A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
The Walt Disney Company earned 21 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards across ABC News and National Geographic, with the award-winning content streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Following another record-breaking year of 51 nominations — the most ever for the brand — National Geographic took home 13 News & Documentary Emmy Awards, breaking its all time record. This included seven awards for "Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller," which also stood for the third consecutive year as the most-nominated series ever. "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller" is an original documentary series that explores the complex and dangerous inner-workings of the global underworld, black and informal markets. Each adventure follows Mariana on a mission to follow the chain of custody of trafficked goods, understand how to obtain the contraband, or see the 360-degree view of the trafficking world from the point of view of the smugglers, law enforcement and those caught in the crossfire.
Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller explores the inner-workings of the most dangerous black markets on the planet. In each episode, she investigates a different underworld — from fentanyl and illegal street racing to the smuggling of brides and the rise of militias — to meet the players, learn the business, and better understand the world’s multi-trillion dollar shadow economy.
This trailer earned an Emmy nomination of its own for Outstanding Promotional Announcement: News. Also, eight of the ten episodes promoted earned Emmy Award nominations and six won Emmy Awards, including the one that is the reason for featuring the series today, "Shark Hunters."
Outstanding Climate, Environment or Weather Coverage - "Shark Hunters" **WINNER**
Yes, that's an ocean conservation themed episode. It's also one I can recommend to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
Follow over the jump for the other five Emmy-winning episodes.
We investigated one of the world’s largest AI data centers, using thermal drone footage to reveal the hidden pollution powering the AI boom. As companies race to build the future of artificial intelligence, residents and experts warn that fossil fuels, secrecy, and weak regulation may be putting communities at risk.
This award is as much about technology as it is about economics. May it mean that AI be a net benefit for the economy. Right now, it looks like it's doing more destruction than creation.
If the projections are correct, it will be doing both, with 20% of people losing their current jobs while quintupling GDP. Yikes! That's an outcome the residents of Richistan would approve of. As for the rest of us, I'll repeat what I wrote a dozen years ago in Robots are coming for our jobs, "the loss of jobs to robots will be the major effect of the Singularity, not everyone becoming cyborgs or the machines enslaving or killing off humanity." It's not like we weren't warned.
That would be an end result. Joe Hanson is showing that getting there is already a risk in terms of increased consumption of land, water, materials to make the data centers and the power plants to run them, and natural gas, as well as increased production of waste in the form of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. It reminds me of an equation I teach my environmental science students to describe environmental impact: "I=P*A*T, where I is impact, P is population, A is affluence, and T is technology." A.I., or at least the data centers to support it, are becoming an example of a technology that supports affluence but increases the impact of the population on the environment. I prefer technology that decreases the impact of an affluent population by being more efficient. Data centers aren't that, not until they use sustainable energy.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, is fueling its data centers with unpermitted gas turbines, according to a Floodlight visual investigation. Thermal drone footage captured in late January 2026 shows xAI running the unpermitted turbines at its custom-built power plant in Southaven, Miss., nearly two weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency reiterated that doing so requires a state permit in advance. The ad hoc gas plant's sole task is to power the data center behind Grok and an example of AI's growing reliance on fossil fuels. Investigative Producer Evan Simon breaks down the investigation and what the findings could mean for the AI buildout occurring across the country.
**UPDATE** Mississippi regulators approved xAI's permit application to run 41 gas powered turbines at its Southaven gas plant on 3/10/26. The decision comes despite heavy pushback from local community members and will result in the creation of one of Mississippi's largest fossil fuel power plants.
This got me to subscribe to the Floodlight News YouTube channel, "The only U.S. newsroom with the specific mission to investigate climate polluters." Expect to see more from them.
Another lesson I teach my students is about the principles for environmental policy. Two of them are human rights, in this case the right to clean air and an environment not permeated by harmful noise, and public participation. The United States is supposed to be a democracy within a republic, where the people decide and the government represents the people. The Floodlight News video shows that the way data centers are being installed and operated respects neither. That's also the point of yesterday's MS NOW video, Erin Brockovich on AI data centers: 'People aren't being heard'.
Americans on both sides of the aisle have found common ground opposing construction of AI data centers in their communities. In Texas, one lifelong conservative voter told MSNOW reporter Josh Einiger that the issue could flip the Senate. And longtime consumer advocate Erin Brockovich joins to lay out what she's learned since she started tracking the issue.
I'm surprised I've never mentioned Erin Brockovich in 15+ years of blogging. It's about time I did.
That's a wrap for today. I'm sure I'll have more to say on the matter. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature.
