11 of the best films to watch in April

S2

11 of the best films to watch in April A decade after Ben Affleck's Argo was pronounced best picture at the Oscars, and seven years on from the release of his gangster saga, Live By Night, Affleck has finally directed another film... and it's about a shoe. But not just any shoe. Written by Alex Convery, Air is the Moneyball-style story of how Nike changed the world of sportswear in the 1980s with the creation of the Air Jordan sneaker. Affleck plays the company's boss, Phil Knight, while Matt Damon stars as Sonny Vaccaro, an executive who persuades Knight to spend his entire basketball marketing budget on one young, untested player, Michael Jordan. Now all he has to do is persuade Jordan's mother, played by Viola Davis, to go along with the deal. "Sports movies that concentrate on the actual playing of the game are pointing the camera the wrong way," says Richard Whittaker at the Austin Chronicle. "The back office is where the real action is... As always, Affleck remains one of the directors who can disguise a powerful parable as giddy, crowd-pleasing entertainment."Makoto Shinkai has been hailed as the new Hayao Miyazaki, meaning that his painterly science-fiction cartoons, such as Your Name and Weathering with You, bear comparison with the masterpieces made by Studio Ghibli's legendary co-founder. Shinkai's latest mind-bending anime epic features a teenage girl who discovers a portal to another world where a monstrous alien force is lurking. It's up to her to save the universe, with the help of a magical cat, and a boy who's been turned into a walking, talking chair. "It is an absorbing, intriguing, bewildering work," says Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian, "often spectacular and beautiful, like a sci-fi supernatural disaster movie or an essay on nature and politics, but shot through with distinctive elements of fey and whimsical comedy." Continued here

S3

Gwyneth Paltrow verdict: Why she divides, and fascinates Before conscious uncoupling, her wellness brand Goop, or a child named Apple – never mind the public hoopla of a court case which naturally had to involve the most privileged of rich-person-accidents, a skiing collision – Gwyneth Paltrow was just a plain old movie star. There was a time in which Paltrow was simply an Academy Award winner for Shakespeare in Love, a willowy blonde of the 90s A-list, who cultivated an image off and on-screen, via characters like the heroine in 1996's Jane Austen adaptation Emma and Amalfi coast ex-pat Marge in 1999's The Talented Mr Ripley, as a chic social butterfly with charm to spare.But back here in 2023, Paltrow has morphed far beyond the frankly-quaint designation of mere "movie star": over the last couple of weeks, somehow, she's also been the star of her own mini-theatre of celebrity ridiculousness via an avidly-watched, sensation-causing trial. Continued here

�

S5

View from The Hill: the Liberals talk about 'rebuilding' but how, exactly? Peter Dutton and his demoralised team, shocked beyond belief by their Aston drubbing, say the party has to “rebuild”. Ideally, the party needs a leader who potentially has appeal when, as will inevitably happen at some point, the gloss goes off the government. Continued here

S15

Far from the 'ludicrously capacious': what the fashion of Succession tells us about the show - and about society Imagine if the person you’re dating invites you to their great-uncle’s birthday party. This is not just any family gathering. The great-uncle in question is a billionaire and the party is at their New York City penthouse. To fit in, you wear your best dress and carry your most expensive handbag – a large, four-figure Burberry tote. Unbeknown to you, your Burberry tote is a major fashion faux pas. It immediately distinguishes you as someone who is not part of this super elite. It is not the price tag or brand that has betrayed you: it’s the size of the bag. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S11

Best time to play Tim Hortons' Roll up to Win? The middle of the night dramatically increases your odds Tim Hortons’ iconic Roll up the Rim contest began in 1985 and went largely unaltered for 25 years. The format was simple: buy a coffee, roll up the rim of the paper cup and see if you’ve won a prize. But this all changed in 2020.Amid the emergence of a global pandemic, the game went digital. Buying Tim Hortons products still earned you entries to the contest, but these were now stored on the company’s loyalty app. It was then up to you when to play these so-called “digital rolls.” Because players no longer roll up an actual coffee cup rim, the contest is now called Roll up to Win. Continued here

S8

Renters have stepped up efforts to address the housing crisis -- it's time for property managers to do the same Three years ago, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I published an article on what it means to prioritize needs over wants in times of economic crisis. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows that the most fundamental needs are physiological and required for survival. These needs include health, food, water and shelter. On the other hand, wants are non-essentials, such as fashion items, travel, entertainment and gourmet food. Continued here

S9

How a Canadian judge erred in ordering the repatriation of suspected ISIS members Visiting scholar, uOttawa Faculty of Law; Doctoral candidate lecturer, Cornell Law School, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa In a January 2023 Federal Court decision, the government of Canada was ordered to request repatriation of four suspected ISIS members currently being held in Syria. Continued here

