Technology

Whether you're new to the Linux community or a hardened veteran, you've undoubtedly encountered grumpy graybeards or toxic gatekeeping. Like many communities out there, Linux has its internal divisions and senseless tribalism. Countless arguments have raged over nothing, with many things said yet nothing resolved; I comment on four kinds of conflict that keep the Linux community perpetually divided.

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

More than a third of U.S. states have introduced age verification laws for online adult content, including Texas. In response, Pornhub has blocked users in those locations from accessing their site. That means millions of users in Texas (and around the world) are now unable to access Pornhub.

There are complicated reasons for this situation, but the workaround is simple. If you want to unblock porn sites like Pornhub for free from Texas, we have all the information you need.

How to unblock Pornhub for free in Texas

VPNs are useful tools that can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other locations. This straightforward process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can access 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

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

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 sites like Pornhub, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for bypassing content 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

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast streaming speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% 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 in Texas with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: On April 14, visit your nearest Scoop Shop and grab a free cup or cone of your favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor.

It's that special time of year when free ice cream becomes the norm. Hot on the heels of Dairy Queen announcing the date of its Free Cone Day, Ben & Jerry's has done the same.

Ben & Jerry's celebrates Free Cone Day around the globe every year, sharing the love with free cups and cones of your favorite flavors. There's no catch. Simply visit your nearest Scoop Shop and grab a scoop for free.

When is Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day?

Ben & Jerry's is giving away free ice cream at a host of locations between 12-8 p.m. on April 14. You can check participating locations here.

Ben & Jerry's is aiming to spread more joy than ever before. They served up 1 million scoops in 2023, but they're targeting more in 2026. And you can help out with that ambitious target, because unlike a lot of these free giveaways, there's no limit on the number of times you can score a free cone. Can't decide what flavor to order? Don't worry — try them all.

Mark your calendars. This is a date you don't want to forget.

SAVE $100: As of April 13, the Apple Watch Series 11 is on sale for $299 at Amazon. That's a return to its lowest-ever price and $100 off its list price of $399.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm) $299 at Amazon
$399 Save $100   Get Deal

If you've been thinking about jumping into the digital world of Apple Watches this year, the good news is you don't need to wait for a big sale event to save on something. Even with its Big Spring Sale behind us, Amazon is offering an excellent discount on the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm).

As of April 13, this model of Apple Watch Series 11 has received a $100 discount at Amazon that's dropped its price from $399 to $299. What's even better is it marks a return to its lowest-ever price at the retailer, and there are several different color options to choose from at this price: a rose gold aluminum case and light blush sport band, jet black aluminum case and black sport band, silver aluminum case and purple fog sport band, or space gray aluminum case and black sport band.

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The Apple Watch Series 11 has a lot to love within its sleek design. Some of its features include an activity tracker, sleep score, cycle tracking, GPS, a heart rate monitor, hypertension notifications, and safety features, to name a few. It's one we think very highly of, as it landed on our list of the best smartwatches as the best Apple upgrade.

This is largely because of its battery life, which offers a nice boost over its predecessor. In our Apple Watch Series 11 review, Mashable's Stan Schroeder said, "Even if you already have a Series 10, which has nearly all the same features, the new Apple Watch Series 11 doesn’t require you to charge it mid-day in order to keep it going through the night. With the new Sleep Score feature, this is more important than ever."

If you've had your eye on the Apple Watch Series 11, don't miss out on this chance to save at Amazon.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: How to play Pips, the newest NYT game

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Monday, April 13, 2026:

AcrossSymbol in the middle of Captain America's shield

• The answer is Star.

Chanel's interlocking C's, e.g.

• The answer is Logo.

Content creator's output

• The answer is Video.

Two-word denial

• The answer is I don't (no apostrophe or space).

Fits one inside of the other

• The answer is Nests.

DownPart of an office presentation

• The answer is Slide.

List that might have check boxes

• The answer is To dos (no space).

Contract negotiator

• The answer is Agent.

Jimmy Fallon's house band, with "The"

• The answer is Roots.

French for "wine"

• The answer is Vin.

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

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

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to the latest Mini Crossword.

SAVE ALMOST $300: As of April 13, the ASUS Vivobook 14 is on sale for $452.60 at Amazon. That's a 40% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Asus ASUS Vivobook 14 $452.60 at Amazon
$749.99 Save $297.39   Get Deal

Looking for a new laptop? Check out this new Amazon deal on the Asus Vivobook 14 — currently down by almost $300 on list price. This deal is only for the silver model, with the quiet blue still priced at $759.06. And with this device, you'll get 16GB of memory and 512GB of SSD storage.

This ASUS laptop is built around AI-powered features to help make tasks feel easier and quicker to complete. It includes tools that can turn text prompts into generated artwork, search through past activity using Recall, and provide language support with Live Captions.

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It's visually impressive too, thanks to its 14-inch WUXGA display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and 300-nit brightness. On the inside, performance is kept fast and impressive with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X 8-core SE processor with a built-in NPU that's rated up to 45 TOPS. It also includes an integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU for incredible performance and great visuals.