Love+War chronicles Pulitzer Prize-winning Lynsey Addario’s ascent in the male-dominated world of conflict photography. But her work is dangerous. She’s been kidnapped twice while on assignment in war zones — a cost she must wrestle with each time she leaves her husband and two sons to go on assignment. Behind the camera, Addario is torn between her unwavering commitment to the essential work of journalism and the powerful, competing demands of motherhood, grappling with what it truly means to follow your calling when it threatens everything you love.
I thought Life After would be the big threat to 2000 Meters to Andriivka; it could just as easily be Love + War because it's about journalism and many if not most of the voters are journalists. Electorates matter.
When the residents of a remote Siberian city discover an old Soviet mine has caught fire beneath their neighborhood, they turn to Natalia Zubkova, a local homemaker-turned-journalist, for help. But after her news videos go viral, she suddenly finds herself the target of a massive government disinformation campaign.
This isn't going to win, but I can see why it earned its nomination. Also, I've found another documentary I can recommend to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.
When a group of Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island band together to take on one of the world’s most powerful corporations, they launch a movement no one saw coming. UNION follows their extraordinary journey to form the first Amazon union in U.S. history.
Led by the charismatic and underestimated Chris Smalls, this vérité documentary captures a pivotal moment in the American labor movement—one fueled by resilience, grassroots organizing, and the belief that working people deserve better.
Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember National Geographic [Mattock] LOVE+WAR Trailer Love + War
National Geographic [Mark Woollen & Associates] NATURE Season 44 Trailer Nature
PBS [The WNET Group] Race Against Time Trailer Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time National Geographic [Buddha Jones] Trailer In Waves and War
Actual Films | NETFLIX [Netflix | Participant | Chicago Media Project]
I need to watch Love + War before the 28th to call this category, too.
I just watched Love + War's trailer and already watched the trailer for Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time. Now for the rest in order of their nominations. Nature as a whole has three nominations, In Waves and War has two, and Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember has just this one, so I kick off this section with Coming This October To NATURE...
Get a sneak peek at a brand new season of NATURE on PBS, starting October 2025.
A trailer that begins with Sir David Attenborough and ends with Dame Jane Goodall is one worthy of this nomination. It helps that the overarching theme is family.
In Waves & War is a powerful documentary following former Navy SEALs as they confront the invisible wounds of trauma and PTSD… and share how treatment with ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT changed the trajectory of their lives.
These men open up about war, loss, addiction, suicidality, and the unbearable weight they carried home after deployment. We also witness their journeys into carefully held psychedelic medicine work, and the integration that follows… the hard conversations, the tears, the reconnection to family, and the possibility of living again with some measure of peace.
I’m sharing this film because I believe these stories need to be heard. So many people are suffering in silence. Whatever you believe about psychedelic medicines, it’s hard to ignore the depth of transformation described here by veterans who had run out of options.
If you or someone you love is living with PTSD, depression, or the aftermath of trauma… I hope this documentary offers at least a little more understanding, compassion, and possibility.
In Waves & Wars' other nomination is for Outstanding Graphic Design: Documentary and it shows! In fact, it's now my favorite to win that category and this one, too.
In this intimate and uplifting documentary, Chris Hemsworth turns the spotlight away from himself and toward his father, Craig, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Determined to help, Chris designs a therapeutic “road trip back in time,” revisiting key places from their past to explore the powerful science of social connection — a crucial but overlooked tool in protecting brain health. Along the way, Chris uncovers surprising research showing that connection isn’t just good for the soul; it can also reduce the risk of dementia, slow cognitive decline, and even prolong life. This emotional journey across Australia becomes a chance for Chris and Craig to deepen their bond, relive memories, and discover how love, community and nostalgia can be potent medicine.
I'm getting the same feeling about this that I have for The American Revolution; this looks like a documentary that would work better at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and might just be eligible there, too. Let's see if it earns any nominations in July.
Love + War's other nominations are for Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Outstanding Sound: Documentary. It deserves both, but I suspect it's likely to lose to 2000 Meters to Andriivka for the former and Lost in the Jungle for the latter. Darn.
Dame Jane's obituary post was one of the top social media shares of the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News. Follow over the jump for both of the sites where it became popular.
Happy Flashback Friday! I'm returning to the News & Doc Emmy Awards with the nominees for Outstanding Investigative Documentary, which The Stringer leads with four nominations, followed by Cover-Up and Syria's Detainee Files tied at two nominations, then Critical Incident: A Death at the Border and Predators tied at one nomination. I'm linking to the trailers in this order, beginning with The Stringer: The Man Who Took The Photo | Official Trailer | Netflix.
A former Saigon photo editor reveals a secret he’s been plagued with for 52 years, setting off a gripping two-year investigation into the truth behind one of the Vietnam War’s most iconic photographs. Acclaimed conflict photographer Gary Knight and a small team of journalists embark on a relentless search to locate and seek justice for a man known only as “the stringer.”
