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We may earn a commission from links on this page. I know I’m not the only person with exercise equipment an arm’s reach (or a short walk) from where they spend most of their day. And you can pop down to your home gym a couple times a day, is that better than doing a whole workout all at once? Or if not better, is it just as good? Sometimes it is! Let’s discuss the nuances. For purposes of argument, I’ll assume you’re trying to decide between two schedules: A traditional strength workout, where you warm up and then do four or five different exercises, with several sets of each. The whole thing might take you anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on what you’re doing and how much. The same exercises, but breaking them up—spending, say, 15 minutes on each piece of the workout and then returning to your regular workday. The benefits of spreading your workout throughout the dayWorking out for 15 minuted probably sounds a lot less intimidating than a whole workout, and that's likely the most obvious benefit to breaking up your workout. For people with busy or unpredictable schedules (say, someone with a taxing job, or parents with a new baby), it may be easier to find a few small chunks of time to exercise rather than to schedule in a full-length workout. Here are four reasons to consider splitting up your workout: Each mini-workout is less intimidating, since it will be over in a few minutes. It may be easier to fit short sessions between other obligations and activities. You'll get a few mental and physical breaks from your workday (which is healthy if you normally spend the day sitting at a desk). You may feel less fatigued at the start of each exercise, because you’ve had an hour or two of rest rather than a few minutes. The downsides of spreading your workout throughout the dayThose benefits sound great, but there are some pretty significant downsides to splitting up a workout, depending on what kind of workout you’re doing. Most people will probably conclude it’s not worth it for these five reasons: Instead of deciding once that it’s time to go work out, you'll have four or five opportunities during the day to tell yourself yes or no. Miss one of those, and you’ve only done, say, 75% of your workout. You'll approach each exercise cold, instead of still being warmed up from the previous one. Warmups aren’t always necessary, but they can help a lot to prepare you, especially for a good strength session. You probably won’t get to shower after each mini workout, meaning you might be sitting around in sweaty clothes. It can be nice to do a workout, clean up, and know that you’re done. You'll spend most of the day knowing that you have another workout coming up, rather than getting it over with early. Some workouts are designed so that each part follows from what’s before it—for example, activating or pre-exhausting a muscle in the first exercise of the day, and then going into the second exercise before you’ve fully recovered. Breaking up the workout can make it less effective or, ironically, encourage you to use more weight or work harder than you would have if you’d done everything in one block. Aside from that last point, which only applies to those workouts designed to work as a sequence, most of the reasons for choosing one option over the other come down to time management. Do you think you’ll be more likely or less likely to do four mini workouts than one big one? Are you OK with the tradeoffs—perhaps spending more total time warming up or cleaning up—if they mean you never have to dedicate your entire lunch break to exercise? That’s a decision only you can make. “Exercise snacks” can be an effective alternativeIf you can’t or won’t do a dedicated workout, maybe you can do an exercise “snack” every few hours. A lot of recent research has considered ways to get people to exercise more to improve their health. One study had older adults do a 10-minute, no-equipment workout twice a day. The exercises included standing up from a chair over and over, marching in place, and doing calf raises. At the end of four weeks, the subjects improved their score in a sit-to-stand test by an average 31%. Short workouts are definitely doing something, and are a hell of a lot better than nothing. Whether the same strategy works for more athletic people doing work with weights would require more specific study, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that it works. Mini workouts like “greasing the groove” can improve strengthThere’s another type of mini workout that has a lot of backing in the exercise world. So-called “greasing the groove” can help you get better at a specific exercise, like pull-ups. The name reportedly comes from kettlebell coach Pavel Tsatsouline, and the idea is that you pick an exercise to do multiple times a day, but never to failure. So if you can't do five pullups in a row, you might do one or two pullups every hour or so throughout the day. Many people have found this helped them get better at the exercise, likely for two main reasons. One is volume: two pullups an hour for six hours is 12 reps of pullups. Do that every day, and you’ll have done 60 reps during the work week, more than if you just did three sets of five pullups on two or three workout days. Each set might be easy, but they add up. The other advantage of greasing the groove is that it gives you a lot of practice at the movement you're working on. Strength exercises aren’t just about the size of your muscles; they also involve a skill component. Just as you can get better at playing the piano by practicing, you can also get better at an exercise by staying in practice. What happened when I tried splitting up my own workoutsThat's a lot of theory. How does this work in practice? I gave it a try myself, and I have two stories to share. First, I’ve been doing a grease-the-groove protocol with a kettlebell exercise for months now. Anytime I’m sitting at my desk and one of my wearable devices tells me I’ve been sitting too long, I get up and do a bent press (or two, or three) with my adjustable kettlebell. I add weight when it starts to feel too light, but I stick to a weight that feels nice and easy—more like practice than training. I swear my shoulders feel healthier, and I know I’ve gotten better at this particular exercise. A few months ago, 24 kilograms was a tough weight for me to bent press, so my daily bent presses were with 20 kilograms, one rep at a time. These days, I do 24 for an easy double, three times a day, no warmup required. Kettlebell Kings 12-32kg Adjustable Kettlebell Sets - Gym Weight Set for Exercises - Competition Style for Lift and Weight Training in Gym or at Home - 35mm Handle - Body Building Heavy-Duty Weights $241.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $241.99 at Amazon But while writing this article, I also decided to split up my usual workout to see what I thought of the approach. (My workout for the day included four main components that looked like they could be separated without ruining the intention of the workout.) I did the first exercise—five sets of heavy quarter squats with a barbell—while helping my son with his own workout in our garage gym. I did a set, changed weights, talked to him a bit, did another set, and so on. I was done with my mini workout long before he was done with his. A bit later, I did the next exercise, three sets of sit-ups. I didn’t even bother going down to the garage for that one, I just did them on the floor in my office. Later, I did my supersets of pull-ups and dips. This is a workout that I normally find pretty intimidating, because it can end up taking a while. (It involves eight sets of pull-ups and dips. I mean, come on.) But taking it on one piece at a time, it didn’t seem nearly so bad—I can handle eight sets of pull-ups and dips if I’m not doing another hard exercise right before and right after. That said, I did run into one of the problems noted above: I had to say “yes” to the workout four different times. And at the end of the day, I said “no” to the last part: a 15-minute circuit of core exercises. I had split everything up already, so what would it hurt to do the circuit the next morning? But today is "the next morning," and I still haven’t done it. I’ll get around to it later. Maybe. Probably. After today’s workout. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. You've probably heard of Oura's smart rings before, one of the best sleep and recovery trackers, but a new player entered the ring last summer: Samsung. It's the first time a big tech company has produced a smart ring, the Samsung Galaxy Ring. As the name implies, it's mostly geared to Samsung users, although any Android user can use it with some limitations. Right now, most sizes and colors of the Samsung Galaxy Ring are $279.99 (originally $399.99) after a $120 discount at checkout (some have the green checkmark under the listing price and others have a 30% discount), the lowest price it has reached since its recent release, according to price-tracking tools. Samsung Galaxy Ring ($120 discount at checkout) AI Smart Ring, Size First w/Sizing Kit, No App Subscription, Fitness Monitor, Sleep Tracker... $399.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Get Deal Get Deal $399.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Samsung's Galaxy Ring isn't a one-time gadget it threw at the wall to see if it would stick: it's a well-made health-monitoring product that is likely to have improved generations in the future. But as a first-generation smart ring, it's solid, according to PCMag's review, as long as you have a Samsung phone to get the most out of it. It is a solid health and sleep tracker, but the activity tracking is better left to smartwatches. The Galaxy Ring has a titanium finish with color options including gold, silver, and black. Like Oura rings, it’s a bit bulky compared to regular rings at 7 mm wide and 2.6 mm thick. Anyone wearing it can see their sleep, heart rate, and skin temperature, but Samsung users can control their phone’s camera or dismiss alarms by tapping their ring finger to their thumb twice in a row. The best part of the ring compared to the main competition, Oura rings, is that it's subscription-free. It also has a wireless charging case included and is IP68 water resistant so you can wash your hands or shower with it. The battery life will give you about six days of use and you can choose from a size five to 15. If your Android phone can run the Samsung Health app, it's compatible with the ring. If you want to access a feature called Energy Score, which gives you a score on your energy level based on sleep, diet, and activity, you'll need a Samsung phone. View the full article

There comes a point every winter when you have to rally together your arsenal of hot liquid meals. If you have enough recipes—all your hot soups, stews, stoups, and chunky sauces—they can get you through to spring. Much to the chagrin of my friends, I call this Hot Bean Season. One of my favorite meals that fits this category is my Dutch oven beans and sausage. It’s utterly simple, completely satisfying, and you need absolutely no fancy cooking skills to make it. The reason I come back to this meal again and again is because it uses the Screw It method of cooking—just dump everything in the pot. Well, the initial sausage searing is a must for flavor, but I consider that step part of the Screw It method because it allows me to skip the whole mise en place business: I use the sausages’ sear time to chop the other two ingredients. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann I like to make this recipe in a Dutch oven. (Don’t worry, you don’t need a Le Creuset, any of these cheaper ones will do perfectly.) This meal simmers for a little while, and the heavy cast iron of a Dutch oven keeps the low heat evenly distributed while the domed lid redistributes the moisture back into the sauce. That said, you could make this bangin’ beans and sausage in any heavy-bottomed pot or a big, wide skillet with a well-fitting lid. This dish makes me feel like I’m in a cozy tavern on a snowy mountain. That’s never happened to me, but I’m confident a meal like this would be available there. I use the entire can of cannellini beans, including the aquafaba. Don’t drain those beans, even if you elect to use a different variety like chickpeas or red beans. The viscous liquid is full of helpful proteins and starches that will thicken the sauce beautifully. That liquid will also help dissolve the fond that builds from your seared sausage and create a deeply savory sauce. Dump all of the ingredients over the seared sausage and let it simmer. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann In my opinion, this recipe serves two people with two sausages each, but feel free to double for a bigger group or use a little more of any ingredient to make it fit your style. A couple more potatoes won’t harm this dish. If you don’t like kale, replace it with raw spinach, chard, mustard greens, or collards. Easy Dutch Oven Beans and Sausage RecipeIngredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 4 sausage links 4 ribs of lacinato kale 2 red potatoes 1 clove garlic 1 can cannellini beans (liquid included) 1 cup chicken broth ½ teaspoon salt (adjustable according to your chicken broth) 1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy duty pot, sear the sausage links in the olive oil over medium heat. Rotate them once or twice while they cook. 2. Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. Roughly chop the kale, cut the potatoes into half-inch cubes, peel and smash the garlic clove. 3. Once the sausages have some color on two sides of each link, toss in all of the other ingredients. Give everything a poke to make sure it contacts the broth a bit. Cover it with a well-fitting lid and simmer over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir occasionally to scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan. 4. About five minutes before it’s finished, smash some of the beans with a wooden spoon to release some of the starches and thicken the sauce even more (if desired). Enjoy with a hunk of crusty bread. View the full article

