot is shared with Anthropic and used to train future models—unless you explicitly opt out.

That's not just Anthropic: Most, if not all, AI companies operate this way, and each has its own set of policies. Some may have humans directly reviewing your chats, for example—something you might not think about when asking your AI bot for help with a personal issue.

Even if you opt out of data training, the company in question may still hold onto your chats for a set period of time. Anthropic, for example, will hold onto your chat data for 30 days after you delete the conversation. So not only is that data held on Anthropic servers in the first place, it lives there after you can no longer access it. Plus, Anthropic isn't the only company dealing with indexing exposure: While this is the second time this happened to Claude users, ChatGPT users dealt with a similar problem last August.

If you do choose to use chatbots, never share personal or private information with them—especially highly sensitive data like health info. AI is undoubtedly here to stay, and many find it useful, but if you care about your privacy, these tools simply don't have your best interests in mind.

If You Loved ‘I Will Find You,’ There's One Movie You Need to Watch Next

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27 July 2026 at 17:00
By: Jeff Somers

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No one dishes out shocking twists and emotionally powerful moments like Harlan Coben, and his partnership with Netflix just keeps delivering stories you can’t help but devour in one sitting. I Will Find You, starring Sam Worthington and Britt Lower, is no exception: The story of a father risking everything to prove he didn’t commit an unspeakable crime while searching for the son he thought lost forever is the sort of show you hop online immediately after the credits roll to see what people are saying. If you’ve already watched the series that give the same vibe and want more innocent people trying to get their lives back, unpredictable plot swerves, and emotionally charged stories of hard-won justice, look no further than 1993’s The Fugitive.

Why you should watch "The Fugitive" after "I Will Find You"

The Fugitive was a massive hit in 1993. Based on a 1960s television series (also called The Fugitive) that was itself a national phenomenon, it’s the story of Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), who is convicted of the brutal murder of his wife, Helen (Sela Ward), despite his claims of witnessing a one-armed man committing the crime. When the bus transporting him to prison crashes, Kimble escapes and launches a desperate campaign to prove his innocence, identify the murderer, and evade the dogged pursuit of U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team.

The Fugitive scratches the precise innocent-man-on-the-run itch as I Will Find You, following Kimble as he uses his medical training and survival instincts to avoid capture while taking enormous risks. He poses as a janitor at a local hospital in order to conduct research on men with prosthetic arms and is almost caught several times by the smart and experienced Gerard (who famously tells Kimble that he doesn’t care when Kimble protests his innocence).

While the film doesn’t have the bonkers twists that Harlan Coben came up with for I Will Find You, there are plenty of unpredictable plot swerves as Kimble unravels a conspiracy that hits closer to home than he expects. Just like the Netflix series, the villain has violently self-serving motives, and the true story of what happened is a surprising reveal. And if your favorite part of I Will Find You was the interaction between father-daughter FBI agents Max Williams (Chi McBride) and Sarah Greer (Logan Browning) as they pursue David, you’ll absolutely love Sam Gerard and his team as they bicker, joke, and follow the trail with absolute dedication to their jobs.

Bottom line: The Fugitive is a big-budget, slightly less shocking Harrison Ford blockbuster that every fan of I Will Find You will love. You can rent The Fugitive on Prime Video.

More movies

Still craving twisty thrillers about innocent folks searching desperately for the truth? Here are a few more brilliant movies to check out.

Primal Fear (1996)

You want more absolutely mind-blowing twists? Primal Fear has one of the most brilliant swerves in film history. Edward Norton’s film debut sees him playing Aaron Luke Stampler, a stuttering, shy altar boy accused of viciously murdering the beloved Archbishop Rushman. Vain, publicity-seeking attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) takes Aaron’s case, believing the weak, forgetful Stampler incapable of such atrocities—but the twisty story builds to one of the all-time great reveals, a scene that made Norton a star overnight. Stream Primal Fear on Fubo or Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video.

Gone Girl (2014)

Was it the complexity of the setup that hooked you in I Will Find You? Gone Girl takes that to the next level. Based on Gillian Flynn’s smash novel, the story begins when Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home to find his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), is missing. The clues at the scene don’t look great for Nick, and as the sordid truth of his marriage emerges, things look worse—but nothing is exactly what it seems in this taut, clever mystery. If you were fascinated by the effort put into painting David as a heartless killer, you should know that Gone Girl takes that to the next level. Rent Gone Girl on Prime Video.

The Next Three Days (2010)

There’s something absolutely gripping about a story focused on an innocent person’s life ruined by a false accusation. The Next Three Days is a tense thrill ride based on that premise: John and Lara Brennan (Russel Crowe and Elizabeth Banks) are happily married with a young son. When Lara’s boss is murdered after Lara had an ugly, public confrontation with him, she’s convicted of his murder. As time passes and John can see her giving up all hope, he launches a desperate plot to break her out of prison and reclaim their lives. If you rooted for David to prove his innocence, you’ll root for John and Lara in the same way. Rent The Next Three Days on Prime Video.

Double Jeopardy (1999)

Part of the thrill of I Will Find You is the slow, twisty route to justice—to finding the truth and punishing the truly guilty. That’s where Double Jeopardy lives. Ashley Judd stars as Elizabeth Parsons, who is convicted of murdering her husband, Nick (Bruce Greenwood), after she’s found with a bloody knife on their boat, his body presumably swept into the ocean. She loses custody of their son and despairs—but she eventually discovers that Nick faked his death and framed her for the murder. Her life becomes consumed with the need to reclaim her son and—when she realizes she cannot be charged with the same murder twice—to get a measure of revenge. Stream Double Jeopardy on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

One of the all-time classics in the “wronged person serving time” genre, The Shawshank Redemption is simultaneously an inspiring story of friendship, a stirring tale of surviving in the face of horrific loss and injustice, and one of the greatest twisty stories of all time. Its steady pacing and careful characterization let you really get to know the wrongly convicted man at its core, and the ending lets you appreciate how resolute and determined he was while experiencing the worst horrors a human can imagine. Rent The Shawshank Redemption on Prime Video.

