Tag: Creator

Bad Bunny wins album of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, a first for a Spanish-language album

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Bad Bunny won album of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for his critically-acclaimed “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” closing out a surprising and history-making night. It is the first time a Spanish-language album has taken home the top prize.“Puerto Rico, believe me when I tell you that we are much bigger than 100 by 35,” he said in his acceptance speech in Spanish, referring to a Puerto Rican colloquialism about the island’s small size. “And there is nothing we can’t achieve. Thank God, thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the people who have believed in me throughout my career.“To all the people who worked on this album, thank you mami for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico, I love you,” he continued.Then he switched to English: “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams.”Harry Styles presented the award — the English singer previously took home the top prize in 2023 for “Harry’s House.” He beat Bad Bunny that year, who was nominated for “Un Verano Sin Ti” — the first Spanish-language album to be up in the category.Anti-ICE messages from the stageBillie Eilish won song of the year for “Wildflower” and used the moment to add her voice to the chorus of musicians criticizing immigration authorities Sunday.“No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said while accepting the award for the song from her 2024 album “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” “(Expletive) ICE is all I want to say.”Immigration was a pointed theme of the night. Bad Bunny, after winning an award for his zeitgeist-shaping album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” used his speech to share an anti-ICE message, highlighting the humanity of all people.“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said, starting out his speech in English to huge applause. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”Before Bad Bunny took home the best música urbana album trophy, Olivia Dean was named best new artist.”I never really imagined that I would be up here,” she said, receiving her first Grammy while wiping away tears. “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn’t be here … I am a product of bravery, and I think that those people deserve to be celebrated.”Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll and more win bigKendrick Lamar and SZA won record of the year at an electric 2026 Grammy Awards Sunday night for “Luther.”Cher presented the award and mistakenly said it goes to “Luther Vandross” instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their single “Luther.”One of the song’s producers, Sounwave, began the acceptance speech by saying, “Let’s give a shoutout to the late and great Luther Vandross.”Lamar also won the first televised award of the night, rap album for “GNX,” accepting the trophy from Queen Latifah and Doechii.“It’s an honor to be here,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Hip-hop is always going to be right here … We’re gonna be having the culture with us.”The victory means Lamar broke Jay-Z’s record to become the rapper with the most career Grammys. Jay-Z has 25; after he took home rap album and record of the year, Lamar’s total is 27.Pop vocal album went to Lady Gaga for “Mayhem.”“Every time I’m here, I still feel like I need to pinch myself,” Gaga said in her speech.Pop solo performance went to Lola Young for “Messy,” whose speech playfully lived up to the song’s spirit.“I don’t know what to say,” she joked about “obviously” not having a speech prepared. “I’m very, very grateful for this.”The inaugural contemporary country album category went to Jelly Roll for “Beautifully Broken.”This year, the Grammys renamed country album to contemporary country album and added a traditional country album category, a distinction that exists in other genres. But the news arrived right after Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” won best country album, inspiring backlash online.“I believe music had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll said in his acceptance speech, which he spent the majority of thanking God.Pharrell Williams received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.“To everyone in this room who believes in the power of Black music,” he said, “thank you so much.”And Cher was presented the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. “The only thing I want you to take away,” she said, “I’ve been in this business for 60 (expletive) years. I just want to tell you, never give up on your dreams.”A live concert experienceA powerful Grammy Awards in memoriam segment celebrated the legacies of the late D’Angelo and Roberta Flack at the 68th annual ceremony Sunday night.Ms. Lauryn Hill appeared on the Grammy stage for the first time since 1999, when she became the first hip-hop artist to win album of the year for her “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”The D’Angelo tribute was first: A medley of several songs, among them “Brown Sugar” with Lucky Daye, “Lady” with Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton and “Devil’s Pie” with Leon Thomas.Then, Hill focused her attention on Roberta Flack: “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with Jon Batiste, “Where Is The Love” with John Legend and Chaka Khan, and a mesh of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” with her Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.If there was one set that felt like avant-garde artistic performance piece on Sunday night, it was Tyler, the Creator’s medley of “Thought I Was Dead,” “Like Him,” (in which he was joined by Regina King) and “Sugar On My Tongue.” It played out like theater: others would be wise to take note.All eight nominees in the best new artist category participated in a medley at the award show across multiple stages, the back halls of the arena and even the venue’s loading dock. It was an interesting and impressive mod-podge of different styles, from the British soul of Lola Young and Olivia Dean to Addison Rae and Katseye’s hypnotic pop. The Marías kicked things off with their dreamy indie rock; sombr and Alex Warren offered their radio hits — “12 to 12” and “Ordinary” respectively. Leon Thomas reminded the audience why he’s the only nominee also up for album of the year with his fully formed R&B.The hits arrived fast and furious in the show’s first hour. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ opened Grammys with an electric rendition of their multicultural pop smash, “APT.”; the Blackpink singer channeled a pop-punk Gwen Stefani in her tie and platinum blond hair. Sabrina Carpenter with her “Manchild” kiss-off. Justin Bieber slowed things down with “Yukon” from his comeback record “Swag.” Lady Gaga reimagined her hit “Abracadabra” as an electro-rock song.Surprises were abundant — even before the show startedAn exciting, early theme of the 68th Grammy Awards? First time winners.During the Premiere Ceremony held at the adjacent Peacock Theater in Los Angeles ahead of the main show, the Dalai Lama won his first Grammy for audio book, narration and storytelling recording, beating out Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. You read that correctly.“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” won song written for visual media at the Premiere Ceremony, marking the first time a K-pop act has won a Grammy. Songwriters delivered their acceptance speech in both English and Korean, highlighting the song’s bilingual appeal.Music film went to “Music for John Williams,” which means director Steven Spielberg has officially won his first Grammy. That makes him an EGOT winner — an artist with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar.Artists speak out Trump administration’s immigration crackdownsThroughout Sunday’s Grammys, artists offered pro-immigration and anti-ICE messaging.During the Premiere Ceremony, country duo/group performance went to first-time winners Shaboozey and Jelly Roll. Shaboozey accepted the award with tears in his eyes. “I want to thank my mother, who as of today, has retired from her job of 30 years … working as a registered nurse in a psych ward … as an immigrant in this country. Thank you, mom.“Immigrants built this country, literally, actually. So, this for them,” he concluded. “Thank you for bring your culture, your music and your stories.”Amy Allen won songwriter of the year, nonclassical for a second year in a row and wore an “ICE Out” pin, an anti-immigration enforcement message. So did Kehlani – who won her first Grammy for R&B performance and later, her second, for R&B song.“I’ve never won anything before, this is a really crazy feeling,” she said as she fought back tears, reflecting on her first nomination 10 years ago. Then she shifted gears to focus on the current political moment: “Imma leave this and say, (expletive) ICE.”“I’m scared,” Gloria Estefan said of the current political moment backstage at the Grammys. “There are hundreds of children in detention centers. … I don’t recognize my country in this moment right now.”