Lock screens are a good way to protect your data, but thieves stealing your smartphone when it's unlocked (or after seeing your passcode), and then resetting everything in just a tap is still a real security risk. Apple deals with this vulnerability using its Stolen Device Protection feature, and now, in Android 15, Google has a similar feature called Identity Check. Identity Check ensures strangers out in public can't change your Android smartphone's account settings without first passing a secondary biometric authentication. First, you set up one or more trusted locations, like your home. Then, if someone outside of one of those locations has your phone and tries to access your passwords, change your PIN, or disable the Find My Device feature, they'll need to pass a biometric lock first. The feature is first rolling out on Pixel devices and any Samsung Galaxy device using One UI 7. But as is the case with most new Android features, it will slowly start to trickle out to other devices as well, as more manufactures update their own software. According to a Google blog, other manufactures will add support "later this year." Identity Check's protections are pretty robust, gating away settings like resetting your smartphone, changing the screen lock, creating a new fingerprint ID, disabling the Find My Device feature, adding a new Google account, accessing developer options, and accessing passwords and passkeys in the Password Manager. A major difference between Android's Identity Check and Apple's Stolen Device Protection is the time delay. Apple basically blocks you from changing any important setting while in an unknown location until you've waited for an hour first. Perhaps a tad too frustrating, but that hour can give someone enough time to remotely wipe your device. Android would perhaps do well to follow suit. For now, you'll have to enable Identity Check manually. Head over to Settings > Google account > All services > Theft Protection. Here, enable the Use Identity Check feature. Here, you can also click the Manage button to add trusted locations like your workspace or your home. Disabling the feature requires you to either authenticate using biometrics or by logging in to your Google account. Along with this update, Google is also rolling out its AI-powered Theft Detection Lock to all supported devices running Android 10 or higher (the feature was released last year for Pixel users). This feature detects when a smartphone is forcibly taken away from you, using data from the smartphones built-in sensors, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and more. You can enable it under Settings > Google account > All services > Theft protection > Theft Detection Lock. View the full article

We know that cars are better connected than ever before, which is great when you want to remember where you parked or start defrosting the vehicle windows while you're still in bed—but this modern tech comes with security and privacy concerns, as a new hack of Subaru cars and their Starlink software has shown. Security researchers Sam Curry and Shubham Shah explain in a blog post how they were able to remotely hack into the Starlink connected vehicle service run by Subaru. Specifically, they targeted software on Curry's mom's car, but the same platform operates across Subaru vehicles in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. With access to the driver's surname and their attached ZIP code, email address, phone number, or license plate, Curry and Shah were able to start, stop, lock, and unlock the Subaru, as well as retrieve its current location. In addition, they could view the collected location history for a whole year (right down to parking spots). The same hack gave access to personal information about the driver, including their address, their billing information (though not their full credit card number), and their emergency contact. Support call history, odometer readings, and previous owners of the motor could also be accessed. Curry and Shah managed to test out the access on a Subaru belonging to one of their friends, and it worked again—all without any kind of notification or alert to the car's driver that their vehicle was being accessed. All that was needed was a successful login to the Starlink portal and some basic driver information. The Subaru employee portal was targeted by the hack. Credit: Sam Curry While the Starlink login was protected with two-factor authentication and security questions, these security measures were applied in a bespoke way that the researchers were able to get around just by modifying the website code to ignore them. In other words, there was no need to enter a password. That's a huge amount of access to features and data from a relatively simple hack. The good news is that Curry and Shah reported the vulnerability to Subaru, and the vehicle maker patched it within 24 hours—this hack is no longer possible. However, all of this data remains accessible to Subaru employees, which raises more questions. Subaru and your dataThe original hack was done by logging into the Starlink terminal as a Subaru employee, via some detective work on LinkedIn and a little tweaking of website code. While this route of access has now been locked down, genuine Subaru staff can still get at all the information found by Curry and Shah, including the year's worth of location history. "The auto industry is unique in that an 18-year-old employee from Texas can query the billing information of a vehicle in California, and it won’t really set off any alarm bells," writes Curry. "It's part of their normal day-to-day job. The employees all have access to a ton of personal information, and the whole thing relies on trust." Subaru employees can see where you've been via Starlink. Credit: Sam Curry Subaru told Wired that its employees, "based on their job relevancy," can access location data—in the case of contacting first responders when a collision is detected, for example (though that hardly requires a year of data). Privacy, security, and NDA agreements are signed by these employees, Subaru says. You can read the Subaru privacy policies here and here. You'll notice there's a lot of data collected about you and your vehicle via Starlink, including where it starts and stops, vehicle speeds, and diagnostic information. Use a Subaru website or app, and you're allowing access to a whole new swath of data, including data collected by the microphones and cameras on your devices. Even worse, these policies apply to any passengers in a Subaru—Firefox developer Mozilla has a comprehensive breakdown here (note this includes Subaru's apps and website as well as Starlink). While Subaru promises not to sell your data to third-parties, and says it requires the information to improve support and detect criminal activity, it can target you with ads, communications, and promotions. The researchers were able to get at a lot of user data. Credit: Sam Curry There are steps you can take to limit some of this data collection. You can, of course, cancel your Starlink subscription, but then you miss out on features such as emergency assistance. You can also uninstall any Subaru-related apps from your phone, change your marketing preferences via the MySubaru portal, and fill out this form to put certain limits on data collection and sharing in specific states—though it's not clear which data the form covers or how long existing data will be retained for. Subaru isn't alone among car makers when it comes to security vulnerabilities and suspect privacy policies. However, it's another reminder that extra connectivity often comes with an extra cost in terms of user data—and that any decision about which car to buy next should probably come with a look at the manufacturer's data collection policies, too. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The LG C3 65-inch Evo OLED TV, featured in Lifehacker's Best Budget OLED TVs to Buy in 2025, is now available for $1,196.99, down from $1,499.99—its lowest price ever on Amazon, according to price trackers. LG C3 Series 65-Inch Class OLED TV $1,196.99 at Walmart $2,499.99 Save $1,303.00 Get Deal Get Deal $1,196.99 at Walmart $2,499.99 Save $1,303.00 Its OLED panel provides perfect black levels, an infinite contrast ratio, and near-flawless color accuracy. Whites and SDR colors are especially precise, with only minor deviations in reds and greens in HDR content. Plus, it supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, so if you stream a lot in 4K, you’ll see those details shine. That said, the lack of an ATSC 3.0 tuner might be a drawback if you rely on over-the-air 4K broadcasts. You can place the C3 Evo on its (included) metal stand or mount it on a wall for a cleaner look. Its ports—four HDMI 2.1 (all 4K120, with one eARC), three USBs, Ethernet, and more—are easy to reach on the left. LG’s WebOS runs its smart TV features and covers nearly all major streaming platforms (except Crunchyroll, as highlighted in this PCMag review). However, the WebOS' smart home hub features lean heavily toward LG ThinQ appliances, which might limit compatibility with your setup if your smart devices aren’t LG-branded or are from other non-compatible brands. The Magic Remote included with the LG C3 Evo has dedicated buttons for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Alexa, and other popular apps, making it easy to jump straight to your favorites. You’ll also find Apple AirPlay for easy streaming from your iOS devices and Alexa integration for hands-free voice commands. When it comes to gaming, with the Game Optimizer mode enabled and input lag reduction set to Boost, the TV achieves an impressively low input lag of under a millisecond. Add to that a 120Hz refresh rate, with variable refresh rate (VRR) support, plus AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility (though neither is formally certified), and you’ve got yourself a gaming powerhouse. If you’re debating alternatives, the Samsung S90C ($1,179) offers similar OLED quality and comes with the missing ATSC 3.0 tuner. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The hardest part of sticking to a workout routine may be starting, but the second-hardest part is figuring out what to do when it's time for another workout but you're still sore from the first one. Below, I'll share some tips for relieving that soreness—but, even more importantly, I'll tell you what not to do. Perhaps the most surprising thing: you probably shouldn't skip your next workout. Know what normal soreness feels likeBefore we discuss what to do, let's take a minute to understand how you're feeling right now, and why. It's not lactic acid (that's a myth), but rather a phenomenon known as DOMS, for "delayed onset muscle soreness." It's most likely to happen when you do something different than what you're used to. That might mean starting a new workout routine, but it can also happen to people who are already fit but try a new sport or even a slight change to their routine. DOMS can feel pretty brutal, but it's not serious. It doesn't mean your muscles are seriously damaged, and you're not going to injure yourself by ignoring it. Just to make sure we're on the same page, normal DOMS: Hurts the most when you wake up in the morning or when you've been sitting still for a while Feels better with movement Hurts when you use the muscle and when you stretch the muscle Usually starts the day after exercise (rather than the same day), and may last multiple days Is often at its worst two days after the exercise that caused it There are medical conditions that can also cause muscle soreness, so check with a doctor if you think there may be more going on than the usual DOMS situation. One condition worth keeping in mind is rhabdomyolysis, which is muscle damage that gets severe enough to cause muscle breakdown and kidney issues. Dark-colored urine (often described as "tea colored" or "cola colored") is a huge red flag—get to the emergency room if you notice this. I've written more here about the differences between normal soreness and the kind that needs medical attention. But most likely, you just have a normal case of DOMS. If that sounds right, let's talk about what to do about it. Do some active rest or gentle movementYou may not feel like moving at all, but it's worth fighting the urge to lie in bed. Once you get up and move around, the DOMS will start to fade, at least temporarily. Definitely do not cancel any plans for the day when you first wake up—that's the worst it's going to feel all day. So go for a walk. That's my go-to when I'm not feeling great. If you have access to a spin bike, moving your legs at low resistance tends to help relieve soreness. Cyclists will talk about "flushing" out their muscles with easy pedaling; whether that's scientifically accurate or not, it does seem to help. If you're into yoga, a day you're sore is a good time to do some gentle yoga; you can even look up recovery yoga for some videos to follow. Movement helps to relieve the pain of DOMS, but it doesn't necessarily make it fully go away—if you sit down to watch TV for a while, the soreness will be back when your show is over and you get up. The only thing that can make it go away is time, so you'll have to be patient. In the meantime, here are a few more things to try for temporary relief and to support your body as it naturally clears things up. Take a warm bath or visit the saunaHeat tends to make sore muscles feel better, so this is a great time to hit the sauna, if your gym has one. You can also use an electric heating pad like this one, or take a hot bath. Epsom salt baths are popular for sore muscles, but the minerals in the bathwater don't actually reach your muscles. Adding them to a bath can still make it smell nice (get the lavender scented kind) and can make it feel like you're doing something special for yourself, so use them if you enjoy them. Give yourself a massageGentle pressure can feel good on sore muscles, so consider treating yourself to a massage or asking someone to give you a back rub. A foam roller is a good way to give yourself some "self-myofascial release" (I'm convinced that's nothing but a fancy word for massage), or consider a massage gun. Eat well and sleep wellWhen you’re sore, it's good time to pay more attention to taking care of yourself. Anecdotally, I find sleep helps to deal with soreness: if I stay up late, I’m more likely to be sore the next day. Eating plenty of protein can’t hurt, either, since protein is important to building muscle. And carbs are important for recovery and fueling, so I wouldn't skimp on those either. What not to do when you're soreMyths abound, so I want to call out a few specific things that you're better off not doing. Intense stretching. Gentle movement is fine, but deep or painful stretches can cause muscle damage. Ice or cold plunges. This one is a bit controversial, but it may interfere with the healing process. Taking ibuprofen if you don't really need it. If you need a pain reliever to get through the day, it's fine to take one. But if you get into the habit of taking ibuprofen regularly—like after every workout—it can hinder your recovery. Don’t skip your workoutWhen you're feeling sore, you’re probably tempted to just stay home with some Netflix instead of taking your achy body back to the gym. But resting doesn't help much in the long run. Beating the soreness for good comes from getting used to exercise, and you’ll never get used to it if you have to take a week off every time you get the idea to start again. So go back to the gym, or head out for another run, or whatever is on your schedule for today. Make some effort to continue the schedule that you set up for yourself, whether that was a written program or a promise to yourself that you'd go to the gym a certain number of times per week. First, do your warmup, but ease into it gradually. If you planned to go for a run, start with a brisk walk and then see how an easy jog feels. If it's a lifting day, start with lighter weights than usual, and only add as much weight as you feel like you can handle today. Even if you can't manage your regular workout, you're still doing something, and that's buying you insurance against future soreness. You're also not going to get anywhere near as sore after today's workout as you did before. Scientists call this the repeated bout effect: each workout (each "bout" of training) protects against soreness from the next one. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Welcome to “Cookbook of the Week.” This is a series where I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While finding a particular recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has a magic all its own. Cookbooks don’t really teach you how to cook. Instead they offer a collection of recipes that you (hopefully) like. If you find one, though, with recipes that serve as inspiration for adapting and modifying to create even more new recipes—well, that’s a real gem. The cookbooks I find myself going back to time and again make a wee inspiration library. Sometimes I use their recipes, and sometimes I find a flavor combination or cooking method I’ll get excited to use later in the week. But it is rare that a cookbook breaks down how a chef thinks about recipe creation. This week I chose Kitchen Matrix for my cookbook of the week because it’s unlike any other cookbook I’ve seen before. It’s a cookbook with major lessons on how to cook. A bit about the bookThis book comes from Mark Bittman, a legendary food journalist and author (read more about him here). Although this cookbook isn’t new—it was published in 2015—the message is timeless: Cooking is an endless spectrum. A single recipe exists on a branch of an ingredient’s sprawling family tree. Ok, enough romance: let me explain. The pages of Kitchen Matrix are filled with recipes, yes, but directly following one recipe will be how to riff in three to 12 different ways. Essentially, how to make a whole new meal by swapping the main ingredient, or what you get when you change the cooking method from grilling to steaming. It reveals the connection between different dishes within a food set. For example, how only two or three ingredients separate minestrone from mushroom soup from tomato and garlic soup. The cooking method is the same; it’s a matter of swapping this for that. When you see it displayed in the clever way Bittman has arranged these sections, the art of cooking suddenly clicks into a clear science. Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix: More Than 700 Simple Recipes and Techniques to Mix and Match for Endless Possibilities: A Cookbook $28.09 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $35.00 Save $6.91 Shop Now Shop Now $28.09 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $35.00 Save $6.91 A great book for the confident cookJust because someone is a confident cook doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a good cookbook. Kitchen Matrix is more like Cooking 201 versus Cooking 101. It’s best for someone who already feels good about getting around the kitchen, using various cooking methods, trying out new flavors, and taking risks. There’s plenty of inspiration in this cookbook and a lot for the confident cook to get excited about. That said, many of the recipe spin-offs are written in what I’ll call a recipe shorthand, while other recipes are written out in a full version—with an ingredient list and steps underneath. For example, with the section “Corn +12 ways” you’ll get a short recipe equating to “Mix this, this, and this together. Cook it until browned.” Then two recipe variations underneath where only the swapped ingredients are indicated. Seasoned cooks will be able to connect the dots, while I think the missing information could be extremely confusing for many other home cooks. The recipes you can expect I like that many of the chapters are split up by main ingredients, like Meat, Vegetables, or Poultry and Eggs. Within each chapter will be a mini section dedicated to major popular items that fit in the section. For the Vegetable section you can flip to Salad Greens +12 Ways, Celery +16 Ways, or Vegan Entrees +10 Ways, among many others. This speaks to my nightly cooking habit of discovering I have six zucchini that are about to get weird, so I need a zucchini-centric meal STAT. I can simply flip to Zucchini +12 Ways and pick between raw, grilled, microwaved, or sautéed and have three recipes each at the ready. Even if I had more squash than one recipe required, at least I have 11 different choices for tomorrow’s meals. That’s support. It’s like un-creepy AI (if you can imagine). I feel like this cookbook has my back when I need it. My favorite feature of Kitchen Matrix is the Recipe Generator. There are a few of them throughout the book, and they’re double page visual diagrams of popular meals—like Sandwich Recipe Generator, Tartar Recipe Generator, Grain Salad, Eggs, Jam—and they show you the components that are involved along with options so you can create your own. Prof. Bittman wants you to learn to create your own recipes. As a former teacher witnessing beautiful diagrams, I wipe a single tear from my eye. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann The dish I made this weekI don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s winter and hell has frozen over. I’ve been in a soup mood. I flipped over to Soups and Stews, and landed on the Vegetable soups. I adore soups for all meals, and this section’s matrix consisted of Creamy, Brothy, Bean, and Vegetable. I can never turn down a creamy soup, so I turned my attention there. The main recipe was for a creamy spinach soup, and underneath it were the two variations: curried cauliflower, or squash and ginger. I chose curried cauliflower. The main recipe for spinach soup had simple directions. Basically, cook the garlic and onion in water, then add the spinach and yogurt before puréeing it all. The cauliflower soup instructed me to swap out a few ingredients: garlic for ginger, spinach for cauliflower, parsley for curry powder, and yogurt for coconut milk. I did just that, but using the same method from the spinach recipe. The soup was a golden-hued hug. Creamy without any cream, thick without being gloppy, and boosted with just enough spice to compliment the cauliflower’s natural flavors. It was a reminder that great soup can be drop-dead simple, and as a result, I know how to make 11 other simple soups. That’s enough to get me through the winter. How to buy itKitchen Matrix is available online, as an ebook (for a bargain), and keep in mind that you can support your local brick and mortar bookstores by asking them to order it to their location if they don’t have it in stock. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're looking for a new show to watch this week, I got your back. I've scoured the schedules of Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms to bring you the best and most notable shows streaming this week. The Traitors, season 3 From its top notch host Allan Cummings to its cast of hardcore reality show veterans, to its classy Scottish castle setting and stylish presentation, reality TV rarely rises to the heights of The Traitors. If you like conniving on a grand scale, and you didn't come here to make friends, check out The Traitors. Where to stream: Peacock SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night NBC's late night comedy juggernaut Saturday Night Live has been on the air for half a century and this four-part documentary series takes you backstage at SNL, from the writers' room to the executive suites to the talent's green room, to tell the story of how a tiny show no one cared about became a culture defining force. Packed with interviews with celebrities, cast members, producers, and writers, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is required viewing for anyone into comedy. Where to stream: Peacock Harlem, season 3 In season 3 of Harlem, the drama continues as four best friends in the city navigate career struggles, motherhood, singlehood, sisterhood, and more. Cast members Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson, and Shoniqua Shandai return, but there are some new faces too, including Kofi Siriboe who plays Seth, a handsome MLB player who catches one of the ladies’ attention. Starts streaming January 23. C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart This four-episode British series is based on the best-selling novels by J.K. Rowling, but there's not a wizard to be found. Instead, C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart offers the detective team of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, who are hired to investigate a murder involving the creator of a cult TV cartoon and an anonymous online troll called “Anomie.” The case reveals a complex web of online intrigue, shadowy business interests, and family conflicts that will test the limits of Strike and Robin's investigative skills and might cost them their lives. Starts streaming January 23. Last week's picksSeverance, season 2 I'm a little nervous for the new season of Severance. The first season's mix of pitch-black social commentary, ice-cold production design, and acting talent was so good, I'm afraid season two is going to disappoint, especially since I've been waiting for three years. So far, it looks promising: Rotten Tomatoes' critics are nearly universal in their praise, and the trailer looks phenomenal. Season 2 takes us deeper into the mysteries surrounding Lumon Industries, and deeper into the psyches of the people who work there, and the people who don't work there, who are the same people. Where to stream: Apple TV+ Goosebumps: The Vanishing This horror series stars Friends' David Schwimmer as Anthony, a divorced dad hosting his twin teenage children Devin and Cece for the summer at his Brooklyn home. Anthony only has one rule: Stay out of the basement—like that's going to happen. The mystery under their feet leads the twins and their friends to dark secrets connected to the disappearance of four teenagers in the 1990s and a supernatural entity of immense power. Where to stream: Max Harley Quinn, season 5 The fifth season of adult cartoon Harley Quinn sees the titular character, voiced by Kaley Cuoco, moving to Metropolis with her friend Poison Ivy, voiced by Lake Bell. The pair soon find that something serious is going down in Superman-town, and Quinn will meet up with Lex Luthor, his sister, Lena Luthor, Brainiac, and other comic book favorites in this irreverent take on the DC Universe. Harley Quinn has a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's definitely worth your time. Where to stream: Max An Update On Our Family All "family YouTubers" seem pretty weird, but the Stauffer family was next-level reprehensible. This three-part documentary series examines how Myka and James Stauffer built a small vlogging empire by presenting themselves and their children as a perfect family, but took it a step too far when they adopted a baby from China with severe neurological problems. They tried to turn two year-old Huxley into the centerpiece of their content, but he soon disappeared from the family channel and the family. Where to stream: Max View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Looking to settle in with a good movie? Me too. That's why I've pored over release schedules to bring you the best original and new-to-streaming movies you can watch on Netflix, Prime, Max, Hulu, and other streaming platforms this week. Late January is the perfect time to check out a sensitive character comedy like A Real Pain, and it's never a bad time to dig into the story of P. Diddy with a documentary like Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy. A Real Pain (2024) Written by, directed by, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain is a buddy comedy/road movie in which a pair of mismatched cousins tour through Poland to visit holocaust memorials. This plot would be a disaster in the wrong hands, but Eisenberg's sensitive directorial skills and amazing performances from both Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin elevate A Real Pain into a memorable, touching film you shouldn't miss. It more than earned its 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Where to stream: Hulu Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy takes viewers behind the music and behind the mugshot. Through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with the (probably former) friends and associates who knew him best, The Making of a Bad Boy explores Sean "Diddy" Combs' long journey from musical icon and hip hop impresario to nearly universally hated pariah and prisoner. Where to stream: Peacock Sleep (2023) Korean psychological thriller Sleep balances nuanced characters with a slow-burn ghost story about the world we inhabit while we dream. Jung Yu-mi and Lee Sun-kyun play Soo-jin and Hyun-su, a married couple with a baby on the way whose seemingly tranquil domestic lives are shattered when Hyun-su starts talking in his sleep, saying "Someone’s inside." Spooky! Where to stream: Hulu Last week's picksBack in Action In Back in Action, the star power is turned up past 11. This action-comedy stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz as CIA agents who left the undercover life to raise a family together. But when their cover is blown, these seemingly normal parents come out of retirement to kick ass, take names, and make jokes. It's been over a decade since Diaz has appeared in a feature, so expect something special. Where to stream: Netflix Unstoppable Jennifer Lopez anchors this inspiring story based on the real life of one-legged wrestler Anthony Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome. In Unstoppable, Lopez plays Anthony's mother Judy, one of those devoted movie moms who will not let her son give up on his dream of becoming a college wrestling champion, no matter how many sacrifices she has to make. Man, isn't the human spirit something? Where to stream: Prime A Different Man (2024) If you like your comedy pitch black and shot through with absurdity and social commentary, A Different Man is the movie for you. Sebastian Stan plays Edward, a struggling actor with an extreme facial deformity. A medical procedure transforms him into a handsome dude—a different man—but he's only pretty on the outside. Edward soon learns that beauty is skin deep, but ugliness can go right down to the marrow. Like just about everything released by A24, A Different Man received well-deserved raves from critics. Where to stream: Max Henry Danger: The Movie Henry Danger returns to TV in this straight-to-streaming-and-basic-cable feature. It's been five years since the final season of Nickelodeon's Henry Danger TV show, and you gotta wonder if the show's original audience aged out of fandom. Whatever, though: there will always be kids and tweens into a superhero that isn't dark and broody. Here, Danger teams up with a superfan to explore an alternative dimension which could trap the pair forever. Where to stream: Paramount+ Hereditary (2018) I love horror movies, and Hereditary is the best one that been made in the last decade, at least. Ari Aster's masterpiece is not a movie for the faint of heart. It's legitimately disturbing in a primal way, a carefully paced, slow burn of dread that becomes builds to a shocking conclusion. The cast is amazing, but Toni Collette's portrayal of a mother struggling with mental illness stands out as one of the most unsettling performances in horror movie history. Where to stream: Netflix View the full article