Unfortunately, this trailer is age-restricted and has to be viewed on YouTube or Netflix itself because of nudity — yes, it's that photo!
The Stringer's other nominations are in Outstanding Writing: Documentary, Outstanding Research: Documentary, and Outstanding Direction: Documentary. The number of nominations along with its Vietnam War and journalism subject matter would normally make this my favorite for this category, but this is a tougher category than the numbers alone suggest.
Cover-Up is a political thriller that traces the explosive career of Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Urgent and deeply reported, Cover-Up is both a portrait of a relentless journalist and an indictment of institutional violence — revealing a cycle of impunity in the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. Drawing on exclusive access to Hersh’s notes, and interweaving primary documents and archival footage, Cover-Up captures the power and process of investigative journalism.
The voters here are mostly journalists and this is a story about journalism. A lot of them are also based in New York. As I'm fond of writing about awards shows, electorates matter.
Both Cover-Up and The Stinger are documentaries about journalism, so this statement applies to both of them. Also lot of the voters not in New York are based in Washington, D.C. Cover-Up would appeal to them.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime detained over a million people during the Syrian war. Saydnaya was the regime’s most notorious prison. In this video drawn from the documentary "Syria’s Detainee Files," brothers who were held at Saydnaya describe their experience – and so does a former guard who admits to torturing people there.
Harrowing. Its second nomination is for Outstanding Research: Documentary, where it's competing against The Stringer.
HBO Original Documentary #CriticalIncident: Death At The Border revisits a 2010 case that still resonates today. Premieres December 29 on @hbomax.
This barely made the eligibility deadline. Didn't seem to hurt its chances. Of course, it's another nominee that features a journalist, so it appeals to the News & Doc electorate. It's also timely again because of Trump'simmigrationcrackdown.
To Catch a Predator lured sex offenders to a film set where they were interviewed and arrested while cameras rolled. PREDATORS is a chilling, surprising exploration of the show, and the world it helped create.
This could just as easily have been a nominee for crime and justice or arts and culture as it explores the boundaries among journalism, activism, and sensationalist entertainment. In any event, it's another product of MTV Documentary Films, which I've praised in the past. I can't count it out.
Now for the other categories where The Stringer, Cover-Up, and Syria's Detainee Files earned nominations.
Outstanding Research: Documentary
The American Revolution Florentine Films | PBS [WETA-TV] Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time Lightbox [Proximity Media | National Geographic] Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America 72 Films [National Geographic] The Strike UPHSF LLC The Stringer Netflix [LinLay Productions | Netflix | VII Foundation | XRM Media] Syria’s Detainee Files FRONTLINE | PBS [BBC] Turning Point: The Vietnam War Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix] The White House Effect Actual Films | Netflix [Netflix | The Department of Motion Pictures]
Turning Point: The Vietnam War leads this category with five nominations, followed by Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time and The Stringer tied at four, then The Strike with three, Syria's Detainee Files and The White House Effect tied with two, then The American Revolution tied with Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America at just this one. That there are so many nominees indicates that this is a very competitive category, so I won't designate a favorite right now. Just the same, I'm noting that The American Revolution earning just this one nomination here suggests to me that it's eligible for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, so I expect it to be nominated there, too. That happened for The U.S. and the Holocaust, so I've seen it happen before.
Sally should just be happy to be nominated in this category. 2000 Meters to Andriivka has six nominations, including Best Documentary. Life After has four, also including Best Documentary, as does The Stringer. Katrina: Come Hell and High Water and Vietnam: The War That Changed America both tied Sally with three. Apocalypse in the Tropics and Music Box: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley have just this one. Out of this field, 2000 Meters to Andriivka is my provisional favorite.
Outstanding Editing: Documentary
Cover-Up Netflix [Plan B | Netflix | Praxis Films] Folktales Loki Films [Fifth Season | Impact Partners | Topic Studios] Katrina: Come Hell and High Water Netflix [Netflix | Message Pictures] Life After Multitude Films | PBS [ITVS] Love + War Little Monster Films [National Geographic] 2000 Meters to Andriivka FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press] Thoughts & Prayers HBO Documentary Films [Tony Tina] The White House Effect Actual Films | Netflix [Netflix | The Department of Motion Pictures]
I think 2000 Meters to Andriivka is the favorite, if only because it's the only nominee also nominated for Best Editing at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards and I suspect 2000 Meters to Andriivka might sweep its categories.