S10

In Canada's two-tiered mental health system, access to care is especially challenging in rural areas Rural Canadians face mental health concerns to the same degree as their urban counterparts, but rural communities have less access to psychologists, and that access may be eroding. Psychologists can be found in the public system (for example, schools, hospitals, public health offices), but increasingly are choosing to work in private practice, in fee-for-service clinics. Despite increasing discussion about investment into accessing mental health services, as trainers of psychologists, we are observing fewer psychologist positions and reduced focus on retaining psychologists within the public mental health system in Canada. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S4

The rise of the minimalist wardrobe "Since Christmas, I've been to four weddings", writes a user of online forum Mumsnet. "I wore the same outfit to three... My cousin [said] I was disrespectful, that... it was rude and that if I didn't want to go I should have declined the invitation rather than turn up inappropriately dressed. [Have I] made a massive faux pas?""[I joined a] challenge, where people wear the [same] dress 100 days in a row," says another chat site user, this time on work advice site Ask a Manager. "I was called into my boss's office and he... said he had to talk to me about how I presented myself at work... Can I really get in trouble for continuing to wear my dress every day?" Continued here

S6

Super has become a taxpayer-funded inheritance scheme for the rich. Here's how to fix it - and save billions Australia’s A$3.3 trillion superannuation system is supposed to boost people’s retirement incomes. The government says as much in its proposed leglislated objective for superannuation. The system is supported by billions of dollars of tax breaks each year, ostensibly to that end. Our new report, Super savings: Practical policies for fairer superannuation and a stronger budget, points out that without an overhaul, super tax breaks are set to do little more than boost the inheritances of Australians with well-off parents. Continued here

�

S16

NZ kids will be at school for just 8 days in April - but there are ways for parents to C.O.P.E. with the holiday juggle April is set to be a challenging month for New Zealand’s working parents. Their children will be in school for a total of eight days thanks to the timing of Easter, Anzac Day and the school holidays. But it doesn’t have to be all bad.Media coverage and parenting groups on social media have focused on parents’ concerns over what to do with children while trying to work. The catchphrase “8 for April” has taken off. Continued here

S21

Capitalising on climate anxiety: what you need to know about 'climate-washing' People are increasingly making choices about which products to buy and which service providers to use on climate change grounds. With concerns about climate change now affecting most Australians, businesses that promote climate-aligned practices and make emissions-reduction promises have a competitive advantage over those that don’t.But sometimes these claims fail to live up to reality. Climate-related greenwashing, or “climate-washing”, communicates a message that exaggerates or misrepresents climate credentials through advertising, branding, labelling or reporting. Continued here

�

S7

The war on Tigray wiped out decades of environmental progress: how to start again The Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia, used to be a model for land restoration in Africa. It won multiple awards and recognition. It all started in 1991 when the regional government of Tigray made a plan to stop forests from being depleted and land from being degraded. Part of the plan provided communities with 20 to 40 days of free labour every year to restore their land. Continued here

S20

What actually is a treaty? What could it mean for Indigenous people? This is the second article in our series explaining Voice, Treaty and Truth. Read the first article in the series here. The Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for Voice, Treaty and Truth. These aspirations are intended as a sequence of reforms, that advance towards a just settlement with First Peoples. Continued here

�

S31

'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Could Be Setting Up a Shocking Armorer Twist As a great Jedi once said: The times, they are a-changin’. In The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 5, the Children of the Watch take a surprising step. They decide to come out of the shadows and find a new home alongside the people of Nevarro. Even the ultra-orthodox Armorer seems open to change and sends Bo-Katan Kryze on a mission to reunite the fractured Mandalorian tribes. But something seems off.As the final scene of The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 5 reveals, Moff Gideon never made it to his New Republic trial. Instead, Captain Teva discovers that his transport ship was attacked and Gideon was freed. But by who? The only clue is a shard of beskar, a metal directly associated with the Mandalorian people. Continued here

S40

If You Have a GoPro, the 3-in-1 Volta Tripod Makes It Even Better GoPros are the go-to way to capture adventures. They’re portable, rugged, and record high-quality, stable video. Best of all, they have such a simple design with just power and record buttons.Sometimes though, you need a little more out of your GoPro. That’s where all of the company’s accessories come in, like tripods, mounts, and extra batteries. But the best piece of kit that GoPro sells is the Volta, a 3-in-1 tripod, battery grip, and external remote that expands any compatible GoPro from a regular action camera into an all-in-one vlogging and recording powerhouse. Continued here