Paramount+'s February slate includes the return of several highly anticipated series, starting with the season three premiere of thriller Yellowjackets (Feb. 14). The show, which received a handful of Primetime Emmy nominations, follows a group of teenage girls who survived a plane crash in the wilderness into their adult lives. The third installment picks up in the aftermath of a character's present-day death in season two. Fans of the Taylor Sheridan Yellowstone universe are getting the second (and final) season of prequel series and origin story 1923 (Feb. 23), starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as the Dutton family patriarch and matriarch in harsh conditions of the pre-Depression era. There are also new seasons of Paramount+ originals NCIS: Sydney (Feb. 7), The Equalizer (Feb. 16), and Tracker (Feb. 16). Paramount+ will stream the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 2. The show—hosted by Trevor Noah—is airing on CBS at 8 p.m. ET and will be available live for Paramount+ With Showtime subscribers. Finally, there's On TV: A Black History Month Special (Feb. 17), an hour-long news show hosted by Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner celebrating Black excellence in TV and entertainment. Here’s everything else coming to the service in February. Note that titles with an asterisk are exclusive to Paramount+ With Showtime; everything else is also available to subscribers on the ad-supported plan. Those with two asterisks are available to Paramount+ With Showtime users streaming live on CBS and to all subscribers the following day. Paramount+ Originals and premieres coming in February 2025Available February 1Ride* Available February 267th Annual Grammy Awards** Available February 4Burden of Guilt, premiere Available February 6Death Without Mercy, premiere* Available February 12Eric Clapton Unplugged…Over 30 Years Later, special premiere Available February 14Yellowjackets, season 3 premiere* Available February 17On TV: A Black History Month Special** Available February 231923, season 2 premiere TV shows coming to Paramount+ in February 2025Available February 5Bar Rescue (season 9) The Patrick Star Show (season 2) Super Bowl Greatest Commercials: F.O.A.T special** Available February 7NCIS: Sydney (season 2 premiere)** Available February 12PAW Patrol: Big Truck Pups CMT Crossroads (seasons 1-3,5,10-16,18-20) How Did They Fix That? (season 3) MTV Unplugged (seasons 1-8, 10-13) VH1 Storytellers (seasons 1-9, 11-13,15,16) Available February 16The Equalizer (season 5 winter premiere)** Tracker (season 2 winter premiere)** Available February 17On TV: A Black History Month Special** Available February 24Beyond the Gates (season 1) Available February 26Survivor (season 48)** The Loud House (season 7) Movies coming to Paramount+ in February 2025Available February 1A Mighty Heart A Walk on the Moon Adore Along Came A Spider American Gigolo Attack the Block Babel Bebe's Kids Birthday Girl Boys And Girls Brokeback Mountain Chocolate City Cinema Paradiso Come Away Critical Condition Dangerous Beauty Doubt Ferris Bueller's Day Off Geostorm Hooking Up I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell* In & Out Into The Wild Jersey Girl Juice Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. Like Water for Chocolate Losing Isaiah Mansfield Park Marvin's Room Men, Women & Children Menace II Society Muriel's Wedding My Best Friend's Wedding My Boss's Daughter O (Othello) Old School Pretty In Pink Road to Perdition Roman Holiday Saturday Night Fever Serendipity Shakespeare in Love Shall We Dance? Shooter Suffragette Terms of Endearment The Babysitter The Boy in the Striped Pajamas The Color Purple The Evening Star The Firm The Hunt for Red October The Love Guru The Love Letter The Mask The Pursuit of Happyness The Smurfs The Smurfs 2 The Stepford Wives The To Do List The Wood Transformers Vampire in Brooklyn What Lies Beneath What Women Want When Harry Met Sally Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! World War Z Wuthering Heights (2003) Available February 3Bull* The Nanny Diaries* Available February 12Fanboys* Available February 17Halloween* Deadlock Available February 24Southpaw* Available February 27The Aviary* Available February 28Crossing Over* View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In the same way that cranking up blues music can serve as a balm to a troubled soul, sinking into a deeply sad movie can be just the thing to give you a sense of catharsis. After all, everyone loves a good wallow once in a while—and in an era of highly calculated blockbusters designed not to offend anyone, it’s oddly refreshing to watch a movie that’s unafraid to make you feel bad. It takes more than a mere unhappy ending to join the ranks of the all-time most depressing movies, however. These flicks favor a pervasive sense of existential gloom, whether they are drawing attention to the plight of people facing unimaginable true-life circumstances, or simply inviting us to explore a breadth of emotions The Avengers can’t quite channel. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)The toll that war takes on children (a sadly evergreen topic) is made beautifully and heartbreakingly clear in Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies, the director's first film after co-founding Studio Ghibli. A pair of Japanese siblings narrowly escape the American firebombing of Kobe in the final months of World War II, but their struggles continue as they travel a war-torn countryside. The animators used a soft brown as a base, rather than the more traditional black ink, which gives the film a unique and dreamlike visual quality. Japanese animation has nothing to prove at this point, nor even back in 1988 when this was released, but Grave of the Fireflies makes very clear that anime is a medium, not a genre, and the stories filmmakers tell can be as deeply meaningful and moving as any in cinema. You can stream Grave of the Fireflies on Netflix. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix House of Sand and Fog (2003)A battle of wills between two indefatigable adversaries that ends well for neither of them—nor for their families. Recovering drug addict Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly) is mistakenly evicted from her home, which is then bought for a pittance by a former Iranian Army colonel (Ben Kingsley) whose fortunes have fallen since coming to America. The two almost come to terms, with flashes of humanity in their interactions, but outside pressures force them into corners and ultimately to tragedy. You can stream House of Sand and Fog on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video. House of Sand and Fog (2003) at Paramount+ Learn More Learn More at Paramount+ When the Wind Blows (1986) Veteran British actors John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft voice Jim and Hilda Bloggs, an aging English couple who barely survive a nuclear missile strike only to find that their efforts to carry on, and to achieve some sense of normalcy, come to little. There's the tiniest hint of optimism near the end, but before that it's a very sweet, poignant reminder that even (or especially) the innocent can't escape the consequences of war. You can stream When the Wind Blows on Tubi, Freevee, and Prime Video. When the Wind Blows (1986) at Freevee Learn More Learn More at Freevee Dancer in the Dark (2000) A Czech immigrant and factory worker in the 1960s is losing her eyesight and desperate to pull together the money to secure an operation for her son that will spare him the same fate. In spite of the fantasy musical numbers that sustain Selma (Björk), and her own best intentions, fate and the greed of those she trusts conspire to bring her to a tragic end. The musical interludes are spectacular, but the contrast between Selma’s dream worlds and her real life circumstances only serves to heighten the sense of tragedy and injustice. On the bright side: this is a period piece, and we know that the American healthcare system could never force anyone into such dire straights today. Phew. You can rent Dancer in the Dark from Prime Video. Dancer in the Dark (2000) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Melancholia (2011) Sticking with the problematic master of mirth, Lars von Trier, it’s hard to argue that you’re not getting exactly what it says on the tin when you sit down to watch a movie called Melancholia. (No refunds.) Here, von Trier adds a science fiction-ish twist to a story of modern malaise. The titular rogue planet is on a collision course with Earth, and two sisters handle that destiny in very different ways. The result is a string of depressive episodes, infidelity, and death by suicide that all eschew the hope that we might make some sort of wary peace with death. You can stream Melancholia on Netflix, Hulu, Tubi, and Prime Video. Melancholia (2011) at Hulu Learn More Learn More at Hulu Requiem for a Dream (2000) A symphonic ode to the misery of addiction, Darren Aronofsky’s second feature plays like an X-rated version of the anti-drug films you watched in high school. Over the course of two punishing, stylishly filmed, and artfully edited hours, we watch as four characters’ lives fall apart as they try to use drugs—from heroin to diet pills—to fill the empty places inside. It doesn’t work out: Jared Leto gets gangrene from an infected injection site, Jennifer Connelly turns to prostitution to get the money for her next score, and Marlon Wayans winds up in prison, abused by the guards. And then there’s Ellen Burstyn, who starts the film a lively, red-headed retiree and ends it a vacant-eyed, ashen amphetamine junkie in a squalid nursing home. Drugs are bad, mmmk? You can stream Requiem for a Dream on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video. Requiem for a Dream (2000) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Speak No Evil (2022) I get that horror films are supposed to be scary, but then there are those than are less scary than they are unrelentingly bleak, which is distressing in a different way? Regardless, this 2022 Danish film is as grim as they come. It follows a young family that meets a nice couple and their son while traveling and accepts an invitation to stay at their home. To tell you what happens next would be a big spoiler, but I'd almost like to save you the angst of experiencing it. Needless to say, only bad things happen, and in the cruelest manner imaginable—including to young children. Bad feelings all around, and one of the most hopeless endings ever. For some reason it got a Hollywood remake with James McAvoy? You can stream Speak No Evil on Shudder and AMC+ or rent it from Prime Video. Speak No Evil (2022) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Sophie’s Choice (1982) In flashbacks from just after the war, we learn the story of titular Holocaust survivor Sophie (Meryl Streep), who during those years, had been forced to decide which of her children would live and which would die. As with the William Styron novel on which the film is based, it’s a powerful, fact-based narrative that, unfortunately, has become a sort of shorthand for any difficult decision. You can stream Sophie's Choice on Tubi and Peacock or rent it from Prime Video. Sophie’s Choice (1982) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Come and See (1985) Director Elem Klimov fought Soviet censors for nearly a decade to release his film, a truly harrowing look at the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a Belarusian teenager who joins the anti-Nazi resistance following the invasion of his village. As the occupation continues, even survival for Flyora comes to feel like a curse; the accumulated horrors (including the deliberate burning of a church with dozens of people inside, an event that really took place) make Come and See one of the best war films ever made—because all the greatest war films are really anti-war. You can stream Come and See on The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Come and See (1985) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for portraying a suicidal alcoholic who drives to Vegas with a trunk full of booze and an intent to drink himself into oblivion in this critically acclaimed and horrifically bleak film from writer/director Mike Figgis, adapting the semi-autobiographical novel by John O’Brien (who died by suicide shortly after selling the movie rights). I saw it once more than a decade ago, and to the best of my recollection, it involves nearly two hours of watching Cage guzzle hard liquor in a dingy hotel room while scream-crying, intercut with scenes of a sex worker (Elisabeth Shue, also Oscar-nominated) being subjected to a horrific sexual assault. I might have some details wrong, but it'll be a while yet before I can watch it again to verify. You can stream Leaving Las Vegas on Max or rent it from Prime Video. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max The Mist (2007) The titular mist (not to be confused with The Fog) settles over a town in this nihilistic Stephen King adaptation, putting a bunch of locals at each other’s throats after they become trapped in a grocery store at the end of the world. Frank Darabont’s film makes clear that there’s no outside evil that can remotely compete with the ignorance, fear, and religious extremism that we’re faced with on a daily basis. Once that’s clear, the movie pushes things 10 steps further, ending on a note that’s either a perfect summation of its message or unbearably cruel. Probably it’s both. You can stream The Mist on Prime Video and Freevee. The Mist (2007) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Cure (1997) Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s serial killer drama feels a bit like Seven early on, but grows increasingly more philosophical and esoteric as it goes, despite maintaining a chilly detachment from all of the murders it depicts. Police detective Kenichi Takabe is on the hunt for a killer, even as his own home life is imploding. The killer, we eventually learn, is no killer at all, instead someone adept at manipulating others into doing his work for him. The movie toys with the idea that there might be something otherworldly at play, but that’s less horrifying than the case it makes that we are, each of us, capable of incredibly dark acts, provided we’re given just enough of a push. You can stream Cure on The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Cure (1997) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Road (2009) An unnamed man and his son wander through a bleak, desolate, post-apocalyptic America in search of a rumored safe haven to be found near the coast. Where other stories of this type invite us to have some fun with the idea that we might be clever enough to survive (and often throw in some zombies for good measure), The Road (as with the Cormac McCarthy on which it’s based) makes clear there’s unlikely to be much to appreciate about the collapse of civilization. You can stream The Road on Peacock, Tubi, and Starz or rent it from Prime Video. The Road (2009) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Children of Men (2006) Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men suggests that we’re not much more than five years away from civilization’s collapse after a period of war, natural disaster, and economic depression. So the idea that we still have five years on all of that is pretty hopeful, but otherwise, the world depicted here—in which infertility has become an epidemic—is one of deep desperation and a total absence of hope. As much as any film here, and thanks to Cuarón’s careful eye as a director, the sense of a world over the brink is in every shot. You can stream Children of Men on Peacock or rent it from Prime Video. Children of Men (2006) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Alien 3 (1992) While the first two Alien films were hardly laugh riots, David Fincher’s (troubled) sequel is almost certainly the