A modern saint. A former Navy SEAL. A secret anti-Mormon activist. Why do so many rumors and memes swirl around the children’s television icon?

Nadine Smith
Nadine Smith is a writer, DJ, and co-host of the podcast Hotbox the Cinema. Her work has appeared in publications like the New York Times Magazine, Pitchfork, the Outline, Bandcamp Daily, Observer, and the Nashville Scene.
Why Pimple Popping Videos Are So Strangely Satisfying
YouTube is full of videos of nasty skin conditions getting treated, many of which have over a million views. What’s behind our morbid fascination with such entertainment?
The Mutations We May Endure When Our Global Environment Becomes Uninhabitable
Joel Potrykus’s new film Relaxer is at once his smallest — following a single protagonist isolated in his apartment for the entire runtime — and his most visionary.
A Cuban Filmmaker’s Brutal Satire of Religion and Colonialism
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s The Last Supper plays as part of Film Forum’s ongoing series The Hour of Liberation: Decolonizing Cinema, 1966-1981, which presents both classic and overlooked anti-imperialist films.
Gaspar Noé’s Latest Film Is a Drug-Fueled DJ Mix from Hell
Climax is something of a feature-length DJ mix, with Noé behind the decks.