Bad Bunny won album of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for his critically-acclaimed “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” closing out a surprising and history-making night. It is the first time a Spanish-language album has taken home the top prize.

“Puerto Rico, believe me when I tell you that we are much bigger than 100 by 35,” he said in his acceptance speech in Spanish, referring to a Puerto Rican colloquialism about the island’s small size. “And there is nothing we can’t achieve. Thank God, thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the people who have believed in me throughout my career.

“To all the people who worked on this album, thank you mami for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico, I love you,” he continued.

Then he switched to English: “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams.”

Harry Styles presented the award — the English singer previously took home the top prize in 2023 for “Harry’s House.” He beat Bad Bunny that year, who was nominated for “Un Verano Sin Ti” — the first Spanish-language album to be up in the category.

Anti-ICE messages from the stage

Billie Eilish won song of the year for “Wildflower” and used the moment to add her voice to the chorus of musicians criticizing immigration authorities Sunday.

“No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said while accepting the award for the song from her 2024 album “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” “(Expletive) ICE is all I want to say.”

Immigration was a pointed theme of the night. Bad Bunny, after winning an award for his zeitgeist-shaping album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” used his speech to share an anti-ICE message, highlighting the humanity of all people.

“Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said, starting out his speech in English to huge applause. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.”

Before Bad Bunny took home the best música urbana album trophy, Olivia Dean was named best new artist.

“I never really imagined that I would be up here,” she said, receiving her first Grammy while wiping away tears. “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn’t be here … I am a product of bravery, and I think that those people deserve to be celebrated.”

Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll and more win big

Kendrick Lamar and SZA won record of the year at an electric 2026 Grammy Awards Sunday night for “Luther.”

Cher presented the award and mistakenly said it goes to “Luther Vandross” instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA for their single “Luther.”

One of the song’s producers, Sounwave, began the acceptance speech by saying, “Let’s give a shoutout to the late and great Luther Vandross.”

Lamar also won the first televised award of the night, rap album for “GNX,” accepting the trophy from Queen Latifah and Doechii.

“It’s an honor to be here,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Hip-hop is always going to be right here … We’re gonna be having the culture with us.”

The victory means Lamar broke Jay-Z’s record to become the rapper with the most career Grammys. Jay-Z has 25; after he took home rap album and record of the year, Lamar’s total is 27.

Pop vocal album went to Lady Gaga for “Mayhem.”

“Every time I’m here, I still feel like I need to pinch myself,” Gaga said in her speech.

Pop solo performance went to Lola Young for “Messy,” whose speech playfully lived up to the song’s spirit.

“I don’t know what to say,” she joked about “obviously” not having a speech prepared. “I’m very, very grateful for this.”

The inaugural contemporary country album category went to Jelly Roll for “Beautifully Broken.”

This year, the Grammys renamed country album to contemporary country album and added a traditional country album category, a distinction that exists in other genres. But the news arrived right after Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” won best country album, inspiring backlash online.

“I believe music had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll said in his acceptance speech, which he spent the majority of thanking God.

Pharrell Williams received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.

“To everyone in this room who believes in the power of Black music,” he said, “thank you so much.”

And Cher was presented the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. “The only thing I want you to take away,” she said, “I’ve been in this business for 60 (expletive) years. I just want to tell you, never give up on your dreams.”

A live concert experience

A powerful Grammy Awards in memoriam segment celebrated the legacies of the late D’Angelo and Roberta Flack at the 68th annual ceremony Sunday night.

Ms. Lauryn Hill appeared on the Grammy stage for the first time since 1999, when she became the first hip-hop artist to win album of the year for her “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.”

The D’Angelo tribute was first: A medley of several songs, among them “Brown Sugar” with Lucky Daye, “Lady” with Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton and “Devil’s Pie” with Leon Thomas.

Then, Hill focused her attention on Roberta Flack: “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with Jon Batiste, “Where Is The Love” with John Legend and Chaka Khan, and a mesh of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” with her Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean.

If there was one set that felt like avant-garde artistic performance piece on Sunday night, it was Tyler, the Creator’s medley of “Thought I Was Dead,” “Like Him,” (in which he was joined by Regina King) and “Sugar On My Tongue.” It played out like theater: others would be wise to take note.

All eight nominees in the best new artist category participated in a medley at the award show across multiple stages, the back halls of the arena and even the venue’s loading dock. It was an interesting and impressive mod-podge of different styles, from the British soul of Lola Young and Olivia Dean to Addison Rae and Katseye’s hypnotic pop. The Marías kicked things off with their dreamy indie rock; sombr and Alex Warren offered their radio hits — “12 to 12” and “Ordinary” respectively. Leon Thomas reminded the audience why he’s the only nominee also up for album of the year with his fully formed R&B.

The hits arrived fast and furious in the show’s first hour. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ opened Grammys with an electric rendition of their multicultural pop smash, “APT.”; the Blackpink singer channeled a pop-punk Gwen Stefani in her tie and platinum blond hair. Sabrina Carpenter with her “Manchild” kiss-off. Justin Bieber slowed things down with “Yukon” from his comeback record “Swag.” Lady Gaga reimagined her hit “Abracadabra” as an electro-rock song.

Surprises were abundant — even before the show started

An exciting, early theme of the 68th Grammy Awards? First time winners.

During the Premiere Ceremony held at the adjacent Peacock Theater in Los Angeles ahead of the main show, the Dalai Lama won his first Grammy for audio book, narration and storytelling recording, beating out Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. You read that correctly.

“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” won song written for visual media at the Premiere Ceremony, marking the first time a K-pop act has won a Grammy. Songwriters delivered their acceptance speech in both English and Korean, highlighting the song’s bilingual appeal.

Music film went to “Music for John Williams,” which means director Steven Spielberg has officially won his first Grammy. That makes him an EGOT winner — an artist with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar.