Outstanding Writing: Documentary
Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya
Thunderheart Films [WETA-TV] 2000 Meters to Andriivka
FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press] Songs From the Hole
Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix] The Stringer
Netflix [A Netflix Documentary | An XRM MEDIA | VII FOUNDATION Production | LinLay Productions] Underdogs
Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic]
The trailer alone demonstrated that Underdogs deserved this nomination. Unfortunately, I doubt it will win this award. It's competing against 2000 Meters to Andriivka with six nominations including Best Documentary, Songs from the Hole with four nominations including Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary, and The Stringer, also with four nominations including Outstanding Investigative Documentary. I expect grit will win over wit.
Songs from the Hole has plenty of grit, but it is facing stiff competition from 2000 Meters to Andriivka, The Stringer, and Underdogs. It might lose to one of the first two.
I still think so.
Follow over the jump for the last three most read posts about the Emmy Awards during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
Happy one-monthiversary of the Iran war! With the Strait of Hormuz still closed, Jon Stewart examines how global shortages are hitting everything from grain to helium to pickleballs. Meanwhile, Americans flood the streets for the No Kings protests while CPAC throws Trump his own Yassss Kings rally. Plus, the U.S. finally has a detailed explanation of the president's objectives and exit strategy... for the White House ballroom.
In a Yahoo News essay, Leerhsen describes the Trump he worked with from 1988 to 1990 as mostly "bored out of his mind," a "failing real estate developer who had little idea of what he was doing and less interest in doing it once he'd held the all-important press conference."
Trump was making huge, outrageously leveraged, financially ruinous deals, but day-to-day, he spent "surprisingly large" amounts of time "looking at fabric swatches," Leerhsen writes. "Indeed, flipping through fabric swatches seemed at times to be his main occupation," and "some days he would do it for hours," probably because fabric swatches "were within his comfort zone — whereas, for example, the management of hotels and airlines clearly wasn't."
Leerhsen elaborated Thursday evening on CNN. "At this time, like, things were really going to hell in his business," but "in the center of that was this quiet office where he was going through fabric swatches most of the day, and in the middle of all this Sturm und Drang, he was oblivious to it," he told Erin Burnett.
Nearly 40 years later, he hasn't changed, except to get older and more set in his ways
Over eight million people marched in the third "No Kings" protest, President Trump appears to be making up his Iran war strategy on-the-fly, and the war is causing global economic pain and shortages of resources like helium.
The contradictory announcements for the war remind me of something else I wrote early this month.
Twenty-five years ago, one of my reactions to 9-11 was to look at Bush the Younger's administration and be reassured that at least these people, particularly Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Colin Powell, knew how to fight a war, no matter what my other opinions were of them. It took me two years, after it became obvious they were botching the occupation of Iraq, to figure out that they didn't really have a plan for an occupied Iraq beyond shock doctrine. I have no such illusions about Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump and Pete Hegseth; it's obvious from the get-go that they don't have a plan at all beyond being so intimidating that Iran just backs down. That's not happening. Once again, the voices Trump listens to, both inside and outside his head, are not reliable sources.
In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
This is an expanded version of The Lost Class, a PSA about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards, showing all the empty chairs of students lost to gun violence who would have graduated from high school had they lived. That worked because of the sheer numbers, 3,044, but it wasn't about the individual victims; fellow Emmy nominee Teenage Dream did that for the survivors. All the Empty Rooms personalizes the issue for those who never came home.
Since the video has no description, I'm sharing the one from IMDB: "Israeli peace activists hold silent vigils in Tel Aviv, displaying photos of Gaza's young victims. Despite facing public backlash, their wordless demonstrations powerfully highlight war's human cost." This is another side of 'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. That was about the Israeli victims of the October 7th attack on the Nova Music Festival. It won the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, something I didn't acknowledge until now. Being interrupted by a hostile commenter trolling the entry will do that. This is about some Israelis' reaction to their government's response.
"Before I send them in, I look in their eyes. I say to them, 'you’re safe now.'"
#TheDevilsBusy offers an intimate look inside a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, where Tracii leads security to ensure safety and care amid protests and restrictions.
'Perfectly A Strangeness' by Alison McAlpine official trailer, 2026 Oscar® Nominated in the best Documentary Short Film category.
Synopsis: In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.
This has the most science content of any of the nominees except for possibly The Devil Is Busy, which has some health content amongst the social commentary. Just the same, I doubt I'll recommend it to my students. Sometimes, blogging as professional development doesn't yield positive results.
As I wrote above, the nominees are in the same order in the Gold Derby odds as they are in the alphabet. What are the odds of that happening? All the Empty Rooms has the first place votes of 70.0% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 81.0% of users. Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud sits in second among all three groups as the choice of 20.0% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 12.7% of users. No experts picked either Children No More: Were and Are Gone or The Devil Is Busy, the selections of 2.6% and 2.0% of users, respectively. Instead, the remaining expert is currently voting for Perfectly a Strangeness along with 1.7% of users. The film school students might like this last one, but everyone in the Motion Picture Academy votes for the winner, and I think they'll vote for one of the top two choices. Remember, electorates matter.
