Culture / Digital Culture

#SwiftTok had a rough day. Early Thursday, after Universal Music Group and TikTok failed to reach an agreement on licensing music from UMG artists on the app, sounds from those artists—including Taylor Swift, Drake, and others—went…

Starting today, the sounds on TikTok might be getting a little quieter. That’s because Universal Music Group is planning to remove its catalog from the video-sharing app after the massive music company failed to reach a licensing agreement…

It’s a beautiful day in ToastedShoes’ version of Palworld, where the YouTuber is currently hunting creatures on “Legal Island.” He creeps through the grass and makes a delighted discovery: “Look at that!” he yells. “It’s my favorite legally…

I have strong feelings about the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses. It’s a combination of gripping John Le Carré–style espionage thriller and workplace comedy, like The Office. Gary Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, an unkempt, neckless individual…

A decade ago, cord-cutters prophesied a world free of exorbitant cable bills where everyone binged The Office without intrusions from advertisers. Now, you have to pay extra to not watch commercials on most streaming services. On Monday,…

The estate of George Carlin has filed a federal lawsuit against the comedy podcast Dudesy for an hour-long comedy special sold as an AI-generated impression of the late comedian. But a representative for one of the podcast hosts behind the…

Social media is having a crisis of identity. In the 15 months since a change of ownership rocked the foundation of Twitter—now confusingly rebranded X—competitors have scrambled to rekindle the allure and influence of the platform that…

If anyone can rally up a base, it’s Taylor Swift.When sexually explicit, likely AI-generated images of Swift circulated on social media this week, it galvanized her fans. Swifties found phrases and hashtags related to the images and flooded…

A few years ago, Netflix fine-tuned its formula for success: original content, no live TV, no ads, and an unrivaled library of movies and series that it can air across the globe. As recently as last year, it mostly stuck to that plan. But…

Still, I.S.S. has landed at an awkward time for the actual ISS. Russia and the US are far from a nuclear conflict, but they are on opposite sides of a brutal war in Ukraine that’s gone on for nearly two years and resulted in hundreds of…