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"Anyone can reinvent themselves."

These are the words of menacing Euphoria Season 3 newcomer Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). He speaks them to Rue (Zendaya) as she comes to a crossroads on her winding journey to redemption, but he might as well be describing series creator Sam Levinson's thought process coming into Season 3. This time around, reinvention is the name of the game, as Euphoria moves from gritty teen drama to seedy neo-Western.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' Season 3 trailer: Rue's on the run, Jules is a sugar baby, and I'm worried

On the one hand, some form of reinvention is necessary. Euphoria's Season 2 finale aired four years ago. After that hiatus, it would be ridiculous to return to high school as if nothing had changed, especially since, during that time away, cast members like Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney blossomed into megawatt movie stars through decidedly non-high school roles. On the other hand, the path Levinson chooses for Euphoria Season 3 opens the show up to its worst impulses, marring its technical splendor and strong performances with exploitative storylines that feel primed for internet outrage.

Euphoria Season 3 doesn't feel like the Euphoria you know. Zendaya in "Euphoria." Credit: Patrick Wymore / HBO

A five-year time jump between Euphoria Seasons 2 and 3 shakes the show up in a major way. The show's core cast of characters has scattered to the winds in their new adulthood. Some, like Nate (Elordi) and Cassie (Sweeney), are settling down and getting married. Others, like Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Maddy (Alexa Demie), are hustling for success in Hollywood.

Rue's life has taken a much more dangerous turn. Her debts to drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly) have caught up with her, and she's now a drug mule. The season's exhilarating opening catches her tearing across the Chihuahuan Desert on the way back to the U.S., complete with a tense pit stop at the border wall. Zendaya sinks right back into Rue's live-wire energy, making it feel as if we've never left her.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' has a flashback problem

However, most of the other aspects of Euphoria surrounding her have changed. Gone are the neon-soaked school hallways and city streets, replaced by wide-open Western vistas saturated with stunning color. The layered vocals of Labrinth's score are nowhere to be heard either. Instead, Hans Zimmer takes the reins with a more orchestral sound (that at one point sounds eerily close to his work on Dune). Even the show's title appears in a different font: a blocky yellow that recalls Western film titles. This season accompanies its first title card drop with the screech of a hawk, an extra bit of Western pastiche that hammers home the show's new direction.

All the changes serve Levinson's thesis that these characters' early 20s are the Wild Wests of their lives. (For Rue, caught in a standoff between Laurie and strip club kingpin Alamo, that lawless Western element is a lot more literal.) Yet in making all these changes, Euphoria also loses the parts of its identity that set it apart from its teen drama counterparts in the first place. Now it feels more like a familiar crime drama. A prestige crime drama with an HBO budget, but still a recognizable one.

Euphoria Season 3 is an exercise in humiliation and fetishization. Sydney Sweeney in "Euphoria." Credit: HBO

One element of Euphoria that carries over to Season 3 is its gleeful pushing of the envelope, particularly when it comes to sex. In Season 3, Levinson is focused on sex work, a subject he's already explored in part (but with very little sensitivity) in Kat's (Barbie Ferreira) Season 1 cam girl storyline. This time around, sex work takes center stage in multiple storylines. Rue helps run one of Alamo's strip clubs. Jules (Hunter Schafer) becomes a sugar baby. Cassie makes forays into OnlyFans, all in the hopes of earning enough money so she can pay for her dream flowers at her and Nate's wedding.

SEE ALSO: What is OnlyFans?

Euphoria Season 1 portrayed Kat's cam girl journey as primarily empowering, with very little consideration to the fact that she was underage at the time. Season 3 flips the script, turning a now-adult Cassie's OnlyFans ambitions into an over-sexualized humiliation gauntlet. If you thought Season 2's embarrassment of her was relentless, her Season 3 introduction alone blows that out of the water. Dressed as a dog, she perches atop a mini dog house and laps water from a bowl, desperate for validation online. Between this and "Wuthering Heights," it's a big year for Elordi characters dominating women through pet play. Fitting, as both Emerald Fennell and Levinson thrive on the empty provocation of throwing taboos at the wall and seeing what sticks.

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, using Cassie's aspirations as a springboard from which it can launch suggestive images designed to stir up the most controversy: Cassie draped in a sopping wet American flag shirt, or posing as a baby. That it's Sweeney — herself a cultural lightning rod — in these tableaus makes Euphoria's desire for outrage even more clear. And while I clearly feel some of that outrage the show is gunning for, what I feel more is exasperation. Exasperation that a show with such incredible potential, and such undeniable talent in front of and behind the camera, keeps opting for lazy shocks.

These shocks even spill into Rue's storyline, which has usually been Euphoria at its best and most introspective. In Season 3, Rue experiments with religion and surrendering herself to a higher power, a quest that stems from a diner conversation with Ali (Colman Domingo). Euphoria wisely knows that when it sticks Zendaya and Domingo in a booth and lets them play off one another, it gets magic. That's why Rue's special episode, "Trouble Don’t Last Always," is a series highlight. Yet in the first three episodes of Season 3 sent to critics, Rue's journey to fulfillment often falls to the wayside to make more room for what Euphoria knows will get people talking most: mess and controversy. In Rue's case, those manifest in her work at a strip club, which is populated less by fully-formed characters and more by tragic sex worker archetypes.