It Just Got a Lot Cheaper to Try Gemini Spark, Google's AI Agent

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24 July 2026 at 17:00
By: Pranay Parab

Gemini Spark, the AI agent built into Google Gemini, is now a lot cheaper to try out in the U.S. Previously, Gemini Spark was exclusive to the Google AI Ultra plan, which costs $100-$200 per month. The company is now bringing the agentic AI to its AI Pro plan, which costs $20 per month. (For now, this change is exclusive to the U.S.)

When Gemini Spark was announced during Google I/O 2026, its features seemed potentially useful, but the barrier to entry was too high for most people. That appears to be changing now, as Google has cut the price by as much as 90%. It is not yet available on the $5/month AI Plus plan or the free tier, but that could change in the future too—though it's likely that using Gemini Spark on lower pricing tiers could mean that you hit your usage limits much faster.

What is Gemini Spark?

Google Gemini is a chatbot and a voice assistant that answers your questions, creates text, media, and even entire apps for you. Gemini Spark takes those capabilities to your Google account and executes actions for you.

You can think of Gemini Spark as a personal AI assistant that can look at your emails, calendar entries, photos, and other data in your Google account to perform tasks on your behalf. You can use Spark to bulk unsubscribe from mailing lists, make flight bookings, send reminder emails to clients, colleagues, or family members, book appointments, and much more.

Having said all that, a Gemini Spark overview from out sister site PC Mag emphasizes that its features tend to overlap with Gemini. PC Mag called Spark the best AI agent yet, but that doesn't mean it's perfect.

Does Gemini Spark respect your privacy?

To someone who is even remotely privacy-conscious, using Gemini Spark is going to sound quite invasive: You basically have to give it access to your entire computer if you want it to be able to act on your behalf. Google is aware of that, and has programmed the AI agent to ask for confirmations before performing certain actions. If you ask the agent to find birthday photos from 2017 and email them to someone, for example, Gemini Spark will show you the pictures and ask for a confirmation before actually sending the email. It applies the same logic to deleting emails, sending messages, using your saved credit cards to pay for reservations, and more.

It's worth keeping in mind that AI services have created serious problems for people who use these apps without due caution. The biggest strength of Gemini is its access to all the data that’s in your Google account, but if you give it unrestricted access and the AI agent messes up a request, you could be stuck with an incorrect hotel reservation, a flight booked to a wrong country, or other serious consequences.

If You Loved 'House of the Dragon,' There's One Movie You Need to Watch Next

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22 July 2026 at 17:00
By: Jeff Somers

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House of the Dragon is getting so good, I'm flirting with calling it a more satisfying watch than Game of Thrones. After two seasons of thrilling political maneuvering, betrayals, and the occasional dragonfire massacre, the story has really clicked into place, and I've found myself deeply invested in the travails of the battling Targaryen dynasties, even though I technically know how everything turns out. (It is a prequel, after all.)

If each new episode leaves you craving more sharp writing and spectacular dragon battles, you’ve got a lot of other series to keep you fed going forward. But if you want a more cinematic experience that offers similar pleasures, there’s one obvious choice: Reign of Fire, the 2002 sci-fantasy epic starring two obscure actors named Matthew McConaughey and Christian Bale.

It's all about those dragon battles

Reign of Fire is set in a world where a tunneling project in modern-day London accidentally awakens hibernating dragons—real, fire-breathing, flying lizards just like the ones in fantasy novels. The dragons quickly breed and decimate the world’s militaries, and in the chaotic aftermath, nuclear weapons are unleashed, leaving the human race teetering on the edge of extinction—and the dragons starving. When the few surviving humans realize that the dragons have a huge weakness that could be exploited to end their dominance, a desperate plan is hatched to save humanity.

While that plot doesn't sound similar to the high fantasy trappings of House of the Dragon, there's an obvious throughline: It's the dragon warfare, silly. House of the Dragon is filled with absorbing characters (team Daemon all day) and fascinating, twisty plots as the Targaryen family rips itself apart in a struggle for the Iron Throne, but if you say you’re not here for the dragon fights, you’re lying. Reign of Fire has dragon fights. Lots of dragon fights. Dragon fights that involve a tank and a helicopter. The effects hold up more than 20 years after the film’s release, too.

But the film isn’t just dragon fights—there’s a proper story too. At a castle in England, a man who witnessed the initial dragon awakening, Quinn (Christian Bale), is leading a rag-tag group of desperate folks trying to survive until the dragons die off from lack of food. Things are grim, and Quinn struggles to hold his community together. When a group of Americans called the Kentucky Irregulars, led by Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey, looking badass with a shaved head and crazy eyes), arrives with a tank and a functioning helicopter, Quinn can’t stop some of his people from signing up to help them fight dragons.

Not only do McConaughey and Bale lay down terrific performances as desperate men with opposing visions of victory, the people following them are also portrayed as a complex group with various dynamics. People do unexpected things, turning what could have been a straightforward action film into an absorbing sci-fi story. If you enjoy the twists and turns of House of the Dragon, you’ll find a lot to love in Reign of Fire, and you can rent it on Prime Video.

More movies to satisfy House of the Dragon fans

Reign of Fire is an hour and forty minutes of dragony goodness, but if it leaves you wanting more, there are a few more movies you can check out—including Christopher Nolan’s currently-in-theaters epic The Odyssey, which offers a universe of monsters, epic battles, and vengeful gods that looks like a perfect fit for fans of House of the Dragon. Here are a few other movies you can watch right now on your screen of choice:

Valhalla Rising (2009)

In one sense, Valhalla Rising couldn’t be more different from House of the Dragon. Where the show is often loud and action-packed, Valhalla Rising can be disturbingly still and quiet—on purpose. Set in 12th-century Scotland, Mads Mikkelsen plays an unnamed slave with one eye who possesses incredible strength. Forced to fight other slaves to the death, One-Eye sees visions that help him escape, launching him on a violent journey to his destiny. It’s a moody, bloody story that shares a sense of Hell on Earth with the show, depicting beautiful, brutal landscapes where death is always lurking. Stream Valhalla Rising on Kanopy.

Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

If you want more epic battles and doomed autocrats desperately trying to hang onto power (and their lives), Kingdom of Heaven is a great choice. Set during the Crusades era in the 12th century, the film follows a newly-knighted noble, Balian (Orlando Bloom), who travels to the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in search of salvation. Instead, he finds a delicate, complicated political situation as the ailing Leper King, Baldwin IV, struggles to maintain a fragile peace for his unstable kingdom. If you want more of the Blacks/Greens political skulduggery and more huge battles between armies, stream this (sorry, no dragons though). Rent Kingdom of Heaven on Prime Video.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Want more dragons? J.R.R. Tolkien’s Smaug is one of the most entertaining and terrifying dragons ever conceived—and when he’s voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s a pure delight. Yes, Smaug the dragon talks, and isn’t a vicious aerial killing machine like Vhagar, but his smoothly malevolent evil permeates the film with a sense of danger and dread. Plus, Middle-earth is the heavyweight of epic fantasy lore and world-building, so if the deep history and complexity of Westeros is what you crave, any of Peter Jackson’s films set in Tolkien’s universe are a great choice. Rent The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on Prime Video.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Lawrence of Arabia is a clear visual influence on House of the Dragon, and the actors have namechecked David Lean’s 1962 epic as inspiration for their performances. Based on the true story of T. E. Lawrence and adapted from his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the film depicts the brilliant life and career of Lawrence, who was instrumental in organizing the Arab tribes against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. It’s as widescreen an epic as old Hollywood ever made, and Peter O’Toole makes Lawrence into the conflicted antihero of Daemon Targaryen’s dreams. Stream Lawrence of Arabia on Philo or rent it on Prime Video.

The King (2019)

If you love the politics and strategy on display in House of the Dragon (without sacrificing the bloody battles), and like the realistic, mud- and blood-splattered depiction of medieval life in the show, check out The King. Loosely adapted from William Shakespeare’s plays, a young Timothée Chalamet portrays King Henry V as he rises from a lazy prince to one of the most brilliant warrior kings in English history—the king who claimed the crown of France, if only for a moment. It’s a viscerally exciting film, and one of its great pleasures is the battle of wills and tactics (and insults) between Henry and the heir to the French throne, Louis, Duke of Guyenne (Robert Pattinson). Stream The King on Netflix.

The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What Does 'Quiet on the Creek' Mean?

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22 July 2026 at 13:30
By: Stephen Johnson

The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide is your roadmap to what the younger people are up to. This week, discussions of what "quiet on the creek" means, why kids are calling each other "Tylenol babies," and what "corny on the bob, off the bob" means take us into some surprisingly choppy water. Because just like all of us, young people are wrestling with cultural appropriation, questionable health advisories, and issues of race and identity. But they're doing it with memes.

What does "quiet on the creek" mean?

Kids are exhorting one another to be "quiet on the creek" this week, usually in a stage whisper. The phrase's definition should be familiar to any angler: You have to be quiet on the creek so you don't scare the fish away. Extend that a bit and you have a colorful way of saying "keep it on the down low" or "be cool."

But there's a second more more charged meaning of "quiet on the creek." When it originally took off online, clueless people asked "what does it mean?" and the response from many was to not explain it, to gatekeep the definition, first because it was regarded as AAVE and people are understandably tired of AAVE being co-opted, but also because when slang is explained, the fizz disappears and you end up with the verbal equivalent of flat champagne.

Among those exhorting people to not talk about quiet on the creek is the rapper who popularized the phrase, Saucy Santana. Saucy posted this video exhorting others to be more quiet on the creek about quiet on the creek:

All respect to Santana, but it's not hard to suss out the definition of "quiet on the creek" if your dad ever took you fishing. I understand the impulse to protect slang from being watered down, but the internet is relentless: Once a phrase goes viral, no matter where it came from, the original context is stripped away, and people are going to say what they say, regardless of the politics behind it. Anyway, you should check out Santana's song and support their career because they are good at this shizz.

Controversy aside, the phrase has become popular enough that it's being used in a ton of online videos of people in movies and TV being quiet on the creek, like this:

and this:

What's up with the controversial "that's just the way it is" videos?

Since we're on the subject of over-exposure watering down Black people's slang and culture online, let's talk about the strange case of "That's Just the Way It Is." Early in the week, the hashtag thatsjustthewayitis was combined with the chorus of Tupac's "Changes" and used to comment on racism in videos like these:

Soon after "that's just the way it is" took off, people predicted how it would be coopted, posting videos like these that are basically parodies of how white people would make the meme about them, substituting legit concerns for mistaken Starbucks orders and whatnot:

Depressingly, this kind of co-optation happens all the time, but in this case, I'm having trouble finding many actual examples of videos of the phrase/meme being co-opted by white people. There are a few out there, but they seem to be getting way fewer views than the commentary on them.

I have no doubt this phrase would have been more widely misunderstood and misused as it became more popular, but there doesn't seem to have been enough time. So the "that's just the way it is" meme has become about the predictable adoption of Black culture, while skipping "the middleman" of the actual co-opting, almost like a preemptive defense against cultural gentrification. And that's without even mentioning that Tupac's song is built around the chorus to Bruce Hornsby's "The Way it is," which is one of whitest songs ever.

What is a "Tylenol baby"?

In September 2025, President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a press conference announcing a scientifically dubious link between the use of acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) by pregnant women and autism. Kids immediately weaponized "Tylenol baby" and have used it ever since to roast their pals.

Middle schoolers tend to care more about finding new ways to insult each other than they do about FDA research, so the phrase generally isn't meant to suggest anyone actually has autism. It's a way for people who don't know any better (yet, hopefully) to use the societal stigma of autism to say, "you're a dope" or "you're acting foolish."