Get this ASUS laptop deal at Amazon now.

Melania Trump is on the hunt for some new friends in the SNL UK cold open above, and her first port of call is a garden BBQ in Croydon.

In the clip above, cast members Al Nash, Annabel Marlow, and Jack Shep sit around in a London back garden playing "Never Have I Ever" — when Melania Trump (Emma Sidi) suddenly pops up from the hedge to say "Never have I ever been friends with Jeffrey Epstein."

The skit — which parodies the First Lady's recent, somewhat unexpected speech denying any relationship with Epstein — continues with Trump/Sidi repeatedly talking about Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, despite the other cast members saying they weren't even talking about them.

"Why do you keep bringing up all the Epstein stuff?" asks Marlow.

"Yeah, like, your husband literally started a war to distract us from it," adds Shep.

Want more of the best of late night? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter.

So, you missed out on tickets to see BTS's long-awaited return. It sucks.

The ARIRANG world tour, the Bangtan Boys' first tour together in four years, will hit 34 cities across the world, starting with Goyang, Korea on April 9 — and at this point, almost every one of the 82 shows with tickets on sale is either sold out or on last seats. But there's good news, ARMY!

SEE ALSO: Milk, tears, and Digimon: BTS' 'Hot Ones' episode was pure chaos

BTS is livestreaming two of their concerts in cinemas. Here's everything you need to know about the BTS World Tour Arirang Live Viewing.

When is the BTS World Tour Arirang Live Viewing?

Over two Saturdays, BTS is bringing their ARIRANG world tour concerts to movie theaters. Fans already attended the April 11 screening, live from Goyang, and on April 18, it's the second concert from Tokyo, Japan.

It's a collab between HYBE, BigHit Music, and Trafalgar Releasing, who did the same thing with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. All seven members of BTS — RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook — will perform songs from BTS's fifth studio album, ARIRANG, as well as that colossal BTS catalogue.

Times will vary across time zones, so check the official website for your session times.

How to watch the BTS World Tour Arirang Live Viewing

Tickets for the BTS World Tour Arirang Live Viewing are available from the official website and ticket sellers such as Fandango.

Just find your nearest cinemas by filtering locations and pick your time slot. Prices will vary across countries.

Wait, didn't BTS already do a livestreamed concert?

They sure did, but that was a special event for Netflix marking the band's first performance together in four years. That was also when poor RM injured his ankle during rehearsal and performed seated or behind the slickest mic I've ever seen.

BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang is now streaming on Netflix, so if you've got a Netflix account, you can watch the set from Gwanghwamun, outside Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, which includes BTS's first-ever live performances of songs from Arirang.

Opens in a new window Credit: BTS Attend BTS World Tour Arirang Live Viewing   Learn More

Justin Bieber did not spend his Coachella headlining set pretending the past was behind him. Instead, he opened a laptop, pulled up YouTube, and sang directly to it.

Midway through his 90-minute set on Saturday, the Day Two headliner began streaming old clips of himself performing snippets of songs like "Baby," "Favorite Girl," "Never Say Never," and "Beauty and a Beat," duetting with the floppy-haired, younger version of himself that first made him famous. "I feel like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey... How far back do you guys go?" Bieber asked the crowd. "Do you guys really go back, though? Like for real, for real?"

SEE ALSO: The internet made BTS. 'Arirang' asks what comes next.

The most striking moment came when the 32-year-old pulled up the grainy 2007 YouTube video of 12-year-old Justin singing "So Sick" by Ne-Yo, one of the clips that helped get him discovered in the first place. That particular video was uploaded nearly 20 years ago, back when YouTube still felt like a place where anyone could stumble across a talented kid singing in a local competition, not an endless scroll optimized by algorithms, and before the internet regularly produced its own stars.

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It was a deeply meta moment: Bieber was singing along with YouTube while YouTube streamed his performance live to millions of viewers worldwide. He'd occasionally talk to the audience watching from home, looking into the camera like a friend FaceTiming from his living room, not from the Main Stage at Coachella.

But it also felt bigger than a nostalgia play. Bieber is one of the last true pop superstars whose mythology is inseparable from an earlier version of the internet, one where a kid uploading covers from his bedroom could still plausibly become one of the biggest artists on the planet. The internet still produces stars, but they are different now — more fragmented, more niche, more algorithmically siloed. Platforms produce creators, influencers, and a rotating cast of micro-celebrities, but few Justin Biebers.

Justin Bieber opens his Coachella set in a hoodie. Credit: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Coachella

That is what made the performance feel unexpectedly emotional. Bieber was not just revisiting old clips; he was revisiting the child the internet turned into Justin Bieber. Many former child stars look back at old footage, and it feels a bit silly or even sad. Here, though, Bieber seemed genuinely at peace with it. He smiled at the videos. He harmonized with his younger self, treating him less like a brand asset and more like someone worth meeting again.