Artists speak out Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns

Throughout Sunday’s Grammys, artists offered pro-immigration and anti-ICE messaging.

During the Premiere Ceremony, country duo/group performance went to first-time winners Shaboozey and Jelly Roll. Shaboozey accepted the award with tears in his eyes. “I want to thank my mother, who as of today, has retired from her job of 30 years … working as a registered nurse in a psych ward … as an immigrant in this country. Thank you, mom.

“Immigrants built this country, literally, actually. So, this for them,” he concluded. “Thank you for bring your culture, your music and your stories.”

Amy Allen won songwriter of the year, nonclassical for a second year in a row and wore an “ICE Out” pin, an anti-immigration enforcement message. So did Kehlani – who won her first Grammy for R&B performance and later, her second, for R&B song.

“I’ve never won anything before, this is a really crazy feeling,” she said as she fought back tears, reflecting on her first nomination 10 years ago. Then she shifted gears to focus on the current political moment: “Imma leave this and say, (expletive) ICE.”

“I’m scared,” Gloria Estefan said of the current political moment backstage at the Grammys. “There are hundreds of children in detention centers. … I don’t recognize my country in this moment right now.”

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February 1, 2026
Faith As In Homework

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From time to time, you read here in this space, my quest, goal, or challenge to define the work that accompanies the faith of a saved Christian. I believe that faith is a verb of a saved Christian. Faith is a verb, and action is the next logical step of a professed follower of Jesus Christ. My dilemma sometimes has been to determine just what it is that I’ve been called to do. What church should I join? What ministry should I participate in? What pastor should I follow? Invariably, when I have prayed on this for guidance, the Lord has a way of reminding me that these are my issues and not His. What church I attend, what pastor I listen to, and what so-called ministry I participate in do not matter to the Almighty. What does matter, He constantly reminds me, is service to my fellow man in His name. Instead of focusing on what to do and which way to go, I should ask God for the opportunity to serve, witness, and expand the knowledge of Him through me.

I am now convinced that whenever I struggle in the real world, trying to determine if I’m doing this thing right, I am falling prey to, allowing, if you will, the devil to do his thing. His thing is confusion. The more confused I am, the less I’ll do in God’s name, afraid to do the wrong thing. You see, Satan wins if nothing gets done. Each and every time I allow myself to take over, I lose. The prayer to God must first submit all things to His will and respond accordingly to what comes next. What comes next is the work. What comes next is what God would have you do. The answer is understanding that the job of being a Christian is to let go and let God. The hard part is letting go. The easy part, once you’ve done that, is then and only then to recognize that God will give you something to do. Not only will He give you something to do, He will also give you the means to accomplish it.

Every time I get lost in my walk, I, by now, have enough sense to stop and ask directions from the Creator. I generally get what I’ve asked for each time I do this. Like Christ turning over tables in the temple, the point is doing God’s work, not getting hung up on the definition, parameters, or the name of the work. You know, Jesus spent a lifetime trying to get people to relate to the spirit of the law, rather than the rule of the law. Bingo! That’s it. The spirit of God’s law demands that we remain open to the possibility that we can, will be, and must be used in His service. We must give Him all the honor and all the glory. Faith prepares you for this. Faith molds you for this. Faith gives purpose and intent. Through this faith, God provides circumstances and opportunity. The rest is up to us. Just remember there is a way out when you get confused, lost, or overwhelmed. Treat the next person you meet, and deal with the next circumstance you encounter as sent by God to allow you to put your faith in His hands. Christ has already guaranteed the outcome. Let go and let God. The rest is given.

May God bless and keep you always.

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James Washington

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August 17, 2025
Akira Toriyama Rode the Cloud Into Imaginations Everywhere

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On Friday morning, Bird Studio, a small production workshop in Nagoya, Japan, announced the death of its founder, Akira Toriyama, the legendary manga artist, character designer, and creator of the long-running manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball. Toriyama died on March 1, at age 68, due to an acute subdural hematoma—a blood clot in his brain. The news of his passing has sparked a global outpouring of kind words and heartfelt illustrations, a testament to the late mangaka’s massive multigenerational impact.

Toriyama was, without a doubt, one of the most influential figures in the history of comics and cartoons. He was also a pivotal figure in the popularization of manga and anime outside Japan. Where Hayao Miyazaki is rightly lauded as a hero of theatrical anime, Toriyama was a god of manga and television anime, looming large for nearly half a century before his passing. The studio Toei Animation’s earliest adaptation of Dragon Ball consisted of 153 episodes roughly split into nine story arcs that aired in Japan throughout the late 1980s and appeared only briefly—at least initially—in North America via The WB network. Dragon Ball was the story of Goku, a young boy with spiky hair and magical powers and rigorous martial arts training, on a quest to collect the seven magical orbs—the titular Dragon Balls—required to summon Shenron, a dragon with the power to grant the summoner a single wish before once again scattering the Dragon Balls across earth. Toriyama was heavily inspired by the classic premodern Chinese novel Journey to the West, and yet Dragon Ball was unmistakably original in its art style and its mischievous humor. Toriyama was a mythmaker for a new medium and a new century.

With time, Toriyama wrote Dragon Ball into a more mature direction, and Toei spun the newer volumes into a sequel series, Dragon Ball Z, a much edgier show full of angsty heroes, ruthless villains, awesome superpowers, intergalactic intrigue, cataclysmic battles, and excruciating cliff-hangers: “Next time on Dragon Ball Z!” The Goku of Dragon Ball Z was a grown man, a husband and a father, and while his kindhearted son, Gohan, would in some sense preserve the gentler spirit of the earlier Dragon Ball, Super Saiyan Goku would come to iconically embody the fierce heroism of battle shonen. Cue Linkin Park.

Dragon Ball had an inauspicious launch in the West. Time Warner initially brought both Dragon Ball and then later DBZ to North America, airing the latter alongside Batman: The Animated Series and The Animaniacs, with extensive edits to tame the vulgarity and violence for younger audiences. But violence and vulgarity were rather essential to the appeal of DBZ, and the anime series wouldn’t really take off in North America until Time Warner moved it to Cartoon Network and its action-adventure programming block, Toonami, in August 1998. This version of DBZ featured a new English voice dub, less censorship, and a clearer sense of the target audience. DBZ aired alongside the magical girl series Sailor Moon and the space-mech saga Gundam Wing, among other popular anime of the late 1990s. Toonami raised a generation of kids and thus nudged anime into the mainstream. None of these shows were bigger than Dragon Ball Z. None of their creators were bigger than Toriyama.