Viral video of the week: Corny on the Bob

The final slang phrase in this week's dive into youth and race relations is "corny on the bob," it means "corn on the cob," and has not been co-opted or stolen from AAVE, nor does it insult anyone with a disability. Instead, it's a catchphrase of Patty Miller, an unexpected online star whose cooking and eating videos regularly rack up millions of views based on her unique personal presentation and her colorful way of pronouncing words. In this video, she shows off the "liver and engines" she made and her "corny on the bob, off the bob."

Look, I wouldn't eat that slop with your mouth, but that doesn't mean I don't have a place in my heart for the internet's new meemaw.

NotebookLM Has a New Name and a Few Other Changes

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16 July 2026 at 16:00
By: David Nield

NotebookLM may not be the most well-known of Google's numerous AI products, but having been introduced as Project Tailwind in May 2023, it's actually been around almost as long as the Google Gemini chatbot (originally called Bard, as you might remember).

Now, perhaps in a bid to make its suite of AI tools a little less confusing, Google is renaming NotebookLM as Gemini Notebook. If you love the app in its current form, though, don't panic—not much else is changing.

"It remains a standalone product ... but it will now do more across the Google ecosystem, including inside the Gemini app and Google Search," explains Google. That "do more" will start with your notebooks appearing in AI Mode in Google Search for reference, which is rolling out soon.

Google's announcement post also mentions that users on the Pro plans ($19.99 a month) will soon be getting the upgrades rolled out last month, which were previously exclusive to Ultra plan users ($99.99 or $199.99 a month).

These upgrades include a dedicated cloud computer for each notebook you create, enabling deeper analysis of sources and the ability to write and execute code natively (via Google Antigravity). It also means more capabilities in terms of what the app can do within each of your notebooks, including creating PDFs, charts, and slideshows, and editing them through prompts.

Gemini Notebook
The new branding for Gemini Notebook. Credit: Google

Where Gemini ends and Gemini Notebook begins

You could be forgiven for getting confused about the difference between the standard Gemini AI chatbot app you find on the web and mobile, and the newly renamed Gemini Notebook—especially if you've not used the latter much.

They run on the same set of Gemini AI models, and can do a lot of the same tasks in terms of looking up information from the web and summarizing documents. When you've created notebooks inside Gemini Notebook, you can then also access them in the main Gemini app, confusing things even further.

What makes Gemini Notebook different is that it's very much a research tool. You load up a bunch of sources, from YouTube videos to PDFs, and then get Gemini Notebook to query and summarize those sources, with citations.

As we've written about before, you can turn your notes into audio podcasts and video overviews, as well as mind maps, flashcards, infographics and slideshows. Unlike the main Gemini app, though, it can't create images or videos out of a single prompt, without one or more sources to work from.

As an addendum: If you're already a seasoned NotebookLM/Gemini Notebook user, you may have missed the latest feature upgrade, rolled out to all users a couple of weeks ago. It's called Short Video Overview, and adds a shorter, vertical video format for your summary options: Click Video Overview then Short to use it.

The Best Books, Movies, Video Games, and Podcasts to Check Out After Watching ‘Cape Fear’

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15 July 2026 at 17:00
By: Jeff Somers

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Cape Fear is one of those stories with a premise so sturdy and reliable, it can be reinvented and reinterpreted endlessly. The original 1957 novel (titled The Executioners) remains a pulse-pounding thriller, and the two film adaptations (from 1962 and starring Robert Mitchum, and the Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro version from 1991) are wildly different in tone and approach but equally effective.

Add to that list Apple TV’s brand-new take on the material, which brings a neon-lit sense of chaos and a modern edge of digital vulnerability to the fore. If you've binged the available episodes and have already burned through all of our suggested streamalikes, it’s time to broaden the search to books, movies, games, and podcasts that will deliver the same thrills.

The best books like Cape Fear

Cape Fear’s roots are in the literary world, and writers have been perfecting the art of terrifying antagonists ruining people’s lives for decades now. You want more Max Cadys in your life? Check out these books.

Cape Fear, by John D. MacDonald

Start with the original. The details are different—Sam Bowden helped put Max Cady into military prison during World War II, for example. But MacDonald’s brilliantly simple premise is the key: Bowden, a buttoned-up member of society in good standing, slowly realizes that the cunning Cady can’t be stopped via the system. For all his connections, education, and moral code, if he’s going to protect his family from a madman, he’ll have to do things he never thought himself capable of. That friction is dynamite, and the novel is still a crackling read.

The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson

If you found Max Cady to be the sort of terrifying weirdo you can’t look away from, you will love Thompson’s deep dive into the mind of a sociopath. Lou Ford is a small-town deputy who presents himself as a boring, basic guy. But beneath that facade of weaponized normalcy, he’s a twisted, violent man who takes delight in hurting and manipulating people. It’s a dark, unrelenting story that gives strong Max Cady vibes.

Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith

One key aspect of every version of Cape Fear is the way the story leverages the suspicion that civilized society can’t really protect us from an entity determined to ruin our lives. Highsmith’s novel plays on that same energy: When unhappily married Guy Haines meets wealthy Charles Bruno and admits his unhappy marriage, Bruno suggests they “swap” murders—Guy kills Bruno’s father, Bruno kills Guy’s wife. Since they are perfect strangers with no connection to each other, the police will be unable to solve the apparently motiveless murders. Guy doesn’t take the conversation seriously—but Bruno absolutely does, and is soon a malevolent force in Guy’s life.

Dead Calm, by Charles Williams

The fuel that powers Cape Fear is a sense of powerlessness against someone who has invaded your private space. Williams’ 1963 novel is driven by that same energy. John and Rae are on their small yacht for their honeymoon when they rescue a young man, Hughie, from a lifeboat. Hughie claims that the crew of his boat died from food poisoning, but inconsistencies in his story and oddities in his behavior make John suspicious, leading to a deadly game of cat-and-mouse and some gruesome discoveries, as Hughie emerges as a ticking time bomb that threatens everything and everyone.