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That intimacy was reinforced by the set's understated nature. Most Coachella headliners are expected to deliver a giant spectacle: elaborate stage design, pyrotechnics, dancers, and some sort of viral visual moment engineered for social media. Bieber, dressed in a hoodie, mostly gave the crowd a laptop, a camera feed, a few guests (the Kid LAROI, Dijon, Tems, Wizkid, Mk.gee), and his voice.

For some viewers, that made the set feel underwhelming, especially in a festival slot that usually expects excess — Day One headliner Sabrina Carpenter rolled out five Dior costume changes and complex Hollywood-inspired sets on the same stage. There is also probably a fair conversation to be had about whether a female pop star delivering Bieber's style of sparse, emotionally inward performance would have been criticized more harshly for doing too little. But part of what made his set so fascinating was its refusal to play by those expectations at all.

Instead of building some futuristic world around himself, he turned the stage into something closer to a bedroom computer circa 2009: YouTube tabs open, old videos surfacing one after another. His voice has arguably never sounded better, and the lack of elaborate staging made the set feel more confident, not less. Bieber didn't need spectacle. The emotional reveal was the point.

Featured Video For You How TikTok is Changing the Music Industry

Even the stranger, more meme-heavy moments of the set fit into that framework. Bieber recited along to his own "standing on business" paparazzi rant, pulled up unrelated viral clips like "Deez Nuts," and turned the stage into something that looked less like a traditional concert and more like a browser window with too many tabs open. Call it his version of "gay guy music video night" — an intimate, almost devotional evening spent pulling up pop hits, deep cuts, and formative internet ephemera for 100,000 of his closest friends in the Indio desert.

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That is what celebrity looks like in 2026: less like a polished narrative and more like a living archive that anyone can revisit anytime, where each version of you exists fossilized in digital amber. Old interviews, paparazzi clips, memes, viral moments, performances, scandals, and forgotten uploads all live side by side online, waiting to resurface. What Bieber did at Coachella felt like walking through that archive on his own terms, choosing which versions of himself to revisit, which memories to reclaim.

In that sense, the set was not really about nostalgia at all. It was about what it means to live long enough online to have multiple versions of yourself floating around the internet at once. At Coachella, Bieber did something stranger and more moving than a greatest hits set: He logged into his own internet history, smiling at the screen as though he was finally making peace with the kid inside it.

We're always looking for new and inventive ways to hit you with big savings on popular items. We cover hundreds of deals every month. You can find these deals on site, on socials, and on our newsletter. We've also launched a Mashable Deals text group. The daily deals that we send to this group are researched and assessed by the team with the same level of care that we dedicate to the rest of our shopping content.

You can find a live hub for those deals right here.

TL;DR: Walmart has the Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Play Booster Box listed for $97.99, while Amazon is charging $122.94. That puts Walmart's listing $24.95 under Amazon.

Where to buy Magic: The Gathering Avatar The Last Airbender Play Booster Box: Best Walmart Deal Magic: The Gathering Avatar:The Last Airbender Play Booster Box $97.99 at Walmart Shop Now Best Amazon deal Magic: The Gathering Avatar:The Last Airbender Play Booster Box $122.94 at Amazon Shop Now Best TCGplayer deal Magic: The Gathering Avatar: The Last Airbender Play Booster Box $123.50 at TCGplayer Shop Now

Retailers in the trading card market had already been dropping the price on MTG’s The Last Airbender Play Booster Box to under market price over the last few weeks, but Walmart has taken it a step further and made it the go-to place to buy. 

As of April 13, Walmart has the Avatar: The Last Airbender Play Booster Box marked down to $97.99. Amazon is asking for $122.94 for the same 30-pack box, and over on TCGplayer, the lowest unopened listing starts at $123.50 with shipping included. Against TCGplayer’s current $124.03 market price and much steeper $159.86 listed median, Walmart is comfortably the best buy by a wide margin.

For that price, buyers are getting 30 Play Boosters, with 14 cards centered around Magic’s popular Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set in every pack. Each booster includes at least one Traditional Foil card and one to four cards of Rare rarity or higher, with the added possibility of borderless alternate art cards showing up. 

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Like other MTG Play Boosters, these are geared towards deckbuilding, Limited play, and cracking packs for fun, which makes this box a pretty easy sell for anyone who wants to jump into the Avatar set without paying collector-box money.

Among other MTG expansions, you can also grab the Lorwyn Eclipsed Play Booster Box for just under $110. What’s more, Magic’s Edge of Eternities is still available for market price at TCGplayer.

SAVE OVER $40: As of April 13, Apple AirPods Pro 3 are on sale for $199.99 at Amazon. That's $49.01 off their list price of $249.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Pro 3 $199.99 at Amazon
$249 Save $49.01   Get Deal

If you're an Apple user looking for some new earbuds to pair with all your devices, we're very big fans of the AirPods Pro 3. So much so that we consider them the best AirPods in our roundup of the best headphones overall. While we think they're worth every cent on a regular day, they're even better value for money when they get a nice discount at Amazon.