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But even in non-overtly sexual situations, Euphoria finds a way to ogle its cast. An early sequence sees Rue and her co-conspirator Faye (Chloe Cherry) swallow golf-ball sized bags of drugs to smuggle out of Mexico. The camera lingers on their throats and their spit, while their gulps ring out loud and desperate. It's a needlessly suggestive spectacle, and the same goes for what happens when the drugs need to come out the other end.

Unfortunately, it's scenes like these that linger in the brain and get immortalized thanks to the meme treatment. Euphoria knows this, which is why it's all too happy to keep humiliating Cassie and providing surface-level looks at controversial topics in Season 3.

There's a great show lurking in here somewhere. So much of Rue's journey proves it. Yet Euphoria keeps smothering that greatness with something far grosser, and that's something no amount of reinvention can hide.

Euphoria Season 3 premieres Apr. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has not been especially well received by critics, but it is serving one important purpose: introducing new people to the two excellent games it was named after. And for a limited time, you can get in on the fun with a discount.

Nintendo announced a temporary promotion from April 12 to May 9: anyone who buys a Nintendo Switch 2 console alongside Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (the official name of a package containing both games) will get $20 off. This offer works with either the physical or digital version of the Galaxy games, but only if you get a Switch 2 at the same time. You also need to buy them from a participating retailer, which includes Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and GameStop.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Nitendo Switch 2 + Super Mario Galaxy bundle $518 at Amazon
  Learn More Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 $69 at Amazon
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If my math is right, participating in this promotion would cost a total of $500 between the Switch 2 and the games, down from a total of $520 before taxes. It's not a huge discount, in other words, but considering how infrequently Nintendo discounts any of its products, especially the Switch 2, this might be a decent excuse for someone to pull the trigger on a Switch 2. Especially if they have kids who loved the Galaxy movie — or if you've been dying to get in on the Pokémon Pokopia craze.

Buy now and save. Credit: Nintendo

While the movie seems like it's not great, I can personally confirm that both Galaxy games are fantastic and look exceptional running in 4K on a Switch 2.

They're some of the best modern Super Mario adventures and are absolutely worth the time of anyone even remotely curious about them. Head to a retailer near you from April 12 to experience greatness.

For more information, you can read the fine print at the Nintendo retail offers page.

If I want to hear about how billionaire tech bros are making the world worse, I can turn on the news. If I want to hear about how billionaire tech bros are making the world worse and at least laugh about it, I can watch The Audacity.

SEE ALSO: 'Euphoria' Season 3 review: It should be great. Instead, it's gross.

Created by Jonathan Glatzer, a writer and producer on Succession and Better Call Saul, The Audacity takes a satirical sledgehammer to Silicon Valley. It tears into the tech world with cutting one-liners and a parade of ultra-wealthy, ultra-insecure "billionaire man children" who often feel frighteningly familiar.

What is The Audacity about? Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen in "The Audacity." Credit: Ed Araquel / AMC

Among those man children is Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen), the data mining CEO of tech company Hypergnosis. He's a sleeveless vest stuffed with delusion and insecurity, a man who's convinced of his own genius, yet still needs those around him to validate said genius.

His closest confidante is his strung-out therapist Dr. JoAnne Felder (Sarah Goldberg), who's certainly not getting paid enough to hear about Duncan's fraudulent activity. However, JoAnne's record isn't spotless either. Thanks to information from her sessions with Duncan and the other tech titans she treats, she's picked up enough confidential information to get into some serious insider trading.

When Duncan discovers this, and when his own stock threatens to plummet, he blackmails JoAnne to help him out, resulting in a sharp, self-destructive spiral for both.

SEE ALSO: 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' review: An alien OnlyFans is the highlight of Apple's family dramedy Billy Magnussen and Sarah Goldberg kill it in The Audacity. Sarah Goldberg and Billy Magnussen in "The Audacity." Credit: Ed Araquel / AMC

There are few joys in television greater than watching two great actors have it out, and you'll get plenty of that in The Audacity thanks to Magnussen and Goldberg.

So often a highlight in supporting roles, from Into the Woods to HBO's short-lived The Franchise, Magnussen takes center stage with his usual full-throttle commitment to ridiculousness. His Duncan is someone you love to hate: smarmy, full of himself, and always ready to keep digging deeper into a hole if it means he'll get what he wants. Magnussen channels each of Duncan's flaws with glee, and the result is cringe comedy gold.

SEE ALSO: 'Data' is scarily prescient about AI and immigration. Its team is ready to meet the moment.

While Duncan believes he's on top of the world, Goldberg's JoAnne is all too aware of the fact that she's at the bottom of the Silicon Valley pyramid. That fuels Goldberg's impeccable take on JoAnne's building breakdown, as does Duncan's blackmail and her strained relationship with teen son Orson (Everett Blunck). We've seen Goldberg play a woman losing control before, as Barry's Sally Reed. (Who could forget her Season 3 elevator tirade?) Here, she once again nails that same level of desperation, coupled with JoAnne's more composed therapist persona. Watching her go from therapist mode to panicked mode is one of The Audacity's darkly comic highlights. Watching the two begin to merge is even better.