�

S18

Victoria's gold rush ended in the 19th century. So why are people still finding so much gold? An amateur gold prospector in Victoria, Australia, recently discovered a gold nugget big enough to hold in two hands, worth around A$240,000. It was a lucky find, but he had chosen the right place to look.Central Victoria was home to one of the world’s great gold rushes in the 19th century, which was focused mainly on the “golden triangle” northwest of Melbourne. Continued here

S19

'I started walking the long way': many young women first experience street harassment in their school uniforms Can you remember the first time you were harassed in a public space? What comes to mind? Can you remember how old you were, or what you were doing? Perhaps this is not something you have personally experienced, although we know 87% of young Australian women have been harassed in public.We spoke to 47 adult women and LGBTQ+ people in our recent study on street-based and public harassment about their earliest memories of feeling sexualised, uncomfortable or unsafe on the street. Many mentioned they first experienced street harassment in their school uniforms. We heard variations of the phrase “it happened when I was in my school uniform” repeatedly from participants. Continued here

S14

1 in 5 South African households begs for food - the link between food insecurity and mental health Siphiwe Dlamini was previously funded by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Human Development.University of the Witwatersrand provides support as a hosting partner of The Conversation AFRICA. Continued here

S29

Liberals to meet on Voice, with Julian Leeser favouring campaign freedom for senior figures Opposition spokesman for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser has delivered a detailed critique of the government’s Voice proposal, ahead of Wednesday’s special Liberal Party meeting to determine its stand. Leeser, a long-time supporter of the Voice, also flagged he would like to see shadow ministers given the right to support either side at the referendum. Continued here

S24

A short history of doomed second harbour crossing proposals for Auckland - and a quicker, cheaper option New Zealand is a small country that suddenly has big ideas about public transportation projects for its largest city. In February, the physical work began for a partially tunnelled light rail line under the Auckland CBD that will eventually connect to the airport. The project could ultimately have a price tag nearing NZ$30 billion.Things went big again last week with the release of five options for a second harbour crossing. Four of the five will cost at least $20 billion and involve building another bridge and one or more tunnels for light rail and cars. Continued here

S22

Most people thinking about suicide don't tell anyone. Here's why and what we can do about it Dr David John Hallford is a board member for the Australian Clinical Psychology AssociationOur recently published study found under half of people tell anyone they’re thinking of suicide, making plans or had attempted suicide. Continued here

S43

These Free Tools Let You See the Earth From Space In Entirely New Ways If you want to track changes in the Amazon rainforest, see the full expanse of a hurricane, or figure out where people need help after a disaster, it’s much easier to do with the view from a satellite orbiting a few hundred miles above Earth.Traditionally, access to satellite data has been limited to researchers and professionals with expertise in remote sensing and image processing. However, the increasing availability of open-access data from government satellites such as Landsat and Sentinel, and free cloud-computing resources such as Amazon Web Services, Google Earth Engine, and Microsoft Planetary Computer, have made it possible for just about anyone to gain insight into environmental changes underway. Continued here

S17

Ever feel like your life is a performance? Everyone does - and a 1959 book explains roles, scripts and hiding backstage Shakespeare’s adage — “All the world’s a stage” — suggests human beings are conditioned to perform, and to possess an acute social awareness of how they appear in front of others. It resonates in the age of social media, where we’re all performing ourselves on our screens and watching each other’s performances play out. Increasingly, those screen performances are how we meet people, and how we form relationships: from online dating, to remote work, to staying in touch with family. Continued here

S32

'Secret Invasion' Could Fix 'Falcon and Winter Soldier's Biggest Failure Marvel Studios’ attempts to grapple with real-world issues haven’t always paid off. Captain America: Winter Soldier turned governmental oversight into an evil secret society — and it worked, resulting in one of the best Marvel movies ever. Then, there was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which mixed superhero antics with a half-baked refugee story that never really went anywhere. But now, the MCU has another chance to get it right, thanks to Nick Fury and Secret Invasion.A new article in Vanity Fair provides a detailed look at the upcoming Disney+ series along with some new details about the series. Among lots of interesting information, one revelation that stands out is the reason why the Skrulls have become Marvel antagonists in the first place. After all, when we first met them in Captain Marvel, the Skrulls were the good guys. So what happened? Continued here

S23

Major study reveals two-thirds of people who suffer childhood maltreatment suffer more than one kind The following story deals with reports of childhood maltreatment, including neglect and physical and sexual abuse.This week, we released results from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study. It is the first national survey of the population aged 16 years and older about their experiences of child maltreatment. It’s also the first study globally to examine combined exposure to all five specific domains of child maltreatment and associated family risk factors for multiple types of child maltreatment. Continued here

S13

With only low-fat Chinook on the menu, southern resident killer whales are going hungry The population of Canada’s southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea off British Columbia has been declining for over 30 years. My recently published paper found that food quality, not just quantity, matters when it comes to the health and survival of these whales. Continued here