The Last Word, by Taylor Adams

Adams’ 2023 novel is about that moment when we invite chaos into our lives. Emma Carpenter retreats to a remote beach house to deal with past trauma, and spends her time reading and reviewing horror books. Her distant neighbor—she needs a telescope to communicate with him—suggests a book for her to read, but when Emma gives it a one-star review, the author launches a campaign of terror against her that soon takes terrifyingly physical form. Just like Cady, Emma’s tormentor is smart, believes they’re untouchable, and is soon fixated on her to the exclusion of everything else.

The best movies like Cape Fear

If you love the way Cape Fear visualizes tension, brutality, and terror, there are similar movies worth watching. Of course, you should definitely check out the 1962 and 1991 versions to see variations on Cady’s character and the evolution of how the family is presented (stable and happy in 1962, ominously dysfunctional in 1991), but then check out these alternative thrillers that have a similar feel.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

If you want more of that chaotic evil, Max Cady vibe, The Night of the Hunter is the ticket. Robert Mitchum gives a chilling performance as a serial killer who masquerades as a preacher. When he learns that his cellmate in prison has hidden a fortune in stolen money on his property, he makes it his business to get the loot by any means necessary—through charm, deception, or brutal violence. It’s a taut story of a sociopath intent on destroying a family that fans of the show will love. Stream The Night of the Hunter on Tubi or rent it on Fandango.

Pacific Heights (1990)

One reason Cape Fear is so successful is the way it outlines how easy it is for an unscrupulous, smart adversary to destroy your life by pitting the system against you. This overlooked 1990 thriller stars Michael Keaton as a con man and sociopath going under the name Carter Hayes who bluffs his way into renting an apartment in the San Francisco townhouse owned by Drake Goodman (Matthew Modine) and Patty Palmer (Melanie Griffith). Drake and Patty need the promised rent for financial survival, but Carter not only never pays, he begins systematically destroying the apartment. When they try to evict him, he uses legal means with a dose of manipulation to thwart their efforts while secretly taking over their lives. Stream Pacific Heights on Netflix or rent it on Apple TV.

Straw Dogs (1971 / 2011)

Straw Dogs trades in the same fear of violent people targeting us in supposedly safe spaces as Cape Fear. While you should definitely try to track down Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 version, it’s tough to find on streaming these days, so you’ll have to make do with the 2011 remake of this tense story of small-town violence and home invasion. David, a mild-mannered man (Dustin Hoffman in the 1971 film, James Marsden in the remake) and his wife, Amy (Susan George/Kate Bosworth) move back to her hometown. Her ex-boyfriend and his buddies resent David’s presence, and begin a campaign of intimidation against him that slowly boils up to overt, terrifying violence—forcing David to discover the violent nature within himself. Stream Straw Dogs on The Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video.

The Hitcher (1986)

Cape Fear pivots off the idea that you can never be truly safe from someone who means you harm. The Hitcher swims in those same waters. Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) takes a gig driving a car cross-country and makes the mistake of picking up a hitchhiker, John (Rutger Hauer). John quickly reveals himself to be a serial killer who has chosen Jim as his next victim. Jim escapes, but later spots John riding in a car with a young family, kicking off a deadly game of cat and mouse as John frames Jim for his crimes and forces him to violent ends to survive. Stream The Hitcher on Cinemax or watch it on YouTube.

The Last Seduction (1994)

Not all sociopaths capable of destroying normal people’s lives are big dudes with tattoos. In The Last Seduction, the sociopath in question is Bridget (Linda Fiorentino), who betrays her drug-dealing husband (Bill Pullman), absconding with $700,000 and leaving him at the mercy of gangsters who want their money. She travels to a podunk town near Buffalo and targets a nice but not-so-smart guy named Mike (Peter Berg), manipulating him as she launches criminal schemes. Bridget’s cool, murderous genius is a match for Max Cady in terms of vicious determination, and fans of the show will love her character. Stream The Last Seduction on Hoopla or rent it on Prime Video.

The best video games like Cape Fear

There’s a visceral thrill to a story like Cape Fear. Whether it’s the fantasy of taking revenge on your enemies or the lure of the freedom to act conferred by desperation, video games offer a way to actually experience a thriller like this from inside the story. Here are some of the best matches for fans of the show.

Fears to Fathom

This horror game uses an anthology structure, with each episode a standalone story (submitted by players). The first episode, Home Alone, is available for free on Steam, and is the best match for Cape Fear fans, letting you play as a teenager stalked by an ominous intruder in his own home while his parents are away, but the entire franchise captures the terrifying experience of being targeted by someone who appears to be in complete control of the situation and intent on doing you harm.

Platforms: Steam, iOS

Amnesia: The Bunker

In terms of setting and genre, Amnesia: The Bunker is a big step away from the grounded thrills of Cape Fear, but it matches the show in terms of the sweaty-palmed, nervous energy it generates. In this first-person survival horror game, you play as a French soldier in World War I who wakes up trapped in an underground bunker being hunted by a monstrous entity. There are limited resources to generate light and fight the monster off—and the monster is always, constantly hunting you, replicating that sense of dealing with an adversary who will never stop applying pressure.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Steam

As Dusk Falls

A family is taken hostage by a desperate group of criminals as the police surround their motel room—and you play as both the hostages and the killers who have invaded their complicated, messy lives. The choices you make in this interactive thriller can lead to bloodshed. It’s a story that deepens as you play, with seemingly obvious choices made early on having unexpected repercussions later in the game as you learn more about each character’s background and trauma. It’s very much like living inside a film, with the tense game of wills played out between the criminals and the family feeling like being trapped in a room with a bunch of Max Cadys.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Steam

The Closing Shift

Want to double down on the claustrophobic sense of powerlessness Max Cady inflicts on the Powells? The Closing Shift is just the ticket. You play as a young woman working the night shift at a coffee shop. As you fend off weird customers and evil bosses, you get the unsettling feeling that all the little things going wrong around you aren’t an accident. As the night falls and the store empties out, that sense of being stalked and being in danger from an unseen enemy grows, giving you all the dread and terror you’re seeking.