As of April 13, the AirPods Pro 3 have dropped to $199.99 at Amazon. This is a 20% discount from their list price of $249, which means you save $49.01. Who knows how long this deal will stick around, so act fast to pick them up if they've caught your eye.

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Boasting high-quality sound and noise-cancellation that blocks out twice as much noise as their predecessor, the AirPods Pro 3 are certainly worth the upgrade. Alongside landing on our roundup of the best headphones, they're also our favorite pick for Apple users in our rundown of the best earbuds. This is because, "these earbuds perform well in all the ways you'd want them to: the sound profile is robust and clear, the noise cancellation truly silences the world around you, and they pair easily to Apple devices."

They have a battery life that'll last you for hours and hours, making them perfect for a long trip or commute. On a single charge, the AirPods Pro 3 can last up to eight hours with ANC on, or up to 10 if you're using Transparency mode.

If they've been on your shopping list, now is the time to pick up the AirPods Pro 3 for under $200 at Amazon.

SAVE $60: As of April 13, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is on sale for $289.99 on Amazon. That's a 17% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 $289.99 at Amazon
$349.99 Save $60   Get Deal

While rumours of the Galaxy Watch 9 circulate ahead of summer, for now the Galaxy Watch 8 is still very much the newest in the range. It's smart, it's sleek, and above all, it's on sale.

As of April 13, this smartwatch is $60 off, so if you've been looking to add a new set of data tracking to your wrist, don't miss out on this deal. For a limited time only, it is now priced at $289.99. This deal applies to both the graphite and silver colors, so you can pick your favorite.

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For lifestyle and fitness tracking, you really can't go wrong with this watch. It includes features like Advanced Sleep Coaching and Bedtime Guidance (to help improve your sleep routines), along with Running Coach assistance that provides feedback and training plans for different distances, from 5K up to marathons.

And it tracks all kinds of health metrics, including heart rate, activity, sleep, and vascular load. You'll even get an Energy Score based on your daily data like steps, workouts, or how well you slept.

And the battery life won't let you down, designed to support full-day use. You won't be running out of juice when you need it most (i.e. in the middle of a run).

Get this Galaxy Watch 8 deal at Amazon now.

In this side-by-side portrait, a craggy gray moon dwarfs the blue crescent Earth, revealing our world as distant and isolated in the vastness of space. 

But that loneliness fades with perspective. More than 8 billion people are looking back from that tiny place in the universe — figuratively speaking, of course.

Commander Reid Wiseman took this photo on Monday, April 6, from inside NASA's Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission. With the moon out one window and Earth out the next, he used a 14-24-millimeter, wide-angle lens to capture the rare view. 

"I didn't know it got downlinked!" the astronaut wrote in an X post on Saturday. "AMAZING!"

What makes this single shot unusual — and historic — is not just the geometry and composition, but the people behind it. At the time, the capsule was closing in on the lunar far side. Unlike most famous Earth‑moon pairings, this one came from a human eye and human hand, not a robotic probe. In an age when our use of artificial intelligence is accelerating, the photo stands as a quiet testament to the power — and enduring impact — of human-led exploration.

SEE ALSO: After splashdown, brutal obstacle course awaits the Artemis II crew

Artemis II sent Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on the first journey around the moon in over a half-century. They launched April 1 on NASA's Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, their Orion capsule hurled into space on 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Once in orbit, the crew and flight controllers spent their first day checking out Orion's systems, making sure everything worked before committing to the moon-bound trip.

On the second day, the spacecraft's service module fired its main engine and nudged the crew onto a trajectory that would carry them out to a record distance of 252,756 miles from Earth. At their closest approach, they swung 4,067 miles above the lunar surface. Over nearly 10 days, the astronauts traveled 694,481 miles before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California, on April 10.

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"What struck me wasn't necessarily just Earth. It was all the blackness around it," said Koch to an auditorium full of NASA colleagues the next day in Houston. "Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe."

Artemis II was, at its core, a test flight. For the first time, engineers could see how Orion's life-support systems handled real people in deep space. The crew briefly took manual control to steer the spacecraft, gathering data that future astronauts will rely on when they need to dock with lunar landers. They also supported experiments on how human tissue and performance respond to weightlessness and the radiation environment beyond Earth's protective magnetic field — practical homework for living and working on another world.

"Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe."

But for everyone watching back home, the Artemis II crew's images were the spacecraft window. The Earth-moon portrait was just one of about 7,000 the astronauts snapped that day. They documented earthrise and earthset peeking beyond the lunar edge, impact craters and ancient lava flows, the hazy halo of the sun's corona during their far-side solar eclipse, and the jagged line of the lunar terminator — that shifting boundary between the lit and shadowed parts of the moon. Those stark lighting conditions are a sneak preview of what astronauts will see near the moon's south pole when NASA aims to land a crew there in 2028.

