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  • Denver’s police oversight office does too much work in secret, audit finds

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    The office responsible for independent oversight of Denver’s law enforcement agencies is doing too much of its work in secret, a city audit found.

    The Office of Independent Monitor, which provides civilian oversight for the Denver Police Department and Denver Sheriff Department, has not publicly reported its recommendations about law enforcement misconduct investigations and disciplinary actions for years, undermining the effectiveness of its oversight, city auditor Tim O’Brien found.

    “Because the public doesn’t know what guidance the Monitor’s Office is giving to the police and sheriff departments, the public doesn’t know whether those departments are responding. There is no visible proof of accountability,” he said in a Thursday news release. “The lack of transparency is a disservice to law enforcement oversight.”

    The independent monitor’s office is also not publicly reporting its reviews and evaluations of the two agencies’ policies and practices, and isn’t thoroughly tracking its work. The office lacks a formalized strategic plan, the audit found.

    Former Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and City Council members created the office in 2004 to provide independent oversight for the police and sheriff’s departments in the wake of two controversial police shootings. The monitor’s office reviews police and sheriff disciplinary cases and makes recommendations to the agencies about those cases that are aimed at improving discipline, policies and practices.

    The police and sheriff’s departments do not have to follow the monitor’s recommendations. Because the monitor’s office has not publicly reported its recommendations, it is difficult to tell what sort of changes the office has pursued and whether public safety officials accepted or ignored the monitor’s recommendations, the audit found.

    Denver’s ordinances require the Office of Independent Monitor to publicly report on disciplinary investigations and policy changes in its annual report, but also limit the office’s ability to do so because the materials are subject to deliberative process privilege, which allows information to be kept from the public if disclosing it would prevent honest and frank discussion within government.

    “We found legal guidance from the City Attorney’s Office is affecting what the Monitor’s Office publicly reports in terms of its oversight of the Police and Sheriff Departments,” the audit states. “A significant portion of what city ordinance tells the Monitor’s Office to publicly report is protected by the deliberative process privilege — according to the City Attorney’s Office’s interpretation.”

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  • 1Password Is Still the Gold Standard for Securely Managing Your Passwords

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    Password managers are spotty on Android and iOS in general, and 1Password isn’t above that issue. I’d estimate somewhere around 10 to 15 percent of the fields I encounter on mobile just don’t register with 1Password, sending me out to the app to copy my password over manually. This is more of an issue with how apps categorize different fields and expose them to other apps running, and less of a 1Password-specific problem.

    1Password at least attempts to get around this with linked apps. As you start signing into apps using entries in your vault, 1Password will connect your login to whatever app you’re logging into. That doesn’t eliminate autofill problems on mobile, but it helps in the cases where 1Password is looking for a specific URL to autofill, and the mobile app isn’t operating with that URL.

    Outside of autofill, using 1Password on Android and iOS is a breeze. You can enter your account password each time you unlock your account if you want, but 1Password supports biometric authentication on Android and iOS, including Face ID support. After a certain amount of time has passed (you can change the amount of time in the settings), 1Password will ask you to re-enter your account password. Thankfully, if you don’t want to use biometrics, you can set up a PIN or passcode, as well.

    Quick access is important because 1Password is extremely limited on mobile, and that’s a good thing. Even switching to another app or locking your phone will also lock your account, and if you swipe through your list of open apps, you’ll only see the 1Password login screen.

    You’re free to change these settings, from the amount of time you need to re-enter your account password to when 1Password should clear your keyboard history. The defaults work well, but if you can’t be bothered, you can turn these extra security measures off.

    Unique Security

    1Password may function similarly to other password managers, but its security design is unique. The company has a white paper you can read through for all the gory details, and it maintains a list of certifications and recent penetration testing. The core of 1Password’s security, however, is a zero-knowledge approach. It’s designed in such a way that, even if 1Password wanted to, it has no means to decrypt the contents of your vault.

    This works due to what 1Password calls two-secret key derivation, or 2SKD. It takes your account password and a secret key that’s generated on your device when you first sign up for 1Password, and uses them to derive a key encryption key (KEK). Also on your device, 1Password generates a public-private key pair. Your private key is encrypted with the KEK, while your public key is shared.

    There are several layers of nested encryption beyond this, but what’s important is that 1Password doesn’t have a copy of your private key, nor a copy of your account password that’s necessary to derive the KEK. And when you authenticate, everything happens locally on your device, including encryption and decryption. Your KEK, master password, and private key never leave your device.

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    Jacob Roach

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  • Forkful Review: Is This Meal Delivery Plan Worth It? | Better Living

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    Searching for an honest Forkful review? After testing a variety of meals from this chef-prepared delivery service, I discovered flavorful dishes crafted with quality ingredients at competitive pricing. Forkful specializes in fresh, ready-to-eat meals designed for diverse dietary preferences including Keto, Paleo, Plant-Based, GLP-1, Traditional, Low-Carb, High Protein, and Gluten-Free options.

    With simple 3-minute reheating and nationwide delivery, Forkful provides a practical solution for nutritious eating without the kitchen hassle.

    Forkful Review: My Experience Testing Their Meal Delivery

    Between work deadlines and family commitments, finding time to prepare healthy meals often feels impossible. While I appreciate cooking when I have the luxury of time, having nutritious options ready to go makes weeknight dinners significantly easier.

    This led me to explore Forkful’s meal delivery service for this comprehensive review. They specialize in fully prepared, chef-crafted meals delivered fresh to your doorstep. It represents a convenient meal prep solution that prioritizes nutrition without sacrificing flavor.

    As someone committed to maintaining a balanced diet despite a hectic schedule, I’m constantly looking for services that make healthy eating more accessible. Forkful claims to simplify clean eating with premium, ready-to-heat meals spanning multiple dietary approaches.

    But do their meals actually deliver on taste, nutritional value, and convenience?

    I spent several weeks testing Forkful’s offerings to determine whether it deserves a spot in your meal rotation. For those who’ve explored alternatives like Factor or HelloFresh, you’ll find valuable comparisons to other popular meal services.

    FORKFUL MEAL DELIVERY OVERVIEW

    • • Service: Chef-prepared fresh meals with nationwide delivery
    • • Price Range: $8.60–$12.58 per meal based on order quantity
    • • Meal Plans: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 20 meals weekly
    • • Diet Categories: Traditional, Keto, Paleo, Plant-Based, Low-Carb, High Protein, Gluten-Free, GLP-1
    • • Ingredients: All-natural components, premium proteins, fresh vegetables
    • • Prep Time: 3 minutes microwave or 25–35 minutes oven
    • • Shipping: All 48 continental United States
    • • Ideal For: Time-conscious individuals, health-focused eaters, specific diet followers
    • • Standout Dishes: Garlic Butter Steak & Shrimp, Chicken Tikka Masala, Korean Beef & Shrimp Bowl
    • • Ordering: ForkfulMeals.com, order by Thursday for following week

    What Makes Forkful Different?

    Forkful isn’t your average meal delivery service. Instead of frozen entrées or bland pre-portioned kits, they focus on chef-crafted meals made with real, natural ingredients. Everything arrives chilled – not frozen – so you just heat and eat. No shopping lists, no prep, no cleanup.

    What sets them apart is their ability to balance convenience with quality. The menu caters to a variety of dietary needs, which makes them a strong option for people who care about nutrition but don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen.

    For this Forkful review, I tried their 20-meal package to really get a sense of what they offer. At $8.60 per meal, it felt like a fair deal considering the time saved, the portion sizes, and the quality compared to takeout or even cooking at home.

    Forkful also provides a very streamlined ordering process. You simply choose your preferred meals from 50+ weekly options, receive fresh delivery, and reheat when ready. If you’re managing specific nutritional goals or dietary restrictions, Forkful makes meal planning easy.

    Quality Ingredients: What Sets Forkful Apart

    The first thing I noticed was how fresh everything tasted. Forkful leans heavily on organic vegetables, lean proteins, and authentic seasoning blends.  There’s no “TV dinner” vibes here. The flavors reminded me more of restaurant dishes than pre-packaged meals.

    Protein portions were generous, which matters when you’re paying a premium. And unlike heavier ready-made meals I’ve tried before, I never felt weighed down or sluggish afterward.

    Throughout my Forkful review, I also appreciated the transparency. Each meal comes with detailed nutrition info, both on the packaging and online, so it’s easy to track calories, macros, and sodium if that’s something you’re watching.

    The variety was another highlight. Their rotating menus pull inspiration from Indian, Mexican, Asian, and Latin cuisines. Most dishes were flavorful without being overly spicy, though I sometimes added a splash of hot sauce for extra kick.

    How Ordering From Forkful Works

    Forkful streamlines the meal delivery process by eliminating cooking entirely. Each dish arrives pre-cooked and properly chilled, requiring only reheating via microwave, oven, or stovetop. My deliveries consistently arrived well-packaged, sealed, and insulated on large ice packs.

    The subscription model offers flexibility across multiple ordering options with 3 easy steps:

    1. Select your preferences – Browse 50+ rotating weekly options and choose 6-20 meals
    2. Receive fresh delivery – Chef-prepared meals arrive chilled at your door
    3. Heat and enjoy – Ready in minutes with recyclable packaging

    Weekly menus refresh every Saturday at midnight EST, with ordering cutoffs on Thursday mornings for the following week’s delivery. You can preview current menus before subscribing through their website’s menu section.

    Menu rotation occurs regularly, preventing repetition for long-term subscribers. However, you can only view the current week’s offerings, unlike some services that provide multi-week previews.

    Best Forkful Meals: Standouts Across Diet Categories

    Since I don’t have any specific dietary restrictions, I sampled dishes from every meal category to get the full experience for my Forkful review.

    Their menu is divided into Traditional, Keto, Paleo, Plant-Based, Low-Carb, High-Protein, and Gluten-Free options, with plenty of overlap. In fact, a single dish often checks more than one box, which makes it easy to mix and match meals without feeling limited.

    Traditional Forkful Selections

    Chicken Penne ala Vodka

    Categories: Traditional, High Protein
    Rating: 4.5

    This Italian-American classic delivered creamy, rich flavors with tender chicken and al dente pasta. The vodka sauce achieved the right balance of tomato acidity and cream richness. Portion sizes were generous and the dish reheated well while maintaining good pasta texture. Made with free-range chicken breast, organic cheese, and homemade marinara sauce.