S33

New Squishy 3D-Printing Method Could Make Brain Surgery Safer How do you make a complex 3D shape out of a liquid without ending up with a puddle or a slumping blob?A new 3D-printing technique using silicone can make accurate models of the blood vessels in your brain, enabling neurosurgeons to train with more realistic simulations before they operate, according to our recently published research. Continued here

S25

3 ways to help the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund revive manufacturing Australia’s federal parliament has approved a A$15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, intended to reverse the nation’s dwindling manufacturing sector. It is the “first step” in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s election promise “to revive our ability to make world-class products”.The fund will focus on investing in high-tech manufacturing. There are seven priority areas: Continued here

S49

The 3 Most Toxic Co-Workers or Employees and How to Handle Them, According to a Shark Tank Alum Entrepreneur, author, and former guest Shark Matt Higgins has seen these behaviors "over and over again." Continued here

S26

It's not easy, but history shows minority government has worked in NSW before. Here's what Chris Minns must do Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Although Labor has returned to power in NSW, it will be in a minority government, with probably 45 seats, two short of a majority, to the Coalition’s 36 (assuming the Liberal Party wins the seat of Ryde, where it is currently ahead as counting continues). Continued here

S42

We're Facing a Shortage of This Key Ingredient to Climate Resilience Spring is planting time for home gardeners, landscapers, and public works agencies across the United States. And there’s rising demand for native plants — species that are genetically adapted to the specific regions where they are used.Native plants have evolved with local climates and soil conditions. As a result, they generally require less maintenance, such as watering and fertilizing, after they become established, and they are harder than non-native species. Continued here

S28

Yunupi?u was a great clan leader, a great family man and very much loved. I wish Australian political leaders could have learned more from him Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Yunupiŋu’s family have given permission for his name and images to be used.Dr Yunupiŋu was a magnificent person and a magnificent leader. Most people in Australia who are aware of him know him as a ceremonial leader because of his towering presence leading ceremonies at the Garma Festival for so many years and, most importantly, at events that he himself curated in order to make representations to prime ministers and ministers of Australian governments. Continued here

S30

New wrist-worn device can quickly tell if you're having a heart attack - it could save many lives David C Gaze is affiliated with The Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine; The American Association of Clinical Chemistry; Royal College of Pathologists; Royal Society of Medicine; Pathological Society of Great Britain & Ireland; European Society of Pathology.Scientists have developed a wrist-worn device that could revolutionise treating heart attacks by speeding up diagnosis – without the need to draw blood (the current method). Continued here

S41

The 50 Cheapest, Easiest Home Upgrades That'll Save You So Much Money Don’t run away when you see the word upgrade because this list is completely free of pricey home decor pieces or way-too-expensive flooring. Instead, these super easy-to-use pieces prove that you can add a few budget-friendly upgrades around your home, and they’ll actually save you a ton of money.Because sometimes, not having to buy a new sofa or spend way too much money on your power bill feels like the best home upgrade ever — especially when they’re so easy to install or work into your routine. Continued here

S27

Australia's homicide rate is down over 50% from the 1990s, despite a small blip during COVID Australia’s homicide rate has continued its overall downward trajectory in the latest crime data released last week.In fact, in 2020-21, Australia recorded the second-lowest number of homicides since the Australian Institute of Criminology began compiling national statistics in 1989. Continued here

S34

20 Years Ago, a Great Sci-fi Series Produced a Polarizing Movie Both a fitting introduction and a fitting finale, the film takes a leisurely look at the hearts of our heroes.Shinichirō Watanabe caught lightning in a bottle with his beloved, anachronistic genre-mashup, Cowboy Bebop. Part space opera, part neo-noir Western, Cowboy Bebop introduced a fantastical, dystopian world inhabited by characters who remain unmoored to their realities, yearning for an impossible future while shouldering the weight of the past. But when Watanabe made Cowboy Bebop: The Movie as an extension of his acclaimed series, the meandering 2.5-hour adventure nestled between the events of episodes 22 and 23 was deemed forgettable compared to the timelessness of the original. Continued here

S44

'Secret Invasion' Trailer Reveals Emilia Clarke's Marvel Role -- and a Shocking Conspiracy After a long wait, Nick Fury is coming back to the MCU with an espionage story with otherworldly origin.Secret Invasion has been a long time coming. Despite being announced during a massive Disney Investor’s Day presentation back in 2020, we’re just now seeing the series on the horizon. The Disney+ series, the first of Marvel’s Phase 5, focuses on Nick Fury as he leads a fight to uncover a massive conspiracy to replace people with Skrull double agents. Continued here

