IT General

If you're thinking about self-hosting multiple services, Proxmox is a great option. Proxmox is a virtualization platform that lets you run multiple isolated services on the same machine using containers or virtual machines. There are plenty of great services that can run in Proxmox.

The ESP32 is a tiny microcontroller that you can pick up for a few dollars. Thanks to its small footprint and low barrier to entry, it’s perfect for powering a variety of simple smart home projects from super simple “flash and go” sensors to more complex ventures that involve skills like soldering and coding.

We've all been there: struggling with a nested Excel formula that breaks when your data shifts, or using Flash Fill only to find it missed half the rows. I stopped relying on those fragile workarounds and switched to Power Query's Column From Examples for more reliable automation.

When it comes to portable storage, I’ve never seen it done quite as elegantly as the Sharge Disk Pro. This portable NVMe SSD packs a 4-in-1 USB-C hub, MagSafe compatibility—but at what cost?

After seven years — a metric eternity in tech time — Sony has finally ventured back into the world of Bluetooth turntables. This spring, the company released the Sony PS-LX3BT ($399.99) and the Sony PS-LX5BT ($499.99), a pair of replacements for its original PS-LX310BT record player.

These newcomers have big shoes to fill. Long regarded as one of the best beginner-friendly turntables, the PS-LX310BT was a popular, perennial favorite for its easy setup, fully automatic operation, and minimalist look. It also helped that it was easy to find on sale for under $200 in its later years.

Admittedly, I never rode the PS-LX310BT hype train. The record player I've used for the past 10-odd years is an entry-level wired, manual turntable that's served me well for the most part, save for some occasional needle issues. I like it a lot... or at least, I thought I did until I used the new PS-LX3BT for a month (the cheaper option). It made me feel so spoiled that I was genuinely bummed to ship it back at the end of my testing period. If you're a vinyl novice in the market for a solid plug-and-play turntable, your search still ends with Sony.

Sony PS-LX3BT Full Auto Playback Turntable with Bluetooth Connectivity $368 at Amazon
$398 Save $30   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Sony Sony PS-LX3BT review: Setup and hands on

The PS-LX3BT ships in a few parts and looks a little intimidating right out of the box, but assembly wound up being a cinch. You just pop on its aluminum platter, hook a rubber belt around its motor pulley, place a slip mat on top, and snap some hinges onto its plastic dust cover. (You can also use it without the cover.) Sony's instructions are easy enough to follow, but there are plenty of setup tutorials on YouTube if you need extra guidance.

Here's what the Sony PS-LX3BT looks like right out of the box. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The PS-LX3BT is a belt-drive turntable, which means its motor is separate from its platter, the plate-shaped thing underneath your record. (They're connected by the aforementioned belt.) This produces less vibration when the motor is running, preserving audio quality, though the belt can stretch out over time and may need to be replaced eventually. The other kind of turntable you'll encounter is the direct-drive variety, which has a motor that's attached to the platter. These are more durable and have more consistent speeds, but they can be noisy. Professional DJs generally prefer direct-drive turntables, but belt-driven ones, which tend to be cheaper, are fine for the rest of us.

SEE ALSO: Rate your favorite audio brands for a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card

I did notice that the PS-LX3BT made a mechanical whirrr sound when it was on, but it was impossible to hear once a record started playing. This will only bother the pickiest audiophiles.

The Sony PS-LX3BT's main housing, or plinth, has a dark gray finish. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The PS-LX3BT is stupidly simple to use. Hit the "Bluetooth" button on the left-hand side of its base, or plinth, to connect it to a wireless speaker, soundbar, or wireless headphones. An indicator light next to the button glows blue when it's paired.

You can also hook up the PS-LX3BT to wired speakers if you're really worried about latency or sound quality. (Bluetooth compresses audio for the trade-off of portability, which, to vinyl purists, defeats the point of listening to analog vinyl.) There's an attached audio cable and a built-in phono preamp, so you just need to plug in your speakers of choice.

Two other buttons near the Sony PS-LX3BT's Start button let you manually stop and raise or lower the tonearm as needed. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Once the PS-LX3BT is connected to some kind of audio output device, you just have to press the green "Start" button on the opposite side of its plinth. Your record will start spinning, and the tonearm will automatically move over, drop down, and start playing it from the beginning. When it reaches the end of the record side, the tonearm rises and returns to its cradle. It makes some mechanical clacking noises along the way, which might bug some folks, but it's great in that it's completely fuss-free.

The PS-LX3BT supports standard 12-inch albums or 7-inch singles, and you can play either of them at 33 1/3 or 45 revolutions per minute (RPM). There are knobs that let you switch between the two sizes and speeds on the right-hand side of its plinth. Sony throws in an adapter for 7-inchers, which you can stash in a slot within the plinth.

You can rip vinyl records onto your laptop using the Sony PS-LX3BT's USB-B port. Its power cable is removable (right), but its audio cable (left) is not. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable composite

The PS-LX3BT's rear connectivity includes a USB-B port that lets you rip vinyl tracks onto your laptop. I didn't have a USB-B cable on hand when I was testing the turntable, so I couldn't try it myself (it's sold separately). But this is a cool feature that I would absolutely use to digitize physical-exclusive bonus tracks, B-sides, and vinyl releases that differ from the streaming versions. I can't be the only one who misses the "Milkshake" sample on Beyoncé's Renaissance.

For $100 more, the premium PS-LX5BT model nets you a detachable audio cable, a slightly thicker slip mat, and a gold-plated audio jack, which "supports a high-grade wired connection," according to Sony. (From what I've read, it's mainly a durability thing.) Its plinth is black, while the PS-LX3BT is more of a dark gray.

The Sony PS-LX3BT's cartridge has a tracking force of 3.5 grams, which puts it on the heavy side. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The pricier PS-LX5BT also has a lighter, removable cartridge (the part that houses the needle on the end of its tonearm). Its cartridge has a tracking force of two grams, while the cheaper PS-LX3BT's cartridge has a tracking force of 3.5 grams. I think this is the biggest advantage of splurging on the PS-LX5BT: Lighter cartridges equal less wear and tear on your vinyl.

A tracking force of one to three grams is generally ideal, which makes the PS-LX3BT's cartridge a bit heavy. It's not adjustable, unfortunately, though you might be able to jerry-rig a counterweight yourself if you're concerned about long-term vinyl damage. Someone on Reddit lightened the tracking force of their PS-LX310BT (Sony's older turntable) by putting a kneaded eraser on the back end of its tonearm.