This single frame of a big moon and a small Earth joins a collection of portraits that space missions have snapped for decades. Voyager 1's view in 1977 showed Earth and the moon as tiny neighbors from millions of miles away. Galileo's 1992 Earth‑moon conjunction showed the Earth skulking in the background. China's Chang'e‑5 T1 spacecraft and NOAA's DSCOVR probe later caught dramatic scenes of the moon crossing or looming in front of home.

From left, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman return to Houston on Saturday, April 11, 2026. Credit: NASA / John Kraus

Yet something about this Artemis II image just "hits different." It comes not from an uncrewed probe, glancing back on its way to somewhere else, but from a capsule built to carry people. The same windows that framed these two worlds also framed four astronauts, who traveled farther than any humans have gone before.

"This was not easy, being 200,000-plus miles away from home," Wiseman said. "Before you launch, it feels like it's the greatest dream on Earth, and when you're out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It's a special thing to be a human, and it's a special thing to be on planet Earth." 

In Wiseman's photo, the distance between those two worlds collapses into a few inches — and, at the same time, sprawls in one's imagination. The moon looks close enough to touch. Earth becomes the profound and wondrous beacon in the dark.

On a stage at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Hansen asked his three crewmates to rise from their seats next to him. With arms around each other, he called the crew a mirror reflecting all of humanity.

"If you like what you see, then just look a little deeper," he said. "This is you."

There is something almost radical about the magic of Witch Hat Atelier.

The anime adaptation of Kamome Shirahama's beloved, Eisner Award–winning manga arrives in a fantasy landscape still crowded with chosen ones and prophetic lineages. But Witch Hat Atelier, currently streaming in the U.S. on Crunchyroll, imagines something softer. What if magic was not something you were born into, but something you could learn? What if curiosity was seen not as a flaw to grow out of, but a gift worth protecting?

The story follows Coco, a young girl who has spent her life dreaming of becoming a witch in a society that insists magic is reserved for a select few. When she discovers that magic is something anyone can access, it cracks open not just her world, but the rigid rules around who is allowed to have power in the first place. It's part fairy tale, part coming-of-age story, and part quiet rebuke of fantasy stories that hinge on exclusivity.

Coco experiencing the wonder of water magic. Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

As a huge fan of the ongoing manga, which began in 2016, I've long found Shirahama's intricate artwork makes the story feel less like a comic and more like a storybook you could fall into. The anime preserves so much of that magic, capturing the same sense of wonder that made the manga such a favorite in the first place. It's lush and deeply beautiful, full of elaborate spell circles, sweeping cloaks, diverse characters, and the kind of intricate world-building that makes you want to pause every frame.

But what makes it feel truly magical is how much faith it puts in its child protagonists — their imagination, their grief, their instincts, and their ability to change the world around them.

The world of Witch Hat Atelier feels lived-in.

Coco has a face that seems made for wonder: wide eyes, wind-flushed cheeks, the look of someone still willing to believe the world might be bigger and stranger than she has been told.

Coco's discovery of magic is not a triumphant moment so much as a devastating one. After secretly watching a mysterious white-haired, blue-eyed witch cast a spell, she tries to recreate it herself, accidentally unleashing a tragedy that changes her life forever. That is how she ends up under the care of Qifrey, a gentle but enigmatic witch who takes Coco in as his apprentice alongside three other young girls: the prickly Agott, the enthusiastic Tetia, and the reserved Richeh.

Tetia, Richeh, Coco, and Qifrey in "Witch Hat Atelier." Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

Part of what makes Witch Hat Atelier so compelling is the way those relationships slowly unfold. Coco is bright-eyed and impulsive, desperate to prove herself, while her roommate Agott initially treats her like an outsider. Tetia brings warmth and lightness to the group, and Richeh, quiet and observant, often seems to understand more than she lets on. Together, they give the series the kind of emotional texture that makes the world feel lived-in, rather than simply beautiful to look at. Their dynamic is so charming that even the quieter moments — shared meals, study sessions, small acts of kindness — feel just as important as the larger magical set pieces.

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And visually, the adaptation is stunning. The spell circles unfurl across the screen like pages from an illuminated manuscript. Clothes billow and drape with tactile softness. Backgrounds are crammed with tiny details that make every town, workshop, and meadow feel like somewhere you could step into. The episode transitions themselves feel pulled from a storybook, complete with page-turn flourishes that make it seem as though you are moving through an illustrated fairy tale.

The score also has a whimsical quality, swelling with the kind of gentle orchestral wonder that makes the world feel even more magical.

A wonderous sight. Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

More than most anime adaptations, Witch Hat Atelier understands that the appeal of its source material was never just the plot. It was the feeling of getting lost inside it.

Beneath Witch Hat Atelier's beauty is a story about power and gatekeeping.

Even in its earliest episodes, the anime hints at something darker beneath all of that beauty. The real tension comes from the battle over who magic is really for. On one side are the witches, who closely guard magical knowledge and believe the truth about magic must remain hidden from the wider world at all costs. On the other are mysterious, shadowy figures who believe magic, even dangerous magic, should be available to anyone willing to use it.