S70

Labor's unexpected Aston win is body blow for Dutton The party has defied history - in the worst possible way. This is the first time in more than a century that a government has taken a seat off an opposition at a byelection. Both government and opposition expected a Liberal win, although they predicted a tight result. In the event Labor had a comfortable victory. Continued here

S36

'Yellowjackets' May Have Just Solved One of Its Biggest Mysteries At the end of the third episode of Yellowjackets’ first season, Natalie (Juliette Lewis) and Misty (Christina Ricci) find the body of Travis, Natalie’s decades-spanning love interest, hanging from the hook of a crane. The police believe that Travis’ death was the result of his own suicide, but Lewis’ adult Natalie isn’t convinced that’s what really happened. As a result, she spends most of Yellowjackets’ first season trying to uncover the truth surrounding not only Travis’ tragic fate but also a note he wrote just before he died that said “tell Nat she was right.” Continued here

S12

Ageism and the pandemic: How Canada continues to let older adults suffer and die from COVID-19 Three years into this pandemic, most Canadians have taken off their masks and many have stopped getting booster shots. However, COVID-19 is rising among the leading causes of death in Canada, reaching the No. 3 spot.This is the first time an infectious disease has pushed its way into the top five causes of death during the last 80 years or so of the antibiotic era. Continued here

S66

Stop Complaining About Your Colleagues Behind Their Backs Many of us believe that we’re above workplace gossip, and that we never engage in it.  But, if you’ve ever participated in a “confirmation expedition” — whereby you 1) ask a colleague to confirm their own negative or challenging experience with a third colleague who is not present, or 2) welcome a similar line of confirmation inquiry from another colleague about a third colleague who is not present, you are in fact engaging in gossip. By talking to anyone, everyone, or even one person about another colleague who isn’t there to hear the feedback, provide his or her perspective, and engage in joint problem solving, you are undermining the benefits of an open, honest relationship and a feedback-rich culture. To stop this kind of behavior, we have to first call gossip “gossip” to stop it in its tracks. Most people will step back at hearing a colleague say, “This sounds like gossip. Is that what you intended?” Then, pivot the conversation by asking, “How can I help you get a better outcome?” Only engage in coaching, brainstorming, and problem-solving conversations — not in problem-confirming expeditions. Continued here

S38

How The Billions of Creatures Inside Your Gut Can Boost Mental Health We know that the gut microbiome — the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that reside inside us — influences our mental state through a powerful connection known as the gut-brain axis. So the big question is: Can we positively influence the gut?Some scientists theorize that improving our gut health may offer new ways to improve mental health. While talk therapy, exercise, and medications can help boost mental health, some people don’t feel better even after trying these methods. Continued here

S35

This Company Is Betting on a "Fusion Reactor Designed in Hell" A Wisconsin-based startup wants to commercialize a weird nuclear fusion device called a stellarator.A Wisconsin-based startup called Type One Energy says it’s closed an over-subscribed $29 million financing round to launch its effort to commercialize a weird kind of nuclear fusion device known as a stellarator. Continued here

S37

How to See April's Stunning Pink Moon This Week April’s Pink Moon won’t actually be pink, but it will be a bright, spectacular sight. In the early morning hours of April 6, the golden orb will rise in the sky to welcome the start of Spring and several holidays that fall during the season.Guides like the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which has been published since the late 1700s, recorded traditional Moon names used by Native American tribes, as well as European settlers. Continued here

S62

The Unexpected Tenderness of 'Succession' The Roys of Succession tend to go out of their way to prove they’re not delicate people. They reject any opportunity to talk about their feelings. They’d rather drop f-bombs than share hugs and kisses. And they relish their daily boardroom showdowns: Reneging on deals, jousting in bidding wars, and tearing apart competitors is, for them, a way of life.So when the patriarch of the show’s central, fractured family stumbles over his words, something’s clearly gone wrong—or perhaps, finally, right. In the second episode of the HBO drama’s final season, Logan (played by Brian Cox) meets with Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) for the first time since he stopped them from taking over his company. But although much of the anger emanating from the younger Roys feels familiar, the summit is bizarre. For one thing, it takes place in a garishly lit karaoke room rather than a glass-walled office. For another, Logan is unusually hesitant and deferential. When his children press him to apologize, he does. When they ask for clarity, he appears to grant it. When he admonishes them, he accompanies his criticism with an admission of love. “Look,” he eventually concedes, “I just want to get us all together.” Continued here

S52

Zendure's Portable Power Station Is an Impressive Workhorse If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDIf you suffer from power outages, want to live off-grid, or need a way to store power from a solar panel array, a portable power station could be the answer. They can bring power anywhere you need in the home and out, from garages and backyards to building sites and camp sites. Since the grid is unprepared for the shift to renewable power, and our electricity demands and anxieties are soaring, high-capacity portable power stations are growing more popular. But Zendure's Superbase V6400 is the largest we have tested so far. Continued here