Magnussen and Goldberg's chemistry is superb, with Duncan and JoAnne wrestling for power in increasingly ridiculous ways. An early season highlight? JoAnne preferring to drive her car off a road in order to avoid interacting with an oncoming Duncan. He pulls into frame with the goofiest smile on his face, acting like her bestie even though he's straight-up using her car data to track her. He believes he's living in a tech thriller, while JoAnne's fully in a horror movie. That imbalance is a core part of why JoAnne-Duncan dynamic works so well, but it's also proof of The Audacity's tech bros' total delusion: They live so far above everyone else that they feel they can do anything.

The Audacity's Silicon Valley is downright sinister. Simon Helberg in "The Audacity." Credit: Ed Araquel / AMC

The Audacity builds out a full, frightening world around Duncan and JoAnne. Disillusioned tech pioneers like Carl Bardolph (Zach Galifianakis) look down their noses at what Silicon Valley has become, all while trying to find a way back in. Parents like Duncan and his wife Lili (Lucy Punch) try to ensure their daughter Jamison (Ava Telek) gets into Stanford by any means necessary, hiring an elite team of coaches even though it makes her miserable. Elsewhere, inventor Martin Pfister (Simon Helberg) works tirelessly on perfecting an AI child, all while neglecting his own daughter Tess (Thailey Roberge).

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For the show's teen ensemble of Orson, Jamison, and Tess, alienation from their parents is the norm. Through their eyes, Silicon Valley becomes a nightmare place to grow up.

Through the adults' eyes, the Valley doesn't seem so pretty either, despite the lavish mansions or luxury mud baths just a helicopter ride away in Napa. Instead of a tech heaven, it's a surreal tech dystopia, one where a single algorithm can play God and package every bit of a person's data for exploitation. It would almost feel like science fiction if this kind of data mining technology didn't already exist, and that's part of The Audacity's bleak appeal: making us laugh at ridiculousness that's just one step removed from reality.

"The world there is not the world," Orson's father says of Silicon Valley. He's right. It's a bubble bursting with big net worths and bigger egos. But, The Audacity reminds us, that bubble has a major impact on the real world, and isn't that a silly, frightening thing?

The Audacity was reviewed out of its premiere at SXSW. It premieres April 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC and AMC+. It will also be simulcast on Samsung TV Network.

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.

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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

Royalty.

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

QUEEN

Hurdle Word 2 hint

A huge fight.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 12, 2026 Hurdle Word 2 Answer

BRAWL

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Hurdle Word 3 hint

Rope.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 12 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 12, 2026 Hurdle Word 3 answer

NOOSE

Hurdle Word 4 hint

A particle.

Hurdle Word 4 answer

QUARK

Final Hurdle hint

An extension.

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

ANNEX

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

Today's Connections: Sports Edition will be easy if you like to use your arms. There — your first hint.

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.

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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.

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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: Bravo!

• Green: College ball

• Blue: Cooperstown

• Purple: Not your legs...

Here are today's Connections: Sports Edition categories

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

• Yellow: Expression of Approval

• Green: SEC Cities

• Blue: Hall of Fame Pitchers

• Purple: ____ Arm

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 #566 is...

What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?

• Expression of Approval — APPLAUSE, CLAPPING, HAND, OVATION

• SEC Cities — AUBURN, AUSTIN, COLLEGE STATION, OXFORD

• Hall of Fame Pitchers — FELLER, FINGERS, GROVE, PLANK

• Starts With Part of the Body — DEAD, FORE, SIDE, STIFF

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 today'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 11, 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 11, 2026 Easy difficulty hints, answers for April 12 Pips

Number (22): Everything in this purple space must add up to 22. The answer is 6-6, placed horizontally; 5-0, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally.

Number (4): The domino half in this red space must have 4 pips. The answer is 5-4, placed horizontally.

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

Equal (4): Every domino half in this space must have 4 pips. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically; 4-2, placed horizontally.

Medium difficulty hints, answers for April 12 Pips

Less Than (3): The domino half in this purple space must have less than 3 pips. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.

Greater Than (5): The domino half in this red space must have more than 5 pips. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this light blue space must have 4 pips. The answer is 6-4, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 6 pips. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically.

Less Than (3): The domino half in this purple space must have less than 3 pips. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

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

Number (1): Everything in this red space must add up to 1. The answer is 1-3, placed vertically; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Number (10): Everything in this green space must add up to 10. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed horizontally.

Hard difficulty hints, answers for April 12 Pips

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

Number (0): Everything in this red space must add up to 0. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally; 0-6, placed vertically.

Less Than (6): The domino half in this light blue space must add up to less than 6. The answer is 0-3, placed horizontally; 2-1, placed vertically.