That conflict gives the series a sharper edge than its storybook aesthetic initially suggests. It is not just a whimsical fantasy about spellbooks and cloaks; it is a story about systems, gatekeeping, and the people left behind by them.

Qifrey introducing himself in the first episode of "Witch Hat Atelier." Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

Qifrey sits at the center of that tension in a particularly interesting way. As Coco's mentor, he is kind, patient, and unusually attentive to his students' emotional lives. But there is clearly more motivating him than simple generosity. Even in the earliest episodes, the series hints that his decision to take Coco under his wing is tied to a deeper, more personal agenda.

Qifrey also feels primed to become a character anime fans latch onto immediately. With his white hair, striking blue eyes, and quiet charm, there are obvious visual comparisons to Jujutsu Kaisen's Satoru Gojo. But where Gojo thrives on arrogance and distance, Qifrey feels warmer and more grounded, a teacher who kneels down to meet his young students where they are rather than towering over them.

There's also the fact that magic in Witch Hat Atelier begins with a pen. Witches draw intricate spell circles by hand, meaning magic feels tied to creativity and invention. Spells are always evolving, shaped by the idea that there is always another way to draw the world around you.

Witch Hat Atelier feels like a coming-of-age fantasy alternative to Harry Potter.

For an entire generation, Harry Potter offered the fantasy of discovering that there was something special hidden inside of you — that somewhere, beyond the ordinary world, there was a place where you belonged.

But part of what makes Witch Hat Atelier feel so refreshing is that it is not interested in telling children they are special because of bloodlines or destiny. Coco is not a chosen one. She does not secretly come from a powerful magical family. Her story begins with the realization that the rules she has been taught about who gets to access magic are not fixed at all.

Agott and Coco eventually learn that friendship is, in fact, magic. Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

That idea feels especially resonant now, as audiences are once again being asked to return to Harry Potter through HBO's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first installment in what is expected to be a seven-season retelling of the books. The new adaptation arrives in a very different cultural moment than the one that first made the books such a phenomenon. Beyond the exhaustion of endless reboots and franchise recycling, there is also the shadow of J.K. Rowling's increasingly public anti-trans rhetoric, which has fundamentally changed the way many fans engage with that world. In a moment when Harry Potter feels increasingly tied to exclusion and rigidity, Witch Hat Atelier offers something far more open-hearted.

That does not erase what Harry Potter once meant to people. But it does make room for something else: the possibility that there are newer, richer fantasy stories waiting to take its place.

A pen is mightier than a wand in the world of "Witch Hat Atelier." Credit: Kamome Shirahama / KODANSHA / Witch Hat Atelier Committee

That is where Witch Hat Atelier feels so important. It offers much of what people once loved about Harry Potter — the wonder, the hidden world, the feeling of stepping through a door into somewhere magical — but without the same fixation on exclusivity. Instead, it imagines a world where knowledge is meant to be shared, where children's instincts and emotions are valued, and where difference is not feared. The manga also makes room for canonically queer characters and a broader sense of representation that feels woven naturally into the world rather than added as an afterthought.

It is difficult to watch Witch Hat Atelier and not come away feeling like this is the fantasy story audiences have been waiting for. Its vision of magic is less interested in who is born special and more in what becomes possible when someone is given the chance to learn.

Witch Hat Atelier is streaming now on Crunchyroll with new episodes every Monday.

TL;DR: This refurbished 2017 MacBook Air is on sale for $199.97 (reg. $999), offering a budget-friendly option for everyday tasks like email, documents, and web browsing.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple MacBook Air 2017 (Refurbished) $199.97
$999 Save $799.03   Get Deal

It’s easy to assume you need the latest laptop for day-to-day work. In reality, many tasks don’t demand any of those swanky specs. This refurbished MacBook Air offers a more affordable alternative, and for a limited time, it’s on sale for $199.97 (reg. $999).

For everyday workflows (think email, documents, and browser-based tasks), the difference between a brand-new laptop and a capable older one isn’t always as big as the price suggests. This refurbished 2017 MacBook Air is a prime example of that.

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It runs on a 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, which is generally enough for light multitasking like keeping a few apps and tabs open at once. The 128GB flash storage gives you space for essential files (plus hundreds of pictures of your cat), while the 13.3-inch display (1440×900 resolution) is suitable for everyday work, streaming, and basic editing tasks.

Connectivity is fuss-free, with Wi-Fi for working on the go and Bluetooth for pairing accessories or transferring files. Battery life is rated for up to 12 hours, which should comfortably cover a standard workday without needing to stay plugged in.

As a refurbished unit, it’s listed in Grade “A/B” condition, meaning it may show light cosmetic wear like minor scuffs or scratches. But don’t fret; it has been inspected and tested to function properly.

If you’re looking for a dependable laptop for everyday tasks — and don’t need the latest hardware — this is a lower-cost option worth considering.