S51

How to Stop Programs From Loading When Windows Starts Up A lot of applications start up when you boot your Windows computer—probably more than you'd like. You can turn off some of these in Windows Settings under Apps > Startup, and others in the settings for that specific application. Not always, though: Some applications are stubborn.This is where Autoruns comes in. This free application is offered by Sysinternals, a subsidiary of Microsoft. It gives you a complete—and I do mean complete—list of everything that starts up when Windows boots. It also allows you to disable things from starting at boot. This is the tool you're looking for if there are a few stubborn programs you don't want to uninstall. Continued here

S46

13 Years Ago, 'Doctor Who' Rebooted Itself Again -- And Changed Sci-Fi Forever There’s a moment during David Tennant’s live announcement of his exit from Doctor Who, made via satellite video at Britain’s National Television Awards, when you can hear a woman scream “No!” over the sounds of shock and disbelief from the audience. That nameless woman unintentionally became the voice of countless fans devastated by the departure of the beloved actor, whose time on Doctor Who had turned him into a geek icon. But change is built into the DNA of Doctor Who, and it was inevitable that Tennant, like the nine actors before him, would leave the show. But at the risk of sounding dramatic, the stakes for this change were never higher.In 2010, when Tennant left the series, Doctor Who had only been back on the air for six years. The original series had died an ignominious death in the ’80s, reduced from a sci-fi staple to a punchline. The 2005 revival had its work cut out for it in making Doctor Who cool again, and with the dashing Tennant in the lead, it was on the cusp of doing so. It was in this charged environment that a then-unknown Matt Smith would be cast to replace him. With circumstances stacked against Smith and every fan prepared to hate him, he managed to deliver the best soft reboot of Doctor Who ever. Continued here

S68

Labor wins Aston byelection; NSW election and Trump polling updates Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne With 44% of enrolled voters counted in today’s Aston federal byelection, the ABC has Labor expected to win by 53.4-46.6 over the Liberals, a 6.3% swing to Labor from the 2022 general election. This includes ordinary election day votes only, no pre-polls or postals. Continued here

S45

Uncovering Gender-Affirming Care's Long and Complicated History In 1976, a woman from Roanoke, Virginia, named Rhoda received a prescription for two drugs: estrogen and progestin. Twelve months later, a local reporter noted Rhoda’s surprisingly soft skin and visible breasts. He wrote that the drugs had made her “so completely female.”Indeed, that was the point. The University of Virginia Medical Center in nearby Charlottesville had a clinic specifically for women like Rhoda. In fact, doctors there had been prescribing hormones and performing surgeries — what today we would call gender-affirming care — for years. Continued here

S64

Nikolai Vavilov and the Living Library of Resilience: The Story of the World's First Seed Bank and the Tragic Hero of Science Who Set Out to End Humanity's Suffering I spent large swaths of my childhood by my grandmother’s side in rural Bulgaria as she tended to her subsistence garden, tilling and planting, watering and weeding. Each August, we did something that felt to me like partaking of magic — we would choose the sweetest, most succulent tomatoes from the vine, cut them open, carefully extract the seeds, and lay them out on newspaper to dry, knowing that they would become next spring’s seedlings and, with nothing more than sunlight and water, next summer’s bright red orbs of delight. So it is that, year after year, my grandmother refined her tomatoes into a cornucopia of unparalleled sweetness and perfection. Last summer’s seeds are already growing as I write. This magic was made possible by a visionary of science who set out to save humanity and died for his values the year my grandmother turned nine.While the physicist Sergei Vavilov was presiding over Stalin’s Academy of Sciences and spearheading the Soviet atomic bomb project, his idealistic older brother was laboring at something of orthogonal impact on humanity — a way to end an elemental form of suffering that has haunted our species since its dawn. Continued here

S39

You Need to Play the Best Billiards Video Game Ever on Nintendo Switch ASAP Martin Scorcese’s 1986 movie The Color of Money has had a surprisingly deep influence on video games. The movie itself stars Tom Cruise and Paul Newman as pool hustlers at different stages in their lives. The movie itself is a sequel to Newman’s 1959 movie The Hustler, and the three men associated with the project made it the definition of cool. At one point, Tom Cruise shows up at a pool hall with a custom pool cue in a case. “What do you have in there?” asks someone. “Doom,” he responds. That scene was enough for programmer John Carmack, who named Doom in its honor.A more direct inspiration was Data East’s game Side Pocket. The game’s characters are tributes to Cruise and Newman’s characters from the movie, and the game itself was meant to capitalize on the uptick of interest in billiards that the movie created. It proved to be a reliably popular game that fused together a mixture of casual, sports, and puzzle gameplay. Its 1993 port to the SNES is available right now if you’ve subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, shows why. Continued here