Sony PS-LX3BT vs. Sony PS-LX310BT: What's new? The original Sony PS-LX310BT (top) versus the newer Sony PS-LX3BT (bottom). Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable composite

My sister, who lives nearby, happens to own the original PS-LX310BT, so I stopped by her apartment to check it out. There are a couple of small differences between it and the newer PS-LX3BT, but overall, the latter is a pretty iterative update. (My colleagues have said similar things about Sony's latest XM6 headphones and earbuds. That's modern consumer tech for you.)

Here's what sets them apart:

• The PS-LX3BT adds support for AptX and AptX Adaptive Bluetooth codecs.

• The PS-LX310BT's Start, Stop, and Up/Down buttons are flush on the side of its plinth. The same buttons protrude on the surface of the PS-LX3BT.

• The PS-LX310BT's record speed and size dials are knobs on the PS-LX3BT.

• The PS-LX310BT's dust cover has a smoky gray tint. The PS-LX3BT's cover is clear.

The PS-LX310BT retailed for $449.99 at launch, though it was often on sale for half that in recent years. I think it's still worth buying if you can catch it at a very cheap price, but it's getting tougher to find in stock nowadays.

The Sony PS-LX3BT's transparent dust cover lets you see colorful pressings clearly. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

If you already own the PS-LX310BT, there's no world in which you'd need to upgrade to the PS-LX3BT. Its design tweaks are minimal, and its tonearm-moving mechanism is exactly the same. In theory, its AptX and AptX Adaptive support translates to better wireless audio quality, but the records I spun on my sister's PS-LX310BT didn't sound worse.

Sony PS-LX3BT review: Final thoughts I'm a Sony convert if my current record player dies. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The PS-LX3BT is a stylish turntable with idiotproof plug-and-play functionality. Its Bluetooth connectivity and automatic operation will turn off vinyl purists, but they're boons for newbies.

As someone who came to the PS-LX3BT from a wired, manual record player, I can't deny the appeal of this convenience — and if mine ever gives out, I'll seriously consider defecting to Sony. I'm precious with my vinyl collection, so I'd go with the nicer PS-LX5BT model for the lighter cartridge.

The PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT are both expensive compared to other top-rated turntables, so try to buy them on sale. (I think you're mostly paying a premium for the Sony name, though I'm inclined to trust its build quality over other random brands you might find at Best Buy or Amazon.) At the time of writing, both models were up to $30 off at major retailers.

Sony PS-LX3BT Full Auto Playback Turntable with Bluetooth Connectivity $368 at Amazon
$398 Save $30   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Sony Sony PS-LX5BT Full Auto Playback Premium Turntable with Bluetooth Connectivity $473 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $26.99   Shop Now at Amazon Shop Now at Best Buy Shop Now at Sony

Robot vacuum releases for 2026 kicked off in February and have been relentless since. Compared to multiple pre-spring release dates, Narwal's April 13 launch of the Narwal Flow 2 feels a little behind. A new roller mop robot entering the fold at this point would need to have a little extra sparkle to stand out — to the average buyer, and to me, a vacuum reviewer who has had at least three robot vacuum and mop combos under her roof at any given point since January.

The roller mop is more flat and rectangular than most cylindrical ones. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Flow 2 comes with detergent that auto-dispenses into the water tank. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable What's special about the Narwal Flow 2?

Seemingly nothing, if you were merely comparing the bullet points in the Flow 2's Amazon description to the Amazon listings for other robovacs in its price range. 31,000 Pa suction power? A self-cleaning roller mop? Dual camera AI object recognition? On paper, it's nothing we haven't heard before. In practice, though, the Narwal Flow 2's AI skills around obstacles and messes have proven more reliable than other 2026 flagships that claim the same thing.

I've realized that the Flow 2's specs are actually loaded for how much Narwal is charging — especially with the Flow 2 at its launch sale price of $1,099.99. 31,000 Pa suction is quite strong for barely costing over $1,000, and heated water mopping is hard to come across at all. The Dreamxe X60 Max Ultra Complete mops with hot water, too, but it's not a roller mop vacuum (and it costs more).

SEE ALSO: Dreame doesn't just want to be a top vacuum brand. It wants to be a top everything brand. The Narwal Flow 2 might have the best AI mess detection I've seen

Every big robot vacuum is flaunting AI-powered cleaning and obstacle recognition this year. The thing is, AI robot vacuum features mean nothing to me if they're dodgy. Most fancy AI robot vacuums I've tested recently seem to struggle with consistent mess detection, especially around liquid. The Narwal Flow 2 and its Freo Mind AI mode have been different, though.

When Narwal says that the Flow 2 "sees everything," it's honestly not that much of a stretch. When upcoming piles of debris or liquid spills are substantial enough, the Flow 2's front-facing camera snaps a picture before adjusting its cleaning approach accordingly. For instance, the Flow 2 knew that tracked kitty litter around the Litter-Robot was "scattered debris." Suction power audibly boosts when the Flow 2 crosses any area it thinks is heavily soiled.

Every robot vacuum I review has to take the Litter-Robot area test. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Flow 2 identified the field of dry scattered debris (and got Sansa in the picture). Credit: Screenshot / Narwal

Most AI robot vacs use live imaging like this for behind-the-scenes processing while cleaning, but photographic evidence of what the vacuum is seeing isn't always readily available. I appreciate that the Flow 2 is so transparent about its thought process — it's been fun to make a mess on the floor, then immediately check the app to see if the Flow 2 accurately recognized it.

Narwal's small obstacle avoidance has also been spot-on so far. The Flow 2 successfully avoids charging cords, shoes, and slippers on a daily basis, and even made it a point to steer around large clumps of potting soil (thinking they were pet waste). The app drops a little pin in the map, noting what type of obstacle it found, and you can see a photo of those, too. This is how I found out that the Flow 2 noticed more niche obstacles in its peripherals, like the very out-of-the-way power cord to my Mill food recycling bin and my cat's crinkle ball toys.

Is the Narwal Flow 2 good at mopping?

The Narwal Flow 2 is a beast at soaking up liquid spills. Instead of the traditional cylindrical roller mop design, this roller has flat slides like a conveyor belt. Narwal says this covers 0.157 square feet of floor surface per pass, which is allegedly more direct surface coverage than the sliver of a rounded roller mop hitting the floor at any given point. I believe that. The Flow 2 was super effective at fully soaking up runny spills like wine and thicker droplet consistencies like ranch and pancake batter.