most boldly disturbing franchise entry in the history of Hollywood sequels. The movie begins with the deaths of almost all the survivors from the previous film (and the gruesome autopsy of a beloved character) before dropping Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) into a prison colony in which the most likable character (Charles S. Dutton) is a serial murderer and convicted rapist. In an era of franchises increasingly calculated to be as inoffensive as possible, I’m a big fan of its risk-taking, but hoo boy is it dark. You can rent Alien 3 from Prime Video. Alien 3 (1992) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Triangle (2009) A twisty-turny film that at first plays like a slasher-movie at sea, but then quickly turns into something far more disturbing. Jess is off on a boat trip with some friends, offering a slightly sketchy explanation for the absence of her autistic son, who was meant to join them. A sudden storm finds the group seeking shelter about a strangely empty ocean liner—empty except for the person who keeps killing everyone. The film soon evolves into a time-loop science-fiction thriller, before revealing itself to be a punishment of mythological proportions. You can stream Triangle on Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, and AMC+. Triangle (2009) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Timecrimes (2007) Another sci-fi mind-bender involving messing about with time, this Spanish thriller follows the tragic temporal fate of Héctor (Karra Elejalde) and his wife Clara (Candela Fernández). Héctor spots a woman in the woods, naked and unconscious. Going to investigate, he's attacked by a mysterious man covered in bloody bandages. Fleeing, he winds up in the middle of a bizarre time travel experiment, one which sends him back in time and into a past that he only makes worse. And then makes worse again. And again. The fiendishly clever film from Nacho Vigalondo suggests that neither our best intentions nor all the time in the world can erase our most selfish mistakes. You can rent Timecrimes from Prime Video. Timecrimes (2007) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Man Bites Dog (1992) Plenty of films tweak audiences for our willingness to wallow in onscreen horrors (see Rear Window for a cheerier example). Belgian mockumentary Man Bites Dog puts us through the wringer by putting us in the place of a film crew following a vicious serial killer. There’s a bit of a tongue-in-cheek style here, which does nothing to lessen the impact of the film crew’s increasing sympathy with the killer, who ultimately become accomplices to his actions. Man Bites Dog asks deeply uncomfortable questions about not just our tolerance for on-screen violence, but about the extent to which we’ll stand aside in the face of real-world horrors, or even join in given the right incentives. You can stream Man Bites Dog on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Man Bites Dog (1992) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) Heather Matarazzo made a brilliant debut in Todd Solondz’ Welcome to the Dollhouse as Dawn Weiner, an extremely unpopular middle schooler whose life becomes a series of rejections, assaults, bullying, and disappointments. While the character is charming, this isn’t a movie about a plucky nonconformist who beats the odds—it’s about the psychological trauma faced by those who don’t fit in, and the terrible choice between staying true to yourself and accepting the resulting abuse, or hiding your light with in a bushel in the hope you’ll find a little peace. You can stream Welcome to the Dollhouse on Tubi or rent it from Prime Video. Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Precious (2009) Gabourey Sidibe’s 16-year-old Precious can neither read nor write and, as the movie opens, is pregnant for the second time as a result of a series of rapes by her father, even as her uncaring mother subjects her to physical and verbal abuse on a regular basis. Unlike many characters in these movies, there’s a hint of hope for Precious—a transfer to a new school; the attention of a well-meaning teacher—but the road to (maybe) get to a better place is a dark and rocky one. You can stream Precious on Tubi and Hulu or rent it from Prime Video. Precious (2009) at Hulu Learn More Learn More at Hulu Revolutionary Road (2008) The horror in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road is in the white-picket-fence conformity of the 1950s. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite post-Titanic in a story that sees the walls closing in on a young couple trying to make a go of it in a stifling world, before their efforts to escape into something more spiritually fulfilling threaten their relationship and eventually, their lives. The bright, clean streets of the title’s Revolutionary Road come to feel as dystopian as those in another movie’s apocalypse. You can stream Revolutionary Road on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video. Revolutionary Road (2008) at Paramount+ Learn More Learn More at Paramount+ La Strada (1954) Federico Fellini was known for films filled with color and fantastical imagery, and there’s a bit of that in his story of simple-minded Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), purchased by widower and street performer Zampanò (Anthony Quinn), previously married to Gelsomina’s late sister. Gelsomina's bright spirit and kind heart are gradually ground down by the cruel treatment of her new husband; when she finds a companion in another street performer (a clown, in this case), Zampanò’s jealousy leads to tragedy, even though the strongman can’t be bothered to show his wife any affection. It’s a beautiful film, and a shattering one. You can stream La Strada on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. La Strada (1954) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max The Plague Dogs (1982) Snitter (John Hurt) and Rowf (Christopher Benjamin) escape from a cruel animal testing laboratory in this adult animated feature adapting the novel by Richard Adams (Watership Down). I'll skip over details of the experiments to which the two were subjected, except to say that they're both thoroughly cruel and also entirely reflective of real-life animal testing practices. The world at large is, unfortunately, not much kinder to the two escaped dogs than their former prison was. It's rather lovely, in its way, and beautifully animated—but animal lovers, especially, will find it rough going. Which is certainly the point. You can stream The Plague Dogs on Tubi. The Plague Dogs (1982) at Tubi Learn More Learn More at Tubi The Father (2020) Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Anthony, the titular father, at the end of his life and living with severe dementia. It's a brilliant performance in a movie that tells its story entirely from Anthony's perspective, his disorientation playing out as frequently horrifyingly disjointed moments in a life losing all connective tissue. In privileging the point of view of the patient, rather than the family or caregivers, the movie is intensely humane, but it doesn't soft-pedal the experience, and there's little comfort to be found. You can stream The Father on Starz or rent it from Prime Video. The Father (2020) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video All of Us Strangers (2023) A romantic ghost story on the surface, All of Us Strangers follows lonely screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) as he starts a relationship with his very mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), the two of them the only residents of an imposing new apartment building. It's a relationship that draws Adam to return to his family home, where he finds his parents seemingly alive and well, despite them having died decades earlier. Without offering too many spoilers beyond that, the movie goes to very dark places from there, providing a strong reminder that loss is an inevitable part of life, yes, but also that the only real comfort is in forgetting and moving on. You can stream All of Us Strangers on Hulu or rent it from Prime Video. All of Us Strangers (2023) at Hulu Learn More Learn More at Hulu Threads (1984) A particularly effective take on the nuclear-war-is-bad-actually genre of the early and mid 1980s (see also: Testament and The Day After), this British film takes a chilling, faux documentary approach to the end of days. A young couple in Sheffield is getting ready to build a life and a family together when war breaks out between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, with a nuclear attack occurring on a NATO base about 20 miles from the city. The two are separated, and that is only the beginning of the horrors faced by Karen Meagher's Ruth Beckett. The emphasis is on the resulting breakdown in law and social order, with an ending shot that's a genuine punch to the gut. You can stream Threads on Tubi and Shudder or rent it from Prime Video. Threads (1984) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Manchester by the Sea (2016) There are moments of light in Manchester by the Sea, and it doesn't build to an ending that'e entirely crushing, but there's an awful lot of pain and anger along the way. Casey Affleck plays Lee, who is surprised to find out that he's been assigned custody of his deceased brother's son. The situation forces him to confront his past in the title town and, as we come to understand why sullen, alcoholic Lee can barely get through a day, it becomes clear why his past is holding him back—and will continue to do so. (It's that bad.) You can stream Manchester by the Sea on Prime Video. Manchester by the Sea (2016) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Aftersun (2022) Initially, and on a surface level, Aftersun is a bright and charming look at a vacation at a cheap resort in Turkey involving a divorced dad (Paul Mescal, whom we've already discussed) and the daughter (Frankie Corio) he doesn't really see enough of. But there are unsettling elements from the very beginning, and a growing unease creeps into our perspective as an audience. We soon understand that what we're seeing is a memory, a grown woman's attempts to understand her father's life and death with only a child's memories to work from. That fun trip soon becomes something melancholy and deeply poignant. You can stream Aftersun on Netflix and Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video. Aftersun (2022) at Paramount+ Learn More Learn More at Paramount+ Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) Robert Bresson’s film opens with the gift of a donkey named Balthazar to a sensitive farm girl, Marie. The two are separated following a family tragedy, with the once-beloved beast of burden winding up as nothing more than a pack animal for a family that doesn’t care for him beyond his ability to perform labor. Marie, meanwhile, ends up in a deeply abusive relationship, and, though fate reconnects woman and donkey at intervals over the years, neither is having a particularly good life and neither winds up with a particularly happy ending. It’s a lovely movie, in many ways, but it’s definitely a banger in the depressing animal-story genre (and just maybe, the donkey is supposed to be a metaphor, but let’s try not to think too much about that). You can stream Au Hazard Balthazar on The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Cries and Whispers (1972) While I’d never describe Ingmar Bergman as maudlin, it’s certainly the case that his best films, while masterpieces of acting, directing, and screenwriting, are deeply depressing, if not entirely pessimistic. Here, Agnes (Harriet Andersson) slowly dies of cancer while her sisters struggle with their own problems and insecurities, finding themselves unable to provide the needed support. The good work and genuine care of the maid, Anna, further exacerbates the feelings of inadequacy that keep the family from connecting when it’s most truly needed. You can stream Cries and Whispers on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Cries and Whispers (1972) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max Million Dollar Baby (2004) The Clint Eastwood sports drama cleaned up at the major categories at the Oscars in its year, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Hilary Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (for Morgan Freeman). All the more impressive given how dour the film is. It's wonderfully acted and a beautiful bit of filmmaking, but takes inspirational sports-movie tropes and turns them on their sides, building to a tragic ending that offers little in the way of Rocky-style inspiration. You can rent Million Dollar Baby from Prime Video. Million Dollar Baby (2004) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Passing (2021) Reenie Redfield (Tessa Thompson), a middle-class Black woman, runs into her old friend Clare (Ruth Negga)—now bleach-blonde and passing for white, a dangerous thing to do in New York City of the 1920s. She's even married, with a husband who has no idea. The two offer up incredible performances as two women who see in each other roads not taken, but their unsettling encounter leads each of them along a road to tragedy. The film has a lyrical, dreamlike quality that only serves to augment and enhance the sense that walls are closing in for the two old friends. You can stream Passing on Netflix. Passing (2021) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix The Rapture (1991) A young swinger (this is 1991, when such terms were still in the parlance) played by Mimi Rogers becomes a born-again Christian after a sect convinces her that the Rapture is imminent. Her new piousness is challenged when her husband is murdered, and her despair leads her to contemplate taking her own daughter’s life (to get her to heaven faster, naturally). And that’s not even the depressing part. Fearlessly depicting her character’s transition from hedonism to zealotry to unimaginable despair, Rogers gives the best performance of her career; too bad it’s in a film you’ll almost definitely only want to watch once. You can rent The Rapture from Prime Video. The Rapture (1991) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video The Pianist (2002) In assembling this list, I struggled with how many Holocaust films to include; there are many, enough to populate an even longer list than this all by themselves. For better or worse, I will let Roman Polanski’s The Pianist stay, and certainly it is one of the most unsparing in its depictions of that particular historical horror. Based on the memoir by the Polish-Jewish musician Władysław Szpilman (played by Adrien Brody, who won the Oscar), the movie takes us through the entire span of the war; as things get worse and worse and worse for the Polish Jews, Szpilman loses everything, including the love for music that is his only lifeline. Though its legacy is tarnished for being directed by Polanski (no small reason to leave it on the shelf), The Pianist remains a stunning accomplishment in the artful depiction of the worst of humanity. You can stream The Pianist on Peacock, Tubi, Prime Video, and Freevee. The Pianist (2002) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Umberto D. (1952) Any movie can be sad, but it takes a special flavor of cinematic hopelessness to get a film banned by the government for being too depressing. Yet that’s exactly what happened to this story of an elderly Italian man (Carlo Battisti) struggling to keep a roof over his head after he is evicted; when that proves too tall an order, he elects for finding a home for his beloved dog before he ends his own life. Performed by a cast of mostly non-actors, Umberto D.’s grim realism proved a bit too much for the Italian government, which felt it painted too bleak a picture of the state of the nation in the wake of World War II, and subsequently “banned the export of films deemed unflattering to Italian society,” according to Peter Becker, film historian and president of the Criterion Channel. You can stream Umberto D. on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video. Umberto D. (1952) at Max Learn More Learn More at Max View the full article