Number (0): Everything in this dark blue space must have 0 pips. The answer is 2-0, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this yellow space must add up to 6. The answer is 2-1, placed vertically. 5-0, placed vertically.

Equal (4): Every domino half in this purple space must have 4 pips. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 4-4, placed vertically; and 4-6, placed horizontally.

Number (6): Everything in this red space must add up to 6. The answer is 3-3, placed vertically.

Equal (6): Every domino half in this yellow space must have 6 pips. The answer is 4-6, placed horizontally; 6-5, placed horizontally.

Number (0): Everything in this green space must add up to 0. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 0-1, placed vertically.

Number (6): Everything in this light blue space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-5, placed horizontally; 0-1, placed vertically.

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 NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you need every point of view.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. 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 today's 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?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of 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 until the game ends.

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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.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 12, 2026 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Bottoms

• Green: POV

• Blue: To give off

• Purple: A toy

Here are today's Connections categories

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

• Yellow: Pants features

• Green: Perspective

• Blue: Emit

• Purple: ___ Doll

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 #1036 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Pants features: BELT LOOP, CUFF, FLY, POCKET

• Perspective: ANGLE, POSITION, STANCE, TAKE

• Emit: CAST, PROJECT, RADIATE, SHED

• ___ Doll: PAPER, RAG, RUSSIAN, TROLL

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

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for April 12, 2026

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today's puzzle.

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 today's Connections.

Today's NYT Strands hints are easy if you take pride in your appearance.

Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 12, 2026 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Get ready!

The words are related to appearance.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words describe grooming.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is vertical.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is In the Mirror

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

NYT Strands word list for April 12

• Comb

• Primp

• Beautify

• In the Mirror

• Brush

• Preen

• Groom

• Style

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and 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 today's Strands.

Today's Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you love city living.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. 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 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 12, 2026 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT Pips hints, answers for April 12, 2026 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

A narrow pathway.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

The letter L appears twice.

Mashable 101 Fan Fave: Nominate your favorite creators today

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter P.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

ALLEY

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle 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.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

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 today's Wordle.

If you happen to catch a broadcast of The Masters this weekend, you'll probably notice a few obvious things: the undeniable talent of the players, the immaculate conditions of the course, and the sea of attendees wearing green as if it's a second St. Patrick's Day. But there's one other thing conspicuously absent from the weekend festivities: smartphones. 

Unlike other sporting events, sometimes heavily attended by people who paid obscene amounts of money to watch the excitement through the lens of an iPhone, The Masters bans all recording and communication devices, from phones and tablets to digital cameras. It's right there in black and white on their list of Prohibited Items, above "knives and weapons of any kind" (so you know they take it seriously). 

But, according to Golf Monthly, some sneaky attendees are finding a way to circumvent the ban: wearable technology. The latest smartwatches from Apple and Google are easily able to send and receive both text messages and phone calls, while the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are subtle enough to pass as regular eyewear (especially if worn under a golf cap).  

In response to the videos surfacing online of people sneaking in recording eyewear, golf reporter Daniel Rapaport was unequivocal: "Augusta’s no-phones rule needs to be updated to no phones or wearable technology. No Meta glasses, no Apple watches. The mystique of the Masters must be protected and it’s slipping." 

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If there's any sporting event likely to die on this hill and strengthen their policy to keep all devices out, it's The Masters. But if the legions of happy fans strolling the course over the weekend, largely oblivious to the goings-on on Twitter and Facebook, are any indication, it may be for the greater good that they do. 

The success of the Artemis II mission around the moon has captured the attention of the entire world, but if you're not done celebrating the good vibes, or just want a fantastic way to commemorate a landmark moment in space exploration, you're in luck: NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have teamed up with LEGO to launch a 632-piece model, the Artemis Space Launch System Rocket. 

Not only does this set include the Artemis ship and thruster rockets that blast it out of Earth's gravitational field, but it also includes a clever launch platform with a hand crank designed to show the rocket in all three stages of the launch — just turn the crank and the rocket gradually takes off and the thruster rockets disengage. 

The set also includes four miniature astronaut figures, in honor of the four-person crew of the Artemis II, as well as an information panel that highlights key details about the Artemis II mission. 

The set is suitable for children ages 9 and up, but we all also know at least one adult who loves to build LEGO, so don't sleep on this as a gift option for the space-obsessed grown-up friend or family member in your life. 

Owing to overwhelming demand (space is cool, after all!), the set is currently sold out on Amazon, Walmart and the LEGO website, but if you order from LEGO.com today, you should expect to receive it when supplies refresh in 60 days, according to LEGO. 

And if your child is struggling with assembly or if you yourself need a little help, never fear: LEGO offers interactive, 3D building instructions through their Builder app, available for both iOS and Android users.

The world woke up to phenomenal news: All four astronauts who participated in NASA's ten-day Artemis II mission to fly around the moon, taking them farther into space than any humans had ever been before, have returned safely to earth, splashing down within a mile of their intended landing target in the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA.

The reentry 

The first major point of anxiety came with reentry into Earth's atmosphere, which CNN described as the riskiest part of the mission.