The Flow 2 zeroed in on the wine and navigated around it more carefully. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable It took forever, but the Flow 2 did end up leaving the area spotless. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Most notably, the Flow 2 left no sticky residue behind after mopping several drops of syrup — and every robot vacuum struggles to fully wipe syrup up. This has to be due to the roller mop's use of heated water, which we rarely see in roller mop robot vacuums. The combination of heat with a pressurized flat roller seems to be an elite pairing for melting away caked-on grime.

I realize that 140 degrees Fahrenheit isn't enough to kill bacteria by science's standards. But for me, the heated scrubbing provides an extra layer of sanitation (and subsequently, comfort) for walking around in bare feet.

Is the Narwal Flow 2 good at vacuuming?

The Narwal Flow 2's rug cleaning is definitely in the top percentile of the many flagship robot vacuums I've tested since January. I'd unsurprisingly rank it just below the Dreame X60 Max Ultra Complete's 35,000 Pa, but would surprisingly rank it above the Roborock Saros 20's 36,000 Pa. If you just want to compare the suction power to other roller mop robot vacuums, the Flow 2 is a smidge better than the Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow's 20,000 Pa.

SEE ALSO: The new Eufy C28 is the most budget-friendly roller mop robot vacuum. I tried it against the top 2 in its class.

There's a lot of variety in the Narwal app's customized vacuuming settings. There are four suction options from "quiet" to "super powerful," plus the occasional pop-up option for "vortex suction," depending on the floor type. You can choose between a standard or meticulous route, the latter taking longer as the Flow 2 scrupulously cleans in two zigzag patterns, one running perpendicular to the first to create a crosshatch pattern. My favorite part is being able to choose up to THREE cleaning passes for extra good measure.

I entrusted the Flow 2 with tackling daily rug buildup like shedded cat hair and long head hairs from my own personal shedding, small crumbs, and litter lodged in the fibers of my plush bath mats. All of those saw a 95 to 97 percent pickup rate. After recently watching the Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai miss a ton of tiny quinoa pieces that I dumped into the fluffy hallway rug, I experimented with the Flow 2's handling of the same exact mess. It went much better this time.

From sticky water bowl stains to flung food, the Flow 2 always excels in the cat bowl area. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable If the Flow 2 missed any cat food on the first pass, it always grabs it on the second or third. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The Flow 2's performance on hardwood and tile has been solid, too. I was constantly sending it to clean up kibble and crusted wet food flung from my cats' bowls, fallen dryer lint, and two types of cat litter. None of the missed debris or dust here and there has been egregious, confirmed by the laser on one of my Dyson stick vacuums. Not even a minuscule stem was left behind after the Flow took several passes over dried bouquet remnants that my cat knocked out of a vase.

Factors to keep in mind

As helpful as the meticulous cleaning and navigational settings have been, they're sometimes granular to the point of being more complicated than they need to be.

The Narwal refused to go near the wine just because of the setting it was on. Credit: Screenshot / Narwal

Narwal's cleaning settings were... hyper-vigilant when I wanted the Flow 2 to clean up a puddle of wine. No matter how many times I sent it to vacuum and mop this cleaning zone, the Flow 2 would clean the entire rectangle but the few inches with a wine splatter — even though I could see in the app that a liquid spill was detected. It took me forever to figure out that I had the Flow 2 in a custom "vacuum and mop at the same time" mode, and that the Flow 2 didn't want to vacuum over a liquid spill. I'm obviously thankful that the Flow 2 won't just drive through a puddle and suck wine up into the dust bin, but I'm surprised that the Flow 2 can't tweak its cleaning strategy, regardless of whether it's in custom mode. A heads-up like, "I'm not ignoring this spill just to annoy you. Switch me to Freo mode!" would have been nice.

After its initial mapping run, the Flow 2 quietly defaulted rug settings to "cross the carpet without cleaning it." That's the Freo smart cleaning system trying to avoid getting rugs wet when mopping, but that feels like an illogical extra step. Other premium robot vacuums automatically clean both floor types on the fly, and simply cut water flow and lift the mop on soft flooring. This setting is buried in the map management maze, and I don't think most people would assume that it's a setting they could even toggle. They'd just get pissed off that their new robot vacuum is refusing to vacuum the rug.

Our appetite for hearing more about open relationships is increasing. 

While monogamy may have been considered a given in previous generations, the big "tick" of conventional relationships, Google search interest in "ethical non-monogamy" (ENM) has increased astronomically, with searches increasing by 400 percent over the last five years. IRL, more people are considering giving ethical non-monogamy a whirl. In June 2025, Feeld's State of Dating report found that a third of heterosexual men and 11 percent of women in the UK said they'd be open to more than one long-term partner.

SEE ALSO: How to get started with non-monogamy

Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that representations of ENM have become increasingly visible in pop culture, from HBO's Industry to high-profile memoirs to Lily Allen's West End Girl. But how exactly do these books, TV shows, and albums represent ethical non-monogamy and do they get it "right"?

Depicting open relationships in pop culture 

Open relationships appear to be everywhere right now, from our shelves to our screens. Writer Lindy West's explosive memoir Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane explored her experiences of polyamory within her marriage, setting the internet ablaze with TikTok theories about whether West is fully on board with the arrangement. 

Ask Me How It Works: Love in an Open Marriage by Deepa Paul explores her experience of being a mother and wife within an open marriage. Miranda July's novel All Fours, which sees a perimenopausal woman open up her marriage, also caused intrigue and critique.

On TV, in the latest season of Industry, Marisa Abela's Yasmin navigates opening up her relationship with her husband Henry (Kit Harington) as a means of escaping the "gilded cage" her marriage represents to her, and encouraging a sexual encounter with a younger employee. Abuse of power, much? Robin Wright's The Girlfriend and Dakota Johnson's Splitsville explored open relationships within the thriller and comedy genres. And  reality TV series Open House: The Great Sex Experiment saw therapists guide real-life couples through the reality of open relationships.

Probably one of the most famous discussions of non-monogamy of the last year, Lily Allen's explosive album West End Girl includes tracks such as "Nonmonogamummy," "Pussy Palace," and "Dallas Major," which outline Allen's personal experiences of being in an open marriage, the latter depicting her discomfort navigating dating apps within that space ("I hate it here"). Most notably, the legendary song "Madeline" explores her partner breaking the boundaries of their open agreement with one specific woman. The release of West End Girl led to a huge spike in Google searches around non-monogamy and open marriages, with Google searches around Allen and her open marriage reaching towering levels.