Again, that's a wrap for today's awards show coverage. Stay tuned for two brief entries worth sharing next month sandwiching this year's unveiling of the Doomsday Clock on Wednesday.
There’s an 18% chance that global warming exceeds four degrees by 2100 and that’s not a small risk when the stakes are civilization-ending.
In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May talks with civilization collapse researcher Luke Kemp and strategic climate risk expert Laurie Laybourn about why high-end warming scenarios are often dismissed as “doomerism,” even though worst-case planning is standard in most fields. We break down how uncertainty in climate sensitivity and political derailment could push warming higher than expected and how climate shocks can trigger cascading failures across food systems, financial markets, and geopolitics. Understanding the climate endgame isn’t pessimism. It’s risk management.
Before I address the science, I'm making a meta comment about what I've seen on PBS YouTube channels and PBS and NPR websites since the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was defunded; public media has become more opposed, even antagnostic, to Donald "Hoover Harding Cleveland" Trump's policies since. If the authors of Project 2025 thought public media was biting the hand that fed them, they might be surprised at how much their hands are being bitten now that they're not feeding public media!
The Arctic was ice free and warm enough to host permanent forest cover across much of its extent. Iceland had a humid and subtropical climate...Dense, humid rainforests covered much of France, Switzerland, and northern Germany, while southern and central Spain were arid and contained open environments.
That's a very different world from today.
Speaking of today's world, the L.A.fires serve as an example where climate change is already causing disasters, which the current administration denies. Looking forward to the future, a possible collapse of the AMOC would be catastrophic and magnified by our economic system. Yikes!
The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is an iconic American song, drawing on lots of roots and precursors, but pulled into its most famous shape by abolitionist Julia Ward Howe. During the American Civil War it became a signature marching song for the Union Army, linked to patriotism and faith, and has since become part of the canon of American national music. We do not attempt or treat it lightly, but our version reflects on how the first week of 2026 has already seen Trump's troops advancing his domestic and foreign policy agendas. Every marching step is another step away from the principles and traditions embedded in the song: we have seen the transgression of international law in Venezuela, the murder of unarmed Americans in Minneapolis (and its defence by the administration), the US's withdrawal from multiple international organisations, and explicit threats issued to other sovereign powers and polities, including Greenland.
The song Billy Jean was a fictional narrative about a woman who makes false claims and goes from desirable to undesirable. Released in 1983, it was the second single from the fantastic album “Thriller” and became Jackson’s best selling solo single. Lots of his lyrics address paranoia and distrust, but it was the fit of the protagonist’s name in the chorus that really clinched an idea for us to take on this classic pop-disco track.
We’ve twisted the words around the story of Marjorie Taylor Greene, and how one of the vocal “Big Beasts” of Trump’s support base has now rancorously broken with him.
*Snork* MTG as a xenomorph. Just the same, may she be the first of many rats abandoning Hoover Harding Cleveland's sinking ship.
It’s been a while since we revisited a sea shanty – you may recall, mother doesn’t approve of these – but we’ve dug deep and repurposed “Drunken Sailor” to talk about the news this week of the BBC cocking up their edit of a speech on a Panorama programme over a year ago (making it appear more vehement than it was). As a consequence of this hitting the headlines in a targeted attack on the UK’s flagship broadcaster, which has been caught up in culture wars, post-truth, and its own self-generated problems, Donald Trump has now issued a threat of legal action. Obviously this is a model he’s used to good effect (for his purposes) in the USA, having taken on ABC, CNN, and CBS and won big settlements there and elsewhere.
The first recorded description of “Drunken Sailor” is from a Pacific Ocean whaling voyage in 1839 that departed from New London, Connecticut. So very appropriate for Trump’s latest giant lumbering trans-oceanic phishing foray.
So much has gone on since this was recorded that I'd forgotten about the story.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another brief evergreen entry tomorrow.
My friend from drum corps Kevin G. added the middle name on Bluesky. My response was "For the former record holder for dumbest U.S. president and also one of the most corrupt. Let's see how long it takes me to get used to the sound of Hoover Harding Cleveland." It took less than a week.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Elsbeth (CBS)
Ghosts (CBS)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
The Studio (Apple TV)
Nobody Wants This leads Best Comedy Series with five nominations, followed by Ghosts and Hacks with four, Abbott Elementary, The Righteous Gemstones, and The Studio with three, Elsbeth with two, and Only Murders in the Building with just this one. Based on The Studio winning a total of thirteen Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, the Gold Derby odds should favor The Studio and they do. Every editor and expert plus 92.2% of the users selected The Studio to win. It's followed by Hacks with 3.1% user support, Abbott Elementary with 1.7%, Only Murders in the Building with 1.1%, and the rest with less than one percent.