Toriyama unleashed something in the modern imagination with the Dragon Ball franchise. Anime had long been seen as something strange and even illicit in North America, an array of sketchy titles filling out the back shelves of video rental shops, next to the porn. Fist of the North Star wasn’t exactly an after-school show. Manga was in an even weaker position, with few serialized titles finding any substantial distribution and readership in North America outside of Katsuhiro Otomo’s cyberpunk classic Akira and Rumiko Takahashi’s fantastical rom-com Ranma ½. Toriyama didn’t just find an audience for Dragon Ball—for so many fans, he redrew the whole notion of comics and cartoons and superheroes. In the West, Dragon Ball was a sensation unlike anything before it, and while in subsequent years anime has produced a few dozen battle shonen hits in roughly the same vein, Dragon Ball is still unrivaled in its influence; the creators of later shows such as Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece will be the first to tell you that they owe everything to Toriyama.

Dragon Ball, as a cultural phenomenon, has never really ended. Toriyama oversaw its expansion into a multibillion-dollar multimedia universe: Dragon Ball, then DBZ, GT, Kai, and Super; the 21 theatrical releases over the years, most recently Broly and Super Hero; and video games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ. Dragon Ball is a gateway, and Toriyama was the best sort of gatekeeper, one eager to invite every kid into his creative vision.

Toriyama’s death comes as a shock; he was old, but not that old, and there were no public signs of declining health. In an industry full of rapidly grayed creators run ragged by the unsparing demands of the profession, Toriyama was forever youthful and always smiling. In its announcement of his death, Bird Studio said Toriyama “still had several works in the middle of creation with great enthusiasm.” It’s strange to think that he was so prolific, his influence so multigenerational, and yet, somehow, his work is now unceremoniously unfinished. His influence has spread so far and wide in the decades since he ended Dragon Ball in May 1995, after 42 volumes, with a parting message to his readers: Tackle life with as much energy as Goku! I’ll try to do the same!

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Justin Charity

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March 8, 2024
If you liked Hazbin Hotel, here’s what you should watch next

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Hazbin Hotel’s frenetic first season finished up on Friday, with a dozen reveals and dangling plot threads, all primed for a second season. The devilish comedy comes from creator Vivienne Medrano, who first posted the pilot episode on her YouTube channel, and follows Charlie, the princess of Hell, who opens a hotel in hopes that demons will rehabilitate and get to heaven. Oh, and it’s also a musical!

The first season finished with a bang, but it might be some time before we see the second season of Hazbin Hotel. So if you need something to sate your devilish desires for now, Medrano handpicked some of the show’s biggest influences.

Invader Zim

Image: Netflix

Where to watch: Paramount Plus

Merdano calls this one a “huge one” and it’s not hard to see why: Both shows share a similar kind of feverish sensibility, along with a strong, vibrant color palette. The spindly style of Invader Zim feels clearly at play in Hazbin, with characters like Alastor and Angel Dust feeling like they could fairly comfortably roll between shows.

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

Image: Cartoon Network Studios

Where to watch: Max

The other childhood show Merdano cites is about two kids (one a clueless happy-go-lucky oaf, the other a cynical and smart-ass tomboy) who summon the Grim Reaper and beat him at a game of limbo, thus making him their eternal ~~servant~~ best friend. They get wrapped up in the paranormal world of demons, gods, and other supernatural creatures, but it’s all done with a goofy spin. The infernal through-line from Grim Adventures to Hazbin Hotel is pretty obvious.

BoJack Horseman

Image: Netflix

Where to watch: Netflix

While there were other shows she watched when she was younger, Medrano says Netflix’s BoJack Horseman — about an anthropomorphic, depressed washed-up sitcom actor (who is also a horse) — is the one that came at the “perfect time” to show her that she could tell a complicated emotional story in adult animation.

“[It’s] actually one of my favorites of all time; phenomenal show,” Medrano says. “It kind of showed me that adult animation can not only just be raunchy comedy, but it can be a story that has intense development of its characters. It can have incredibly flawed characters. It can make you cry. It can really get deep and dark.

“It had just started around the time that I was like, really making the pilot and they kind of made me go, Oh, wow, adult animation is starting to change. And it’s starting to evolve.”

South Park

Where to watch: Paramount Plus

Medrano calls South Park a “huge turning point” for her with adult animation — an experience a lot of people had around Comedy Central’s classic. The show tackled topical ideas and events, all with a gleeful, jaded humor that has kept it running since 1997. “From that point on,” Medrano says, “I kind of just kept watching [adult animation].”

Rick and Morty

Image: Adult Swim

Where to watch: Max

Similar to BoJack, Medrano cites this ever-popular Adult Swim comedy as a proponent of the depth and humor she tries to balance with her work. As anyone who has watched Rick and Morty can attest, there’s more to the show and more to Pickle Rick than the reputation it gives. “Something like Rick and Morty that is still very raunchy, and vulgar, and shocking in a lot of ways — it went this direction of like, Yeah, but let’s go a little deeper, let’s get a little darker. I think that also helped shift the space kind of more towards Oh, that works! That has an audience that did really well.”

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Zosha Millman

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February 4, 2024
‘True Detective: Night Country’ Episode 1, With Creator Issa López

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Chris and Andy talk about the first episode of True Detective: Night Country. They discuss how it differs from the past True Detective iterations (1:00) and how the setting’s constant nighttime affects the story (24:56). Then Chris is joined by creator Issa López to talk about how she came up with the idea for the show and working with Jodie Foster (35:37).

Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald
Guest: Issa López
Producer: Kaya McMullen

Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / RSS

The Ringer’s Streaming Guide

It’s hard to know what to watch. That’s why we’re breaking down the Streaming Wars and recommending the best shows on streaming TV, from Netflix to Hulu to Disney+.

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Chris Ryan

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January 14, 2024
‘Slow Horses’ Season 3 With Creator Will Smith

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Chris and Andy talk about the finale of Slow Horses Season 3, and how the show is set up to be able to try different types of storytelling with each season (1:00). Then, they are joined by show creator Will Smith to talk about how they have been able to put out a new season every six months (17:28), and working with Gary Oldman to bring the character of Jackson Lamb to life (35:30).

Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald
Guest: Will Smith
Producer: Kaya McMullen

Subscribe: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Stitcher / RSS

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Chris Ryan

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December 29, 2023
‘I don’t want to revisit myself at 25’: The story behind Netflix’s bold Scott Pilgrim anime

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By now most people know the secret behind Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: Scott Pilgrim — well, he takes off. He’s gone, for most of the narrative, leaving the players as we know them to pick up the pieces and figure out what happened to him. What happens to them in his absence is usually a total flip of what we’ve come to expect: Think Gideon introducing Lucas to the slowburn anime he’s been watching for a while (or maybe just a few days).

Bryan Lee O’Malley, who wrote the original comic and co-created the Netflix anime reboot with BenDavid Grabinski, knows that sort of remake is something audiences have come to expect. “I mean, it’s in the air, right? We’re all seeing remakes and reboots of everything,” O’Malley says.

When Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was in development he says he and the team looked at everything new in this vein they could, from The Matrix Resurrections to Spider-Man: No Way Home. But just as frequently he turned elsewhere for inspiration — Dragonball Z, Cowboy Bebop, Keep Your Hands off Eizouken!, or even Elden Ring. But none of these were quite the main catalyst, even something like Evangelion, which he calls “a good comparison, but not necessarily an influence.”

The real reason O’Malley wanted to make this story was simply: It was the only way he could see revisiting the world of Scott Pilgrim.

[Ed. note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]

Polygon: Starting off: I’m curious to hear a little bit about how you did justice by Matthew Patel, the lowest ranking evil ex.

Image: Netflix

Bryan Lee O’Malley: Our first spark of idea was to kind of take Scott Pilgrim out of the picture after the first episode. And that naturally led to the process of: Then what happens to Matthew? What does Matthew get? And then what do the other exes think about it? So yeah, it really appealed to me right away, and to be like, Oh, then Matthew should win, and Matthew should become the boss. Because we’re going through all these different reversals of fortune; so someone goes from the top to the bottom, and someone has to go from the bottom to the top. And yeah, giving Matthew kind of his flowers was so much fun.

Were there any characters in particular — like Matthew, or just generally — that you felt most excited by like, OK, if we open up this world without Scott in it, what can you do?

I was excited to take on kind of all the exes; that was one of the biggest appeals to me of revisiting Scott Pilgrim, was just — I felt like I gave them short shrift in the books a little bit. I was making it up as I went along, and I was locked into Scott’s perspective. And I was younger and didn’t really know that much about other people like that! I certainly didn’t know about movie stars, or rock stars, I didn’t really know the details of how they lived; I just saw them in magazines, or whatever or in movies.

So now I’ve lived a little more, I’ve been in LA for a long time, and met lots of different types of people. And I think that just feeds back into kind of giving these characters a little more pathos, a little more depth and nuance — and pathos also in the sense of, like: pathetic; they’re also losers. And that was always really fun for me.

One of the things BenDavid told me was you were approached to adapt this, and you were wrestling with, Well, I’ve changed since I did this story, what does that mean? And I’m curious what sort of things you were really thinking about as you’re getting approached for this series that so many people love and so many people cherish and it hits different for you now.

Well, I mean that’s the initial fear. Netflix, and our producers, Jared [LeBoff] and Edgar Wright had approached me, we had talked about it a little bit — doing a series — and they were kind of keen on on doing it much more like the books initially. And for me that just made me kind of recoil. Like I don’t want to revisit myself at 25, necessarily. And it’s all there! It’s all on the page. So why would I want to relive that? Why would I want to perfect something that was so messy; it just seems like an impossible task.

Because the messiness is such a part of it. It’s part of the joy of it, is it’s messy, it’s complicated. It’s irreducible. So when faced with writing X number of TV episodes, I just thought, how the fuck am I gonna do that? I just had no idea, so it was really not until that dinner with BenDavid that that we just kind of started spitballing — not professionally; just kind of joking around [wondering], What can we do with these characters? And then a lot of those jokes we were like, Oh, actually, that would work. So you know, the joke of “Scott dies at the end,” or “Matthew becomes the boss” — those all just became something that we can really work with.

Image: Netflix

At what point did it become clear to you that if we’re revisiting this, and we’re taking Scott out of it, and we’re giving everybody space to be a little bit more themselves, a little bit more nuanced — at what point did it kind of become: Oh, Scott might be the bad guy?

Well, I mean, that’s definitely part of the initial discussion. That’s a perception. I don’t really see Scott as the bad guy. But these days — this is a terrible thing to say in an interview — the perception definitely on Twitter and stuff kind of turned over the last maybe five years where now it’s like, “He’s a bad character!” “It’s a toxic relationship!” and all this kind of chatter.

And I think all that stuff is true. But I don’t think that people in the 2000s didn’t think it was true. Like, I think the younger generation is, like, We discovered that Scott is bad. But, you know, it says on the very first page he’s dating a high schooler; no one’s supposed to think that’s a good thing. I think in the 2000s, I took it for granted that people would be like, Oh, he’s terrible, but it’s funny. So now you kind of have to be a bit more explicit — it’s just the way our culture works, the way online works. Like, if you don’t outright condemn something, then the absence of condemnation is seen as a tacit approval.

So yeah, it was never a tacit approval. It was a tacit condemnation. But definitely in the show in the modern era, yeah, we have a scene where [we show] Scott, it’s not a good thing to date a high schooler. So — throw them a bone?

I’m curious how you interpolated but also synthesized a lot of those conversations that are happening around this property into this, since it feels like this show is so in conversation with those.

I’ve absorbed all those things over the years; I didn’t disappear after Scott Pilgrim finished. So in a lot of ways, I kind of want it to feel like Scott Pilgrim is back from the dead. You thought it was gone, but it’s back. But not only is it back, like it never left, it’s also been paying attention to you. It’s grown up alongside you.

Image: Netflix

And we had to kind of cater to so many different audiences: someone like you, who read it a long time ago, and kind of has a memory of it, of what it felt like. But also someone who just read it last week for the first time, or someone who just discovered the movie, or somebody who hasn’t seen any of it. So it was just this really complex, but invigorating challenge of: how do we make this feel fresh, and also layered — and also hopefully staggering to some people who have thought about the book, but maybe not to this degree?

Did you find yourself being surprised by your reaction to revisiting this and reframing it in any way? Were there any characters who you felt ring a little differently or sit a little differently with you?