Get the refurbished 2017 MacBook Air for $199.97 (reg. $999).

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TL;DR: Master piano with help from Skoove Premium Piano Lessons, an AI-powered app now offering a lifetime subscription for just $149.99 (reg. $299.99).

Opens in a new window Credit: Skoove Skoove Premium Piano Lessons: Lifetime Subscription $149.99
$299.99 Save $150   Get Deal

Want to scratch something off your bucket list? If you’ve always wanted to learn piano, there’s now an app for that — Skoove. This AI-powered piano tutoring app lets you pick up piano skills in your spare time, right from the comfort of home. You just need a piano or keyboard, and your laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Right now, you can score a lifetime subscription to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons for only $149.99.

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If you’ve got a piano or a keyboard and you’re reading this right now, you’ll be able to learn piano with Skoove Premium Piano Lessons. All you need to get started is your instrument and a tablet, laptop, or smartphone to open the app.

Skoove uses the power of AI to listen to you play, recognize your notes, and give you real-time feedback to improve your skills as you go. Hop in at your current level by choosing between levels ranging from beginner to advanced — there are more than 400 lessons and thousands of instructional videos available to choose from.

Learn piano by playing your favorite tunes, with selections ranging from Beethoven to The Beatles. New lessons and songs are added to Skoove every month, so there’s always something new to learn.

Your lifetime subscription to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons lets you continue to learn forever. And if you ever need help, there’s one-on-one support available from real music instructors.

Work on your piano skills with this lifetime subscription to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons, on sale now for just $149.99 (reg. $299.99).

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TL;DR: Give your Mac a leg-up from Microsoft with this Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021 license, on sale now for $49.97 (reg. $219) through April 19.

Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021: Lifetime License $49.97
$219 Save $169.03   Get Deal

There’s a long-standing divide between PC and Mac users, but now there’s a tool that might bridge the gap. Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 brings some of Microsoft’s best tools to your Apple device, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Right now, you can even snag this suite of six apps for less than $9 each, as this license is only $49.97 until April 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

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If you’re an Apple user, you probably don’t consider Microsoft products when it comes to your workflow. Fortunately, this Microsoft Office Home and Business for Mac 2021 license lets you take advantage of some of the brand’s most beloved products.

This license bypasses the frustrating monthly subscription fees usually associated with these apps, allowing you to own all six outright.

Curious which ones are included? You’ll get all the old staples, like Word for document creation, PowerPoint for presentations, Excel for spreadsheets, and Outlook for email management.

This license also includes two newer favorites — OneNote to upgrade your note-taking and Teams to help you stay connected with others.

Before you purchase, make sure your Mac is running macOS 14 Sonoma, macOS 15 Sequoia, or macOS 26 Tahoe. Once you buy, you’ll receive an instant delivery and download so you can start using these tools immediately.

Upgrade your Mac with this Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021 license, now just $49.97 until April 19.

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Normal is an unexpected movie from Ben Wheatley. The British filmmaker made his name with bleak tales of murder, like Kill List, Sightseers, and High-Rise. Now, he's teaming with Nobody star Bob Odenkirk and screenwriter Derek Kolstad for a Western that's darkly funny, but arguably hopeful.

Fans of Nobody 1 & 2 will be glad to know that Kolstad makes sure that Odenkirk once more plays a seemingly average man, someone who can take a beating and dish one out. Wheatley fans might be stunned to see that his veer into the mainstream with Meg 2: The Trench was less a detour and more a new direction for a director who seems truly tickled to lighten up. (Maybe I was wrong about Meg 2?)

SEE ALSO: 'Meg 2: The Trench' review: Ben Wheatley hates you

Don't mistake me. Like Wheatley's previous films, Normal will offer plenty of jaw-dropping violence with a macabre sense of humor. But the overall tone of this Midwestern crime comedy is more Coen Bros' O! Brother Where Art Thou than the Coen Bros' Fargo, which is to say, more madcap fun then menacing thrills.

Normal is a playful genre mash-up of Western and gangster movies. Bob Odenkirk stars as a sheriff in peril in Ben Wheatley's "Normal." Credit: Magnolia Pictures

Odenkirk stars as the audaciously named Ulysses Richardson, who is serving as the interim sheriff of a small town called Normal, Minnesota. Their last sheriff died, and until a new one can be elected, Ulysses is keeping the badge warm. Harboring guilt over a past misstep on the job, he's not looking to make waves. And at first, that seems easy enough, as the calls he gets are about two men aggressively haggling or a yarn seller's complaint about the consistency of color between skeins. That is, until the bank robbery. It's not just that two drifters committing armed robbery is a bigger to-do than the cops there tend to handle. It's that in messing with the bank, they're unknowingly messing with the yakuza.