In a pre-landing blog post, NASA reporters Abby Graf and Joseph Zakrzewski described the challenges of reentry, beginning with the structural integrity of the ship itself.

Traveling more than 24,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h), the spaceship compresses the air in front of it, creating a plasma fireball with temperatures of up to 2,700 Celsius or 4,892 Fahrenheit, roughly half the surface temperature of our sun.

Meanwhile, inside the ship, crew members experience the rapid deceleration as a huge increase in gravitational force, making them feel almost four times heavier than they would on the Earth's surface, according to former astronaut Chris Hadfield.

The NASA livestream of the Artemis II return, watched by more than 20 million people worldwide, reached peak tension during reentry, when for six whole minutes the extreme temperatures made all communication with the crew impossible, leaving not only mission control but also viewers holding their breath. 

It was Commander Reid Wiseman's voice that broke the silence: "Houston, Integrity here. We hear you loud and clear," BBC reported.

The splashdown: Where did Artemis land?

After communication was reestablished and the cheers of the NASA crews died down, all that was left was to stick the landing: 2,000 miles southwest of the coast of San Diego, in the Pacific Ocean. 

To slow the craft down and ensure a safe landing, the Orion landing capsule used a series of parachutes of four different designs, deployed in an extremely precise sequence for maximum effectiveness, described in this NASA brochure.

When the final parachutes were used, the tiny capsule containing the crew had slowed down exponentially, ending in a gentle descent to the ocean waters, captured by CNN.

Splashdown occurred shortly after 5 p.m. PT, hailed as a "perfect bull's eye splashdown for Integrity and its four astronauts" by NASA commentator Rob Navias, while a naval rescue mission extracted the four astronauts from the floating capsule before flying them by helicopter to the USS John P Murtha for medical evaluation, according to official NASA reporting by Jennifer M. Dooren. 

How to watch Artemis II

Interested in re-living the dramatic trip, or maybe you missed most of the action and want to see it for the first time? You can watch comprehensive coverage of the entire mission, including interviews with the crew, on NASA's official YouTube page.

For maximum drama, though, see the taped livestream below.

Or if you don't have multiple hours of free time to spare, check out our photo summary of the splashdown compiled by Chris Taylor.

What's next after Artemis II

The success of this mission, as well as its undeniable worldwide appeal, has both NASA and other space agencies thinking of the stars, but there are practical matters to attend to first.

The crew, described from the recovery ship by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman as "ambassadors for humanity," had not made as of this morning any public appearance since cameras captured their dramatic capsule exit, and are expected to take many days to recover from their 10-day trip beyond our atmosphere.

Before the R&R, though, the astronauts were expected to undergo one more ordeal: an obstacle course. As Mashable reporter Elisha Sauers details, the battery of tests, conducted in and out of their heavy astronaut suits, will be used study the body's adaptation to prolonged weightlessness.

But what about the future of space travel?

For some perspective, the Artemis II mission was the first crewed mission into deep space in more than 50 years, but NASA is also viewing it as a first step on a new, multi-decade project to establish a firmer foothold in space.

According to NASA writer Lauren E. Low, future plans include landing humans on the moon and establishing a permanent lunar base, testing rendezvous and docking capabilities with both SpaceX and Blue Origin lunar landers sometime in 2027, and eventually establishing the necessary preconditions for a crewed mission to Mars. 

For now, however, the world is breathing a collective sigh of relief, happy to accept the good news of the crews' safe return.

Reporting by Mashable's Elisha Sauers and Chris Taylor contributed to this article.

The platform formerly known as Twitter is learning new tricks. X is looking to expand its reach by launching XChat, a standalone messaging app promising end-to-end encryption, no ads and no tracking, at least according to the Apple press release.

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In addition to the traditional text-based messages already offered by X, XChat promises to offer both audio and video calling, as well as the ability to send documents, create group chats, and edit or delete your sent messages. If the screenshots shared by X are accurate, the interface is minimalistic, emphasizing active chats in "a private, focused space built for conversation," according to Apple's press release.

Despite the claims of "privacy" and "end-to-end" encryption, some X users are pointing out what they perceive to be a contradiction in the app's privacy policy.

How is it, they're asking, that an app that cares about user privacy also links so much personal information, from your location and contact list to your search history and your user profile? 

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Musk took to Twitter earlier this month to disparage the privacy policy of WhatsApp. WhatsApp pushed back against the claims.

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XChat will only be accessible to people with an X account, and will only launch for the iPhone and iPad, according to the release, leaving out the Android market.

Given that apps including Signal and WhatsApp don't require a separate account on another platform, it remains to be seen if XChat can attract enough users to compete at the same scale. 

With an expected launch of April 17, though, we won't need to wait long to find out.

Nobody likes filing their taxes (or do they?), but a select few fast food restaurants are offering some financial relief to celebrate Tax Day. 

On April 15, you'll be able to score a dozen Original Glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme with the purchase of any regular dozen donuts at their usual price.

Krispy Kreme Tax Day deal

Best of all, the offer applies to in-store purchases, drive-thru pickup, and even to-go orders made through the Krispy Kreme app (use the code TAXBREAK at checkout).