The series earning acting nominations but which missed a program nomination are A Man on the Inside, St. Denis Medical, Murderbot, Poker Face, The Paper, Peacemaker, and Saturday Night Live with one each. Follow over the jump for those and the rest of the acting nominations.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. and HBO, which includes the legendary TV and movie studio and assets like the HBO Max streaming service, for $72 billion, plus debt. The deal could reshape Hollywood, but first faces a tough regulatory review process around the world. CNN’s Brian Stelter reports.
Surprise! The attempted Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger didn't and probably will not happen. That means that John Oliver, who did not want to work for Paramount and the Ellisons, avoided that possibility, at least for now. CNN also escaped that fate so far, because they're not part of the deal. Netflix does not want to get into the cable TV business, so CNN and the rest of the Warner Brothers-Discovery channels, other than HBO, which Netflix is buying, remain together to be spun off as a separate entity, Discovery Global. That at least postpones what I was worried about in September: "CBS News and CNN merging would likely result in a more conservative news outlet, which would make Donald 'Hoover Cleveland' Trump get out of the deal's way." He and Pam Bondi's Department of Justice might not be so accommodating with a Netflix-Warner Brothers merger.
Netflix has struck a nearly $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max, beating out Paramount and Comcast after a bidding war. If finalized, it would unite the world’s largest streamer with one of Hollywood’s oldest studios. The move raises questions about the future of theatrical releases and concerns about market concentration. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Matthew Belloni of Puck.
While this deal is good for Netflix and Warner Brothers-Discovery's management and shareholders, it may not be good for theater owners, actors, and writers, who stand to lose money or at least have smaller paychecks. It may not be great for directors, either, although more artistically than financially; they want their movies shown on the big screen and think streaming them at home diminishes them, literally.
Netflix is playing this deal up as good for consumers. In terms of variety of content and convenience, it probably will be. However, it will probably make subscriptions go up, although viewers like my wife and me, who subscribe to multiple streaming services, might ultimately save money as we will subscribe to one service instead of two. Just the same, the commenters on CNN's video are already grousing about their Netflix subscriptions going up to pay for this deal.
I'm sure I'll have more to write about this deal and the legal hoops it will have to jump through over the next year and more. In the meantime, stay tuned for another evergreen educational entry tomorrow.
Parody of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” (Music/Lyrics by Kayleigh Amstutz & Daniel Nigro)
"Democracy doesn't answer to delusion" — remember, one of my catchphrases is that the voices in Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's head are not reliable sources. Neither are the real people advising him. Also, "I miss America," too.
Chappell Roan performs “Pink Pony Club” live at the 2025 GRAMMYs
Just like Fees, Fees, Fees, Randy could have gone darker by sticking closer to the original. In particular, "God, what have you done" expresses my sentiments just as well as "God, shut the fvck up!"
Randy's plug of Ground News reminds me of what I wrote in Future Proof examines 'The RISE and FALL of Malls in America,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, "the paid promotion by Ground News reminds me that I promised a comparison and contrast between AllSides and the Media Bias Chart three years ago." I still haven't done that, but it really is time. Maybe when I make my monthly page view goal and write evergreen entries near the end of the month.
That would make a good post to share next month. Stay tuned to see if I actually write it.
That's a wrap for today. Now for a string of holidays beginning with WorldKindnessDay tomorrow. I love holidays!
John Oliver discusses the prevalence of police chases, why the risks involved can massively outweigh the benefits, and why everyone with a broken taillight needs to go get their laundry out of the dryer. Seriously, stop reading this and go get your clothes. They’ve been in there for days. We’re trying to help you.
Police chases were not a staple of local news in Los Angeles when I moved out of California 36 years ago. They are now. I'm not surprised that the screen captures of chase videos were from Los Angeles TV stations and the clip featuring the TMZ bus trying to stop a speeding driver was from L.A. At least I now know to blame O.J. Simpson. I was also relieved that Michigan police were not involved until the story from Warren, where the case against the police was dismissed — Michigan law and qualified immunity at work. Even when police were convicted, Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump pardoned them. The man seems to like police brutality.
I'm looking forward to the planned episode on police surveillance. The village where I live is getting traffic cameras, so I know they'll be watching. In the meantime, stay tuned for a closer look post tomorrow — comedy about the news because it hurts too much to cry.
Paramount Skydance is preparing to make a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery. NBC News' Tom Llamas talks to media and sports reporter Alex Sherman about what this potential merger could mean for film and television.