Rest days are a standard part of exercise programs, but they’re not the only way to avoid overworking yourself. Contrary to what a lot of beginner advice says, you don't always need a rest day after each day of exercise, and you can even work out seven days a week if you like. But once you start bending the rules, you'll need to take some extra effort to make sure you allow yourself enough recovery, even if it doesn't come in the form of rest. Recovery is important (whether it comes in the form of "rest days" or not)Most strength training programs either work your whole body and then have you rest the next day, or else they have you split up your workouts so that each muscle group gets a day of rest—for example, your arms get a rest on leg day. The idea is to let each muscle recover from a workout before you ask it to do the same thing again, and rest days are a valid way of making sure you're getting some time to recover. But not every activity works this way. Runners, for example, often run every day, and may only take one or two true rest days a week (or, for some, zero). But within that pattern, they will alternate days of hard running (like speedwork, hill running, or long runs) with easy runs that feel less challenging to the body. The easy run days may not be "rest," but they do count as recovery time for an experienced runner. Other sports may fall somewhere in between, but nobody expects to work every body part to exhaustion every day. Even when elite athletes do workouts every day that look killer to us, it’s because our “hard” is their “easy”. You can bet their coaches schedule in enough of the easier workouts to keep the athlete’s progress on track with minimal risk of injury. Whatever your schedule looks like, those rest days or easy days are there to help us pace ourselves. Too much hard running, if you’re not used to it, sets you up for tendonitis and other overuse injuries. And too much exercise of any kind can lead to a syndrome called overtraining where your body may develop flu-like symptoms and disturbed sleep because it just can’t keep up with the demands you’re putting on it. There’s Nothing Magic About Resting for One DayTaking a single rest day after a hard workout isn’t the only way to keep yourself from overtraining. There are a few reasons it’s a good rule of thumb, though: Resting every other day means only half of your days will be hard workouts. The other half will be rest days or easier days, so the schedule keeps your total workout intensity manageable. An alternating schedule is easy to follow. You don't have to ask yourself whether your recovery work is easy enough, or memorize which exercises work which muscles. You just stay home if it's not a workout day, and you know you're on track. Mentally, it’s easier to stick to a workout when you enjoy it. Hard workouts aren’t always fun, and you may need to psych yourself up to try something really challenging. It’s okay if you don’t feel up to that every day. Having some easier, more relaxing days can help you stick to your schedule. Routines with rest days are easier to schedule around your life. People who work out six days a week have to fit those workouts around everything that's going on in their lives. Having multiple rest days every week means you have more time for work, school, family, hobbies, and anything else that competes for those time slots. If you can accomplish those goals with another schedule, though, feel free to do so. If you enjoy all your workouts, even the hard ones, slowly include more hard days in your schedule. If you feel okay with that, keep doing it! But if you end up sore or fatigued, listen to your body and put those rest days back in. Recovery Doesn’t Have to Mean Total RestSome people prefer the term “recovery” to “rest” days, because total rest isn’t necessarily your goal. After all, lifting a fork to your mouth is a similar action to a bicep curl, so if you just did a heavy arm day, would you be unable to eat? Clearly, some amount of activity is fine on a rest or recovery day. This is where you have to calibrate your own sense of effort. If you’re new to exercising and you just did a day of heavy squats, a five mile bike ride is probably not a great choice for the following day. But if you bike five miles to work every day, you should be able to keep doing that even on your “rest” days. When I did push-ups every day for 30 days, a few people suggested that I was setting myself up for injury by not taking rest days. But as I wrote in that article, I ramped up my fitness very carefully. A few sets of pushups every day became my new normal, and it was no more taxing to me than a bike ride is to a bike commuter. Some days I would try a more challenging type of pushup or I might do more reps than usual; but I balanced out those harder days with, you guessed it, easier days that are closer to my baseline effort level. As you learn your own strengths and limitations, you too can alter your workout schedule according to what works for you. That might mean you only take one or two rest days per week, or it might mean you do mega-hard workouts and then lay low for a few days. If you’re getting a reasonable amount of exercise in total, and if you aren’t getting sore or injured, you’re probably doing okay. Now, let me ask some of the specific questions that I know tend to come up in these discussions? Can I walk or do cardio on rest days? Yes, if that's your baseline level of activity. If you always go for a walk after dinner, there's no need to skip that just because it's a rest day. If you want to start adding cardio on your rest days, make sure you're recovering well from whatever you're already doing. Feel free to add in that extra cardio, or other easy movement, a little bit at a time. I also have this guide to figuring out what to do on your rest days. How do I know when I need a rest day? If you can't tell the difference between feeling lazy and needing a rest day, ask yourself: Do I want to skip my workout or do I need to skip my workout? If you feel like you need a rest day, you probably do. It's OK to take a rest day if you feel sick, or if you're unusually tired or busy. A workout is just a workout. It can wait. If you ask yourself this question and decide you just don't want to work out, consider moving the workout to another day or time. Or, if there's really no reason to skip, go do the workout anyway. Any time I feel this way, I always feel better afterward, and I'm glad I got the workout done. But if you're asking yourself this question pretty often, you should probably revisit your workout routine and make sure it's actually working for you. Rest (or recovery) days should be preventative. They keep you from getting too run-down. Do I need rest days if I'm not sore? Soreness doesn't have much to do with recovery, believe it or not. You can be well-recovered but feeling a little sore, or vice versa. On a new exercise program, I'd advise sticking to your scheduled recovery days. After two weeks, that's when you can add in some extra work on those recovery days as long as you're still feeling good. What happens if I don't take my rest day? You might feel a little more fatigued for your next workout. Over time, if you don't take any rest days, you may find you're lifting less weight or performing poorly in workouts. You may notice other effects on your health, like poor sleep. But then again, maybe you'll be fine. As we discussed above, rest days aren't magic, they're just a tool in the toolbox. If you work out every day, but your total amount of work is within your body's limits, you might recover just fine and this becomes your new normal. Pay attention to how you're feeling, though, and add those rest days back in if you feel you need them. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. During Samsung's Galaxy S25 Unpacked Stream earlier this week, the new Galaxy S25 Series lineup was announced. They include the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra. This new lineup arrives on Feb. 7, but preorders are up already. Amazon and Samsung are currently offering the best preorder deals, with an Amazon gift card of up to $200 or a free storage upgrade. The new Samsung S25 phones have a focus on AI features and are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC with 12GB of RAM, a significant improvement over the last version. 128GB AI Smartphone, Unlocked Android, 50MP AI Camera, Fast Processor, ProScaler Display. SAMSUNG Galaxy S25 with $100 Amazon Gift Card $799.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $899.99 Save $100.00 Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $799.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $899.99 Save $100.00 256GB AI Smartphone, Unlocked Android, 50MP AI Camera, Fast Processor, ProScaler Display. SAMSUNG Galaxy S25+ with $100 Amazon Gift Card $999.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,099.99 Save $100.00 Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $999.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,099.99 Save $100.00 256GB AI Smartphone, Unlocked Android, 200MP AI Camera, S Pen, Fast Processor, Long Battery Life. SAMSUNG Galaxy S25 Ultra with $200 Amazon Gift Card $1,299.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,499.99 Save $200.00 Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $1,299.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,499.99 Save $200.00 SEE 0 MORE 128GB, Unlocked Galaxy S25 with $50 Samsung Credit $799.99 at Samsung Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $799.99 at Samsung 256GB, Unlocked Galaxy S25+ with $100 Samsung Credit $999.99 at Samsung Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $999.99 at Samsung 512GB, Unlocked Galaxy S25 Ultra Free Storage Upgrade and $80 Samsung Credit $1,299.99 at Samsung $1,419.99 Save $120.00 Pre-order Here Pre-order Here $1,299.99 at Samsung $1,419.99 Save $120.00 SEE 0 MORE The S25 preorder dealAmazon is offering gift cards of $100 for the S25 and S25+ and $200 for the S25 Ultra. If you don't mind the 128GB storage, Amazon offers the best deal for the most basic S25. But if you want more storage, Samsung's offer is technically cheaper if you don't take Amazon's $100 gift card into consideration. But who doesn't like Amazon gift cards? The S25+ preorder dealThe S25+ preorder deal is the same if you shop at Amazon or Samsung, but an Amazon gift card offers much better purchase options than a Samsung one. If you're looking to update the storage, you might as well buy it from Samsung for $100 less (even with the $100 Amazon gift card). The S25 Ultra preorder dealIf you want the best phone, the S25 Ultra, with the lowest storage of 256GB (which for most people should be enough), get it from Amazon, since it offers a $200 gift card. But if you know you'll be needing more space, both Amazon and Samsung are offering good deals to double the storage. Samsung's deal doubles it for free at the same $1,299.99 price and offers an $80 Samsung credit. With Amazon, you'd be paying more upfront, $1,419.99, but you'll likely find it easier to use a $200 Amazon gift card than an $80 Samsung one. Either way, when both gift cards are used, you end up with the same value proposition. The one reason you should go with Samsung over Amazon is if you have products to trade in, since it offers up to $900 instant trade-in credit. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Like Apple, Samsung prefers its customers stay within their ecosystem, and offers them a better user experience in return. The Galaxy Buds2 Pro are a good example: They provide higher resolution audio and a better listening experience if used with a Samsung phone. If that sounds good to you, right now you can get the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro for $99.99 (originally $229.99), thanks to an automatic $80 discount at checkout (look for the green font under the listing price). This is the lowest price they have reached since their release, according to price tracking tools. SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds2 Pro Features: Hi-Fi Sound, 360 Audio, Active Noise Cancelling, HD Voice, IPX7 Water Resistant. $99.99 at Amazon $229.99 Save $130.00 Get Deal Get Deal $99.99 at Amazon $229.99 Save $130.00 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 came out in the summer of 2022, earning good reviews. PCMag's "excellent" review noted they offer good active noise cancellation (ANC), a wireless charging case, and an IPX7 waterproof rating. If you lose them, you can locate your lost earbuds using the SmartThings app. But where these earbuds excel is in their audio quality: Dual drivers on each earbud mean a better frequency range, leading to noticeably strong depth. As I mentioned, those with recent Galaxy phones running at least Android 8.0, One UI 4.0, and 1.5GB RAM will be able to listen to 24-bit audio, giving you more dynamic range and less digital noise than 16-bit audio. If you have other Galaxy products, like a smartwatch or a TV, they support an auto-switching feature, provided those products can run a firmware update from at least July 2022.Even Apple users will actually get better audio than non-Samsung Android owners, since the Galaxy Buds support Apple's AAC codec. View the full article