    Nutrition: Cal: 651 • Protein: 64g • Fat: 15g • Carbs: 66g • Sodium: 236mg • Fiber: 14g

    Chicken Tikka Masala with Organic White Rice

    Categories: Traditional, High Protein, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.8

    For fans of Indian food, this dish exceeded expectations. Tender cage-free chicken pieces swimming in a rich, aromatic homemade masala sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, curry, and masala spices. The heat level remained moderate while delivering authentic flavors, served over fluffy organic jasmine rice with fresh cilantro. At 460 calories with an impressive 55g protein and remarkably low 70mg sodium, this rivals quality Indian restaurants while fitting health-conscious goals. This will definitely appear in future orders.

    Nutrition: Cal: 460 • Protein: 55g • Fat: 9g • Carbs: 37g • Sodium: 70mg • Fiber: 1g

    Barbacoa Bowl with White Rice and Black Beans

    Categories: Traditional, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.9

    This became an instant favorite featuring generous portions of seasoned grass-fed beef that’s perfectly tender and flavorful. The spice blend with tomatoes, peppers, and onions created deep, satisfying flavors. Served over jasmine rice with black beans and accompanied by a creamy garlic sauce that elevated every bite. A must-order for Latin cuisine lovers.

    Nutrition: Cal: 372 • Protein: 38g • Fat: 7g • Carbs: 35g

    Blueberry Pancakes with Pork Sausage and Bacon

    Categories: Traditional, High Protein
    Rating: 4.3

    Forkful’s breakfast offering delivered comfort food satisfaction with fluffy pancakes made from almond flour and studded with real blueberries. The accompanying pork sausage and bacon provided quality protein to balance the carbs. While not an everyday choice for health-conscious eating, it made an enjoyable weekend treat that reminded me why breakfast-for-dinner exists. The use of almond flour instead of traditional wheat flour is a nice healthy touch.

    Nutrition: Cal: 525 • Protein: 20g • Fat: 53g • Carbs: 28g • Sodium: 178mg • Fiber: 2g

    High Protein/Keto/Low-Carb Options

    Garlic Butter Steak and Shrimp with Potato Mash (Surf & Turf)

    Categories: Keto, High Protein, Low-Carb
    Rating: 5.0

    This surf-and-turf combination delivered restaurant-quality results at home. The steak is tender and properly seasoned, while the shrimp maintained excellent texture and flavor. Creamy mashed potatoes provided the perfect base for the garlic butter sauce. At under $9 per serving, it’s an exceptional value compared to steakhouse pricing. Definitely ordering multiples for future meal planning.

    Nutrition: Cal: 688 • Protein: 42g • Fat: 23g • Carbs: 40g

    Keto Chicken Enchilada Bake

    Categories: Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.6

    This low-carb interpretation of enchiladas successfully captured Mexican flavors without traditional tortillas. Seasoned free-range chicken combined with organic cheese and zucchini created a satisfying casserole-style dish. The sugar-free enchilada sauce delivered authentic taste with ingredients like chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Perfect for keto followers who miss Mexican comfort food, this dish doesn’t even need carbs for satisfying flavors.

    Nutrition: Cal: 485 • Protein: 53g • Fat: 17g • Carbs: 9g • Sodium: 872mg • Fiber: 2g

    International Cuisine Highlights

    Korean Beef and Shrimp Bowl with Butternut Squash

    Categories: Paleo, GLP-1, Low-Carb, High Protein
    Rating: 4.7

    This fusion dish combined tender grass-fed beef with perfectly cooked shrimp over roasted butternut squash. The Korean-inspired seasonings created complex umami flavors through the homemade General Tso sauce with brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. The addition of kimchi and uncured bacon added depth and authentic Korean elements. The butternut squash provided natural sweetness that balanced the savory proteins beautifully. An excellent example of Forkful’s international flavor expertise.

    Nutrition: Cal: 397 • Protein: 51g • Fat: 13g • Carbs: 14g • Sodium: 1106mg • Fiber: 3g

    Tandoori Chicken with Creamy Cauliflower Rice

    Categories: Keto, Paleo, Low-Carb
    Rating: 4.5

    The tandoori spicing on this free-range chicken breast created aromatic, complex flavors that transported me straight to an Indian restaurant. The creamy cauliflower rice substitute worked surprisingly well, made rich with coconut milk and saffron in the biryani sauce. The addition of fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, and basil elevated the dish further. At only 280 calories with 31g protein, it’s perfect for those watching their intake.

    Nutrition: Cal: 280 • Protein: 31g • Fat: 10g • Carbs: 4g • Sodium: 146mg • Fiber: 4g

    Havana Ropa Vieja with Latin Roasted Cauliflower Florets

    Categories: Paleo, Keto, Low-Carb, High Protein, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.5

    Defined as “old clothes” in Spanish, this Ropa Vieja featured super tender chunks of grass-fed beef stewed with green peppers and onions in homemade marinara sauce. The Cuban-inspired flavors were rich and satisfying without being heavy. The Latin roasted cauliflower florets provided a perfect low-carb side that soaked up the delicious sauce. At 350 calories with an impressive 53g protein and only 132mg sodium, this dish delivers restaurant-quality Cuban cuisine while fitting multiple dietary approaches. The braised beef was definitely the star, super tender with authentic Caribbean spicing.

    Nutrition: Cal: 350 • Protein: 53g • Fat: 11g • Carbs: 8g • Sodium: 132mg • Fiber: 4g

    Plant-Based Options

    Mexican Inspired Tofu Sofritas Bowl

    Categories: Plant-Based, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.4

    Even as someone who typically prefers meat-based meals, this plant-based option impressed me. The organic tofu absorbed the Mexican spices beautifully, creating a satisfying protein source with authentic flavors. Served over jasmine rice with black beans, corn, and peppers, it provided complete nutrition while delivering on taste. At only 330 calories with 14g protein and an incredibly low 8mg sodium, this is perfect for those monitoring their salt intake. A solid choice for plant-based eaters or anyone looking to incorporate more vegetarian meals.

    Nutrition: Cal: 330 • Protein: 14g • Fat: 13g • Carbs: 39g • Sodium: 8mg • Fiber: 5g

    Chick’n Nuggets with Dairy Free Mac & Cheese

    Categories: Plant-Based
    Rating: 4.4

    Forkful’s plant-based take on a comfort food classic delivers surprisingly satisfying results. The Chick’n nuggets provide excellent texture and flavor that genuinely resembles traditional chicken nuggets. The dairy-free mac and cheese, made with vegan cheese from almond milk and cashews, creates a creamy base without feeling heavy. The addition of zucchini adds fresh vegetables to balance the dish. At 369 calories with 16g protein and an impressive 9g fiber, this plant-based meals is both indulgent and nutritious. Perfect for vegans missing childhood favorites or anyone looking to reduce animal products without sacrificing comfort food satisfaction.

    Nutrition: Cal: 369 • Protein: 16g • Fat: 19g • Carbs: 39g • Sodium: 128mg • Fiber: 9g

    Sweet Additions Worth Trying

    Mother Bean Brownie by Pamela Wasabi

    Categories: Plant-Based, Gluten-Free
    Rating: 4.2

    This add-on dessert option provided a healthier way to satisfy chocolate cravings. Dense and fudgy with rich chocolate flavor, it successfully managed my sweet tooth without any guilt. Made with alternative flours and natural sweeteners, it proves that cleaner ingredients don’t necessarily mean compromised taste.

    Nutrition: Cal: 140 • Protein: 4g • Fat: 8g • Carbs: 12g

    How to Reheat Forkful Meals: Tips for Best Results

    One of Forkful’s biggest perks is how easy the meals are to prepare. I tested different reheating methods, and here’s what worked best depending on the dish:

    Microwave (Quick & Reliable)

    Each meal comes with instructions, but most heat up in about 2–3 minutes depending on your microwave. I recommend starting at 2 minutes, then adding 30-second bursts until the food reaches 165°F. This method works great for bowls, curries, and stews.

    See also

    Three-image collage from The Exchange Lancaster showing a purple cocktail in coupe glass on left, the modern interior dining room with sunset views and dramatic lighting in center, and Calabrian Chili Wings with hazelnuts and scallions on right.Three-image collage from The Exchange Lancaster showing a purple cocktail in coupe glass on left, the modern interior dining room with sunset views and dramatic lighting in center, and Calabrian Chili Wings with hazelnuts and scallions on right.

    Oven (Best for Texture)

    If you’ve got a meal with cheese, breading, or anything meant to be crispy, the oven wins every time.

    • Preheat to 350°F
    • Transfer food to an oven-safe dish and cover with foil
    • Heat 25–35 minutes until 165°F
    • Remove foil and let cool 3–5 minutes before serving

    Extra Tips for Better Results

    Some veggies release extra moisture when reheated. Separating them from proteins before heating can help maintain better texture.

    Crispy items (like breaded chicken or roasted potatoes) perk up nicely in an air fryer or toaster oven for 3–5 minutes, much better than the microwave alone.

    FORKFUL PRICING, PLANS, & VALUE

      • Forkful structures pricing to reward larger orders, with per-meal costs decreasing as quantity increases:
      • • 6 meals: $12.58 per meal
      • • 8 meals: $12.25 per meal
      • • 10 meals: $10.90 per meal
      • • 12 meals: $10.33 per meal
      • • 14 meals: $9.60 per meal
      • • 20 meals: $8.60 per meal
    • ↪ Shipping: $9.99 for 6–8 meals, $15.99 for 10+ meals
    • ↪ Best Value: The 20-meal plan at $8.60 per meal – ideal for couples or individuals planning most weekly meals with Forkful
    • ↪ Forkful Review Insight: Choosing the 20-meal option gave maximum variety and value. $172 total before discounts compares favorably to restaurant dining or grocery shopping when factoring in time saved and reduced food waste.

    How Forkful Compares to Competitors

    Forkful vs Factor: Both offer fresh prepared meals across multiple dietary categories. Factor provides slightly larger menu variety and more robust customer service options. However, Forkful edges ahead for specific diets like Paleo and offers the 20-meal option that Factor doesn’t match.

    Forkful vs HelloFresh: HelloFresh focuses primarily on meal kits requiring cooking, with limited prepared meal options. Choose HelloFresh if you enjoy cooking and want ingredient flexibility. Forkful works better for those seeking convenience or following specialized diets without cooking requirements.