With this kind of notoriety came thinkpieces, TikToks, and conversations down the pub. Can open marriage work? Who is the ultimate villain here? One TikTokker called Allen's album a "warning label for anyone thinking of opening their relationship". Allen herself said in an Elle UK interview that while music execs were concerned that material about open relationships wasn't universal enough, after its release, women inundated her DMs with their own negative experiences of non-monogamy. 

But is one woman's experience a fair assessment of an entire community and their relationship dynamics? Is the way pop culture represents open relationships and non-monogamy reflective of, and faithful to, the actual reality of ENM? 

Biased on-screen depictions of non-monogamy

When it comes to recent pop culture representations of polyamory, there may actually be such a thing as bad publicity. 

The mass reaction to West End Girl and other pop culture representations of open relationships leaves a lot of nuance to be desired. While many people, women in particular, felt seen by Allen's raw lyrics, her story is an example of non-monogamy practiced unethically, or perhaps, one-sidedly. Does West End Girl and other stories like it reflect the reality and nuance of all non-monogamous relationships? Or are they giving them a bad name? 

Polyamory educator and queer sex therapist in training Leanne Yau, who has worked with over 1,000 polyamorous clients as a relationship coach, believes that portrayals like West End Girl do, unfortunately, "add to quite a lot of stigma about polyamory in our culture."

"A lot of the narratives around polyamory are so overwhelmingly negative."

"If there was already a lot of positive representation to balance it out, then whatever," Yau adds. "But a lot of the narratives around polyamory are so overwhelmingly negative." Yau says there wasn't enough positive representation of polyamory in the album to "balance out what was otherwise a vulnerable and emotionally resonant piece of art." Entertainment and education are both important here, and they can be hard to reconcile.

In Michael Angelo Covino's Splitsville, a 2025 screwball comedy, two couples open up their marriages to avoid divorce. Yau views this as a trope used often in portrayals of open relationships, describing the film as "passive aggressive," lacking honest communication, and concentrating on the "wrong reasons" that couples may choose to open up their marriage, namely to not split up. For these reasons and more, Yau commended Splitsville in terms of entertainment value but she didn't view it as a good portrayal of polyamorous relationships.

Non-monogamy can be portrayed as entertainment, instead of truthful experiences

For relationship therapist and sexologist Madalaine Munro, a key issue with these portrayals of ethical non-monogamy is a prioritised "desire to entertain" within pop culture. This is arguably what leads portrayals to be sensationalised and dramatised, instead of being accurate.

"When looking at how ethical non-monogamous relationships are portrayed in TV, film, music, and literature, we can see that most mainstream media is driven primarily by the desire to entertain, which means stories are crafted around conflict, rupture, and emotional intensity rather than how harmonious healthy relationships can be," Munro tells Mashable. 

"Because of this, the love, trust, and communication that are central to healthy ENM are rarely depicted, and instead what we see are exaggerated scenarios in which boundaries are ignored, agreements are broken, or characters behave with secrecy and betrayal."

Munro adds that these portrayals subsequently shape false ideas about how non-monogamy functions. "This narrow, sensationalised framing is unhelpful because it can lead people to associate ENM with instability, chaos, or betrayal, rather than recognising that when practiced with integrity, these relationships rely on a strong foundation of trust, transparency, and clear communication," Munro says. "It subtly reinforces the idea that anything outside of monogamy must naturally involve harm or irresponsibility, which can deepen the social stigma around ENM and lead to the assumption that non-monogamous people are somehow less loyal or less committed."

Here, Munro says, many storylines and character arcs don't reflect "the emotional maturity and relational skill involved in sustainable ENM."

Yau agrees with Munro that ENM relationships are so often portrayed with betrayal or conflict at the centre. "One of my main gripes about polyamorous representation in the media is that so many stories start from a place of cheating. I don't think that's actually representative of reality," she says. 

"In real life, if a polyamorous relationship starts from a place of cheating, it is very, very unlikely to survive, because you need such a foundation of trust in order to be in a relationship anyway, and you need to trust each other even more to navigate polyamory. And starting from a place of cheating completely destroys the trust that you would need… So it's just not realistic."

The impact of novels about open marriage and relationships on representation

Like West, July, and Paul, writers are exploring the world of open relationships and ethical non-monogamy in novels and memoirs — and they seem to be doing a much better job at representation.

Author and journalist Cassie Werber, who has been in an open relationship for a decade with her now husband, published her 2024 novel Open Season wanting to see more realism in written relationships.

"All the depictions of open relationships I had seen or read assumed that they were actually about betrayal, and that they would always end in heartbreak," she tells Mashable. "Open relationships can be very complex and hard to explain. I had seen it done badly, and wanted to do it better."

Author Roxy Dunn's second novel, which was released in Jan. 2026, sees protagonist Misty come out of a long-term, conventional relationship and connect with Christopher, who is in a long-term, open relationship with the mother of his child, Sara. Dunn tells Mashable that her central question when writing the book was whether relationships – monogamous or non-monogamous – can offer a form of safety. Dunn was inspired by the cultural shift towards exploring non-monogamy, particularly on dating apps like Feeld. "I think people are questioning the status quo a lot more in terms of what a relationship ought to look like," she tells me, adding that having books that reflect the lives and situation of those practicing ENM is "really important".

With more elements of pop culture touching on the experience of polyamory and open relationships, diverse representations of these dynamics has never been more important. As Munro says, inaccurate portrayals of polyamory and open relationships in pop culture "flatten a complex, intentional, and relationally rich way of loving into a dramatic device". 

"As a result, they fail to represent the depth of inner work, clear communication and care that takes place in relationship structures outside monogamy, and by doing so may stop people from exploring something that may support their relationship needs."

TL;DR: Get a free iPhone 17e when signing up for a T-Mobile plan with no trade-in required. You can also get the iPhone 17 for free from T-Mobile when signing up for an Experience More plan and trading in an eligible device.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple T-Mobile: Apple iPhone 17 for free   Get Deal

In the mobile carrier world, "free" is a word that usually comes with a whole lot of catches. Free deals usually force you into a premium plan and demand you trade in a pristine flagship phone to qualify for the discount. However, T-Mobile’s latest offer for the iPhone 17e is surprisingly straightforward.

For a limited time, you can score the newly-released iPhone 17e for free by simply opening a new line with T-Mobile. The standout feature of this deal? You don't need a trade-in. T-Mobile is covering the full $599 retail price of the iPhone 17e via 24 monthly bill credits.

