ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Streaming Wars Heat Up with New Releases The battle for streaming dominance is showing no signs of slowing down, with major platforms dropping fresh content designed to keep audiences hooked and rivals scrambling to keep pace. This week has been particularly explosive, as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and newcomer StreamLine each unveiled a slate of shows and films poised to capture global attention. Netflix Goes All-In on Originals Netflix kicked off the week with the debut of Shadowfall, a gritty dystopian drama that’s already earning critical acclaim for its intense storytelling and high production value. The platform also announced a surprise drop of Laugh Riot, a stand-up comedy special from viral sensation Jamie Cruz, which has quickly climbed the trending charts. Disney+ Bets...

The celebrity halo effect: why abuse allegations against powerful men like Brad Pitt are so easily forgotten. Last month, actor Brad Pitt stepped onto the Formula One circuit as the leading man of the high-octane film F1, backed by Apple Studios, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Pitt’s own Plan B Entertainment. During the publicity campaign, cameras followed Pitt at every twist and turn, beaming his heartthrob persona to audiences. The coverage was gushing, with few mentions of the 2016 allegations of physical and emotional abuse made by Angelina Jolie, the award-winning actor and Pitt’s former partner. Pitt was never charged over these allegations, but he was under considerable public scrutiny when they first came to light. The tone has since shifted. Now, many media outlets are focused ...

Here’s the lowdown on Justin Bieber’s Amazon Prime doc: 1. Title & Creative Team Justin Bieber: Our World isn’t a straight concert movie—it’s part concert film, part vérité doc. It was directed by Michael D. Ratner and produced by OBB Pictures, Bieber Time Films and Scooter Braun Films, so you get both glossy stage footage and raw backstage access. 2. What It Covers The film chronicles the month leading up to “T-Mobile Presents New Year’s Eve Live with Justin Bieber,” his first full-scale concert in three years. You’ll see rehearsals, the massive stage build under strict health protocols, plus personal, self-shot moments between Justin and his wife Hailey. 3. When & Where Although it officially premiered on Amazon Prime Video on October 8, 2021, it’s still exclusive to Prim...

Sly Stone turned isolation into inspiration, forging a path for a generation of music-makers In the fall of 1971, Sly and the Family Stone’s “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” landed like a quiet revolution. After two years of silence following the band’s mainstream success, fans expected more feel-good funk from the ensemble. What they got instead was something murkier and more fractured, yet deeply intimate and experimental. This was not just an album; it was the sound of a restless mind rebuilding music from the inside out. At the center of it all was front man Sly Stone. Long before the home studio became an industry norm, Stone, who died on June 9, 2025, turned the studio into both a sanctuary and an instrument. And long before sampling defined the sound of hip-hop, he was using tape and...

Sean "Diddy" Combs, a name synonymous with hip-hop moguldom and a legacy of musical innovation, is currently facing a storm of legal challenges that threaten to unravel his carefully constructed empire. While details continue to emerge and legal proceedings unfold, it's important to understand the nature of the accusations and the potential ramifications for Combs, his businesses, and his legacy. The current legal landscape is characterized by a series of lawsuits alleging a pattern of disturbing behavior spanning decades. These lawsuits, filed by former associates and collaborators, paint a picture of alleged sexual assault, harassment, and abuse of power. While these are, at this stage, allegations, they carry significant weight due to the number of individuals coming forward and the gr...

With federal funding in question, artists can navigate a perilous future by looking to the past. In a February 2025 Truth Social post, President Donald Trump declared a “Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” So far, this “golden age” has entailed an executive order calling for the federal agency that funds local museums and libraries to be dismantled, with most grants rescinded. The Trump administration has forbidden federal arts funding from going to artists who promote what the administration calls “gender ideology.” There’s been a purge of the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Trump appointing himself chair. And the administration has canceled National Endowment for the Humanities grants. Suffice it to say, many artists and arts organizations across the U.S. are ...