This could have major effects on entertainment production and consumption, although the resulting company would still not be as big as Amazon and Apple, which are primarily technology companies, or Disney, which definitely is still a media company. CNBC Television was thinking of a different media company when it uploaded Combining Paramount and Warner Bros. could create real competition to Netflix: Puck's Matt Belloni.
Matt Belloni, Puck founding partner, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss reports of Paramount Skydance preparing an all-cash takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, impact on the media industry, and more.
I was wondering if/when Joe Kernan would say something that would annoy me and he lived down to my expectations by speculating on what this merger would do to CNN's personnel. CBS News and CNN merging would likely result in a more conservative news outlet, which would make Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump get out of the deal's way. It's a legitimate topic that I'm concerned about, but Kernan's attitude rubbed me the wrong way. Good thing Andrew Ross Sorkin stepped in to change the tone.
Rich Greenfield, LightShed Partners co-founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss reports of Paramount Skydance preparing an all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, impact on the rest of the media industry, prospect of Comcast making a competing bid, and more.
When I first heard about a potential buyer for Warner Bros., it was NBCUniversal, which would make sense for Universal Studios theme parks; Harry Potter's movie and theme park IP would under the same umbrella instead of being split. That was under the Biden Administration. As Greenfield pointed out, this won't happen with Hoover Cleveland in charge. Besides, the Ellisons can outbid NBCUniversal, so it won't happen from a business perspective, either.
There was a lot of talk about a potential purchase of TikTok, but I'm going to save that for a future post. Speaking of which, stay tuned for a post about tonight's Emmy winners tomorrow.
The new P+ Original documentary We Will Dance Again delves into the October 7th terror attack at the Nova Music Festival, a celebration meant for music, life and love that turned into a horrific scene of violence.
We Will Dance Again is told through the eyes of more than a dozen survivors, many of whom recorded their experiences on their cell phones as the massacre unfolded. It is a painful story of unfathomable tragedy, and also of bravery, sacrifice and heroism. Viewer Discretion Advised.
This serves as a terrifying reminder of how the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began, as a terror attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians enjoying themselves.
We Will Dance Again has two nominations for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and Outstanding Editing - Documentary and is my pick to win this category. The remaining nominees, 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook, Bread & Roses, Print it Black, and "A Year of War: Israelis and Palestinians" on FRONTLINE, have just this one nomination. It's time for their trailers, starting with 64 Days: The Insurrection Playbook by Saboteur Media.
JANUARY 6TH.
YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE STORY.
YOU DON'T.
FROM EMMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER NICK QUESTED
64 DAYS: THE INSURRECTION PLAYBOOK
...
Through never-before-seen footage, exclusive access to the proud boys, eyewitness reports, unreported emails, videos, social media posts, interviews with politicians on both sides of the aisle, and unprecedented access to the investigators supporting the January 6 Committee, 64 DAYS chronicles the most important period of our modern republic—the 64 democracy-bending days between the election and the devastating January 6th insurrection.
Four-and-one-half years ago, I wasn't completely convinced this was a coup. It didn't take me long to change my mind. Watching this should convince my readers, if they aren't already.
In the shadow of Kabul’s fall, three women fight to reclaim their lives. Bread & Roses is now streaming on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/BreadandRoses_
Bread & Roses directed by Sahra Mani and produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai, captures the spirit of Afghan women in their relentless quest for autonomy. A moving portrayal of strength amid struggle, this acclaimed Cannes Film Festival documentary shines a light on their resilience.
This trailer is very popular, with 172,905 views and 115 comments. That might count for something, but the YouTube viewers are not the award voters. As I write nearly every time I examine awards shows, electorates matter. Just the same, this is my pick to upset We Will Dance Again.
After the Robb Elementary school shooting in Texas, local Uvalde Leader-News journalists are left to report on the fallout - and on one of their staff members. Reporter Kimberly Rubio rises to national prominence as an advocate for gun reform after her ten-year-old daughter, Lexi, is killed in the shooting. Through the journalists' reporting, we witness the social fabric of this small Texas town unravel as Kimberly and other victims' families search for accountability from law enforcement and local leaders. The documentary also shines a light on the critical role of community journalism, at a time when local newspapers are folding rapidly across the country. Print It Black trailer is after the news report.
Cast: Kimberly Mata Rubio, Pete Luna, Craig Garnett, Meghann Garcia, Melissa Federspill, Julye Keeble, Norma Ybarra, Felix Rubio, Dustin Burrows, James Volz, Hal Harrell, Shelia Jackson Lee, Nicole Ogburn, Beto O'Rourke, Pete Arrendondo, John Quinones, Maria Elena Salinas, Mireye Villarreal
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt32265065/
This is about both guns and local journalism. If the TV journalists are like the entertainment professionals who vote for the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, who will vote for a good nominee about themselves if all else is equal, then they might vote for this. I'm not sure they're like that and that all else is equal. This trailer doesn't help; it looks homemade. I'm sure ABC News, which made the documentary, would have done a better job.