That's a secret the audience is clued into with a brazenly violent opening sequence in Japan, involving self-mutilation as a form of penance before a glowering kingpin. The people of Normal have made a deal with the far-off crime syndicate to hold their money for a flashy fee. But when Ulysses uncovers this secret, the sweet small-town folk can't just let him walk away. And in a move that feels only slightly satirical, they're all armed to the teeth with guns, guns, guns. So, in the blink of an eye, Ulysses goes from trying to arrest the bank robbers (Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher) to teaming up with them to get out of town alive.

This plot line means Normal boasts plenty of action, including gun fights, chase scenes, and inventive battles — often with the bold style associated with gangster movies. But the core of the story is about a cowboy doubting his value. In baroque Westerns, the hero isn't a simple noble white hat. He's a man scarred by the fights he's lost and won. He wonders if the blood he's spilled is worth the peace he's achieved for his people. And feeling a bit of a black hat, he finds it difficult to connect to his community.

Normal neatly fits this concept into contemporary Minnesota, where Ulysses can handle small talk with the eccentrically Midwestern locals. But when it comes forging a deeper bond, he bristles. That is until he finds a fierce (and needed) bond with outsiders, like the aforementioned bank robbers and a local named Alex (Jess McLeod), alienated by the community because they are trans nonbinary.

Normal's politics are more playful than particular. Bob Odenkirk and Jess McLeod co-star in "Normal." Credit: Magnolia Pictures

Kolstad's script touches on real issues in America, including the proliferation of gun violence, the economic devastation of small towns, the fear of foreign influence, and the harmful ostracization of trans people. However, the film refuses to staunchly pick a side between left or right. Normal is not here to preach to the U.S. about our problems. Instead, it's using these real issues to ground a film that's full of bonkers moments.

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While some have suggested the film's political ambiguity is cowardly, I found a surprising nuance there. We live in an age where the internet, its bubbles and algorithms, urge us all to believe we are one thing or the other. Endlessly, we are urged to choose a side, be it conservative or liberal, Cheetos or Oreos. It's a marketing ploy that's gotten wildly out of hand. Normal smoothly rejects such simple distinctions to explore the unexpected areas where its very different characters do have common ground. For instance, the inclusion of the trans character isn't signaled with much fanfare, but some simple visual clues and a lament about "small town" ways of thinking. That's all we need to know about this aspect of Alex's struggle, because while it is a part of their story, it is not all that defines them within Normal.

The greater focus is on a man who finds such binaries unhelpful, as what is right or wrong is often not black and white. Normal is a movie that has a deranged good time in the gray area. Its climax has fun with this moral ambiguity in a terrific way that is a mix of cynical and optimistic, yet deeply satisfying.

Bob Odenkirk is pitch-perfect in Normal. Lena Headey and Bob Odenkirk in "Normal." Credit: Magnolia Pictures

There may be no American actor alive who better captures world-weary than Odenkirk. As Ulysses, he manages a warm but authoritative veneer when chatting with the locals (before they start trying to kill him). But in voiceover, his self-doubt reverberates as he wonders what purpose he has left in this world. He's got a badge and a gun, but he no longer knows what justice means. And Odenkirk knows how to make that moral uncertainty ache, even through a sequence where a beloved local gets turned into human gazpacho. His physicality in fight scenes reflects both reluctance and determination, a paradox that speaks to the very heart of this film: that we are all more than what we seem on the surface.

Lending stellar support is a crackling ensemble. Henry Winkler brings a sparkling charm as Normal's mayor, while Lena Headey brings a smoky, blue-collar swagger as a hot bartender. Billy MacLellan is terrifically silly as a dopey deputy, while McLeod stands strong as Ulysses' sidekick. Altogether — with a fleet of bit players who have real bite — they build an American town that is theatrically extreme and yet still achingly familiar.

With this strong cast and Kolstad's clever script, Wheatley delivers an action-comedy that is wildly entertaining, hilariously twisted, and ultimately shockingly feel-good.

Normal was reviewed out of SXSW. The film opens in theaters April 17.

SAVE $131: As of April 13, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones are on sale for $218 at Amazon. That's a 38% discount on list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose QuietComfort Headphones $218 at Amazon
$349 Save $131   Get Deal

The Bose QuietComfort headphones are back on sale at Amazon, and if you're looking for a great pair of headphones you can use comfortably all day, these are your perfect match. And as of April 13, they're currently on sale for $218, a saving of $131 on list price. This deal is for the black colored headphones, but there are different discounts across all available colorways, like ice blue, petal pink, and moonlight grey.

When it comes to great noise cancellation, these are the ideal headphones. By combining active noise cancellation with passive isolation, these are incredibly effective at reducing any outside noises or distractions. And it doesn't have to be all or nothing, you'll get the option to switch between Quiet Mode for full noise cancelling or Aware Mode if you want to stay aware of what's happening around you.

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And, like the name suggests, these are designed for comfort. They use over-ear cushions and a padded headband designed for extended wear. The battery life runs up to 24 hours on a single charge, with a quick 15-minute USB-C charge giving you around 2.5 hours of playback. They can also be used wired via the included cable when Bluetooth isn’t available or the battery is low.

Get this Bose deal now at Amazon.