S63

How to forgive yourself | Psyche Guides Finding it hard to move past a hurtful mistake? With these steps toward repair and renewal, you can do and feel betterAfter several months of therapy, Joe shared that he carried a burden he was hesitant to talk about. With some encouragement, he admitted that he had been treating his four-year-old daughter terribly. He described how typical events such as trying to get his daughter ready for daycare had triggered his anger, leading him to handle her roughly – like grabbing her arm or yelling at her. Joe shared other behaviours that he was ashamed of, such as losing his cool and just walking away while she was crying in the bathtub. Although he was often a supportive and loving father, Joe (whose name, along with some other details, have been altered here for anonymity) knew that these actions had hurt his daughter and his family. He wasn’t sure if – or how – he could forgive himself. Continued here

S69

Migrant deaths in Mexico put spotlight on US policy that shifted immigration enforcement south The fire-related deaths of at least 39 migrants in a detention facility in Ciudad Juarez, just across the U.S. border with Mexico, will likely be found to have had several contributing factors.There was the immediate cause of the blaze, the mattresses apparently set alight by desperate men in the center to protest their imminent deportation. And then there is the apparent role of guards, seen on video walking away from the blaze. Continued here

S47

How Smart People Can Stop Being Miserable Intelligence can make you happier, but only if you see it as more than a tool to get ahead.“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know,” an unnamed character casually remarks in Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Garden of Eden. You might say that this is a corollary of the much more famous “Ignorance is bliss.” Continued here

S50

Apple's VR Headset Is Likely Delayed It's April 1, which means there's no shortage of nearly unbelievable news out there. Here are some recent developments that actually happened. I swear, no foolin'.First, Apple has announced that its next WWDC event is set for June 5. The annual developer conference is a place for nerdy tech types to mingle, but also the setting for some of Apple's biggest announcements of the year. While it's never a guarantee exactly what Apple will announce, there's a healthy rumor mill that gives a pretty good idea of what's to come. If this WWDC is anything like the last dozen or so, expect to hear primarily about new software updates to Apple's mobile and desktop devices. Continued here

S48

Chick-fil-A Customers Were Upset Their Favorite Menu Item Was Leaving. The Company's Response Is a Lesson for Every Brand It's always worth listening to your customers. Continued here

S59

The 'Hogwarts Legacy' Boycott That Wasn't When Hogwarts Legacy was released in February, the verdict from video-game sites was close to unanimous: The latest spin-off from the Harry Potter series was a heartless mess, the product of a bigoted worldview, and playing it involved an uncomfortable act of moral compromise—or at least holding your nose and reassuring yourself that J. K. Rowling was not directly involved.The tech magazine Wired gave the game 1/10, and said its “real-world harms are impossible to ignore.” (These were left unspecified, but let’s presume the reviewer wasn’t talking about repetitive-strain injury from too many spell battles.) TheGamer declined to review the title at all, and suggested that readers should not play Hogwarts Legacy “if you care about your trans friends.” The British outlet Rock Paper Shotgun pointedly reviewed games by trans developers instead. The Mary Sue reported on an alleged fan boycott, in an article that began with the Potteresque incantation “Accio controversy!” Continued here

S65

Cope or Quit? Facing a Mid-Career Crisis Research shows that many people—even those with seemingly enviable careers—grow dissatisfied in their jobs in their mid-40s. They may regret past choices or feel stuck in a rut. But Kieran Setiya thinks the tools of his trade—philosophy—can help. He says sadness about the road not taken can be mitigated by attending to the people and pursuits that we cherish and wouldn’t have without our careers. He notes that we spend much of our work time solving problems and meeting needs, so we should engage in some feel-good activities (inside or outside the office). And he suggests focusing less on projects and more on process, to replace a “What’s next?” mindset with an appreciation for the present. Continued here

S55

Where are Americans born in each U.S. state? This viral map shows you at a glance “Rather pleased with this map,” said Erin when she tweeted it on February 2, 2022. This is quite the understatement: Her map went viral almost immediately. Why?Because the map is an infographic that does a stellar job of answering its own question: Where are Americans born? The graph packs a lot of info, yet it is easy to decipher and can be read in a variety of ways. Its colorful combination of structure and variation is also pleasing to the eye. Continued here

S56

A new AI lie detector can reveal its "inner thoughts" When Plato imagined the ideal society, over two millennia ago, he banned poets. “All poetical imitations are ruinous,” he writes in The Republic.Plato had in mind “imitative” poetry, by which he largely meant storytelling — language that attempts to craft a compelling facsimile of the world around us. “All these poetical individuals,” Plato writes, “beginning with Homer, are only imitators; they copy images of virtue and the like, but the truth they never reach.”  Continued here