Platforms: Steam

Life Eater

Maybe you want to be Max Cady—at least in a game. Life Eater gives you that opportunity, as you play as a murderer who believes he must kill in order to prevent the apocalypse. You must surveil your potential victims and make intricate plans to abduct and dispatch them, even as you slowly lose your mind due to the guilt and stress of your activities. It’s an unsettling game experience and certainly not for everyone, but if you want a sense of how much work would go into being a sociopathic killer, this game will give it to you.

Platforms: Steam

The best podcasts like Cape Fear

Whether you want a deep dive into the production and story or a similar narrative experience, podcasts have you covered. Here are some of the best choices for fans of Cape Fear.

The Prestige TV Podcast

The Prestige TV Podcast
Credit: Podcast logo

If you’re looking for a podcast that recaps Cape Fear episode-by-episode while delivering a high-energy, entertaining experience all its own, check out The Prestige TV Podcast’s coverage. Hosts Rob and Jo bring the perfect attitude—they love Cape Fear without denying that it’s gloriously over-the-top and trashy in many ways. The result is an insightful conversation that doesn’t hesitate to highlight the more ridiculous aspects of the story.

Unbinged

Unbinged podcast
Credit: POdcast logo

Another terrific recap and discussion podcast, Unbinged hosts Alfredo, Sam, and Kopf really dig into the show as fans, offering up their own theories, observations, and background information. As a result, the conversation evolves with each episode as theories are proved wrong and plot twists take them by surprise. It’s like hanging out with a few smart friends while watching the show, making it a perfect companion.

Unlicensed

Unlicensed podcast
Credit: Podcast logo

From the folks who gave us Welcome to Night Vale comes Unlicensed, a noir-detective story starring Luisa Strus as brilliant-but-damaged detective Lou Rosen and Molly Quinn as Molly Hatch, who plays Watson to Rosen’s Holmes. The story slowly builds to similar levels of tension as Lou and Molly take on a brilliant and manipulative adversary, bringing the same kind of psychological terror that Max Cady provides in the show.

The Stalker

The Stalker
Credit: Podcast logo

For a true-crime podcast that goes in absolutely unexpected directions, check out The Stalker series from Javier Leiva. It’s the true story of a couple (Rick and Tanya Fernandez) who contacted the police, claiming they were being terrorized and stalked. The real story, which unfolds more or less in real time on the podcast, is a lot more complicated, demented, and terrifying. If you want the general vibe of Max Cady and Cape Fear in your ears, this is the way.

Cold

Cold podcast
Credit: Podcast logo

Craving a real-life exploration of sociopaths? Cold explores the December 2009 disappearance of Susan Powell. The picture-perfect image of her life with her two children and husband Josh is slowly eroded as Josh, his father, and his brother are revealed to be controlling people to various degrees, and it becomes clear that Susan wasn’t safe with her own family. It’s a disturbing story of manipulation, stalking, and violence that slowly ratchets up the sense of dread as it moves toward a shocking ending that fans of Cape Fear will definitely find compelling.

The Top 10 TV Shows of the Year so Far, According to Streaming Data

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15 July 2026 at 13:00
By: Stephen Johnson

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If there's one word that sums up the streaming habits of Americans in the first six months of 2026, it's "variety." We're bouncing wildly between the heavy drama of HBO's The Pitt and the junk food TV perfection of Love Island USA, and hitting all kinds of stops along the way. They always said the United States was a melting pot, and so it is—at least on TV. Here are the top 10 most-streamed series of the last six months and where you can watch them, according to JustWatch.

Euphoria

When it premiered in 2019, Euphoria turned heads for its stylish, nothing-held-back look into the lives of modern teenagers. Now in its third season, the show has undergone a major time jump to follow the characters into adulthood. Zendaya's Rue is still the heart of the show, and original cast members Sydney Sweeney (Cassie), Jacob Elordi (Nate), Hunter Schafer (Jules), Alexa Demie (Maddy), and Maude Apatow (Lexi) are all back. Sharon Stone has been added to the cast as an imposing TV showrunner, adding a meta layer to this always provocative show. Stream Euphoria on HBO Max.

Stranger Things

The much-anticipated final season of Netflix's mega-hit series pulled in huge streaming numbers with a super-sized dose of teenage sci-fi. Season five sees the Hawkins crew back together for an epic showdown against Vecna and the malevolent forces of the Upside Down. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer pulled out all the stops, delivering a nostalgia-addled, tear-jerking conclusion to the story of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Hopper (David Harbour), and the rest of the gang. It's a satisfying wrap-up to one of the biggest shows of the decade. Stream Stranger Things on Netflix.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Based on George R.R. Martin's novellas and set in the Game of Thrones universe, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms ditches the epic scope of GoT in favor of the smaller, more personal story of Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey), a good-natured but naive "hedge-knight" of no importance or renown in the grand scheme of Westeros. Dexter Sol Ansell plays his diminutive, bald-headed squire Egg, who just might be connected to one of the ruling clans of the land. Stream A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO Max.

The Rookie

Nathan Fillion's megawatt charm anchors this enduring cop show, which has evolved its gimmicky, quirky premise into a reliable and beloved police procedural. Fillion plays John Nolan, who started as the LAPD's oldest rookie and is now a seasoned training officer. The series balances high-stakes criminal action in Los Angeles with genuine humor and heart, thanks to the performances of Fillion and cast mates Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford, and Angela Lopez. If you're looking for a highly bingeable procedural that doesn't take itself too seriously but still delivers solid thrills, this is your go-to. Stream The Rookie on Hulu.