    Forkful vs Traditional Meal Prep: While preparing meals yourself offers maximum customization and potentially lower costs, Forkful eliminates planning, shopping, cooking, and cleanup time. For busy professionals, the time savings often justify the premium pricing.

    Forkful Nutritional Transparency

    Forkful excels at providing comprehensive nutritional information. Each meal displays detailed macro breakdowns both online and on physical packaging, making tracking straightforward for various dietary goals.

    Most meals maintain reasonable sodium levels (300-500mg) despite being prepared foods, which benefits those monitoring salt intake. The protein content consistently impresses, with many meals providing 35-50g per serving.

    This transparency proves valuable for anyone tracking macros, managing weight, or following specific nutritional protocols. The ingredient lists remain clean without excessive preservatives or artificial additives.

    Who Benefits Most from Forkful?

    Based on my detailed review, Forkful works exceptionally well for:

    • Busy professionals seeking nutritious options without cooking time
    • Health-conscious individuals following specific dietary approaches
    • Solo diners who don’t want to prepare full meals for one person
    • Couples with different dietary needs who can each select preferred options
    • Fitness enthusiasts requiring convenient, protein-rich meals
    • Anyone reducing food waste through precise portion control

    The service delivers less value for large families due to individual meal pricing and format.

    Starting Your Forkful Experience

    Getting started requires just a few simple steps:

    1. Visit ForkfulMeals.com and explore current menu options
    2. Select your plan based on weekly meal quantity and dietary preferences
    3. Choose specific meals from the current week’s 50+ options
    4. Receive delivery fresh and properly chilled
    5. Heat and enjoy in just minutes

    New menus launch Saturdays at midnight EST with Thursday morning ordering deadlines for the following week. You can browse menus before committing to understand their offerings.

    Final Verdict: Is Forkful Worth Ordering?

    Forkful delivers on its core promise of convenient, flavorful meals that maintain nutritional integrity. Their diverse dietary accommodations make healthy eating accessible regardless of specific requirements or restrictions.

    The ingredient quality, portion sizes, and flavor development impressed me throughout testing. What stood out most was the protein quality and preparation – chicken remained moist, beef stayed tender, and seafood maintained proper texture after reheating.

    At $8.60 per meal on the 20-meal plan, Forkful represents solid value when compared to restaurant dining or even home cooking after factoring in groceries, time investment, and cleanup. Their use of quality proteins and minimal processing matters for health-conscious consumers.

    After completing this Forkful review, I can confidently recommend it as one of the better prepared meal services available. The combination of convenience, nutrition, and taste makes it a practical solution for maintaining healthy eating habits despite busy schedules.

    Would I continue ordering? Absolutely. For someone prioritizing nutrition without sacrificing time or flavor, Forkful hits the mark effectively.

    If you’re ready to simplify meal planning while maintaining quality nutrition, Forkful deserves consideration. Their current promotional offers make it even more accessible for new customers to test their offerings.

    Ready to Try Forkful?

    Chef-crafted meals, fresh ingredients, and zero prep – delivered straight to your door.

    Visit Forkful Meals

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is Forkful meal delivery? Forkful is a prepared meal delivery service shipping fresh, chef-cooked meals nationwide. All meals arrive fully prepared using natural ingredients and require only reheating before consumption.

    How much does Forkful cost? Pricing ranges from $8.60-$12.58 per meal depending on quantity ordered. The 20-meal plan offers the best value at $8.60 per serving, while smaller plans start at $12.58 per meal.

    What dietary options does Forkful offer? Forkful accommodates Traditional, Keto, Paleo, Plant-Based, Low-Carb, High Protein, Gluten-Free, and GLP-1 dietary approaches with clearly labeled meal categories.

    How do I heat Forkful meals? Microwave heating takes approximately 3 minutes, while oven heating requires 25-35 minutes at 350°F. Both methods should achieve 165°F internal temperature for food safety.

    Where does Forkful deliver? Forkful delivers to all 48 continental United States with meals shipped fresh on ice packs to maintain quality during transit.

    How long do Forkful meals stay fresh? Meals arrive with expiration dates printed on packaging. While refrigeration is recommended, freezing is possible if you won’t consume meals before expiration, though this may affect texture.

    Can I modify my subscription? Yes, Forkful offers flexible subscription management allowing you to pause, modify, or cancel anytime before the weekly Thursday deadline.

    What makes Forkful different from other meal services? Forkful specializes in fully prepared meals using all-natural ingredients with strong accommodation for diverse dietary needs. Their 20-meal option and focus on authentic international flavors distinguish them from many competitors.

    Better Living uses affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we may receive a small commission (for which we are deeply grateful) at no cost to you.

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    Heather

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  • The iPhone Air’s Battery Life Isn’t as Bad as I Thought It Would Be

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    The iPhone 17 Pro felt like a brick. I had just gotten used to the featherweight feel of Apple’s new iPhone Air after several days of use, but it was time to switch to the iPhone 17 Pro. Suddenly, I didn’t want to let the Air go.

    It’s amazing how a couple of grams and a slimmer profile can drastically change the feel of a phone. There isn’t much to grab on the edges, but the Air’s design is whimsical and somewhat paradoxical. It feels like a twig that can snap in a heartbeat, but the sturdy titanium frame dispels any notion of fragility.

    I was prepared to hate the iPhone Air. Why make a thin phone with lackluster battery life? A single-camera system for $999? After spending some time with it, I’m pleasantly surprised. I still don’t think most people should buy it—it’s for early adopters who want to experience Apple’s thinnest iPhone to date—but it’s a promising blueprint of what’s to come.

    Thin Air

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    The iPhone Air is just 5.6 millimeters thick and 165 grams; contrast that with the iPhone 17 Pro, which has a smaller screen yet weighs 206 grams and is 8.75 mm thick. It’s a palpable difference. Initially, you might feel like the lighter weight makes the Air seem “cheap,” but that notion quickly disappears. This phone feels strong, durable, and rigid.

    I watched Apple perform a bend test on the iPhone Air, and it was able to withstand more than 130 pounds of force with no damage. I gave it a good bend test myself, but it didn’t flex. We’ll need to see how this phone performs in the hands of a wider audience, but I think you can put your pitchforks away—no #bendgate here. This durability stems from the use of titanium for the frame, along with Apple’s new Ceramic Shield 2 protecting the display, and Ceramic Shield 1 layered over the back. Apple says this mixture makes the Air more durable than any prior iPhone.

    I can’t imagine buying this ultrathin phone and putting a case on it, but I didn’t mind Apple’s bumper case. The phone still feels light and thin, but the slightly thicker edges of the bumper make it easier to grasp. Annoyingly, despite using a horizontal camera bar like Google’s Pixel phones, the camera still sticks out enough that the Air rocks on a table when you tap a corner—a small nitpick.

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    Julian Chokkattu

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  • The Apple Watch Series 11 Has Better Battery Life and Satellite Messaging

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    For years, Apple has tried to extend the battery life of the Apple Watch. For as many years, the company has only succeeded by half measures. Features like Low Power mode or faster charging help you keep the watch on your wrist for longer, but Apple has not significantly improved the watch’s 18-hour battery life—even at last year’s much-hyped decade-versary of the Apple Watch.

    I say this to give the context of why such a little thing was so shocking. After wearing the new Apple Watch Series 11 for a full afternoon and wearing it to sleep, I woke up in the morning and discovered that I still had 58 percent battery left. 58 percent! I can wear the watch to sleep, get up, get my kids to school, and charge the watch when I’m at my desk! Constantly fussing over battery life was a major pain of the Apple Watch, and it’s been fixed.

    Longer battery life also makes it significantly easier to use Apple’s newest health features as well. If you have a Series 3 or 4 and have been waiting to upgrade, this is the year to do it. Too bad Apple couldn’t pull this off last year.

    In a Heartbeat

    Photograph: Adrienne So

    First things first: The new Series 11 comes in 42- and 46-millimeter case sizes with aluminum and titanium finishes in a variety of colors—Gold, Natural, and Slate for titanium, Rose Gold, Silver, Space Gray, and Jet Black for aluminum). It has the same slim case as last year’s Series 10, along with features like fast charging and a new, more scratch-resistant glass.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook has long contended that the Apple Watch is meant to save your life. In accordance with this, the newest features on the watch (or more accurately, the watchOS 26 update that applies to all Apple Watches, Series 6 or later) are health-related. First, the watch now offers hypertension, or high blood pressure, notifications.

    Undiagnosed high blood pressure now affects as many as one in three people worldwide and can lead to heart attacks, stroke, or other long-term health conditions. The optical heart rate monitor on the watch purports to check how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeats; Apple says that the feature was developed with data from a series of studies that totaled over 100,000 participants.

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    Adrienne So

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  • The Hypershell Pro X Exoskeleton Made My Hikes Feel Easier—Then I Checked My Stats

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    WIRED Editor Amit Katwala has traveled far and wide for a hands-on look at the future of robotic artificial limbs, and the technological progress he witnessed is beyond impressive. But in truth, his quest to become Superhuman is still stuck in the prototype phase. I, on the other hand, have been galavanting around the English countryside wearing the Hypershell Pro X, the first readily available leg-boosting, mile-eating, powered exoskeleton.

    As a broader product category, exoskeletons have the potential to enhance mobility for those with disabilities, helping them regain independence and improve their quality of life. They can also reduce physical strain in the workplace, minimizing the chances of injury and boosting productivity. But the likes of Hypershell produces nonmedical, wearable exoskeletons that promise muscle-boosting power for us average Joes.

    The majority of these designs, however, seem to be permanently on preorder, or ambitiously chasing the big bucks on Kickstarter, so it’s refreshing to be able to test something that’s available on Amazon.

    Last year I reviewed a prelaunch version of the similar DNSYS X1 (WIRED 5/10) and found it to be glitchy, heavy, and generally disappointing, but it did show promise. It remains stuck in preorder however, as does the much-publicized pair of $5,000 Arc’teryx MO/GO powered pants.

    So can Hypershell do it better? There are currently three versions of the Hypershell exoskeleton: the basic 400-watt, $900 Hypershell Go X, the $1,199 Pro X which has a 800-watt output, 10.8-mile range, and enhanced capabilities for running and even cycling assistance. And then there’s the Hypershell Carbon X, which uses a titanium alloy instead of carbon fiber and costs $1,500.