I don’t think I have a strong memory of how it hit back then. But it was really just a fun process, writing them and, and discovering these things and challenging ourselves to find new ways into everything.

I got to write the great scene where Knives and Kim sit down and play music together. And it’s not something I could’ve done in the comic, a) because it’s music. And then just the logistical challenge of making that happen, and making it feel organic and real, was very satisfying. And then that final scene, like just made plays magically for me. It was cool to discover those things by virtue of the collaboration with all these different artists and stuff. And that was that was the big new thing. It’s just letting other people in and letting their they all have their own different kinds of love for the series. And that shows, I think.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now streaming on Netflix.

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Zosha Millman

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November 25, 2023
YouTube has AI creator tools, but creators are too busy battling AI to care

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In mid-September, YouTube announced a collection of new artificial intelligence tools coming to the platform. The tools touch basically every part of the content creation process, from generating topics to editing and even generating video footage itself through the Dream Screen feature. But even as AI features have caused an uproar in so many other creative industries, the response to YouTube’s new suite of tools has been muted. Instead, YouTubers are sharing other concerns about the ways generative AI is already affecting the platform.

It’s been a watershed year as generative AI tools have made it easier to create images and text, all generated from internet scrapes of others’ art and writing. Artists and writers have typically pushed back, citing issues like copyright and their own work being undermined — in September, high-profile authors including George R.R. Martin and Jodi Picoult filed to sue OpenAI for scraping their books. And then there’s generative AI’s issues with hallucination and inaccuracies.

On the other side of the coin, these tools have been used by many people, either experimentally or professionally. Prizes have been won by AI art, while some news sites cut their staff and put out AI-generated articles. AI has also become a cornerstone of TikTok, particularly AI-powered filters. Creators use the Bold Glamour filter to apply makeup, a Ghibli filter to look like characters from the studio’s films, and even pay a fee for filters that generate themed avatars — like the hugely popular ’90s high school photo filter.

Maybe it’s the fact that YouTube’s tools aren’t available to the general public yet. But the quiet reception still seems to buck the trend. On the YouTube Creators account on X (formerly known as Twitter), the announcement only picked up a few hundred likes, doing similarly to engagement-bait tweets like “how do you make your audience feel seen and heard?” On the main YouTube account, it performed worse than a tweet reading “stars are kinda just sky rocks.”

On the platform itself, it’s difficult to find videos discussing the tools at all, despite a thriving community of YouTubers who explain how to use AI tools in making videos — just not the ones announced by YouTube. Instead, these videos focus on explaining existing tools to generate scripts and voice-overs, and to create and edit together images for the video visuals. YouTube’s new tools basically give creators an in-house option for much of this: Creators will be able to generate video prompts and script outlines, automatically edit clips together, and create AI-voiced dubs into other languages.

The main potential draw is that these AI tools would generate content based off of creators’ own historical output. For example, YouTube says the “insights” tool will be personalized so that new video ideas will take into account what a creator’s audience is already watching, something that other text generators can’t do without access to YouTube’s data. It also aims to recommend music for videos, including royalty-free music that hypothetically should help creators know what won’t get them troublesome copyright strikes.

But existing creators don’t seem particularly interested one way or the other. “No one’s heard of it yet,” says Jimmy McGee, a YouTuber who recently made a video titled “The AI Revolution is Rotten to the Core.” As the title might suggest, he’s not a huge fan of YouTube’s proposed tools, but he says it’s “strange” how they’ve been received.

He thinks it may be that these tools are mainly geared toward creators, and viewers may not notice if, for example, a video is edited with the help of AI. He doesn’t think the more obvious tools, like the melty generated visuals of Dream Screen, will take off in the long run. “People will get sick of those quick enough that it’s not really a problem,” he says. But the other tools might lead to longer-term issues in the creator space.

Viewers might not immediately notice if AI software is used to edit videos, but McGee worries that it will undermine those who actually use it. “It’s going to de-skill newer people on YouTube,” he says. Although he finds it unlikely that it will replace professional editors in its current form, it will prevent newer creators from growing their skills. YouTube is billing the feature as an easier way in for people who might not be as confident in their skills yet. It’s also aimed toward Shorts, YouTube’s vertical-video spinoff, so it might make things easier for those who only have their phones to edit on. But McGee thinks that relying on it may end up discouraging video creators in the long run as they struggle to grow creatively.

“I think the more decisions you can make in your video, the better the video can be”

“I think the more decisions you can make in your video, the better the video can be,” says McGee. “Maybe it won’t be [at first], but the ceiling is higher. That’s what worries me. If someone goes in earnestly trying to use these tools, it’d be very sad to see them give up.”

That potential pitfall depends on whether YouTube’s tools stick around. Parent company Google has a habit of shuttering things — including features it has hyped up a lot more than this one. And generative AI is currently running at a loss for most companies. “We’re probably going to see a decline in its popularity pretty soon,” says media and fandom critic Sarah Z. “[In the meantime] I hope these tools are helpful to creators and serve as a way of empowering them to better execute videos that serve their visions rather than a way to undercut creators.”

But some creators already feel undercut by AI on the platform. Just before YouTube’s tool announcement, creator Abyssoft released a video about a potential case of plagiarism. In it, he detailed the similarities between a previous video he had put out and a video uploaded by a different channel and speculated on how AI could have been used to perform the theft, including using speech-to-text programs and AI voice-over software.

Contacted for comment, Abyssoft pointed out that this is already a widespread issue on the platform. In May, science communicator Kyle Hill spoke out against YouTube channels using AI to create unverified but attention-grabbing content on the site. These videos are often misleading and in some cases appear to copy topics that Hill himself had made videos on.

In his video, Abyssoft says that he isn’t sure what the solution to these issues is. But one thing he suggests is that YouTube should disclose when AI is being used in video creation. He’d also like to see “a punishment or strike system for people that fail to disclose and are proven to be using AI.”

This would be easier if it were YouTube’s own AI tools that were being used; the platform would already be aware. In response to a request for comment on whether Google was considering implementing this feature or any additional measures to avoid plagiarism and misinformation on the platform, Google policy communications manager Jack Malon stated that all content is subject to the existing community guidelines, and that these are “enforced consistently for all creators on our platform, regardless of whether their content is generated using artificial intelligence.”