The Pitt

HBO's gritty, hyper-realistic medical drama has earned acclaim from critics and audiences for its well-drawn characters and relentless pace. Starring Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael Robinavitch, The Pitt ditches the "disease of the week" format of many medical shows in favor of a study of the toll the modern medical system places on everyone involved—all in the course of a single 15-hour shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Season one earned five Emmy awards, and judging from its whopping 25 nominations this year, season two might win more. Stream The Pitt on HBO Max.

The Boys

Prime Video's unapologetically brutal superhero satire is going out with a huge bang. As Season 5 begins, Vought International is poised for a total political takeover, and Billy Butcher, leader of "The Boys," is ready to go full scorched Earth to end the superhero menace once and for all. The performances of The Boys' ensemble cast—including Jack Quaid (Hughie), Erin Moriarty (Starlight), Laz Alonso (Mother's Milk), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), and Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko)—ground the show's absurdity with genuine emotional stakes. Stream The Boys on Prime Video.

From

The residents of the unnamed town at the center of From just cannot catch a break. If it's not worms crawling around under their skin, it's the mysterious Man in Yellow stealing people's souls. Season four of this mystery-heavy show from the creator of Lost sees the survivors pushed to their limits as the veil between the strange town and the real world gets thinner. Stream FROM on MGM+.

Widow's Bay

This series from Apple TV has won nearly unanimous praise from both critics and audiences. It's a rare horror-comedy that manages to be genuinely scary and really funny. In the island town of Widow's Bay, literally everything is haunted, cursed, and otherwise beset with unspeakable evil, but mayor Tom Loftis, played by Matthew Rhys, wants to bring tourism to the island. Mayor Tom is so married to his vision of Widow's Bay as the next Martha's Vineyard, he ignores the sea hags, fog monsters, and serial-killer-ghosts surrounding him. The great Stephen Root plays Wyck, an old-timer who's always there to remind everyone that time is short and everyone is doomed. Stream Widow's Bay on Apple TV+.

Love Island USA

Prestige TV isn't the only TV; there's room for trashy reality too, and Love Island USA is a full meal of junk food. Hosted by Ariana Madix, this reality dating show delivers a steady stream of bombshell arrivals, messy betrayals, and unexpected romance. There's a reason Love Island has broken streaming records and sparked endless online chatter. If you're looking for a summer binge, you found it. Stream Love Island USA on Peacock.

Off Campus

Ice hockey players are having a moment—first in the breakout series Heated Rivalry, and now in Off Campus. This college-set soap opera is based on the bestselling book series from Elle Kennedy. Set at the fictional Briar Academy, Off Campus details the heartbreak, romance, and drama between top college ice hockey players and the women who love them. Season one follows the opposites-attract romance between Hannah (Ella Bright), a sarcastic music major, and Garret (Belmont Cameli), the arrogant captain of Briar U's hockey squad. Stream Off Campus on Prime Video.

The Top 10 Movies of the Year so Far, According to Streaming Data

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14 July 2026 at 19:30
By: Stephen Johnson

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We've officially crossed the halfway point of 2026, and people have spent the six months of the year streaming some amazing movies. The ten films below—the most-streamed flicks in the first half of the year, according to data from JustWatch—are a goldmine of cinematic variety, running the gamut from the epic popcorn sci-fi adventure Project Hail Mary, to Sam Raimi's unhinged survival thriller Send Help, to the gritty political action flick One Battle After Another. If you're looking for a guaranteed banger for your next movie night, you can't go wrong with any of the selections below.

Project Hail Mary (2026)

In this crowd-pleasing sci-fi movie, Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher who is blasted into the firmament in a last-ditch effort to save the world. Grace is the only person on Earth who might know how to protect the sun from a cosmic infection that threatens all life (just go with it), but he's definitely not an astronaut and doesn't see himself as a hero either. Will he rise to the occasion and learn something about his inner strength and resilience while saving us all from death? My money is on, "yeah, probably." Project Hail Mary is streaming on Prime Video, MGM+, Fubo, and Roku.

The Housemaid (2025)

Director Paul Feig's The Housemaid is a psychological thriller equally influenced by steamy suburban potboilers like Gone Girl and suspense classics like Vertigo. Based on Freida McFadden’s 2022 novel, The Housemaid has a classic setup: Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman with a secret past, lands a job as a live-in housemaid for wealthy couple Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar). Millie soon discovers that the nice couple who hired her is hiding very dangerous secrets. Great for fans of rising tension and killer plot twists. The Housemaid is streaming on Starz and Fubo.

Send Help (2026)

Horror-master Sam Raimi is the perfect director for this violent, unhinged, darkly funny thriller. Send Help stars Rachel McAdams as Linda, a dorky cubicle drone in an office full of well-dressed sharks. Her boss is Bradley (Dylan O’Brien), a nepo-baby executive with unlimited funds and no compassion. The pair end up stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. It turns out Bradley's skill at belittling people is no help in the jungle, but Linda is something of a survivalist. She might also be insane. It's a perfect set-up for a twisty plot that ends in a bloody showdown. All thumbs up! Send Help is streaming on Hulu and Disney+.

Marty Supreme (2025)

Loosely based on the real life of ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Marty Supreme is a fast-paced sports drama set in the world of professional table tennis in the 1950s. Oscar-nominee Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a brash ping-pong prodigy who can't get out of his own way. Gwyneth Paltrow costars as Kay Stone, a wealthy woman who becomes entangled in Marty's world. Marty Supreme has to be the most successful movie about ping-pong in history (save maybe Forrest Gump), earning nine Academy Award nominations and a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Stream Marty Supreme on HBO Max.

One Battle After Another (2025)

Paul Thomas Anderson's nuanced, intelligent thriller about resistance and racial tension in a fascistic, anti-immigration vision of the United States seems ripped from the headlines, but it's not a documentary. Featuring fantastic performances from heavyweights like Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Regina Hall, One Battle After Another is that rare movie that's equal parts thoughtful and exciting. It was nominated for 13 Oscars and won six of them, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Penn. Stream one Battle After Another on HBO Max.