You can read more about the promo on the Krispy Kreme official website, but suffice it to say a lot of families may be indulging after paying their accountants a visit. 

But Krispy Kreme isn't the only restaurant offering a break that you can grab on Tax Day and beyond.

Burger King, QDOBA deals

Because April 15 falls on a Wednesday this year, Burger King's Whopper Wednesday discount applies, meaning you can pick up a regular Whopper for $3.99 or a Small Whopper Combo for $6.99.

Meanwhile, burrito chain QDOBA has instituted a Tax Day Guac Relief program, to highlight the fact that their guacamole is always free. To take advantage of the deal, first join their rewards program and then fill out a short survey about all of the times you've been forced to pay for guac in the past.

As a reward, you'll score $5 off a full-sized entree, redeemable between April 20 and 26. And the Tax Day Guac Relief forms? Naturally, they're due on Tax Day, April 15 — but what's a bit more paperwork when the payoff is so sweet?

If you want some much-deserved Tax Day relief, or if filing your taxes has inspired you with a new appreciation for a good deal, celebrate submitting your return with some well-deserved chow. 

If you have strong preferences for your workout gear — and strong feelings on Hoka versus Brooks (we're not getting in the middle of that debate) — then finding the right pair of workout headphones can be extra challenging.

The best headphones for working out need to withstand movement, sweat, and the elements. Plus, you don't want something you're constantly fussing with; your headphones should help you stay focused during your exercises.

Mashable reviewers have tested many pairs of headphones and wireless earbuds, and we can tell you which products stay put during a workout, and which buds will go tumbling onto the sidewalk as soon as you break into a run. To make sure we're recommending the right products, we tested over a dozen of the best sports earbuds, headphones, and bone conduction headphones from brands like Bose, Beats, Apple, and Shokz.

How to pick headphones for working out

The right headphones for you depend significantly on the kinds of workouts you like to do and where you like to do them. If you like to run outdoors, you need headphones that keep you safe in busy areas with reliable noise transparency, such as bone conduction headphones or open earbuds. If you're pumping iron at the gym, you might prefer sports earbuds that block out the world with active noise cancellation so you can lock in for your reps. And some people just prefer the look and feel of traditional over-ear headphones. We found reliable options in each category, but in general, most athletes prefer the best wireless earbuds for working out.

SEE ALSO: Open earbuds guide: What they are, who should buy them, and why they're popping up everywhere

For this guide, we looked for two universal specs in all of the headphones we tested. First, workout headphones need to be wireless, giving you a full range of movement. You don't want to get tied up on the stair climber.

Second, workout headphones need to be sweat- or water-resistant. This one is obvious. When you're working out, you're getting sweaty, and you want headphones that won't freak out at the first sign of moisture. Your gym earbuds don't have to be fully waterproof, but this will be helpful for outdoor athletes.

So, whether you're hitting the gym or the pavement, here are the best earbuds and headphones for working out.

Recent changes to this guide

For our most recent update in April 2026, we swapped out the Bose Ultra Open earbuds for the Shokz OpenFit Pro earbuds. In our testing, we found the Shokz buds offer a better value for a similar (and sometimes superior) experience.

In September 2025, we replaced the Apple AirPods Pro 2 with the newly released AirPods Pro 3. Likewise, we swapped out the previous-gen Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds for the QuietComfort Ultra (Gen 2) buds.

In a previous update, we removed the discontinued Jabra Elite 8 Active (Gen 2). These buds previously occupied the top spot and provided remarkable battery life, fit, and sound quality in a highly durable package. We still recommend it if you’re lucky enough to find a pair online at a reasonable price (they sell for $300 on eBay).

We also tested additional products that ultimately didn't make the cut, including the JBL Reflect Aero noise-cancelling earbuds. Despite appearing to have a similar design to the Beats Fit Pro — the earbuds themselves, not the ear tips — were so big they couldn't comfortably fit in the ear, a troubling design that caused them to fall out constantly.

Last July, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told viral podcaster Theo Von that it's "screwed up" that conversations with an AI helper aren't afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a human advocate. 

"imo talking to an AI should be like talking to a lawyer or a doctor. i hope society will figure this out soon," Altman posted to X.

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The CEO has repeatedly advocated for stronger privacy protections for his chatbot's conversations with users, even as states have cracked down on AI bots advertised as therapeutic or legal experts.  

But user privacy is not the sole reason why people like Altman are pushing for a tougher shield between chatbot conversations and the court, legal experts tell Mashable — there's also a self-serving motivation. If LLMs remain untouchable by courts, it insulates not just AI users, but the companies, too. In fact, Altman's comments to Von may have been prompted by OpenAI's very own legal troubles: Courts were demanding the AI giant save and eventually hand over its user chat logs as legal discovery, an action that could be blocked if AI were viewed the same in the eyes of the court as a therapist, doctor, or attorney. 

What's one way to accomplish that? Push for a cultural shift that treats AI guidance with the same reverence as human professionals, starting with our health.

SEE ALSO: Using ChatGPT Health? Read this first. What exactly is "AI privilege"?