Before modern social media, a browser extension called StumbleUpon let you click a button and see a random website. I, like many people, find myself missing this site a lot. Partly it was the serendipity of it: You'd click a button and get one of a curated collection of sites. Watch Something Wonderful is a simple website that brings that same experience to YouTube. Using the site is simple: Just click a button and you'll see a random YouTube video pulled from a curated collection. The videos are a blend of comedy and infotainment—notably with nothing outright political. I ended up watching a half-hour vlog-style documentary about the origin of sparkling water—something I'm glad I've seen and know I wouldn't have watched otherwise. There's not a lot of information on the website about who built it and how they choose videos—it just says "A Team 7 Product" without any kind of link. This made the site feel mysterious, so naturally I had to track down the people behind it. I finally got in touch with Akhil, one of the four people behind the site. Team 7, it turns out, isn't a company or anything—it's "a team of four builders who like making fun stuff for people to use." The other three members are Ankit, Vidhatha, and Devesh. The idea for "Watch Something Wonderful," according to Akhil, came from wanting something to watch during lunch. "We always watch YouTube while eating, but finding good videos takes too much time," he told me. "So we made a site that picks random videos for you." The site currently cycles between 300 videos, mostly taken from the creators' favorite playlists and the subreddit MealTimeVideos. The plan, according to Akhil, is to add a form for users to add their own videos. Is this a site I'm going to use every day for the rest of my life? No. But it's worth checking out and seeing what you find. Think of it as a website that feels like the old internet—a chance to get outside your YouTube algorithm for a while and, well, stumble upon something new. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 65” Samsung S85D OLED TV is now $997.99 on Amazon. That’s $900 off its usual $1,897.99 price, and according to price-trackers, this is the lowest it’s ever been. Powered by Samsung’s NQ4 AI Gen 2 processor, it promises improved performance and runs on the 2024 Tizen OS, offering voice control and easy casting from your phone. Its design includes adjustable feet for soundbar placement and cable management clips to keep things organized, though wall-mounting might be tricky due to recessed ports. And, while it comes with 20W 2.0 channel speakers (which are decent for casual viewing), they might not replace a dedicated sound system. The TV also supports voice assistants like Alexa and Bixby. Samsung - 65” Class S85D Series OLED 4K Smart Tizen TV (2024) $997.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,897.99 Save $900.00 Get Deal Get Deal $997.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $1,897.99 Save $900.00 The S85D uses a WOLED panel, delivering signature OLED perks like perfect blacks, vivid colors, and infinite contrast. It’s a stunner in dark rooms, and thanks to excellent reflection handling and decent SDR brightness, it performs surprisingly well in well-lit spaces too. It also reportedly excels at upscaling low-resolution content to make older steams look better. Pair it with its fast response times (that keep motion looking smooth) and wide viewing angles and you have yourself a great TV for movie nights and gaming marathons. That said, the HDR performance of the S85D isn’t as impactful as you’d hope, especially in Game Mode where the TV's Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL) dims large, bright scenes. For gamers, this TV is PlayStation 5 and Xbox ready, supporting 4K at 120Hz, and offering features like Auto Low Latency Mode, FreeSync Premium Pro, HDMI 2.1, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for tear-free, low-lag gameplay. On the downside, it lacks Dolby Vision, limiting HDR gaming potential. Additionally, the TV's interface includes ads that can’t be fully disabled. If you’re exploring alternatives, the LG OLED B4 Series TV is worth a look, currently priced at $996.99 (down from $1,099.99). View the full article

Major data breaches and cybersecurity threats are now a fact of life, the consequence of which is our personal information being exposed at some point. One of the latest significant leaks involves data from PowerSchool, a software provider for thousands of K–12 school districts in the United States and Canada. The incident affected millions of users. What happened in the PowerSchool hack According to reports, PowerSchool discovered that personal information had been stolen from its customer support platform on Dec. 28, 2024. Hackers used compromised credentials to log into and export from its "Students" and "Teacher" database. BleepingComputer is reporting that the hack may have compromised the personal data of 62.4 million students and 9.5 million teachers across 6,505 school districts. The stolen data includes contact information (such as names and addresses) as well as birthdates, Social Security numbers, medical information, and grades, though the specifics vary across affected districts. PowerSchool believes that fewer than 25% of individuals had their Social Security numbers stolen. While the incident was not a ransomware attack, PowerSchool has stated that the company paid the hackers to prevent the compromised data from being published. The company began notifying affected customers on Jan. 7, 2025. What you can do if your data was stolen As I've written before, you can't take back information that's been leaked—and since your data has almost inevitably been compromised at some point, the best you can do is to be on the lookout for any signs that said data is being used in a malicious way. This includes keeping tabs on your credit report and sensitive accounts for unfamiliar or fraudulent activity and considering credit monitoring and identity protection services that will notify you of anything suspicious. For those affected by this recent hack, PowerSchool is offering two years of identity protection services to all students and teachers (regardless of whether your Social Security number was compromised) through Experian. The company will also cover two years of credit monitoring for anyone over 18. According to a Jan. 17 update on the incident, PowerSchool and Experian will communicate with customers—including parents and guardians of students under 18—in the coming weeks about setting up these services. Of course, you should also follow other basic security best practices: Don't click strange links or engage with communication asking for your personal information. When in doubt, hang up the phone, delete the text, or flag the email as spam, and contact the company directly to confirm any requests. (Note that PowerSchool will not contact you directly by phone or email to request or confirm your personal information.) View the full article

Is it still January? Barely, but yes. Is it still dry? Well, that all depends on how you look at it. Maybe you’re interested in incorporating a teensy bit of alcohol back into your life, or maybe you’ve never enjoyed an overly potent drink regardless of the month. I think the answer in both of these scenarios is the same: Switch to low ABV (alcohol by volume) cocktails. They’re light, easy-going, and there is a wide world of options to suit your preference. I've got three recommendations to get you started. What is a low ABV cocktail?First of all, let’s get our terminology straight. Again, ABV stands for alcohol by volume. This is usually understood as what percent of a drink is alcohol. Straight vodka can be 30% or 40% alcohol. So a vodka martini, after being stirred with ice and some added vermouth, might be 25%-35% alcohol. That is decidedly not low ABV. Wines can vary greatly but typically they’re around 13% to 18% ABV, and beers can range from 4% to 12%. While there is no precise ABV that defines a low ABV cocktail, I usually prefer them around 5% and below. It’s nothing that will make me feel wobbly, but enough to add a touch of spice to the occasion. If you’re at a bar or restaurant, they might have a different opinion of what fits into low ABV territory, so be sure to ask (or check the menu for the ABV) if you’re wondering. How to make a low ABV cocktail at homeAside from buying a mocktail cookbook and adding a splash of gin to any of those concoctions (which you can totally do—try The Mocktail Club, an excellent recipe book that I recently reviewed) you can pore over your home bar and do some light experimentation. Personally, I like to think of low ABV drinks as giving the “supporting characters” a bit of shine. It’s a chance to highlight aperitifs, vermouths, bitters, juices, shrubs, syrups, tonics, and sodas. That’s where many of the biggest, boldest flavors are anyway. If you’re starting from scratch, start simple and try some juicy spritzes. A loose ratio could be 1:3:3: one part "supporting character" alcohol, three parts juice, and three parts bubbly, non-alcoholic liquid. Choose an aperitif, liqueur, or cordial that you like, and add equal parts of a complementary juice and soda water. Serve in a glass with plenty of ice. If you’re starting from a classic cocktail recipe, try replacing the high-proof alcohol with a heavy pour of seltzer, or even a sparkling wine. The ABV for the latter would be higher than with using seltzer of course, but sometimes you just want to take it down a few notches. For example, prosecco’s 12% is much lower in alcohol content than gin’s 40%. In fact, that’s what the negroni sbagliato does—swaps the gin for prosecco. Both are delicious cocktails, but the classic negroni is about twice as alcoholic. Three of my go-to low ABV cocktailsI’ve always enjoyed the activity of sipping socially, but not the inevitable headache of stiff drinks. Here are three I lean on when I’m in the mood to take it easy. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel here, folks: Simple is often best. Low ABV bellinisBellinis are light, flirty sparkling cocktails that are classically made by mixing a bit of white peach purée with a lot of prosecco. To bring down the ABV, cut the prosecco in half and replace it with a bit of seltzer water. Alternatively, you can use fruit juice instead of seltzer for a bigger dose of fruit flavor. (By the way, you can use any fruit purée you like; it doesn’t have to be peach.) Negroni Sbagliato or AmericanoAs I noted above, the Sbagliato is a lower ABV version of the classic Negroni, and the Americano is the next step down. To make a Sbagliato, mix equal parts Campari, sweet vermouth, and prosecco (pour this last as a topper). Serve in a glass with plenty of ice. For an Americano, simply replace the prosecco with plenty of soda water. If I'm making it at home, I'll add a splash of simple syrup. Juicy Aperol SpritzThe classic Aperol Spritz uses three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol, and one part soda water. To make it less alcoholic, I knock out the prosecco and opt for a splash of juice. To make a Juicy Aperol Spritz, mix two parts Aperol, and one part orange juice in a glass half-filled with ice. Top it with three parts soda water. View the full article

Getting out of bed—switching from the coziness of sleep to the jarring reality of the day—can be a challenge for anyone. But, as the saying goes, there's an app for that. Or, in this case, several apps—ones that go above and beyond the default options in Android and iOS to make sure you wake up when you need to. From alarms that get you to complete a challenge—and fully regain consciousness—before they'll turn off, to alarms that are timed to fit in with your natural circadian rhythm, there's plenty of choice when it comes to getting some assistance in starting the day. Alarmy Alarmy gives you missions to complete to stop your alarm. Credit: Lifehacker Attention, heavy sleepers: Alarmy is on a mission to get you out of bed in the morning, and promises that it'll never fail to wake you up. The main way it does this is by getting you to complete a challenge—like a math, typing, or memory task—before it'll shut up, which means you really do have to force yourself to start thinking and get yourself out of bed. That's not all the app has to offer, either; you can pick from a variety of sounds to wake yourself up, set customized alarm screens that encourage you to face the day (think kittens and sunrises), and track your sleep overnight—just make sure your phone is near your pillow. When you wake, you can be greeted by a sleep analysis report. Features like an extra-loud setting for alarms and persistent time reminders while you're thinking about hitting snooze—or gentle volume increases, if you want to be kinder to yourself—put Alarmy a level above most other alarm clock apps out there. It uses a freemium model, with all of the various features available for $5 a month or $60 a year. Alarmy is available for Android and iOS. Sleep as Android Sleep as Android offers a host of options for waking up. Credit: Lifehacker There are a host of settings to explore when it comes to configuring alarms in Sleep as Android: You can have the app wake you up at a time you'll feel most refreshed, you can set up a captcha challenge to force you awake, and you can set a wake-up check that makes sure you've risen—and if you haven't, your alarm starts ringing again. There is also a range of different alarm sounds to pick from, as well as a gentle wake-up mode that gives you an easier segue out of slumber. Snoozing is still permitted, if you want to keep it as an option, but here too you can set limits if you think you'll rely on it too much. The app is difficult to beat in terms of how customizable the alarms are. However, alarms aren't even the primary focus of Sleep as Android: It's mainly designed to be a comprehensive sleep tracker, and it handles this just as well too (just leave your phone on your bed). You can use the app for free, but the full set of features will set you back $5 a month or $50 a year. As its name suggests, Sleep as Android is only available for Android. Loud Alarm Clock The alarms in Loud Alarm Clock can be extensively customized. Credit: Lifehacker Loud Alarm Clock brings with it several tricks to ensure you don't sleep in any longer than you should, including boosted audio that goes above and beyond whatever volume setting you've got on your iPhone to really make a racket. If standard alarms can't rouse you from a deep sleep, then Loud Alarm Clock is definitely worth trying instead. It's not just the volume boosting that helps here, because the app also offers some excruciating sounds as options for the alarm audio—think nails on a chalkboard and a car alarm, for example. If that's too grating, there are friendly voice options you can turn to instead as alarm sounds. Other features include the ability to limit snoozing time, so you don't go past a certain time, the option to randomize alarm sounds so you don't get used to them, and a choice of wallpaper backgrounds to help you get the day started. Loud Alarm Clock is free to try and use, but you can pay a one-off fee of $8 to remove the ads and get more sound options. The app is only available for iOS. Talking Alarm Clock Beyond Have your alarms speak to you with Talking Alarm Clock Beyond. Credit: Lifehacker Talking Alarm Clock Beyond eschews the traditional alarm clock sounds to give you a motivational talking-to when you wake up—the idea being that you're more inclined to get yourself up and out of bed if you're being told to seize the day, rather than having your sleep interrupted by a shrill beeping that your brain has come to recognize as annoying. You can customize the message you hear when the alarm goes off, and the app comes with challenges you can set yourself to do to make the talking stop: You can solve a math problem, for example, or complete a captcha, or walk a certain distance with your phone. By the time you've managed to dismiss the alarm, you should find yourself fully awake. There are plenty of nice extras included here as well, including the "mayday mode" that adds an extra level of volume to make sure you really do realize you have to get out of bed, as well as timer, world clock, and stopwatch features. You can use everything in Talking Alarm Clock Beyond, but there is a one-off fee of $3 if you'd like to get rid of the ads. You can find the app on Android. Sleep Cycle Sleep Cycle will wake you up at the right time for you. Credit: Lifehacker The clue is in the name: Sleep Cycle is focused on making sure you wake up at the right time, in harmony with your body's natural rhythms (within the constraints of work and other responsibilities, of course). As well as getting you up in the morning, there are also tools (like sounds and exercises) to get you to sleep more easily. During the night, Sleep Cycle can monitor your movement and any sounds you make to assess the quality and stages of your sleep, and it'll give you advice on improving your sleeping habits as well. In the morning, within a window you've previously set, it can wake you up gradually and smoothly in your lightest sleep phase, with your choice of audio. It's a full-on sleep helper and enhancer, complete with goal setting and tracking—and the alarm clock is a crucial part of it. Everything is wrapped up in a clean and intuitive interface that's easy to navigate. You can try Sleep Cycle for free for a week to see if it's helpful—after that, you need to pay $10 a month or $40 a year to keep using it. Download Sleep Cycle on Android or iOS. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re considering a smartwatch with top-tier health tracking and rugged durability, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Bespoke Edition) is now $249.99 (down from $329.99), its lowest price yet, according to price trackers. SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 7 Bespoke Edition $249.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $329.99 Save $80.00 Get Deal Get Deal $249.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $329.99 Save $80.00 Its 44mm aluminum body is lightweight but tough, with IP68 weather resistance, 5ATM waterproofing, and MIL-STD-810H certification. In simple terms, it can handle dust, shocks, extreme temperatures (-4°F to 122°F, according to the manufacturer), and submersion. Pair that with a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display (480x480 resolution), and you’ve got a watch that’s both durable and great to look at—whether you’re swiping through notifications or checking your fitness stats, the screen reportedly impresses. When it comes to health tracking, the Galaxy Watch 7 offers sleep monitoring, measures body composition (like BMI and fat percentage), takes an ECG, and even features FDA-approved sleep apnea detection, notes this PCMag review. It then calculates an Energy Score—a Galaxy AI feature that combines fitness, sleep, and other health metrics into a single score (out of 100)—while offering personalized tips to improve your health. That said, some advanced features (like snoring detection) require a Samsung phone. For day-to-day use, the Galaxy Watch 7 is powered by Wear OS with Samsung’s One UI enhancements. You get Bluetooth, wifi, NFC for mobile payments, and dual-frequency GPS for precise location tracking. Plus, its 32GB of storage means you can load plenty of music or apps. But no product is perfect. Its 425mAh battery lasts 22-28 hours (depending on usage), which means you’ll need to charge it daily. For those who prioritize battery life, alternatives like the OnePlus Watch 2 might be worth exploring at a similar price point. View the full article

Home ownership is a key goal for many Americans despite the financial and environmental challenges posed in today's real estate market—and the transition from renting an apartment to owning a house is, in itself, a challenge in many ways. One of those challenges is adjusting your approach to furnishing and decorating your living spaces, especially if you’re going from a small rental to a large house. Decking out a house you own can be a different experience from making a rental into a comfortable space because the scale is different: Budgets have to be bigger because you’re usually filling more space, purchases tend to be more long-term because you’re not sweating the end of a lease, and suddenly, that couch you’ve been moving from place to place since college is no longer socially acceptable. Here’s how to approach decorating a house when you’ve only ever lived in an apartment. Pause and planStep one is to take a moment and slow down, resisting the urge to be “moved in” as quickly as possible. Moving into an apartment is often an exercise in making your existing furniture somehow work in the new space, which encourages a haphazard approach and a utilitarian feel. The key to decorating a house, though, is to embrace what’s known as “slow decorating”: Instead of just dragging all your existing furniture in and filling rooms with stuff, be thoughtful about what you plan to use the room for. Measure each space so you can pick and arrange your furniture thoughtfully. Choose furniture and accents that fit that plan. If an existing piece works in that plan, great! Otherwise, consider whether it fits elsewhere or if it needs to be replaced with something different. Think in terms of roomsMoving from a small rental to a sprawling house poses another psychological challenge: scale. Going from a modest and maybe even crowded place to a home with a lot more square footage can be overwhelming. Going from a small space you didn’t have a stake into a more permanent place that requires a lot more stuff can be overwhelming. Instead of trying to come up with a comprehensive plan (and budget) to furnish and decorate the entire new space, take it room by room: Start with the rooms you will use immediately and all the time: the primary bedroom, the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Narrowing down your decisions to a specific room at a time will make the whole process more psychologically and financially manageable. You can create a sense of cohesion by using the same “pop” color in each space and repeating decorative elements like vases or other decorative objects. Wall art that’s part of a series, for example, can link rooms even if you’re approaching them individually. Once you have the main rooms set up, you can tackle the remaining rooms one at a time. Another reason this works is the fact that small apartments often require you to make rooms multi-functional, but houses often have dedicated spaces—dining rooms, offices, living rooms, etc. If you’re going from a space where one room was your office, living room, and exercise space, taking each room individually will help you envision what your ideal version of that space would be instead of what you can fit or what can easily be stashed out of sight. Embrace spaceIn smaller rental spaces, we often make decisions around furniture that solve apartment-related problems, like a lack of a guest bedroom (resulting in a heavy, bulky sleeper sofa) or a lack of useful storage (resulting in buying everything with extra storage space, like an Admiral bed). But a house may not present those same challenges, so it’s time to ask yourself if that sleeper sofa or other storage piece still makes sense. The size of the rooms also has to be taken into consideration. In an apartment, for example, cramming a couch and a coffee table into a room is all it takes to make a living room, but a larger room in a house might feel empty, requiring more thought about how you’re going to use the room. Will it mainly be a viewing experience, with lots of comfortable seating arranged in front of a screen? Or do you want to foster more of a conversation space, with seating facing each other? Or, if you have the space, will it be both? Finally, a house with more space can benefit from larger “statement”-type pieces of furniture—oversized furniture, or large artwork on the walls. Remind yourself that you can go big and go home in a house. View the full article

Push-ups are a classic exercise to build strength even when you don't have gym equipment available, but not everybody can bang out rep after rep—sometimes you have to work on other exercises to build the strength to start doing push-ups. This is what I'll guide you through today. And if you remember those knee pushups from gym class—well, those are okay, but they aren't your best option. To do knee push-ups, you place your knees on the ground (or on a cushion, if that's more comfortable) and otherwise do the standard push-up motion. Knee push-ups are better than nothing, but they have a few downsides compared to other types of push-ups. The main one is that they are a lot easier on your core muscles, so that while your arms and chest get a workout, your abs aren't getting the strength they'll need to stabilize your body in a full push-up. Knee push-ups also allow you to get lazy with your lower body positioning. In short, knee pushups ask less of your glutes and core, making them more of an upper-body than a full-body exercise. Here are some variations I like better. Option 1: full push-ups in very short setsIf you can do a few full push-ups with good form, you can build a workout from single-rep sets. Good form means that your body is tight like a plank, without your belly sagging or your hips pointing up as in downward dog. Your hands are approximately under your shoulders, and your elbows are tucked toward your body rather than flared out at 90 degrees. If you can do two or three, you're in good shape to build from that. Instead of sets of, say, 10—which you can't do yet—do a set of just one or two reps. Then rest (or do another exercise), and come back for another push-up or two. You may want to do more sets than if you were training push-ups with higher reps. Try 10 sets of one rep each, say, or five sets of two reps. Over time, you'll be able to add reps, and then you can reduce the number of sets, if you like. Working toward three sets of 10 is a good goal. Option 2: negative push-upsA “negative” push-up starts at the top, and slowly lowers down. But instead of then pushing yourself back up, you get on your hands and knees to reset to the top position again. Lower yourself down slowly each time, fully under control, as many times as you can. When you find yourself dropping down quickly, your set is over; take a break. Negatives use eccentric contractions, which build muscle at least as well as their concentric, or positive, counterparts. You can use the same strategy to work up to other challenging exercises, like pull-ups. Beware, however—negatives are notorious for making you sore the next day, so go easy on these your first time. Once your body is used to them, you'll be able to do them regularly. Option 3: staircase progressionIf those options are still too tough for you—or if you just want something more flexible—try a staircase progression. You can use an actual staircase, or pick surfaces at varying heights: a wall, a table, a chair, a stack of books. Start with your hands on a high surface. This might be the wall, with your feet a few steps back, or a high countertop. Engage all the muscles in your core and legs so your body is like a stiff plank, and keep the same good form as if you were doing a push-up from the floor. Do your set of push-ups this way. When the wall or countertop is too easy, drop your hands down to something lower, like a chair. (If you’re using an actual staircase, just start with your feet on the floor and your hands on a high step; move your hands to the lower steps over time.) Eventually you’ll be able to do full sets of push-ups from the floor. Then, reverse the progression: start putting your feet on higher and higher surfaces. Ultimate goal: handstand push-ups. Good luck and get moving! View the full article

If you tried to open ChatGPT this morning, only to find the service endlessly loading or erroring out, you're not alone: ChatGPT is up and down this morning, along with other OpenAI services. OpenAI's official status site shows some issues for services across OpenAI's portfolio, but ChatGPT is the most affected. As of this article, all other services are listed as "Operational," but not ChatGPT. The chatbot was previously listed as dealing with a "Partial Outage," but OpenAI has since relabeled it as a "Major Outage." The company has six updates listed on Jan. 23 under "Past Incidents:" The first was at 3:54 PST: "We are currently experiencing elevated error rates in the API. We are currently investigating." OpenAI identified the issue at 4:26 PST, then rolled out a fix at 4:30 PST. As of 4:43, the company said it resolved the elevated error rates on ChatGPT and the API, but more issues have appeared since. At 5:12 PST, OpenAI said they were experiencing elevated error rates for ChatGPT itself, and at 5:43 PST, the company claimed to have found the root cause, and were working on a fix. That fix was supposedly implemented at 7:09 PST, but two minutes later, the company added another update, stating, "We are continuing to monitor for any further issues." I've had mixed results with ChatGPT this morning, which tracks with the original "Partial Outage" label OpenAI has assigned the platform. The first time I heard about the outage, I tried to load ChatGPT, and after some time, received an error message. Later, though, ChatGPT refreshed, and I was able to interact with the chatbot. While writing this article, ChatGPT became unresponsive again. I was able to get it to load one more time, but the situation is definitely a bit volatile at the moment. View the full article

Building a Spotify playlist isn't exactly difficult, but it can be tedious, especially if you want to assemble a mix with dozens or even hundreds of songs. Spotlistr is a free tool that can do the work for you—it can automatically turn any list of songs into a Spotify playlist, even if it's just in simple text format. You paste the text containing your list of songs, let the app run, check that the tool identified the right songs, and click a button. A playlist appears. Even better, Spotlistr can convert a playlist for pretty much any other music streaming service, including YouTube, Soundcloud, Reddit, and Last.fm. To get started, go to Spotlistr.com and sign in using your Spotify account. Next, pick the source for the playlist you want to create. I tend to use the Textbox option, which lets you paste in a simple list of songs. You'll want to get the formatting right: There should be one song per line. Credit: Justin Pot Click "Search" and the service will try to match each line to a specific song. Credit: Justin Pot You can scroll through the list and quickly confirm that the application found the songs you actually want. You'll see up to four options for each entry, allowing you to pick between them. When everything looks right, you can add the playlist to your Spotify account. Use Spotlistr to import playlists from another service (or even Reddit)Converting a list of songs into a playlist is just one function of Spotlistr. As noted, it can also import and convert playlists from other services. If there's a YouTube or Soundcloud playlist you want to move to Spotify, there are tools for that. There are also options for pulling in Last.fm top tracks from any user. A particularly cool use case: You can also pull in all songs from any Reddit conversation, subreddit, or collection of subreddits. For example: I was able to turn this list of 2024 song recommendations into this playlist featuring all of those songs with just a couple of clicks. It's a great way to sample a list of songs without having to manually search up each one, though note that the tool doesn't parse posts with multiple songs in the same line particularly well. You can also use the app to export any existing Spotify playlist to a CSV file. There's a "stats generator" that lets you crate a sort of "Spotify Wrapped" any time of the year. You can automatically remove duplicates from any playlist, or make playlist cover art. Basically, this site offers a bunch of tools that Spotify should already have, but doesn't. Bookmark it if you ever feel frustrated about the playlist making process. View the full article