Bugonia (2025)

I love it when a weirdo movie finds a big audience, and Bugonia is one of those movies. Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play a couple of societal dregs who kidnap a high-powered pharmaceutical executive (Emma Stone) because they think she's an alien. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, who helmed 2023's excellent Poor Things, the Best Picture Oscar nominee is a must-watch, even if you're only a little weird. (And if you want more weirdness, it's based on an even odder South Korean film called Save the Green Planet.) Stream Bugonia on Netflix.

Hamnet (2025)

Good job having elevated taste, America: Hamnet is a lyrical, high-minded historical drama that reimagines the family life of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway. Set in Stratford-upon-Avon in the 16th century, Hamnet explores the couple's grief following the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, and its influence on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, but it only took home one: Jessie Buckley won Best Actress. Stream Hamnet on Netflix.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die (2026)

Legendary director Gore Verbinski (The Ring, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) is back with a satirical, gleefully maximalist science fiction comedy that takes on AI, social media addiction, VR, and the modern world itself. Sam Rockwell plays a man from the future who shows up in an L.A. diner demanding that customers help him save the future from an artificial intelligence that is about to be born. Being a time traveler, Rockwell has tried this many times before, and has always failed, but this time, it's going to be different—or everyone is going to die again. Part Terminator, part Black Mirror, Don't Die is a throw-everything-at-the-wall movie that goes so far over the top, you'll be forced to submit to its weird logic and style out of sheer exhaustion. Stream Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die on Hulu.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

James Cameron’s third foray into the world of Pandora proves that you should never bet against epic spectacle. Avatar: Fire and Ash continues the saga of Jake Sully and Neytiri as they battle both the hostile Ash People and the even more hostile Earth colonists. Packed with jaw-dropping visual effects that earned a 2026 Academy Award, this sci-fi adventure grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide, making it one of the biggest hits of the year. If you didn't catch the visual spectacle on the big screen, or you just want to take another trip to Pandora, it’s now available to stream from the comfort of your couch. (If you need a refresher on all things Avatar, check out our deep dive into the franchise.) Stream Avatar: Fire and Ash on Disney+.

The Secret Agent (2025)

This Brazilian neo-noir political thriller is set in the late 1970s, at the end of Brazil's military dictatorship. Wagner Moura stars as Armando Solimões, a former professor who has been classified as an enemy of the state and forced into hiding. Although it didn't win any Academy Awards, The Secret Agent was nominated for four, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Moura), Best International Film, and Best Casting. It has a nearly perfect 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Stream The Secret Agent on Hulu.

'Claude Reflect' Is Like Spotify Wrapped for Your AI Chat History

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14 July 2026 at 13:30
By: David Nield

We're now well used to AI companies pushing out model upgrades and new features, but one of the most recent updates to Claude added something more unusual: a Reflect tool that looks back on how you've been using the AI bot.

Anthropic says Claude Reflect has been introduced to answer questions like, how often should someone use AI? How can it be used most effectively? When is AI suited to a task, and when is it better left to a human? And also, perhaps, are you letting AI do too much of your thinking for you?

In practice it works a little bit like Spotify Wrapped, rounding up your activity in the app over the past month, three months, six months, or year. And it turns out that its summaries are mostly fair and insightful, based on my testing.

Reflect is available now inside the Claude apps for Free, Pro, and Max users, though Anthropic is labeling it as a beta feature for now.

Getting started with Claude Reflect

Claude Reflect
Claude will summarize your recent AI chats. Credit: Lifehacker

Before you can use Claude Reflect you need to have the Memory feature enabled: On the web, click your profile icon (bottom left), then Settings > Capabilities. In the mobile apps, tap the menu button (top left), then your profile icon, then Capabilities. If the Search and reference chats toggle switch is enabled, you're good to go.

When you're ready to do some reflecting, you need to be in the web or desktop apps. Click your profile icon (bottom left), then Settings, then Reflect. A summary will be automatically generated for your last month of usage, by default, but you can change the time period via the drop-down menu in the top right corner (click the circular refresh arrow icon to load a new summary).

I must admit up front that I tend to regularly delete my Claude chats as I go—I don't like leaving a long digital trail behind me for a variety of privacy and security reasons—so I can't tell you what it's like to have Claude dig through months and months of conversations. It may be that digging into bigger datasets get you different results.

What I can tell you is that Claude's review of my last month of AI use was still interesting: It correctly identified that I spend a lot of time working on little web apps and widgets that can help with my work, and of course experimenting with Claude's capabilities (also for work purposes, most of the time).

However, it does ignore your most recent conversations, depending on the calendar: If you're half way through July, your "past month" summary will only run up to the end of June, so only whole months are counted in the summary. It also seems to ignore shorter, one-off chats in favor of bigger trends.

Digging deeper into the data

Claude Reflect
The summary splits your AI usage up into categories. Credit: Lifehacker

Your reflection starts with a summary and a chart showing daily activity, but if you scroll down there's more to explore. Claude will break down your time into categories that you spend time on (like a New Tab extension for Chrome in my case), and assess your AI fluency skills too—basically, how good a prompter you are.

I scored highly in terms of "delegation" to the chatbot and "discernment" in terms of assessing the AI output, but apparently my "description" skills could use some work. Claude pointed out an occasion where I could've been more precise with a prompt, and gave me an example of how I could've refined it.

I'm not sure anything I read in Claude Reflect is going to change how I use the AI, but I think it's worth dipping into every now and again just as a self-audit. In the same way Spotify Wrapped can reveal that you're listening to far too much '90s pop, Reflect can help reassess your AI boundaries—particularly for heavy users.

I did find some of the summarizing to be a bit too polished: It's typical of AI bots like Claude to want to write a flowing narrative that can be tied off neatly, rather than a more awkward report that's more accurate, and this is evident again here. On the whole, though, it seemed to give me fair assessments.

If you do feel your Claude use has got out of hand, the Reflect summary includes a Set quiet hours and breaks link that leads to the Time and focus section of the app settings: From here you can set screen time limits for yourself with the AI, and have it remind you to take a break from prompting every so often.

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