“Competing in a sea of faceless AI channels will be a tough challenge for creators”

Although Abyssoft considered some of the other generative AI tools as potentially useful, like the music tool helping creators avoid copyright issues, he continues to fear what easy access to AI tools might do to YouTube creators. “AI facilitates plagiarism in a way we haven’t seen before, and with a bit of effort it will soon become undetectable,” he says. “Competing in a sea of faceless AI channels will be a tough challenge for creators who make a living this way, as their upload cadence will be greatly outpaced by the AI.”

However, he doesn’t think that AI will necessarily produce interesting videos. “I’m assuming the tool that suggests video topics is only going to suggest ideas that it thinks will do well in the algorithm,” he says. “Things will get incredibly formulaic if [it’s] relied on too much.”

He does acknowledge that channels with technical content, such as his own speedrunning history videos, have the advantage of research and understanding that can’t be carried out by AI. McGee similarly feels somewhat protected by his own style. “My videos are messy and I like them that way,” he says. “I can make all the melty, weird visuals myself and make something I’m actually proud of.”

But other channels might not be able to survive. “Someone that covers current news will see AI upload videos before their editing is finished, since it can just scrape whatever articles have been published for the day and render out a video and voice-over in less than an hour,” says Abyssoft.

YouTube’s tools haven’t yet launched beyond a few test countries, so it’ll be some time until we see the impact they’ll have on the platform. But while creators have concerns that they might add new issues for both existing and upcoming video makers, they also have prior concerns about the use of AI that they feel aren’t being addressed by the platform. It seems to be these that are holding creators’ attention, not any new announcements.

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Jay Castello

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October 29, 2023
Our Flag Means Death spoilers: The show’s creator unpacks the big drama of season 2’s penultimate episode

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Season 2 of HBO’s pirate comedy/romance Our Flag Means Death takes some big turns by episode 7 — maybe not as big as the season 1 turn, when inept pirate captain Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) and Ed “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi) realized they had romantic feelings for each other, but still… a whole lot of things happen that we figured viewers would want to talk about, once they’d seen it for themselves. So when Polygon sat down with creator and showrunner David Jenkins to talk about season 2, we split the conversation into two parts: an overview of the season’s biggest ideas, and this spoiler-focused conversation about all the surprises in episode 7, including its explosive ending.

[Ed. note: Read on at your own risk; spoilers abound ahead.]

Photo: Nicola Dove/Max

To recap: In episode 7 of Our Flag Means Death season 2, Stede and Blackbeard have just had sex for the first time, and they seem all set for their happily-ever-after together — until Blackbeard abruptly leaves Stede to pursue a job as a fisherman. The crew visits the Republic of Pirates, where Oluwande (Samson Kayo) expresses feelings for Zhang Yi Sao (Ruibo Qian), even though he was previously uncomfortable with her expressing feelings for him when she took over his ship, and even though he and his friend Jim (Vico Ortiz) had a romantic liaison in season 1. They also learn that The Swede (Nat Faxon) has happily settled in as one of 20 husbands to Spanish Jackie (Leslie Jones), even though he was forced into that relationship to save the rest of the crew.

Yes, that summary does sound like something out of a soap opera, now that you mention it. But this doesn’t: At the end of the episode, a trap set by Prince Ricky (Erroll Shand) obliterates Zhang’s fleet, and the pirates’ haven is destroyed when the English fleet sweeps in to kill or capture the whole cast. Jenkins talks us through it all below.

This conversation has been edited for concision and clarity.

Polygon: One thing that really surprised me in season 2 is that you have two different coercive relationships where a man is being uncomfortably forced into an intimate relationship with a woman, and then he later decides he likes it. What kind of conversations went into those relationships and the gender tropes you’re reversing there?

David Jenkins: With The Swede and Spanish Jackie — she owns [her husbands]. They live in her basement, and she owns them, basically. So already, you’re [ick noise]. But then I love that The Swede really likes her. She’s a gangster, she’s a mob boss. There is a gender aspect to having her in that role. But then he says, “I’ve found parts of myself that I never knew existed, and other parts I thought were long gone.”

I just liked the idea of Leslie [Jones]’s character and Nat Faxon’s character being together and happy, balancing each other. She’s already got a wild thing going — she’s got 20 husbands. To me, to see that relationship start as kind of a joke, Oh, Leslie’s character’s scary and his character’s timid, and it turns into No, actually, they balance each other pretty well — that’s kind of sweet. It’s less about the fact that she essentially owns him, it’s about the fact that they do care about each other. It’s kind of nice.

Photo: Nicola Dove/Max

But you have very much the same dynamic with Zhang and Olu. When they start out, she’s got all the power in the relationship, and she’s kind of predatory about claiming Olu. He’s intimidated and forced into it, and he comes around on deciding he likes her. It just feels like an odd beat to repeat.

Well, she has all the power in the relationship until she doesn’t. And then she realizes that she’s in love with this guy — he is soft and kind and sweet. And that’s powerful. I think they’re mirrored in Blackbeard and Stede’s relationship — they’re each each other’s manic pixie dream girl.

I think there is something in the show about how piracy is a brutal way of life. It’s essentially Mad Max, this world. There’s no law, there’s just strong and weak. And in stories like Game of Thrones, we see how that plays out. It’s a lot of women getting raped in stories and you’re like, [resigned ick noise]. In Our Flag, a lot of these relationships aren’t consenting relationships — they’re power-dynamic relationships, because it’s Mad Max. So a thing I like to see in this show is, Well, why is the more powerful person interested in this weaker person? What are they trying to balance?

In a world where might makes right, and some people just need to align themselves with someone strong, it’s interesting to be like, Well, what does Blackbeard need? What does Spanish Jackie need? What does Zhang Yi Sao need, the most powerful pirate in the world? What happens when she gets into a relationship? What is she looking for? She’s a modern person, what does she need? So you’re always gonna get those weird power dynamics to start with, I think, and then you just try to get to: What’s underneath that? Why are they doing what they’re doing? What are they looking for?

Photo: Nicola Dove/Max

Speaking of what Blackbeard needs, I think some fans will think that him leaving Stede in episode 7 is a form of revenge. It so closely parallels what Stede did to him. You can read it as them being very much alike, running from commitment, or as him trying to hurt Stede. What do you want to say to people freaking out after episode 7?