Want something with a little more power? You can also pick up the iPhone 17 for free from T-Mobile when signing on for 24 months of an Experience More plan and trading in an eligible phone. This deal gets you unthrottled 5G data, 4K streaming, and heaps of international roaming, but it's does fall into that standard trade-in/premium plan category of free deal.

SEE ALSO: The 12 best headphones of 2026 — we tested the top contenders from Sony, Apple, Bose, and Beats

You might not need to upgrade to the iPhone 17, because the iPhone 17e packs a serious punch. It utilizes the same A19 chip found in the standard iPhone 17, meaning it’s fully compatible with the latest Apple Intelligence features. As Mashable’s Stan Schroeder notes in his first-hand look: "The combination of having Apple's latest chip and a decent amount of storage means this phone will be relevant for at least four to five years." So it sounds like you've covered for the forseeable future with this budget-friendly handset.

We should point out that you still need to pay taxes on the full retail price upfront, plus a $35 device connection fee. And, of course, you’re locked into a data plan for two years. But you've got a shiny new iPhone 17, so you're still winning.

Score an iPhone 17e for free at T-Mobile this weekend.

SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That's $500 off the list price of $1,599.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo $1,099 at Amazon
$1,599 Save $500   Get Deal

What's in store for the drone market in 2026? We're honestly not sure. Legislative pressure is mounting on DJI imports, but we expected stock to be dipping already. That's clearly not the case, because stock is readily available on Amazon and some of the most popular drones are heavily discounted for a limited time.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is down to $1,099 at Amazon. That's $500 off a beginner-friendly drone that offers professional specs without the hassle of FAA paperwork.

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Lightweight drones like this have historically had to compromise on quality, but that's not the case here. The Mini 5 Pro offers a massive 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range is staggering.

The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, allowing the drone to dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you can’t see them on your screen. The last thing you want to do is crash your brand new $1,099 drone. This helps avoid that haunting scenario.

You're also getting 42GB of internal storage with this discounted drone. That means you can actually capture a full afternoon of 4K footage without needing an external card at all. It's a simple feature that makes a huge difference for users.

Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.

You've likely seen the viral clips: Sydney Sweeney's Cassie, in dog ears and a heart-shaped dog nose, saying "woof woof" as Jacob Elordi's Nate pulls her leash. Or maybe you've seen the clip of Cassie dressed as a baby to shoot content for her OnlyFans — though HBO has apparently already altered it after intense backlash.

This is Season 3 of HBO's Euphoria, which Mashable's entertainment reporter Belen Edwards rightfully called gross rather than great. Euphoria seems to proudly showcase the salaciousness of sex work to gain viewers and viral moments, all while real sex workers struggle to maintain a voice online amidst censoring legislation.

What 'Euphoria' gets wrong about sex work

Mainstream portrayals of sex work are far from new, especially on HBO (See: The Deuce, Minx, and earlier seasons of Euphoria). But writer, director, actor, and OnlyFans performer Megan Prescott told Mashable she hasn't seen a good portrayal of sex work or online sex work on TV so far.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' Season 3: What happened to everyone during the time jump?

"I think there is such a snobbery in the world in general around sex work," said Prescott, who is also chair of National Ugly Mugs, a UK-based charity dedicated to sex worker protection and justice. "For some reason, we think that they [sex workers] don't know their own industry better than anyone else." She said mainstream shows often don't have real-life sex workers as consultants. 

Euphoria cast porn performer Chloe Cherry as Faye in Season 2, but it's unclear whether there are any sex worker consultants behind the scenes. HBO representatives for Euphoria didn't respond to Mashable's request for comment.

It's not a stretch to believe the show doesn't. As Edwards said in her Season 3 review, "Cassie's sex work has no depth to it, and in her 'right-wing suburban bubble,' everyone heaps shame on her, from her fiancé to her friends. Euphoria doesn't interrogate these biases or examine the intricacies of sex work further. Instead, it's happy to keep the shame coming," in the form of the now-infamous clip of Cassie dressed as a baby.

"We've just had someone write a show about their fantasy of a type of sex work, and in doing that, the general public will be like, 'Oh my god. On OnlyFans, you can dress up as a baby. That's disgusting,' which is just not accurate," Prescott said. 

OnlyFans' Acceptable Use Policy prohibits "illegal activity including actual, claimed, or role-played: exploitation, abuse, or harm of individuals under the age of 18." But Euphoria creators either didn't consult actual OnlyFans performers to create the show, or didn't care that they were portraying it inaccurately. 

We don't know the intentions of Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and the people behind the show; it can be provocation for provocation's sake. But when inaccuracies about sex work are broadcast to the world, sex workers feel the brunt of the fallout. There are already campaigns to ban porn or at least severely restrict access to it, and this portrayal could fuel those calls. But banning porn would make performers turn to more dangerous forms of sex work.

"Portrayals of sex work in mainstream media such as Euphoria rely on reductive and harmful stereotypes, which often shape public perception of sex workers in ways that justify harmful policy," said Diana Rotten, digital strategist for the campaign Scotland for Decrim.

Sex workers in the UK and beyond are facing increasingly hostile legislation, Rotten continued. This is partly due to the Online Safety Act, the UK's age-verification law. Age-verification statutes typically require proof of age, like a facial scan or government ID, to access explicit content — and sometimes content that's not at all explicit but still deemed "adult." 

Beyond age-verification, there have also been pushes to implement the "Nordic model" of in-person sex work, Rotten said, which criminalizes buyers of sex as opposed to sellers. But many sex workers highly criticize the Nordic model, saying it keeps them unsafe. For instance, Northern Ireland implemented the Nordic model in 2015, and from 2016 to 2018, there was a 225 percent increase in reported violence against sex workers. Sex workers often advocate for decriminalization instead.

The public's first impression of sex workers shouldn't be shaped through sensationalized and voyeuristic lenses, but grounded in the lived experience of sex workers themselves, Rotten continued. "Too often, the film and television industry is happy to create moral projections and spectacle on sex workers whilst failing to adequately demand improvement of their working conditions," Rotten continued.

Maedb Joy, founder and creative director of Sexquisite Events, a performing arts company that platforms sex worker artists, said similar, that unless you have sex workers in the decision-making process, it's not going to be accurately represented. She said portrayals are often one-dimensional (Anora came to mind) or reduced to stereotypes.