    The Go X offers 7.5 miles per hour maximum speed assistance while the Pro X’s 800-watt motor can help up to speeds of 12.4 miles per hour. Each model collapses down to 16.9 × 10.2 × 4.9 inches, and the Go and Pro X weigh 4.41 pounds, while the Carbon version is 7 ounces lighter.

    My Hypershell Pro X sample has a 5000-mAh 72-Wh battery, with quoted assisted range of 10.8 miles (17.5 kilometers) and 10 modes, including up and down stairs, down and uphill, cycling, running, race walking, and regular walking. I’ve been wearing the exoskeleton for the past few months while testing various outdoor gear, including hiking boots and rain jackets, and within seconds of turning it on I knew it was significantly more useful than the DNSYS X1, giving my legs a nice power-up on trails. Did I feel like a fool wearing it in public? Absolutely. Did my wife ask me “Why are you walking like Woody from Toy Story?” Yes. But for many people in need, the benefit of the assistance should outweigh the mild embarrassment.

    Fit and Features

    Hypershell Pro X Series Review An Exoskeleton You Can Actually Buy

    Photograph: Chris Haslam

    Strapping myself in for the first time, I’m impressed by the build quality, the ergonomic fit, and adjustability. The lower back and hip cushioning is particularly good. I’m 5′ 11′′ tall, and most adults—Hypershell estimates 80 percent—will have no fitting issues. The excellent app takes you through the whole process, with step-by-step video instructions on adjusting to fit, and then once you’re corseted in, it demos the various power modes and controls. When you first power on, the inert machine springs to life and tightens up, and once you’ve chosen a power mode, it instantly starts to work as you walk.

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    Chris Haslam

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  • Razer’s BlackShark V3 Pro Are the Best High-End Gaming Headphones

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    Despite including Bluetooth and ANC, I don’t think of this at the type of do-everything headset you might replace noise-canceling headphones with, and not just because the person next to you will wonder if you’re secretly talking to the pilots. These are so bulky and obviously for gaming that you probably don’t want to wear them outside the house. You’d certainly get some weird looks walking the dog or working from your local coffee shop.

    Comfort and Fit

    Photograph: Brad Bourque

    In order to fit all those features inside, the BlackShark 3 are noticeably heavier than some of the other headsets I’ve tested recently. The Pro version with ANC comes in at 367 grams, a full 100-plus grams heavier than the Arctis Nova 3 at 260 grams. If you opt for the non-Pro model without ANC, it’s much closer to the SteelSeries at just 270 g, which is very appealing if you mostly game alone at home instead of in front of a crowd of adoring fans.

    That weight doesn’t make them uncomfortable, at least for a few hours at a time, largely thanks to the ear cups, which have a pleasant mesh exterior and squishy interior padding. Razer says there’s a layer of pleather underneath to help the noise canceling, but I couldn’t tell it was there, which is a good thing, because I hate how hot pleather can get.

    Still, I miss the ski-goggle band found on most SteelSeries headsets, which distributes weight more evenly across the top of the headband. Especially during long sessions, and on bigger craniums, it can help a lot with comfort. Even the similarly heavy Arctis Nova Pro, my previous upgrade pick, has a softer top-of-head feel.

    Extra weight also means a bigger battery. I measured close to 50 hours with the active noise canceling on, and right around 60 with the feature turned off. In practice, I only had to plug in the BlackShark V3 Pro once a week or so to keep them topped up. The one time they got low in the middle of a WoW raid night, I was able to charge them up on our 8-minute break from about 4 percent to 11 percent, which was more than enough for the rest of the evening. They got a little confused if I plugged them into the computer just to charge, but an external charger worked just fine while playing.

    The Best Microphone

    Razer BlackShark V3 Pro Review HighEnd Gaming Audio

    Photograph: Brad Bourque

    I rotate through a lot of gaming headsets, and most of the time I have to ask for feedback on my microphone quality. Some are better than others, but most are just gaming headset microphones, with a recognizable, slightly tinny vibe. The moment I sat down for my weekly Dungeons and Dragons game, my party members noticed how sharp and clear I sounded.

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    Brad Bourque

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  • ‘Sacrifice’ Review: Romain Gavras’ Entertaining Eco-Satire Has A Surprisingly Emotional Impact – Toronto Film Festival

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    For a book that not many people know about or have read, James George Frazer’s The Golden Bough (1890) has had quite an impact on cult cinema, particularly in the ’70s. For reasons that would take too long to go into here — and thanks to its influence on Joseph Campbell’s 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces — it turns out that Frazer’s non-fiction investigation of religion, mythology, folk tales and the subsequent journey to science has since shaped films as seemingly far afield as The Wicker Man, the very first Star Wars, and Apocalypse Now. Well, you wouldn’t necessarily ever put those three films on a triple bill, but, once you see it, there is a certain overlap, mostly in the concept of the unwitting hero, a man chosen by fate, and not necessarily for the better.

    With that in mind, Greek-French director Romain Gavras’s Sacrifice, his English-language debut, comes at a very interesting time in the world’s history. Though outwardly a blunt comedy (of sorts), it’s a film that, through its central character, asks questions about seeking out actual heroism within the fog of tokenism.

    That character is Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), a Hollywood star recovering from a recent nervous breakdown and attending a garish eco-friendly charity party for the super-super-rich that’s being held in a fantastically austere Greek mine. Tyler, conflicted even about his own attendance, is sceptical about everyone else’s motives and says so, calling out the event’s star guest, environmental billionaire Ben Bracken (Vincent Cassel), on a live video stream for his hypocritical politics, condemning the mining of fossil fuels yet happy to exploit the sea for energy.

    To backtrack, Gavras’ film is an odd fish in that respect, because, despite the comedic veneer, its agenda is actually very real, and that’s how it starts. Before we meet Tyler, we see Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) overseeing the fiery funeral of her own mother (who, worryingly, might not actually be dead yet). Joan is the leader of what looks like a teenage militia from The Village of the Damned (1960 or 1995, take your pick), and she’s on a mission. “The old way must burn to ash,” she says, under orders from a nearby volcano. Which is what guides her, and her two siblings, to storm the event and take its guests hostage — while Tyler is in the bathroom, licking his wounds after his mic drop moment goes horribly viral.

    The gala itself is a cringeworthy as you might expect, the imminent climate catastrophe spelled out to the private jet-ferried audience through — what else? — the medium of an interpretative dance battle and a neon sign saying “MAKE EARTH COOL AGAIN”. In fact, it’s so cheesy that it takes a while for the guests to realize that Joan and her army aren’t part of the entertainment too; it’s only when the blood starts to flow that they realize she’s serious. At which point Tyler re-enters the room and is given up by the terrified crowd (and, more importantly, anointed by Joan) as one of three people — including Bracken and one of the show’s dancers — who must make the film’s titular sacrifice to save the world from an imminent catastrophe.

    As a hostage, Tyler gets Stockholm Syndrome early on, taking all this to be student hijinks (“No justice, no peace,” he roars to the media), much to the annoyance of Bracken, who accuses him of promoting what he calls “Green Isis”. The ratio of laughs to drama changes quite sharply, however, as Joan takes her hostages off on their journey, leading to a bond with Tyler and a lot of unexpected revelations about Joan’s background.

    You might think you know where all this is going, and the script does cover a lot of those bases, most of them involving movie stars’ egos and their power and privilege in the real world. But Sacrifice is interesting, not just because it takes risks even within its own sui generis genre (note to self: is sci-fi folk horror a thing yet?) but because it’s actually quite clear in its thinking: What constitutes is a sacrifice in today’s world?

    As Tyler, Evans holds the film surprisingly well, given the twists and turns (in story as well as tone) that await him, and the poker-faced Taylor-Joy, never more serious (and quite convincingly playing way younger than she actually is), is a great foil to that. To make things even more entertaining, John Malkovich pops up as what seems, briefly, to be the voice of reason.

    In short, it’s nuts, and not for everyone. But Sacrifice does have a message, and it’s about the ouroboros — the perpetual self-eating snake — that is the world’s performative reaction to climate change. It goes further than where you might not think it will, and the emotional payoff from that may well outlast the jokes.

    Title: Sacrifice
    Festival: Toronto (Special Presentations)
    Director: Romain Gavras
    Screenwriter: Will Arbery, Romain Gavras
    Cast: Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, Salma Hayek Pinault, John Malkovich, Ambika Mod, Charli xcx, and Jonatan “Yung Lean” Leandoer
    Sales agent: Rocket Science
    Running time: 1 hr 43 mins

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    Damon Wise

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  • I Found the 4K Monitor Almost Everyone Should Own

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    At one time, having a 4K monitor felt like a luxury. Now, thanks to the power of modern computers and the dramatic price drop, 4K monitors are no longer unattainable upgrades. They’re becoming the standard.

    The Dell 27 Plus 4K is the best example of this trend I’ve seen so far. It might not have all the bells and whistles of a Dell UltraSharp monitor, nor the mind-blowing image quality of the Dell 32 Plus OLED. But for my money, this is the best monitor the average person working from home should buy—especially when it’s on discount. I’ve seen it dip as low as $254, and that’s a steal for what you get.

    The Dell Difference

    Photograph: Luke Larsen

    Dell monitors have always been pretty, and the Dell 27 Plus 4K is no different. The bezels are thin, and the base and stand aren’t overly large. The “Ash White” color looks clean on my already-white desk. It might not look as professional as a silver or black model, but for home use, I prefer the white. The design is worth noting, too, since at this price, some monitors tend to look really cheap. Despite the plastic exterior on the Dell 27 Plus 4K, the stand and base have metal inside, so they feel sturdy.

    Setting up this monitor is simple, with no tools required. Compared to most monitors, it does have an extra backplate that must be tightened into the stand (with a thumb screw), but it only takes a minute or so to pull the various pieces out of the box and have it ready to go.

    The back of the monitor has a standard VESA mount, making it perfect for connecting to a monitor arm if that’s your jam. The stand gives you a full range of adjustments, including 5 inches of height, tilt, rotation, and swivel. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go high enough to rotate it completely into a vertical monitor, which is a shame. (You can still use it vertically with a monitor arm.)