"Privilege has a certain meaning to lawyers and in the legal context," explained Melodi Dinçer, senior staff attorney for the Tech Justice Law Project. There's the standard attorney-client privilege, for example, as well as psychiatrist-client privilege and spousal privilege. Communications to clergymen, political votes, and trade or state secrets are also recognized by courts. In all these instances, communications between the two parties are confidential and not admissible in court proceedings.

States have their own privilege rules as well, covered under state law for cases held in state courts. Some states, Dinçer said, extend privileges to conversations between you and your general practitioner, in addition to your psychiatrist. But many states don't. This is all elucidated in Rule 501 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, Dinçer explained, which allows federal courts to recognize privileges broadly that the state courts already acknowledge. 

If you are being sued, for example, the other side of the lawsuit cannot admit your therapist's session notes, nor could they admit confidential conversations between you or your lawyer or your spouse.  

"The entire purpose of [client privilege] is to be able to have frank and open discussions with these providers in order for them to provide the best advice to you," Lily Li, a data privacy and AI risk management attorney and founder of Metaverse Law, told Mashable. "And from a societal perspective, we want individuals to be frank and open and honest with their attorney, physicians, and psychologists."

But these are conditions placed on human relationships, not digital ones. If you believe an AI chatbot is as effective as a human therapist or a legal consultant, should those communications be protected, too? Some AI developers, like Altman, say yes. 

AI chatbots: Tools or people? 

"The Open AI copyright lawsuit brought this into sharp focus," said Li. She is referring to a series of recently consolidated copyright cases, 16 in total, opened against OpenAI from publishers, artists, and writers over the last few years. The issues at hand — which include questions of fair use and how to handle the data used to train LLMs — are a kind of temperature gauge for assessing AI's perception in the eyes of the court. 

Because of this, legal experts have been closely monitoring how courts categorize AI developers, their products, and user data contained within them. More specifically, they need to track how the law is treating LLMs, including their training data and chat logs, during evidence and discovery. 

We don't want a situation where there's just a pure liability shield. - Lily Li, Metaverse Law

In February, a federal judge decided that legal strategy documents generated by Anthropic's Claude chatbot — and then sent by a client to their lawyer — were not covered by attorney-client privilege. The decision made headlines. The judge in the case relied in part on Anthropic’s own privacy policy to determine if the chats were protected. Because Anthropic's rules don't promise full privacy when using its public product, and because the communications didn't occur between a licensed attorney with the understanding of them being confidential, the privilege didn't apply. The documents were fair game.

But that same month, a different judge in a different, albeit similar, case ruled the opposite. In this instance, attorney-client privilege applied to AI-generated work because the output became an "attorney-client work product," according to the judge. The chatbot wasn't a "person" in this use case, but a tool used by counsel and client. That's an important distinction, because if the chatbot had been seen as a third-party entity, the client would have been voluntarily giving confidential information to it in a manner that could waive the recognition of privilege. 

These are just a few early federal district court cases, involving what are referred to as matters of first impression. Basically, no one's ever asked these questions, and we are only in the beginning stages of figuring them out. 

Meanwhile, the copyright cases involving OpenAI have engendered more questions about discovery and data. Not long before the two aforementioned rulings, OpenAI successfully appealed a decision ruling the company had waived its attorney-client privilege, opening up access to previously privileged data. The company had been ordered to hand over millions of anonymized ChatGPT conversation logs, as well as internal communications. 

Companies like OpenAI have pushed back against such discovery, arguing for its confidentiality. Judges ruling in favor of admitting data have reasoned that removing personal identifiable information, narrowing the focus of logs, and not disclosing data externally makes the digital troves admissible in court. The legal landscape is riddled with questions such as these.

Across the board, AI developers are pushing to keep their internal data out of discovery. And while user privacy is one of the most pressing issues in the age of AI, enumerating AI privileges in a legal context poses a conundrum. How do we protect users' private data, without making it impossible to hold AI's makers accountable?

"We don't want a situation where there's just a pure liability shield," Li said.

A new Mashable series, AI + Health, will examine how artificial intelligence is changing the medical and health landscape. We'll explore how to keep your health data safe, dive into using AI to decipher your blood work, learn how two women are using AI to detect a dangerous form of heart disease, and much more.

Health AI is big business

Earlier this year, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, a new consumer-facing "mode" for its tentpole chatbot that intends to turn the AI into a personal health guru. The company encourages users to upload their medical histories to better personalize the experience. The data is not currently protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the nation's dominant health privacy regulation. 

Other companies followed OpenAI's lead, with Anthropic, Microsoft, and Amazon releasing their own health-oriented chatbot companions — some HIPAA compliant and some not — in the months since. OpenAI competitor Google has long been investing in AI for medical use cases, mainly for clinicians and researchers. Fitbit, owned by Google, offers personal health coaching using an integrated Gemini assistant. The company is also building a "conversational diagnostic AI agent," referred to as an Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer (or AMIE).     