The 'gap' between TV and porn

Prescott is a former child actor and starred on the UK series Skins as Katie Finch. She said she was 16 when she did her first sex scene, and she didn't have a chaperone. (Today, working children must be chaperoned if they're under 16 or 18, depending on the UK territory.) Nor was it a closed set, meaning non-essential people were also present. Everyone was fine with that, she said.

"But as a 30-year-old woman, I started an OnlyFans, and there was an absolute uproar," despite how she's "done exactly the same thing on national television as a 16-year-old." 

Further, the gap between what someone might do on mainstream TV and OnlyFans is getting smaller (such as simulated sex), but society only demonizes the latter. But starring in someone else's TV show means relinquishing control of your image and sexuality, while OnlyFans can mean taking ownership of and profiting from it, Prescott said.

"I can only speak for myself, [but] I felt a lot safer doing sex work than I have in the acting industry, particularly before the MeToo movement," she said. "There's so many parallels between sex work and mainstream acting that the fact that actors have so many more rights than sex workers do is just appalling to me."

Real-world consequences from TV

It's not all bad news. Joy said representation of sex workers on mainstream TV is "getting there," noting the New Zealand series Madam, about a woman who opens a brothel after her husband has an affair with a sex worker. 

Another TV show out now, Margo's Got Money Troubles, may be another example of better representation. Based on the novel by Rufi Thorpe, the show follows a young mother who starts an OnlyFans account to support herself and her baby. Thorpe, who also executive-produced the show, paid OnlyFans models to consult on the story.

The reality is, to have an accurate portrayal of one of the most marginalized groups, they must be consulted. If you're not listening to sex workers or sex worker organizations, your idea of what sex work is like comes from media depictions of it, said Prescott, and those perceptions can turn into actual laws that impact people. 

The reality is, to have an accurate portrayal of one of the most marginalized groups, they must be consulted.

As it is, Hollywood is profiting off of sex workers while actual sex worker income has recently decreased due to the enactment of age-verification laws. And sex workers have been banned or shadowbanned from major platforms for years now, thanks in part to previous legislation. FOSTA/SESTA, twin laws enacted in 2018, outwardly tried to stop online sex trafficking, but studies show they actually pushed sex workers offline into less safe situations. 

Major social media platforms cracked down harder on sexual content after FOSTA/SESTA went into effect, and that's been the trend for years. Just this month, Meta removed sex toy shop Bellesa's Instagram account. Nonprofit Repro Uncensored documented more than 70 queer, reproductive rights, and creative accounts removed from Instagram in April 2026.

Joy said the Sexquisite account had been removed before. "We lost our Instagram account at 26,000 followers just before we went on tour last year," she said. But at the same time, she sees companies like Honey Birdette allowed to promote their lingerie, and Sabrina Carpenter danced on a pole in the "Tears" music video. Sex workers are glamorized and used for aesthetics, but real workers aren't allowed to live those aesthetics, Joy said.

"It's the same old story that people get to take from our culture and profit off it and commodify it, but when it's literally our lives, it's criminalized," said Joy. 

These policies claim to protect women and children, but they often force people into more isolated and precarious working conditions, whilst failing to address poverty, which is the main reason for entry into the sex industry, Rotten said.

Media shapes perception. And in a world that is increasingly harsh on sex workers, we need to shape a better perception. 

Let the sound of clacking fans and roaring audiences lead you to Cats: The Jellicle Ball, a rapturous reinvention of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.

Now on Broadway after a 2024 run at PAC NYC, Cats: The Jellicle Ball transposes the often confounding pageantry of Cats to the ballroom scene, a haven for LGBTQ art and expression. The move breathes new life and meaning into Webber's work, creating a joyful spectacle that is the only way I'll accept Cats from now on.

SEE ALSO: 'Mexodus' review: This live-looped musical is a theatrical miracle Cats: The Jellicle Ball brings ballroom culture to Andrew Lloyd Webber. The cast of "Cats: The Jellicle Ball." Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Despite its revamped title, Cats: The Jellicle Ball is still Cats. That means it's still the story of the Jellicle Cats gathering for the Jellicle Ball, where the leader of their clan, Old Deuteronomy (André De Shields) will choose one cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn.

However, Cats: The Jellicle Ball zeroes in on the "ball" aspect of the original Cats, smartly tying the musical's storyline to contemporary ballroom culture. Pioneered by Black and Latina trans women in the 1960s, but with origins dating back to the drag balls of the Harlem Renaissance, ballroom culture centers on competitive balls where attendees walk or perform in categories for prizes. Examples include "realness," tied to a performer's ability to "pass" as a cishet man, or "virgin vogue," a category for newer dancers. Participants are often members of "houses," which are part team, part chosen family.

All these elements map onto Cats: The Jellicle Ball eerily well, to the point that no part of the show's recontextualization feels awkward or forced. In directors Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch's vision, "Old Gumbie Cat" Jennyanydots (Xavier Reyes) becomes Mother of the Haus of Dots, whipping her house kittens into shape. The much lusted-after Rum Tum Tugger (Sydney James Harcourt) rules supreme in the realness category, while self-described "fat cat" Bustopher Jones (Nora Schell) rocks the body category. And yes, it all takes place on a catwalk. Here, each cat's introduction is more than just a wave hello to the audience: It's a full-on presentation to the Jellicle Ball's judges.

SEE ALSO: 'Every Brilliant Thing' review: Daniel Radcliffe gives us one million reasons to love life. This play is one of them.

The presentations themselves are jaw-dropping, full of gravity-defying moves courtesy of choreographers Omari Wiles and Arturo Lyons. Their choreography highlights the five elements of vogue, from dips and spins to mesmerizing hand and floor performances. A rousing take on "Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat" even doubles as a lesson in the differences between Old Way and New Ways of voguing, charting the evolution of the art form.