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    Luke Larsen

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  • These Odd-Looking Earbuds Rival the Best From Apple, Sony, and Bose

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    The Pro X, like the Between 3ANC before them, use multiple drivers: a dynamic unit for the lowest frequencies paired with a dual set of Knowles balanced armatures for the upper-mids and highs. Just like in a tower speaker that has a woofer, a midrange, and a tweeter, multi-driver earbuds divide and conquer by sending specific frequencies to a driver that’s been tuned to handle them.

    Out of the box, the earbuds are set to Status Signature—the Pro X’s default tuning. It’s a nicely balanced EQ that boosts neither highs nor lows, yet still possesses a warm tone. There’s effortless detail in the midrange, and the highs have excellent clarity. Bass is tightly controlled; even when pushing the Pro X to 95% volume, Billie Eilish’s bass-tastic “bad guy” sounded perfect, with no discernible distortion.

    Switching to the Knowles Preferred preset gives a big bump to the upper mids and highs to show off what those balanced armatures can do. Normally, this kind of tuning doesn’t do it for me, but on the Pro X, I was impressed by how enjoyable it was. If you’ve found yourself drawn to Bose’s high-energy sound signature in the past, this preset gets you very close.

    If you can’t find your favorite balance from among the five available presets, you can roll your own. In fact, one of the best features is creating custom EQ presets by starting with an existing one. I goosed Status Signature’s low-end just a tad, and got exactly the mix I wanted. On that note, I have to give Status props for its app; it’s super clean and very easy to use.

    The soundstage isn’t especially wide—I’d place its extremities about 3-6 inches outside my head—but it’s got excellent precision. Individual elements stand out from each other so clearly that you can mentally point at the various musicians playing in front of you. A jazz classic like Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” benefits a lot from the Pro X’s clear separation of sounds, letting you appreciate each instrument in its own space.

    I did most of my listening on an iPhone 16, but it’s worth noting that the Pro X support Sony’s high-quality LDAC Bluetooth codec. If you’re on Android, make sure you’ve got it enabled for an even smoother, more refined performance.

    Against the Crowd

    Photograph: Simon Cohen

    I swapped the Pro X with Sony’s WF-1000XM5, Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4, and Technics’ EAH-Z100. The Status Pro X more than held their own on sound quality. I personally still prefer the XM5’s sound signature thanks to its more resonant bass response, but that’s more about my taste than any shortcomings of the Pro X—they’re excellent.

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    Simon Cohen

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  • World Athletics Championships: Team GB target top-eight finish in Tokyo, while new ‘sex test’ is introduced in world first

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    Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is in good form going into the World Athletics Championships

    The world’s best athletes will take to the track and field this weekend when the World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo from September 13-21.

    Many of the stars who shone at Paris 2024 will be there, including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and USA’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.

    One of the major talking points away from the sport has been the introduction of a mandatory SRY or sex test for athletes who intend to compete in female categories.

    All athletes in female category take new ‘sex test’

    World Athletics, led by their President Seb Coe, have taken an unambiguous stance for several years when it comes to talking about and defining new rules around the sensitive issues of the protection of female categories, transgender and DSD (Difference of Sexual Development).

    They became the first global sporting federation to announce they would introduce a mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime gene test, known as an SRY Test earlier this year.

    The test identifies the Y chromosome which causes male characteristics to develop. If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world ranking events, including these World Championships.

    World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do 'whatever is necessary' to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female

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    World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female

    World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female

    Coe told Sky Sports he expected every athlete required to take an SRY Test will have done so by the time track and field events get under way in Tokyo, including all French athletes.

    In France, the process has been complicated by French law where the SRY gene test is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical, non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.

    Coe confirmed that while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight time frame.

    For athletes whose national federation hasn’t been able to offer an SRY test yet, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.

    “By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” Coe said. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve (World Athletics) made a contribution of about US$100 per test.”

    How important are championships for Coe?

    Very.

    He has transformed the athletics governing body since his election in Beijing in 2015 from the tarnished old IAAF to the new World Athletics.

    He’s serving his third and final term as president and while no doubt still pondering his defeat in March’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election to Kirsty Coventry, his first love has always been track and field, and during his term as president he has tackled controversial issues like banning Russia and bringing in updated rules on gender eligibility.

    Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it's a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role

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    Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role

    Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role

    While those issues can be divisive, the progress of time has shown that many, if not most, sporting federations have followed athletics’ lead by watching and then following.

    It’s interesting to note that the new IOC President, whom he lost out to, is preparing the IOC to greater understand and perhaps even lead on gender eligibility and protections for female sports stars.

    He also wants athletics firmly in the position of the world’s second most popular sport behind football by showing off packed out stadia in Tokyo.

    The World Championships take place in the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium where during the 2020 Olympics not one fan was able to watch the sport on offer due to a strict Covid-19 lockdown in Japan.

    Many of the sessions during the nine days of competition are sell-outs and, according to Coe, no session will have fewer than 50,000 people in attendance.

    Tokyo heat, humidity and typhoons

    World Athletics deliberately scheduled the start of their marquee championships later than they would normally. Two years ago in Budapest, for example, the schedule ran during August.

    High temperatures and humidity can be exceedingly high in Japan during the months of July and August, as many athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago will testify to.

    The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21

    The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21

    However, heat mitigation measures will again be in place as Japan has experienced temperatures 2.36 Degrees Celsius above average between June and August, with local temperatures in Tokyo this week reaching 33 Degrees Celsius.

    World Athletics president Seb Coe is of the belief that climate change is not temporary and is here to stay; at these championships, decisions on whether competition will go ahead will not be in the hands of local organisers, but World Athletics.

    Information on drinks, ice baths and cooling techniques has been shared widely with athletes and their federations, while plenty of provision will be in place for spectators.

    Tokyo and Japan, in general, is prone to typhoons at this time of year, indeed many British and Northern Irish athletes were confined to their hotel at their training camp for a few days due to a typhoon. If such a weather system hits Tokyo during the championships, it will again be a decision for World Athletics to make as to whether to postpone or cancel events.

    Where could GB medals come from?

    Great Britain and Northern Ireland haven’t been set a medal target, but a top-eight finish in the medal table is the challenge, with an expectation of several of their world-leading track stars to medal and all relay squads to medal.

    So who are the stars? The women’s 800m final has been scheduled for the last session of the last day of the championships, as it’s been viewed as being a hot ticket in town. Two Brits could well end up on the podium, both friends and training partners coached by husband and wife duo Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter – Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.

    Hodgkinson was one of the stars of Paris last year, streaking home to become Olympic champion and, although she has suffered hamstring injuries this year, she has come back to racing in time and is running ferociously quickly.

    Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

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    Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

    Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo

    While perhaps not quite the right time for a tilt at the 800m world record, if Hodgkinson feels it, she’ll go for it.

    Elsewhere, medals could come in men’s middle distance, with 1500m runner Josh Kerr defending his world title he won in 2023.

    His battles with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen have already become legendary, with the two not the best of pals. At the Paris Olympics, one of the two should have taken the gold medal, but their attention on one another allowed the USA’s Cole Hocker to shock them both and cross the line first.

    George Mills, son of Danny – the former Leeds, Manchester City and England defender – is a serious contender for medals in the men’s 5000m. This season he’s beaten Sir Mo Farah’s long-standing British 5000m record and ran the second fastest 1500m by a Brit, so the 26-year-old is well warmed up.

    Katarina Johnson-Thompson is always a threat at major championships, and at Tokyo she will defend the heptathlon world title she won two years ago. She was also crowned world champion in 2019, and took Olympic silver in Paris.

    Dina Asher-Smith will make her seventh appearance at a World Championship and, while the competition is fierce in both the 100m and 200m, she is running quickly this season.

    “I’m just really happy,” she told Sky Sports. “I think the other week in Zurich is testament to what kind of shape I’m in because, honestly, I knew that I’ve been in good shape for a very long time and I know that I’ve been putting together some great races in the past few months, but to run a 10.90!

    !I was picking it out because I know I could have had faster in me that day, but still obviously I’m very happy.”

    Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?

    Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?

    Also very quick is Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the women’s Olympic 100m final in Paris, narrowly missing out on a medal. She did, however, take home an Olympic Silver medal from the 4x100m women’s relay and in Tokyo it is expected that Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal in all five relay disciplines.

    Individually, in the men’s sprint events (100m and 200m), Zharnel Hughes should at the very least make finals, as the qualified pilot has run sub-10 seconds in the 100m and sub-20 seconds in the 200m. With age, Hughes seems to get faster, as he broke both British 100m and 200m records in 2023, the same year he took his first ever global medal, a bronze at the last World Athletics Championships.

    “Obviously the experience has been taking me into finals and stuff like that,” he said. “I’ve always been one to be reckoned with when it comes to the championships. I’ve always been able to position myself into the finals at every major championship.

    “Unfortunately, last year it didn’t get to happen due to injury, but I’m feeling confident and I’m looking forward to getting myself on that podium for sure. I’ll be giving it my very best, I’m filled with determination and I’m quite confident in my ability that I can always catch you at the very end.

    “I’m trusting myself and trusting my speed. The work that I’ve put in leading up to this championship has been tremendous. It’s going to be great.”

    While the British team is medal heavy on expectation from the track, also keep an eye on pole-vaulter Molly Caudery. She won the 2024 World Indoor title and won the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.

    The Cornishwoman is a huge talent was expected to challenge for the gold at the Olympics last year, but had a shocker and failed to even qualify for the final. The 25-year-old is determined to learn the mental lesson from a year ago.

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  • Contrasting Cencora (NYSE:COR) & SBC Medical Group (NASDAQ:SBC)

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    Cencora (NYSE:COR – Get Free Report) and SBC Medical Group (NASDAQ:SBC – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

    Analyst Ratings

    This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Cencora and SBC Medical Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

    Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
    Cencora 0 3 9 0 2.75
    SBC Medical Group 0 0 0 0 0.00

    Cencora presently has a consensus price target of $311.25, indicating a potential upside of 4.57%. Given Cencora’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cencora is more favorable than SBC Medical Group.