Well, there’s a thing I talk about a lot — I really, really liked the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga version of A Star Is Born. I like how the dynamic changes between them. Everything we do is collapsed on this show — we talk about these lofty things, but we don’t have the time to execute everything we might like to do. Like, episode 4 is a mini Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, just a very small version of it.

In this case, we liked the idea that Blackbeard found this guy and made him a legitimate pirate, but now that he’s a star, Blackbeard’s questioning what he wants to do now that he’s lost his appetite for piracy. And Stede’s turned into Lady Gaga’s character. He’s famous now, because he killed the scariest pirate, so that power is inverted. It’s interesting to look at how a relationship changes now that Blackbird isn’t the star anymore and Stede isn’t a hanger-on. Stede got what he wanted; he’s a real boy. Is Blackbeard jealous? Is he uncomfortable with it? When power dynamics shift in a relationship, that leads to trouble. And then it really is just like, What are they going to do? Are they going to make it through it? Can they rebalance? Because that is a sign of a healthy relationship.

That episode is also a big turning point for Zhang and Olu, and for Olu and Jim. What went into the decisions around them moving in different directions after their connection in season 1?

I think that relationship was always seen in the room as a friend relationship that got romantic. That tension was interesting to us — it’s like, Well, what if we don’t play them as jealous? What if we play it as, when you love a friend and it becomes romantic, and then you see someone who makes them happy and you know you’re not it, you feel jealous? But also, they’re your friend. You want to see them happy. I think a lot of times, particularly in straight relationships, it’s traumatizing, and could be more about the jealousy. But here, I think it’s nice to see it this way: They truly care about each other enough to just want to see their friend with someone good, someone who takes care of them. In my life, those are the best relationships [with exes]. I do see those among my friends, but I don’t see it dramatized a lot, I just see the negative component dramatized. I like it this way — they’re friends, and they just want to see each other do well.

Photo: Nicola Dove/Max

This has never really been a show about villains, but the end of episode 7 feels like a shift in that regard.

I think a lot of the internal forces in Our Flag are the villains. It’s like, Can you let yourself be loved? Do you know what you want in love? If you know what you want, are you healthy enough to get it? When you start going into the tropes of [Blackbeard impression] Oh, should I be gay or not? or Oh, my friends did me dirty — we’ve seen that a lot. It’s good dramatic fuel, but I don’t think those are the things that drive the show.

I think the things that drive this show are a bunch of people who care about each other and are trying to figure out how to have relationships. And relationships are hard. Usually, you’re your own bad guy or gal or person in a relationship. It’s rarely [someone] doing something terrible to you — it’s you just trying to figure out your own shit. Hopefully, your friends help.

The big ending of episode 7 does suggest, though, that there might be more outside pressure coming to the cast, even if it’s just a short-term blip.

I think this is a story about the age of piracy coming to an end. This way of life is coming to an end. And every Western that’s good is that story: This way of life we made is coming to an end, and it can’t last. […] I think every story about outlaws is about trying to preserve a way of life against normative forces that are kind of fascistic.

All of which is a big historical moment, as far as the history of piracy, and it’s part of Stede and Blackbeard’s real-life story. Was that element coming in from history, the way you took little parts of Stede and Blackbeard’s relationship from history?

Using historical beats are good, because they give the story some shape — until they’re not useful, and then you just ignore them. When you feel like you’d rather eat a sandwich, just ignore the history. And then when you feel like, OK, we’re in emotional soup here, we need some downward pressure, then you bring history back in. The balance of the show is 90% ignoring history, and then 10%, bring it in, whenever we’re like, Ah, gotta move the story forward! Remember, the English are out there, and they’re really bad!

The season 2 finale of Our Flag Means Death airs on Max on Oct. 26.

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Tasha Robinson

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October 21, 2023
Startup Phenomena Launches a New Destination for Experiential Learning

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MIT alums create an engaging digital space where students learn by seeing and doing.

Press Release
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Sep 14, 2022

SEATTLE, September 14, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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Phenomena, an early-stage edtech startup founded by three MIT graduates, announced the launch of its new creator-driven platform for experiential STEM learning.

Founder & CEO Jared Schiffman said, “This is the first edtech platform for digital natives by digital natives,” referring to Phenomena’s unique creator-driven approach. “It’s a space where the mind’s eye meets the creator’s hand – where students learn by exploring and experimenting with dynamic interactive experiences.”

To engage today’s students, Schiffman believes you need to meet them where they are. Visual communication is the baseline for digitally native students who consume gigabytes of visual media every day. “Our visual, interactive approach serves two learning goals – it engages a wide range of students and it successfully conveys concepts that otherwise seem out of reach.”

Phenomena is realizing this solution with its collection of bite-sized STEM learning experiences designed by creators and ready for use by students and teachers. Teachers can use the experiences as a “do now” to start class, as a demonstration or to bring textbook readings to life. Presently the collection contains nearly 100 experiences across math, physics, chemistry, biology and even music. As more creators join Phenomena, the collection’s depth and breadth will continue to grow.

“Phenomena is a marketplace for digital learning experiences. Ultimately, for each concept, there will be a plethora of experiences made by different creators with distinct perspectives, and the best ones will rise to the top,” says Schiffman. “And unlike iOS or Android apps, which take weeks or months to build, these experiences can be created in a day or two with the Phenomena Creator Tool.”

The Phenomena Creator Tool is an intuitive, browser-based design and coding space that enables anyone to quickly and easily create engaging, interactive experiences. Publishing is done with a single click after experiences are thoroughly vetted by Phenomena. The Creator Tool opens the gates to a broad range of creators, enabling a diversity of STEM experiences for the diversity of STEM learners.

See all of Phenomena’s experiences launching today at phenomena.app. Educators can share experiences with students by creating a free teacher account. Those interested in becoming creators can contact Phenomena through the website.

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About Phenomena

Founded in 2021, Phenomena is a destination for digital learning experiences built by a diverse community of creators. We believe dynamic STEM concepts are best conveyed through dynamic digital experiences. Phenomena experiences build intuition, simplify complex ideas, and nurture hands-on, interactive learning. At Phenomena, our mission is to make STEM engaging and accessible for all students. We aim to foster achievement for all students, because every student is deserving of success.

Visit phenomena.app, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter @PhenomenaLearn, Instagram @phenomena.learning, LinkedIn or Medium to learn more.

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Media Inquiries

Jared Schiffman: People@phenomenalearning.com

Source: Phenomena

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September 14, 2022