Accentuating these looks further is the stunning costume, hair and wig, and makeup design by Qween Jean, Nikiya Mathis, and Rania Zohny, respectively. In Cats: The Jellicle Ball, performers' looks aren't as explicitly cat-like as those in the original production. You won't find any furry bodysuits or painted-on whiskers here. Instead, the musical pulls inspiration from streetwear and couture alike, creating a colorful blend of styles while still nodding to the show's source material with cat-eared hats, fur coats, or clawed boots. Like with Cats: The Jellicle Ball's dramaturgical shifts (Josephine Kearns served as dramaturg and gender consultant), each design choice cannily acknowledges Cats' past while pushing it into the future. That experience doesn't even let up during intermission, during which you can hear banger remixes of songs from other Webber musicals.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball pays moving tribute to LGBTQ history. Junior LaBeija and Bryson Battle in "Cats: The Jellicle Ball." Credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Cats: The Jellicle Ball's new ballroom setting isn't just an opportunity for the show to rain glitter and general fabulousness on the audience. (Although, trust me, there is plenty of that.) It's also a tribute to the pioneers of ballroom culture, which has entered the mainstream thanks to documentaries like 1990's Paris Is Burning, shows like Pose, and copious references everywhere from Madonna's "Vogue" to RuPaul's Drag Race. Ballroom slang like serving, eating, or clocking it has also become more widely used, if divorced from its original context. But over the course of the two hours you spend at Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the musical hopes to give audience members that context and honor it, too.

The biggest examples come at the beginning of the show's second act, when Old Deuteronomy sings "The Moments of Happiness" to newcomer Sillabub (Teddy Wilson Jr.). As he reflects on the past, projections (courtesy of Brittany Bland) behind him display images of the Founding Mothers of ballroom, including Crystal LaBeija, whose image makes another cameo in the show. That thoughtful moment moves into Gus the Theatre Cat's (Junior LaBeija) self-titled number, in which he regales the Jellicle kittens with tales of his work in the theater. In a vacuum, the song is still a moving remembrance of glory days gone by. But having LaBeija, the iconic emcee featured in Paris Is Burning, perform the song adds a whole new layer of meaning to it. This is a titan of ballroom passing the torch to a new generation and making sure they know their history. The relevance of that casting might not mean something to everyone in the Broadhurst Theatre, especially if Cats: The Jellicle Ball is their first exposure to ballroom. But for those in the know, the effect is endlessly powerful.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball also gestures to the trials and discrimination the LGBTQ community faces, artfully changing up Old Deuteronomy's 11th-hour disappearance to involve a harrowing encounter with police. With that, "Magical Mister Mistoffelees" (Robert "Silk" Mason) becomes a rousing number of resistance and solidarity, albeit with some clever magical humor thrown in. It's a euphoric sequence in a musical full of them. Old Deuteronomy's introduction alone had the audience out of our seats and clacking our fans along for several minutes, overjoyed by the power of sick beats, dance moves, and De Shields boogieing up and down the catwalk. "Memory," sung exceptionally by "Tempress" Chasity Moore's Grizabella, brought the house down. And every runway showdown prompted gasps and approving clacks around the theater.

Would you find this level of collective joy at a more "traditional" Cats staging? I'm not sure. The show's bizarre nature can be alienating, even off-putting. (Let's not forget the horrors of 2019's film adaptation.) Yet with its ballroom angle, Cats: The Jellicle Ball finds a clear focus for Webber's polarizing show and turns it into a weird, wild celebration of an important subculture. Come one, come all, and get swept up in the magic.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball is now on Broadway.

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Pok Pok, a Montessori-inspired app that helps kids learn through play, is now $59.99 (reg. $250).

Opens in a new window Credit: Pok Pok Pok Pok: Lifetime Subscription $59.99
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Technology isn’t going anywhere. However, the rise of a virtual world doesn’t mean that we should give in to unhealthy online practices. That goes for kids, too. Pok Pok is an award-winning app that helps kids in grades 2 through 8 learn with calm, supportive, educational games. A lifetime subscription is now $59.99 (reg. $250).

Pok Pok is bringing children in grades 2 through 8, ad-free, low-stimulation learning. Not only is this a healthy way to introduce kiddos to screentime, but it also helps kids learn on their own — intuitive in-app tools give kids what they need to form new skills all on their own.

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Pok Pok was created by concerned parents and developed in close collaboration with early childhood experts to provide kids with enriching and safe developmental tools. They do this with Montessori-inspired practices — an educational approach that focuses on hands-on, independent learning. This learning model helps kids develop life skills through impactful experiences. Pok Pok has no rules or levels, no pop-up ads, or sneaky in-app purchases – just a one-time subscription fee and lifetime access to learning.

This lifetime subscription doesn’t just live on one device. If a tablet happens to break or a phone gets lost, you can just install Pok Pok on a new device and keep the fun going. Your subscription lets you use Pok Pok on up to 10 devices, so it can grow with your current children or be passed down the line as your family continues to grow

For a limited time, get a lifetime subscription to Pok Pok for $59.99.

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Opens in a new window Credit: Babbel Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) $159
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There’s more to learning a new language than rote memorization, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at some language-learning apps. If you’re not making any progress with dense vocabulary lists and grammar memory exercises, it might be time for a more practical approach. Babbel is a language-learning tool designed by actual linguists that walks you through learning up to 14 different languages in a more practical, natural way. Right now, a lifetime subscription is also available for $159 (reg. $646.20).

Babbel gives you lifetime access to all 14 of its current languages. That includes

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If you want to focus on one language, you can. If you want to bounce between a few, you can do that, too.

The actual lessons are short, usually about 10 to 15 minutes each, and they cover language you’d use in everyday situations. Babbel teaches things like asking for directions, ordering food, shopping, getting around, making conversation, and handling common business situations.

Babbel also lets you start at the level that fits where you are now. You can go in as a total beginner, jump in at an intermediate level, or work through more advanced material. There are even pronunciation lessons with speech recognition that lets you say words and phrases out loud instead of just reading them. And if you want to practice an actual conversation, try the AI speech partner.

There’s nothing worse than forgetting the language you put all that work into studying. That’s why Babbel also includes personalized review sessions, so older material comes back around before it disappears from your memory.

Use code LEARN to get a Babbel Lifetime Subscription for $159.

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The MacBook Pro is one of Apple’s tentpole devices; therefore, like most other Apple tech, it rarely goes on sale. By shopping outside the official Apple store, all the features of the MacBook Pro are no longer overshadowed by the cost.

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TL;DR: Unblock Pornhub from anywhere in the world with a VPN. The best service for unblocking porn sites is ExpressVPN.

Access to Pornhub is in turmoil. Early in 2025, more than a third of U.S. states introduced age verification laws. In response, Pornhub banned visitors from those states from accessing their website. The same situation then took place in France, and although Pornhub is complying with the UK's age verification law, users are now required to provide personal information to access the site.

The situation is constantly changing, but you can stay one step ahead with a quick and easy hack. If you want to unblock porn sites like Pornhub for free from anywhere in the world, we have the information you need.