    Risk & Volatility

    Cencora has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SBC Medical Group has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

    Profitability

    This table compares Cencora and SBC Medical Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

    Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
    Cencora 0.60% 267.36% 4.31%
    SBC Medical Group 17.71% 20.76% 15.56%

    Valuation & Earnings

    This table compares Cencora and SBC Medical Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

    Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio
    Cencora $293.96 billion 0.20 $1.51 billion $9.72 30.62
    SBC Medical Group $205.42 million 2.52 $46.61 million $0.32 15.59

    Cencora has higher revenue and earnings than SBC Medical Group. SBC Medical Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cencora, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

    Institutional and Insider Ownership

    97.5% of Cencora shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.8% of SBC Medical Group shares are held by institutional investors. 10.8% of Cencora shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 89.5% of SBC Medical Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

    Summary

    Cencora beats SBC Medical Group on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

    About Cencora

    (Get Free Report)

    Cencora, Inc. sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company’s U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers. This segment also distributes plasma and other blood products, injectable pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and other specialty products; and provides other services to physicians who specialize in various disease states, such as oncology, as well as to other healthcare providers, including hospitals and dialysis clinics. Its International Healthcare Solutions segment offers international pharmaceutical wholesale and related service, and global commercialization services; distributes pharmaceuticals, other healthcare products, and related services to pharmacies, doctors, health centers, and hospitals primarily in Europe; and provides specialty transportation and logistics services for the biopharmaceutical industry. The company was formerly known as AmerisourceBergen Corporation and changed its name to Cencora, Inc. in August 2023. Cencora, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

    About SBC Medical Group

    (Get Free Report)

    SBC Medical Group Holdings Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides services to support the operation of clinics which deliver specialized medical services in the areas of cosmetic medicine, esthetic dentistry and Androgenetic Alopecia or AGA, primarily in Japan and centered on the SBC Shonan Beauty Clinic Brand. SBC Medical Group Holdings Incorporated, formerly known as Pono Capital Two Inc., is based in TOKYO.



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    ABMN Staff

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  • The New Bose QC Ultra 2 Are the Best Noise-Canceling Headphones Right Now

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    When it comes to cutting out annoying outside noise, there is no brand in history that has denatured more decibels than Bose. The pioneers of noise-canceling haven’t been without challengers in recent years, including Sony, Apple, and others, but Bose has maintained the crown for generation after generation. Perhaps no product showcases this iterative talent more than its latest earbuds, the QuietComfort Ultra 2.

    There wasn’t anything wrong with the first pair. I liked their ergonomic fit, excellent noise reduction, and bold low end, not to mention their excellent microphones, angled toward your mouth in an homage to Apple’s popular AirPods Pro.

    With the new QC Ultra 2, we get wireless charging, more customizable sound, better immersive audio, and improved noise reduction. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re a business traveler or someone who wants a compact pair of headphones that truly removes the sound of the world around you, these are—once again—the best you can buy.

    Generation 2

    Photograph: Parker Hall

    I find it very hard to fault Bose for its rubber-stamped design approach; the previous pair were very comfortable and functioned extremely well. The slight changes that appear on the new model are welcome, and I’m not mad at the lack of physical changes.

    You now get wireless charging in the clamshell case and a guard to prevent earwax buildup, and you can toggle the included touch controls in the app, which is very helpful when doing activities where you might brush your ear.

    Places I don’t find improvements include the weight (the new buds are about a gram heavier but still perfectly fine in your ears) and battery life (the new buds have the same six hours with ANC on, 24 hours in the case as the old model). Bose has even opted for the same drivers in this new generation of buds, with slight tuning adjustments that I’ll get into in a bit.

    Features Galore

    Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Excellent Buds

    Courtesy of Bose

    If you’re new to the world of wireless earbuds or are coming from a more basic pair, the amount of customization that you can do with Bose’s latest buds can feel daunting. You can choose various “modern traditional” adjustments like EQ and noise canceling/transparency modes, but the buds also allow you to dial in two kinds of immersive 3D upscaling (one for staying in place, one for while you move around), among other wild and fantastical new settings that take advantage of modern processors and machine learning tech.

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    Parker Hall

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  • The Lost Bus Is an Instant Disaster-Movie Classic

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    The agitated, ominous vibration of giant power lines and quaking transmission towers feels like a Greek chorus throughout Paul Greengrass’s intense new wildfire thriller, The Lost Bus. Over the course of the film, Greengrass regularly cuts away to the churning cables and metal structures, as well as to the roaring flames of the 2018 Camp Fire, as the blaze makes its way across the mountains and cliffs of Northern California. This helps us follow the spread of this real-life disaster, and it also conveys the puniness and impotence of the mortals fighting it. Based on real-life stories from the Camp Fire (still the deadliest wildfire in California history), The Lost Bus, which just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival ahead of a short September theatrical release and an October 3 debut on Apple TV+, offers plenty of suspense and heroism. But it’s all tempered by the knowledge that these fires are inescapable, growing, and unstoppable.

    At heart, The Lost Bus is a disaster movie — a great one — and it has some of the classic moves of a disaster movie, complete with the slightly on-the-nose narrative shorthand designed to introduce characters quickly and efficiently. Greengrass cuts across a number of arenas and people, including the various fire crews trying to deal with this rapidly deteriorating situation, but the central narrative belongs to Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey), a down-on-his luck school-bus driver in Paradise, California, who returned here after his life fell apart elsewhere. Kevin is already having one of the worst days of his life even before everything burns down: His dog is dying, his teenage son is home sick from school (and also hates him), his mom is elderly and out of it, and his ex-wife is berating him on the phone. He’s also missed his bus’s inspection appointments, he’s running out of money, and his supervisor thinks he’s a flake. Once the flames come roaring into town, however, Kevin will be the only one in a position to drive a busload of elementary-schoolers, along with their teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), through the downright biblical flames and out to safety. It’s Speed meets the end of the world.

    McConaughey was made for parts like this: the good old boy facing extraordinary circumstances. He knows exactly how to sell this character and his desperation — not with confidence, but with a “damn the torpedoes, I’ll try anything once” bravado. Honestly, they should cast him in every disaster movie. Plus, he makes a fine match with Ferrera, whose teacher must exude outward calm for the benefit of her kids while she’s not-so-secretly freaking out inside. (Both Kevin and Mary have their own kids elsewhere that they’re also worried sick about.) As everything falls apart around them in ways both big and small, we enjoy watching these two opposites butt heads and quibble and then learn to function as a team.

    The film feels like a homecoming for Greengrass, who cut his teeth in the world of you-are-there television documentaries before helping redefine the modern action movie with the handheld urgency of hits like The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The director also carried that approach over to docudramas like United 93, Captain Phillips, and July 22 (as well as his earlier, masterful Bloody Sunday, the movie that put him on the map back in 2002). But the “shaky cam” style ran its course some years ago; his last effort was the stately and old-fashioned Tom Hanks western News of the World, a beautiful picture whose release got swallowed up by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    In The Lost Bus, Greengrass combines his thriller side with his reportorial side. He films Kevin and Mary and the schoolkids’ journey through hellfire as a no-holds-barred action spectacle full of immediacy and awe, complete with hair’s-breadth escapes and incredible visions of destruction. (It’s frankly a shame that The Lost Bus isn’t getting a wider theatrical release; it was clearly made to be a big-screen experience.) Some incidents have been a bit sensationalized, but Kevin and Mary’s heroism was very real, as evidenced in Lizzie Johnson’s exhaustively researched and absorbing 2021 nonfiction book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, on which the film is loosely based. To that end, the film also offers a more diffuse and heavily researched portrait of what goes into battling a wildfire, and Greengrass’s vérité style lends authenticity to the scenes of fire chiefs strategizing, of ground crews and air crews trying to combat the blazes and save lives. The picture thus combines the excitement of an old-school disaster spectacle with a fly-on-the-wall portrait of institutions struggling to function in the face of a calamity. The effect is singular: We enjoy the thrill ride immensely, but it’s the realism that sticks with us. Movies end, but the fires are here to stay.


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    Bilge Ebiri

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  • Lovense’s Panty Vibe Is Shockingly Comfy and Can Be Remotely Controlled

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    This part of the toy is flat and smooth, so much so that you can’t feel it, and when it’s lined up with the magnet on the inside, the two magnets immediately lunge for each other. The magnetic pull is so strong that even with the Ferri’s cardboard packaging between the two magnets, they came together securely. In other words, I’m not just talking about a comfortable fit physically, but there’s a mental comfort in not having to worry about the Ferri going anywhere it isn’t supposed to; it’s absolutely locked in place.

    A Great Couples Toy

    Courtesy of Lovense

    Although the Ferri requires that at least one partner has a vulva, if that’s your relationship situation, then it makes for a fun way to explore different ways to enjoy pleasure. Thanks to the Lovense app, the Ferri can be controlled across the bedroom, from the other side of a club, or even an ocean away.

    The app takes a bit of getting used to because it offers so many vibration modes. Once you master it, controlling the toy is fairly easy. But at this point, the issue becomes what patterns and intensities the person with the vulva in the equation likes best, which makes for a fun afternoon of trial and error for those with patience. For impatient folks, the Lovense app offers recommended and popular patterns. That way, you can get down to business.

    The Ferri takes about an hour to charge and allows for three to four hours of playtime, depending on how dialed up you have the power levels. It’s 100 percent waterproof, should you want to wear it in your bathing suit, and is extremely quiet for those who like to take their sex games into public spaces. The Ferri can also be synced to music in case you ever wanted to see what the bass of your favorite song felt like as clitoral and vulval vibrations.

    While the Lovense Ferri comes with a magnetic proprietary charging cable, which can be problematic if you lose it, this particular cable is actually compatible with 25 of Lovense’s products, including the Gemini nipple clamps and the Osci 3 rabbit vibrator. So if you already have a Lovense product, you might be OK on the charging front. If not, backup cables are available on the site. Now go forth and have a party in your pants.

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    Amanda Chatel

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  • ‘Steve’ Review: Cillian Murphy Beats The Drum For Compassion In A Moving British School Drama – Toronto Film Festival

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    Movies about institutions for schooling the unschoolable used to be a big part of British cinema, whether sly, subversive comedies like the St. Trinian’s franchise or heavy social dramas, which flourished in the wake of Alan Clarke’s 1979 prison movie Scum. As a genre, it’s been dormant for a while, but it has taken a Belgian (director Tim Mielants) and an Irishman (star/producer Cillian Murphy) to bring it back, and though it breezes by at a surprisingly brisk pace, Steve packs a lot of deep thought into a seemingly slight tale.