S67

Europe's forgotten transalpine cuisine To make sügeli, a fresh shell-shaped pasta, chef Patrick Teisseire first takes a tiny round of dough, rolls it in flour, and with his thumb, presses it flat and slides it along a large circular wooden board. After pressing along the ridged board, a soft, contoured shell with seven fine pleats emerges. It's a finely-honed technique that Teisseire described as the "skill of sügeli". He repeats the process until his dough has disappeared, replaced by neat rows of pasta shells ready to be fed into a deep saucepan of boiling water.Composed of flour, water, salt and olive oil, sügeli is one of the main dishes of cucina bianca (white cuisine), the food of the pastoral transalpine communities in the high valleys of Piedmont, Liguria and the Alpes-Maritimes in what is today south-eastern France and north-western Italy. Named for the "colourless" nature of staple ingredients, such as flour, potatoes, leeks, turnips, dairy products and legumes, it's a cuisine that shares little resemblance to the bright reds, greens and yellows of the tomato, pepper and courgette-infused dishes of the coastal Mediterranean cuisine typically associated with the region. "An absence of colour doesn't mean an absence of taste, however," Teisseire was keen to emphasise as he expertly manipulated more sügeli shells from a new batch of dough in front of me. Continued here

S60

'Well, Is There Blood on the Street?' For decades, a myth about civil-rights lawyers has been spread by court decisions, legislative testimony, and popular culture. Courthouses, the story goes, are filled to the brim with plaintiffs’ attorneys desperate to make a dollar off someone else’s misery; ambulance chasers all too happy to file frivolous civil-rights cases and squeeze a few bucks out of a cash-strapped city that would otherwise spend the money on its community center or library.In fact, the opposite is true. The cities of the Great Migration—New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia—are home to small, tight-knit communities of experienced civil-rights lawyers. Yet few practice outside those urban areas, and they are in particularly short supply in the South. As a result, many people who have suffered clear constitutional violations can’t find a lawyer to take their case. And they are unlikely to want to go it alone. Winning is hard even when you have a lawyer; you’re almost certain to lose if you don’t. Continued here

S54

The Best Earplugs for Concerts, Bedtime, and Anytime If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDYou only get one pair of ears, so it’s a good idea to look after them—and a good set of earplugs can come in handy in all kinds of situations. A proper set is a much better solution for blocking out noise during the night than a pillow over the head and is more comfortable than headphones. What you’re looking for in earplugs really depends on what you want them to do. When you’re sleeping, for example, comfort is paramount. Plus, you need an indiscriminate approach to blocking out snores, traffic noise, or a car alarm down the street. Continued here

S53

7 Gaming Laptops That Pwned the Competition Choosing a gaming laptop is a lot like putting together a well-balanced adventuring party. You need to look at what you plan to use it for, what kinds of quests you'll tackle, and try to match its capabilities to your needs—without emptying your coin purse. To that end, weary traveler, we took it upon ourselves to source the latest and greatest gaming laptops from forges large and small. We gathered them in our keep and ran them through a variety of tests to sort the god-rolls from the vendor trash. Here they are, the best gaming laptops for every kind of player.Be sure to check out our picks for the Best Laptops, Gaming Mice, Keyboards, Headsets, Wireless Headsets, and our favorite PC Games (as well as how to build a game library for free.) Continued here

S57

Robots are performing Hindu rituals - will they replace worshippers? It isn’t just artists and teachers who are losing sleep over advances in automation and artificial intelligence. Robots are being brought into Hinduism’s holiest rituals – and not all worshippers are happy about it.In 2017, a technology firm in India introduced a robotic arm to perform “aarti,” a ritual in which a devotee offers an oil lamp to the deity to symbolize the removal of darkness. This particular robot was unveiled at the Ganpati festival, a yearly gathering of millions of people in which an icon of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, is taken out in a procession and immersed in the Mula-Mutha river in Pune in central India. Continued here

S58

Space archaeologists are charting humanity's furthest frontier Archaeologists have probed the cultures of people all over the Earth—so why not study a unique community that’s out of this world? One team is creating a first-of-its-kind archaeological record of life aboard the International Space Station. Continued here

S61

Road Rage Is Relevant Again. 'SNL' Just Proved It. A seemingly throwaway sketch set a scene that captured the age of social media: people, stuck in their cars, gesturing furiously at one another.Here’s one more piece of evidence that the ’90s have returned: Road rage is back in style. Stories of people who turned traffic frustrations into acts of violence were mainstays of that decade, rendered in news and in pop culture. A little bit true crime, a little bit morality tale, they captured the moment’s creeping suspicion that life was much less stable than it might have seemed. Continued here