How to unblock Pornhub for free

VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure server in another location. This process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access adult sites like Pornhub from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Pornhub by following these simple steps:

1. Sign up for a VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location that supports access to Pornhub

4. Visit Pornhub

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The best VPNs for unblocking porn sites are not free, but most do offer free-trial peiods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can unblock porn sites like Pornhub without actually spending anything. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you the opportunity to temporarily retain access to Pornhub before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to your favorite site, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for bypassing online restrictions is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Pornhub?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for unblocking porn sites like Pornhub, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

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A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $78.18 and includes an extra four months for free — 78% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Unblock Pornhub for free with ExpressVPN.

If you're on a budget and things look bleak in the relationship department, don't panic. You don't need to shell out hundreds to find a genuine connection. As the weather warms up and the spring dating pool thaws out, there are plenty of free dating apps that let you chat, match, and meet a partner without shelling out cash upfront.

Dating itself will cost you time and money, so why should dating apps eat at your wallet, too? You don't have to resort to dating an AI to save money. Simply use a dating app's free tier. The good news is, the most popular apps are free to use — no credit card required.

What dating apps are completely free?

Mainstream dating apps like Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge all have robust free membership tiers that compete with paid subscriptions. Some free, more niche dating apps, like Archer and Lex, are also worth checking out. It just depends on what you're looking for and how much work you're willing to put in to get it.

Critics will tell you that the big-name dating apps (like Bumble, or Match Group giants such as Tinder and Hinge) are all the same, forming a single, amorphous dating platform. However, these apps still have distinct differences. That said, dating app companies are moving more features behind paywalls, frustrating daters on a budget. (We're looking at you, Grindr.)

Below, find our top picks for the best free dating apps. Use them to find your forever partner, a casual encounter, or something in between — all without paying a dime.

Note: All the free dating sites listed below offer a free membership option that allows you to talk and match with people at no cost. Though most offer paid premium memberships, these aren't apps like Match or eharmony, where you need to pay to match or chat with other users. And if you're being pressured to send money to someone on a dating app, you might be involved in a romance scam.

Featured Video For You These dating sites and apps are perfect for people on a budget

If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.

An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Hurdle: Everything you need to know to find the answers Hurdle Word 1 hint

To produce.

SEE ALSO: Apple’s new M3 MacBook Air is $300 off at Amazon. And yes, I’m tempted. Hurdle Word 1 answer

HATCH

Hurdle Word 2 hint

Sadness.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 18, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

GLOOM

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

A white and yellow flower.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 18 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 18, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

DAISY

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A cold dwelling.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

IGLOO

Final Hurdle hint

Huge.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Games available on Mashable Hurdle Word 5 answer

LARGE

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

The New Moon has now passed, which means each night the Moon will appear bigger and brighter in the sky. This happens as more of its sunlit side comes into view from Earth. From now, it will become more illuminated each night until the next full Moon.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Saturday, April 18, the Moon phase is Waxing Crescent. Tonight, 1% of the moon will be lit up, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.

The Moon is starting to brighten again, but for now, there's still to little of its surface lit up to see anything.

When is the next Full Moon?

The next Full Moon is predicted to take place on May 1, the first of two in May.

What are Moon phases?

NASA states that the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit Earth, during which it passes through eight distinct phases. We always see the same side of the Moon, but the amount of sunlight reflecting off it changes as it moves along its orbit, creating the familiar pattern of full, partial, and crescent shapes. These shifting appearances are called lunar phases, and there are eight in total:

New Moon - The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it's invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent - A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter - Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous - More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon - The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous - The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) - Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent - A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easy if you love hockey. If you don't, well, then good luck!

As we've shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections: Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. Here's a hint for today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Plus 1

• Green: Champions

• Blue: Physical locations

• Purple: A delicious pun

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Types of Hockey Goals

• Green: Last Four Teams To Win the Stanley Cup

• Blue: NHL Arena Names

• Purple: Hockey Terms That Are Also Food Items

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections: Sports Edition #572 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Types of Hockey Goals — EMPTY NET, EVEN STRENGTH, POWER PLAY, SHORT-HANDED

• Last Four Teams To Win the Stanley Cup — AVALANCHE, GOLDEN KNIGHTS, LIGHTNING, PANTHERS

• NHL Arena Names — BALL, CANADIAN TIRE, CAPITAL ONE, TD

• Hockey Terms That Are Also Food Items — APPLE, BISCUIT, GRINDER, ICING

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Connections.

Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.

Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.

Currently, if you're stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.

How to play Pips

If you've ever played dominoes, you'll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we've shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don't necessarily have to match.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 18, 2026

The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.

Here are common examples you'll run into across the difficulty levels:

• Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.

• Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.

• Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.

• Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.

• Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.

If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.

SEE ALSO: NYT Strands hints, answers for April 18, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 18 Pips

Number (11): Everything in this purple space must add up to 11. The answer is 6-3, placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.

Number (9): Everything in this red space must add up to 9. The answer is 5-5, placed horizontally; 2-0, placed vertically; and 2-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (3): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 3 pips. The answer is 2-3, placed horizontally; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (0): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 0 pips. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically; 0-3, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 18 Pips

Less Than (3): Everything in this red space must add up to be less than 3. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Less Than (7): Everything in this purple space must add up to be less than 7. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 8. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (4): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this green space must add up to 6. The answer is 4-3, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Number (12): Everything in this purple space must add up to 12. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 6-2, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 18 Pips

Number (3): The domino half in this purple space must have 3 pips. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this red space must add up to 0 pips. The answer is 3-0, placed horizontally; 0-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (0): The domino half in this dark blue space must have more than 0 pips. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Number (0): The domino half in this green space must have 0 pips. The answer is 1-0, placed horizontally.

Equal (5): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 5 pips. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally; and 5-2, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 4 pips. The answer is 0-4, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally.

Number (3): The domino half in this purple space must have 3 pips. The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally.

Equal (2): Every domino half in this red space must have 2 pips. The answer is 4-2, placed horizontally; 5-2, placed vertically.

Less Than (5): Everything in this light blue space must add up to be less than 5. The answer is 1-1, placed vertically; 2-1, placed horizontally; and 6-1, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this yellow space must add up to be 0. The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

Number (8): Everything in this dark blue space must add up to be 8. The answer is 2-1, placed horizontally; 6-1, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this green space must have 4 pips. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.

Number (8): Everything in this purple space must add up to be 8. The answer is 5-3, placed horizontally.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.