    The film takes place over the course of a day or two at a school named Stanton Wood; the year is 1996, and a TV crew from TV’s Point West show has arrived to record an item for the late-night edition. They appear to come in good faith, intrigued by the good work being done by headmaster Steve (Murphy) with kids from underprivileged backgrounds. But in a piece to camera later, the presenter reveals the real reason they are there: “Some call it a last chance, some call it an expensive dumping ground for lost causes.” Given that the scheme costs the taxpayer £30k a year, it’s no surprise that resources have been dwindling lately, and this news item certainly won’t help that.

    It begins with Steve driving, but not to work. First he goes to a field where Shy, one of his students, is smoking a joint and dancing to drum’n’bass on his headphones. Steve gently coaxes him back to school, where the film crew is causing havoc. The texture of the news footage is suitably grainy, like VHS, but it stitches seamlessly in to the vérité style of the film itself, a restless sea of handheld camera that becomes more agitated as its protagonist does. The catalyst for this a meeting with the school’s board — who look more like trustafarian hedge managers than social workers — where it is revealed that the grand but crumbling school building is going to be sold off at the end of the year.

    Mielants’ thoughtful, affecting film is about the repercussions of that meeting, and while Steve struggles to accept the fact that his life’s work is about to vanish before his eyes, we also see the TV crew’s footage of the young people in his care. They’re a strange bunch, physically and emotionally, and at times they can be charming, funny and cheeky (“You can’t just casually call me a d*ck and a poof,” Steve explains wearily to one of the boys). They can also be caustic and, in a disturbing new trend, prone to turning violent, as the school’s psychologist (Emily Watson) attests. The school’s deputy, Amanda (Tracy Ullman) summarizes the situation with a succinct outline of her duties. “I’m part prison warden, part nurse, part battleaxe, part mummy… And I f*cking love them.”

    Who would want to give up so much of their time for kids like this, in an educational program described as “spectacularly unsustainable”? Murphy, sporting a beard and back to a healthy weight after Oppenheimer, does his best to explain that and, in doing so, really disappears into the part. Even martyrs can only take so much, however, and when Steve’s pent-up anger finds an outlet in drink and prescription drugs, we start to find out a little more about his tragic backstory and the life-changing event that now defines him.

    There’s sufficient material here for a sentimental star vehicle, but Murphy generously shares the spotlight with a small but remarkable ensemble (kudos goes to casting director Robert Sterne for that). Chief among them is Ullman, who, like Murphy, is somehow never fazed by the frenetic ups and downs of life at the school, and then there are the kids themselves, a motley bunch whose neuroses and camaraderie recall the psych ward in Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

    There’s no Nurse Ratched here, however, but there is the kindly Steve, who watches out for all of them, especially Shy, who is hiding a secret from the others. Because of his violent fits, his mother has told him she and his stepfather will no longer see him — no phone calls, no visits. “But what if I need you?” he asks, incredulous and emotional. What indeed. At its heart, Steve is a bittersweet celebration of the art of being there for other people in their darkest moments, while acknowledging that it sometimes takes the patience of a saint to do so.

    Title: Steve
    Festival: Toronto (Platform)
    Director: Tim Mielants
    Screenplay: Max Porter
    Cast: Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Simbi Ajikawo, Emily Watson
    Distributor: Netflix
    Running time: 1 hr 32 mins

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    Damon Wise

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  • A House of Dynamite Is Kathryn Bigelow at Her Best

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    The director’s latest, her first film in seven years, is an absurdly riveting thriller with the kind of ticking-clock suspense Bigelow does so well.
    Photo: Eros Hoagland/Netflix

    The very basic premise of Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite is gripping on its own: A single missile is launched at the United States, nobody knows where it’s from, and the national security apparatus springs into action. Thankfully, the movie delivers on that promise. The director’s latest, her first film in seven years, is an absurdly riveting thriller with the kind of ticking-clock, military-grade suspense she does so well. Bigelow intercuts multiple arenas and juggles a small army of characters without ever losing sight of the central, upsettingly simple set of dilemmas: Can they stop the missile in time? Who fired it? How should the U.S. respond? The film is already receiving hosannas at Venice and will surely grab its share of eyeballs when it eventually premieres on Netflix.

    A House of Dynamite actually has a predictable set of moves, at least once the main plot kicks in, but this makes Bigelow’s ability to maintain suspense that much more impressive. Her technique gives Noah Oppenheim’s jargon-heavy script conviction and urgency. I probably couldn’t tell you much about what terms like launch azimuth and exoatmospheric kill vehicle and terminal phase and dual phenomenology really mean (not to mention the several dozen acronyms being tossed about), and I sure as hell couldn’t say if they’re being used properly here. But the film has an aura of technical accuracy, which is what matters. The actors sing their lines with a rat-a-tat confidence that’s so convincing we start to worry they’re giving away government secrets.

    Watching Bigelow depict these offices, situation rooms, and control centers all abuzz with increasingly hurrying (and increasingly horrified) officials, we suspect she is drawn to these type-A professionals because she relates to them. Ever since Zero Dark Thirty, her 2012 film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, was attacked for buying too fully into the CIA’s version of events, the director has been accused of unquestioningly laundering the images of the U.S. military and the intelligence industry. There will be those who take one look at a picture like A House of Dynamite and consider it a form of propaganda for the national security apparatus. This is frankly ridiculous — the film is all about how the system, even when functioning perfectly, will surely fail us.

    Bigelow can make a movie like this because she understands the appeal and awe of power. She depicts these powerful spaces with elegant establishing shots and smooth camera moves suggesting control, calm, and certitude. But whenever it steps out into the real world, the film becomes agitated and hurried, our vision obstructed. A House of Dynamite doesn’t have the sweaty humanity of Fail Safe or the dark absurdism of Dr. Strangelove. Rather, it has a fascination with authority and professionalism and their limits: What if everyone follows orders and does their job really well and everything still goes to shit? (Forget what might happen if the people in charge are a bunch of incompetent, ignorant buffoons; surely that would never happen.)

    The film’s action is split into three sections, each focusing on a different set of individuals as they respond to the fact that, in 18 minutes, a missile launched somewhere in the Pacific will most likely hit the city of Chicago and instantly incinerate around 10 million people. The structure elegantly goes up the chain of command: Each level of the government org chart must tackle this problem at a different point in its trajectory. In the first chapter, most of the activity centers on a missile-defense battalion in Alaska, with its command and control center run by Major David Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos), and the White House Situation Room, where watch-floor senior duty officer Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) tries to respond to the rapidly developing crisis; their job is to identify and ultimately bring down the nuke. In the second chapter, we follow what happens at U.S. Strategic Command, where gung-ho general Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) begins urging the president to prepare to strike at all U.S. adversaries in case this is a coordinated attack; meanwhile, at the emergency operations center deep beneath the White House, deputy national security advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) tries to advise calm.

    In the final section, we watch the secretary of Defense (Jared Harris) and the president (Idris Elba), both of whom, we gather, have only recently entered office, try to deal with what’s starting to look like the ultimate calamity. At one point, they remark that they have been briefed about this eventuality only once, whereas they’ve been briefed about filling a potential Supreme Court vacancy countless times. Even as she depicts the professionalism of her characters, Bigelow makes it clear that they are all totally unprepared for this situation. Lines like “We’ve run this drill a thousand times!” and “We did everything right, didn’t we?” ring not with optimism but with bitter irony.

    Not unlike Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, A House of Dynamite is fundamentally an institutionalist’s outcry about the horrors of nuclear proliferation. The specter of atomic annihilation, once such a major part of our collective fears, has been dormant for so long, even as the danger hasn’t decreased. We get brief, little human details for many of the characters — not enough to edge into corniness but just enough to make it clear they are, in fact, people: One is dealing with a breakup, another with a divorce; one with a pregnancy, another with a child sick at home with a 102-degree fever; one needs a new apartment, another plans to propose to his girl. The secretary of Defense is mourning his wife, which gives weight to his initially selfish-sounding reflection that his daughter lives in Chicago. These tiny bits and bobs of humanity gather power as the film marches on. As a result of the overlapping timelines, certain small moments play out multiple times, each moment with fresh context.

    The fractured narrative replicates the characters’ fractured perspectives. From within their highly secure rooms, where they can’t even bring their own cell phones, these people struggle to reach the outside world. Communication is fragile and inconsistent, reflecting both physical and existential claustrophobia: Nobody really knows or sees what’s going on. Early in the timeline, we see the president attending a WNBA kids’ event with Angel Reese, but this moment out among the public also feels highly choreographed and manufactured. Along with everyone else in this film, he is closed off to the rest of the world — even as he holds in his hands the power to obliterate all of it.


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    Bilge Ebiri

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  • The Urban Arrow FamilyNext Pro Is Your Forever Electric Cargo Bike

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    How time flies. I first reviewed the original Urban Arrow in 2020, when my kids were 3 and 5. Back then, nothing delighted a couple of preschoolers more than strapping into a big, motorized cargo bike and scooting around town, shrieking, with the wind blowing in their tiny faces. Alas, they are now 8 and 10. When I picked up my 8-year-old two days ago, he crouched down in the box while sitting on the padded seats (with seat belts!) so that none of his friends would see him.

    All this to say: My Tern GSD and I are great friends, but I wish my kids were five years younger so I could’ve bought the FamilyNext Pro instead. Urban Arrow’s new electric cargo bike has a lot of great upgrades, is easier to ride than ever, and is even more useful as my kids have gotten older.

    Bounce House

    To the naked eye, the two biggest upgrades to the FamilyNext Pro are a newly redesigned cargo box and suspension on the front fork. (It also comes in a very classy, new sage green, but unfortunately, my demo bike was in black.)

    The box looks totally different—my friend asked if my bike had gotten longer somehow. It’s longer and slimmer, with rounded corners instead of square ones, and there are now headlights on the bike. It has shorter sides, so it’s easier to get in and out. Unlike other bakfiets, or box bikes, that I’ve tried, the box sits much lower to the ground. I can confirm that in my testing, both adults and kids had an easy time climbing in and out.

    The box is made from expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam, which is initially disconcerting—it shows dings and bumps very easily. However, Urban Arrow describes it as “an upside-down helmet,” and the foam cushioning did reassure me that even if I let the bike tip over, my kids or friends wouldn’t just immediately hit the pavement. You can also replace the foam easily in the event of a crash or some other unsightly event.