FRONTLINE documents harrowing accounts from those who experienced the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza. Israelis and Palestinians directly impacted by the conflict talk about death, despair and the continuing trauma.
This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://www.pbs.org/donate/
I like closing circles and this nominee does just that, looping back to We Will Dance Again with a more balanced perspective.
I conclude with We Will Dance Again's other nomination.
Apollo 13: Survival has the most nominations for Outstanding Editing - Documentary with four, followed by Death without Mercy, Blink, and We Will Dance Again, all with two, and Citizen Nation with just this one. It also has an editing nomination at the BAFTA Film Awards, so it definitely has a strong case to win. Besides, it's an archival documentary, so editing is going to be its strong suit.
I expect to return to this category twice before I make a call, once for We Will Dance Again and the other Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary and again for Blink and Citizen Nation when I finish this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary.
I can see how editing of all the survivors' videos made We Will Dance Again what it is. That written, I suspect Blink's editing might be even stronger. I plan on covering the remaining nominees for this category and Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary on Wednesday. In the meantime, stay tuned for my examination of Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy and the other nominees for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary tomorrow.
Previous posts about the 46th News & Doc Emmy Awards
There is a surprising natural wonder in the middle of the vast West Texas desert: a prehistoric ocean reef built from the remains of ancient sea life. This fossil-rich landscape tells the story of Earth's most devastating mass extinction—and can help enlighten the climate threats we face today.
The video description also included this call to action: "If you’re interested in supporting PBS’ mission, visit https://protectmypublicmedia.org/ to make your voice heard!" Public broadcasting in the United States is also an endangered species.
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the most popular science and environment posts I shared on Instagram and Bluesky that I haven't recapped yet.
NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the early state of play in California's gubernatorial race as former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris would have a wide lead over the rest of the field if she were to enter the 2026 race for California governor, according to an Inside California Politics/Emerson College poll released Thursday. April 17, 2025.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is the runaway front-runner in the California governor’s race – but voters are split on whether the failed 2024 Democratic presidential candidate should even enter the fray.
Harris has the support of 31% of Californians who plan to vote in the Golden State’s June 2026 gubernatorial primary election, according to an Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill survey released Thursday,
But half of likely voters, 50%, believe that the former vice president, California senator and state attorney general should not run for the governorship.
Harris’s closest competitors are former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who only mustered 8% support, and Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, who garnered a 4% backing.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a recent entrant into the race, received 2% support.
That's a really good preview image, but I'm suspicious of the channel itself. I wonder who's behind it.
Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the relevant top post plus the most commented posts between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025 for today.
President Trump distanced himself from Project 2025’s radical conservative vision on the campaign trail. Now, more than half of his executive orders including some on immigration and DEI policies align with recommendations made in the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint. Trump has even hired multiple key architects and contributors of Project 2025 to be in his administration.
WSJ explores some of the notable ways Trump’s first few months are aligning with Project 2025 – and what that can tell us about his second term.
As for Hoover Cleveland (un)truthing "I have no idea who is behind [Project 2025]," check out MSNBC's list of chapter authors.
All of them have worked for him, so of course he's lying. He's not fooling anyone but himself and his most devoted followers.
...
I leave my readers with the following list Digby embedded in Incomplete Cheat Sheet.
As I've written before, yikes! No wonder it's unpopular!
On the campaign trail, President Trump distanced himself from the writers and content of Project 2025, but just two months into his presidency, much of what was laid out in the sprawling document has been enacted. Atlantic staff writer David Graham, who has written on Project 2025, joins Katy Tur to discuss how far along the Trump administration is in the conservative playbook.
Project 2025, the conservative policy project, became a flashpoint during the presidential campaign. Angelo Carusone of Media Matters studied the 900-page document and spoke with Geoff Bennett for our series, On Democracy, where we hear a range of perspectives on how government should function, what led to this moment in American history and where the country goes next.
Carusone and PBS News host Geoff Bennett also shared this graphic.
That illustrates the problem for Democrats and other resisters; a lot of people get their news and views from podcasts and videos and the overwhelming majority learn right. The stat that 32% of Americans get their news from YouTube now compared to 23% in 2020 shows the effect of the pandemic on Americans' media diet. I resemble that remark, as I'm using YouTube uploads of mainstream media here on my blog instead of watching the newscasts directly. I hope my curation helps direct my readers to good sources of news!