    The front cargo box now has a front fork with 60 millimeters of travel. I truly love this. It really is a safety issue when you’re going fast with 60 to 150 pounds in the front box. I was cruising along at 20 mph and hit a pothole, and I just boinged right out of it.

    Photograph: Adrienne So

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    Adrienne So

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  • Ride1Up’s First Electric Mountain Bike Does Not Disappoint

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    Buying a direct-to-consumer bike can be almost as big a gamble as investing in cryptocurrency. While a customer is not likely to lose their shirt investing in a new electric bike, buying a poorly made one may result in a serious crash or catch the garage on fire. For these reasons and more, it’s wise to do some research before clicking on the Add to Cart button.

    The highest-end legacy-brand e-MTBs retail for upwards of $14,000. So what do you get for $2,095, the price of Ride1Up’s first-ever electric mountain bike, the TrailRush? At first glance, quite a lot. The California-based company has been around since 2018 and differentiates itself from other direct-to-consumer brands by speccing its bikes with solid components, providing a quality-to-price ratio that it promises “can’t be beat.”

    Solid Parts

    Photograph: Stephanie Pearson

    The TrailRush is a Class III ebike, which means that it doesn’t have a throttle, and the motor maxes out at 28 mph. It’s an aluminum-framed hardtail with a Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain, a 120-mm RockShox Judy Silver TK Air Fork, and Tektro Orion Quad Piston brakes—all products with track records that promise solid performance.

    It also comes with nice extras, like a 150-mm Exaform dropper seat post and chunky Maxxis Minion tubeless-ready tires that are 29 inches in the front and back—a reasonably priced, high-performance set of tires often preferred by enduro or downhill riders. Interestingly, instead of Presta valves, the tires come with Schrader valves, which is a nice feature if you plan on filling up on air at a gas station.

    For e-components, the mid-drive TF Sprinter motor is made by the Brose, the German company that Specialized uses for most of its drive technology. With 90 nm of torque and 250 watts of sustained power, it’s on the low end of force for an electric mountain bike. The 36-volt, 504-watt-hour removable battery runs the length of the down tube and promises 30 to 50 hours of range.

    The bike’s front shock has a very big 120 mm of travel, which is common on a cross-country bike, but the frame is overall more relaxed. For example, the size medium frame has a more relaxed riding geometry, with a very long 1,216-mm wheelbase, which gives it more stability. Overall, the TrailRush was built to handle a little bit of everything a trail can throw your way.

    Smooth, Quiet Ride

    Ride1Up TrailRush Electric Mountain Bike Review Quality Components Bargain Price

    Photograph: Stephanie Pearson

    At 57 pounds, the TrailRush is 2 to 12 pounds heavier than the other e-mountain bikes I’ve tested and more than twice the weight of my non-electric cross-country mountain bike. Whether you’re entirely new to mountain biking or amping up your ride from an analog version, it’s imperative to understand that e-MTBs bring great joy, until they run out of battery and you have to push them home. Or, worse, they end up on top of you in a fall, which can be lethal.

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    Stephanie Pearson

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  • The Most Devastating Movie I’ve Seen in Years

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    Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of the novel Hamnet reimagines the poetic act of creating the greatest play in the English language.
    Photo: Agata Grzybowska/Focus Features

    We know next to nothing about William Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, other than the fact that he and his twin sister Judith were born sometime in 1585 and that he was buried in August of 1596, 11 years later. Even the cause of death is unknown, though the deaths of young children were not entirely uncommon at the time; three of William’s own sisters had died in childhood. Understandably, the scarcity of our insight into the life of Hamnet and his family has inspired writers and artists over the years to fill in the details with their own imaginings. As an opening quote from Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt reminds us, in both Maggie O’Farrell’s haunting 2020 novel Hamnet and Chloe Zhao’s new adaptation of it: “Hamnet and Hamlet are in fact the same name, entirely interchangeable in Stratford records in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.” Which means we know one more thing about this boy: A few years after his death, his father wrote the greatest play in the English language, and it bears his name.

    Premiering at the Telluride Film Festival ahead of a November theatrical release, Hamnet is devastating, maybe the most emotionally shattering movie I’ve seen in years. The book was overwhelming, too, and going into a film about the death of a child, one naturally prepares to shed some tears. Still, I did not really expect to cry this much. That’s not just because of the tragic weight of the material, but because the picture reimagines the poetic act of creating Hamlet. Shakespeare’s play sits on the highest shelf, fixed by the dust from centuries of acclaim. It is about as unimpeachable as a work of art can be. And yet, here is a movie that dares to explore its inception. The attempt itself is noble, and maybe a little brazen; that it succeeds feels downright supernatural.

    Hamnet remains mostly faithful to the novel (O’Farrell collaborated with Zhao on the screenplay), but the two works center on different parts of the imagined timeline. The book ends with our first glimpse of Hamlet, and its final words belong to the Ghost of the play: “Remember me.” The film, on the other hand, directly grapples with the connections between real life and art, showing how the play (and his own role in it) became a vessel for Will Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) to confront his sorrow and help bring his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) out of hers. Hamlet is thought of, not incorrectly, as a work about vengeance and the conflict between thought and action; indeed, it was Shakespeare’s version of an already-existing and popular revenge play. But in shifting her focus, Zhao fully embraces something long evident but often overlooked: As reworked by Shakespeare, Hamlet is also a play about all-consuming grief, one driven at all levels by loss and guilt and questions of how to properly mourn.

    It’s a fascinating subject to imagine, but how exactly does one tell a story mired in such unspeakable sadness? Hamnet speculates that the child was a victim of bubonic plague, but it approaches the tragedy with a kind of magical realist sensibility. In this telling, the constitutionally weaker Judith (played by Olivia Lynes in the film) is the one who initially gets sick, and the loving and industrious Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), who often traded clothes with her as a game to fool their parents, makes one final sacrifice, pretending to be his sickly twin sister and thereby drawing the disease out from her and into himself. Transference is thus at the heart of this story — narratively, formally, structurally.

    The novel jumps back and forth in time, but it keeps circling back to Hamnet’s death, as O’Farrell’s garnished prose transmutes a horrific event into something almost unreal, though no less heartbreaking; her efflorescent descriptions of nature capture something uncanny and sinister about the world (not unlike the doomed Ophelia’s florid songs of grief in Shakespeare’s play). Zhao’s film is more linear, so it doesn’t dwell as long on the details of the death itself. Instead, its breathless, queasy energy sweeps us along. Aided immeasurably by Max Richter’s score, Zhao finds melancholy not in stillness and reflection but in movement and activity. We see how young Will, a sensitive and shy Latin tutor, first met the headstrong Agnes, once a child of nature dismissed as “a forest witch” and raised by an uncaring step-mother. Buckley, an actor who can be both ethereal and earthy at the same time, makes an ideal choice for Agnes. This is a woman who doesn’t quite belong in the world and yet seems to have emerged out of its very soil. She loves to lurk in the woods with her pet falcon, she is proficient in herbs and remedies, and she possesses the gift of foresight.  Despite her reluctance to get married, Agnes has already seen that at her deathbed she will be surrounded by two children. But she has already had a daughter, Susanna, before Judith and Hamlet arrive, so the eventual birth of three children terrifies her to the core.

    Will, the “pasty-faced scholar” hounded for his meekness, sees and loves Agnes for who she is, but marriage and a family also mean a taming of her wild spirits. They are kindred souls: He too can work dark magic, just with his words. Zhao suggests that even though Will was rarely home, his family life fed his art. We see the kids doing the witches’ opening incantations from Macbeth, and of course Hamnet and Judith’s cross-dressing and play-acting echo the plots of many a Shakespeare comedy. All this could come off as corny, but the family is depicted with such loving specificity that we buy all of it. Many historians have been perplexed by how such a seemingly simple man as Shakespeare could have written works of such grandeur and depth. So here, then, is a home filled with wonder and play that could have inspired some of it.

    Which, of course, compounds the tragedy. Agnes might have access to certain powers, but she can’t bring Hamnet back. “He can’t have just vanished,” she says. “All he needs is for me to find him. He must be somewhere.” Will simply responds, “We may never stop looking for him.” But the film has already shown us where Hamnet is. As he hovers between life and death, we see a vision of the young boy wandering around a makeshift forest that is clearly a theater backdrop. He then steps into the dark void of a door at stage center, from which Will Shakespeare himself will later emerge, cloaked in white powder, playing the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father. The undiscovered country is art itself.

    We sometimes forget what a phenomenal actor Mescal is. This is probably because he hasn’t made a good action hero yet, which is a scarlet letter in our day and age. But also, we love to quantify, classify, and dilute complicated performers into simple impressions; despite the fact that he’s only been acting in movies for five years, we think we already know what he’s all about. But he’s not really the softboi that’s been memed to meaninglessness. With his unexpected choices in both cadence and affect, he’s something closer to a young Christopher Walken. In Hamnet, his response at the first sight of his dead son represents some of the best acting I’ve ever seen; it’s matched later when he interrupts a rehearsal of Hamlet’s “Get thee to a nunnery” speech and delivers it himself with such snarling self-loathing (“I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not born me!”) that he instantly and convincingly reinterprets the world’s most famous play before our very eyes. Agnes accuses Will of not grieving enough, but Mescal makes sure we see that oceans of pain lie beneath his hesitancy: He is Hamlet. And yes, we do get to see the actor as William Shakespeare reciting Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy in this movie, one of two very different interpretations of the same speech that Zhao presents, as if to acknowledge that everyone has their own Hamlet.

    It won’t spoil anything to say that Hamnet concludes with a staging of Hamlet, one in which the play’s twisted reflection of the poet’s life becomes more evident and gains complexity. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Zhao is that this recreation of such a familiar work still manages to surprise, because we see it through Agnes’s disbelieving eyes. The drama onstage doesn’t just echo and explain Will’s sorrow, it also serves as a kind of lifeline to Agnes — and when we view Hamlet as an effort by one grieving person to reach out to another, the whole thing opens up in magnificent new ways. There are references to other stories coursing through Hamnet, and one of them is the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, which Will tells Agnes during one of their first meetings. It’s a tale of resurrection, passion, and art, and how one final longing glance traps a lover in the underworld forever. As presented here, it doesn’t apply in any schematic or obvious way to the drama of Shakespeare’s life. But it does underline a fundamental truth in both Hamnet, and Hamlet: that to see and be seen is a joyous and terrifying thing.


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    Bilge Ebiri

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