Altman and his competitors are flocking to the profit potential of the healthcare industry, even if an AI privilege rule isn't yet on the horizon. In January, OpenAI acquired the health startup Torch, and the Altman-backed MergeLabs, a biotech company interested in brain computer interfaces (BCIs), obtained an $850 million evaluation. 

According to a recent report by Menlo Ventures, $1.4 billion went toward healthcare-specific generative AI solutions in 2025. The vast majority of that flowed to AI startups. And these stats only encompass clinical-grade products, tools produced by companies like OpenEvidence and Hippocratic AI intended for medical professionals, not spending on commercial products, such as ChatGPT Health.

A world with human-chatbot privilege?

Among the non-clinical grade products, wellness devices, and non-HIPAA compliant chatbots, a lack of regulation and legal clarity alarms many privacy experts. Some posit that the uncertain policy landscape could be a boon for AI developers, launching their own health AI products into a regulatory miasma in a strategic move to push the company's profit and legal gains.

As chatbots accumulate more "confidential" conversations, more privileges under Rule 501 may be implicated. In states that shield communications with your physician, would AI "doctors" count, too? Or consider a less obvious example posed by Dinçer: Say a user asks a chatbot how they contracted a sexually transmitted infection despite their spouse testing negative, could the prompt and response be presented as evidence — or would it trigger another form of protection, like spousal privilege?

In a hypothetical world with sweeping AI privileges, or even one in which chatbots are looped into existing privilege rules, AI companies may try to refuse admitting blatant evidence of malfeasance. For example, if an AI company was sued for misleading individuals about their health, prosecutors couldn't use internal records or chat analytics containing people's health records. 

Perhaps, Dinçer suggests, if more users are inputting their personal medical records, X-rays, or other sensitive information into the consumer-facing product — and if more and more AI companies are connected in a web of personal identifiable information and health tech — courts would be more inclined to entertain the idea of privilege extending to AI. 

This may be part of the reason — besides revenue — companies try to engender the same kind of trust in AI assistants as we have in human professionals. With so many already consulting AI for their health needs, and companies like OpenAI already facing heaps of litigation, it's no mystery why executives like Altman want to keep chatbot conversations away from the prying eyes of lawyers and judges.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, previously filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

I can't count the number of times my jaw dropped while watching Mexodus.

Much of that wonder comes down to the show's live looping, which sees creators and performers Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson creating the show's score from scratch onstage. But there's more goodness where that came from, as Quijada and Robinson interrogate under-taught history through powerful personal storytelling and hip-hop. Separately, these elements would be fascinating enough. Combine them, and the results are electrifying.

SEE ALSO: 'Every Brilliant Thing' review: Daniel Radcliffe gives us one million reasons to love life. This play is one of them. Mexodus tells a lesser-known tale of the Underground Railroad. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson in "Mexodus." Credit: Thomas Mundell

If you hear the phrase "the Underground Railroad," chances are you think of the network of routes slaves in the American South took north to escape bondage. Yet as Quijada and Robinson tell us, there was also a southbound network that brought thousands of slaves to freedom in Mexico. How many thousands? We don't know for sure, Quijada and Robinson say, in one of the many moments when they speak to the audience themselves. The story of the southbound Underground Railroad is not a story you'll find in many history books, but it's one the duo hopes to pass on through word of mouth, with Mexodus' story serving as a composite of their own research.

Robinson plays Henry, an escaped slave who evades capture in Texas and barely survives a dangerous crossing of the Rio Grande. He's saved by Quijada's Carlos, a medic-turned-farmer battling his own demons from the Mexican-American war. Wary of each other at first, the two soon grow to overlook their differences, collaborate on Carlos's farm, and even become firm friends.

Mexodus' live looping will have you hooked. Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson in "Mexodus." Credit: Thomas Mundell

Quijada and Robinson build the soundtrack to Carlos and Henry's friendship in real time, looping and layering their own vocals and instruments. A lot of the instruments are recognizable: pianos, cellos, trumpets, guitars, drums, vinyl scratching. That Quijada and Robinson are playing all of them and rapping at superhuman speed and harmonizing with themselves is already impressive enough. But what kicks Mexodus into an even higher gear is when Quijada and Robinson interact with the stage itself, designed by Riw Rakkulchon. Corrugated walls become sources of percussion and even thunder. A wooden wheel modulates tracks' tempos. Pedals around the stage loop the sounds, and watching Quijada and Robinson stomp on them to control the next loop is a magic trick that never gets old.

Another magic trick? The live looping doesn't end with Mexodus' songs. Quijada and Robinson craft soundscapes too, from storms to crackling fires. My personal favorite moment came when Quijada strummed a comb to create the sound of chirping insects coming out at night. Yes, we fully see what causes the sound effect — in fact, we see what causes every sound in the show — but as Mikhail Fiksel's sound design amplifies it throughout the theater, it becomes something new. The theatrical experience allows us to leap from the mundanity of the comb to the fantasy of the bugs it's imitating.

There's a communal aspect to the live looping as well. Quijada and Robinson feed off our joy at each aural surprise. (Quijada took a smiling bow after my audience oohed at how he created the sound of fire.) They also take several opportunities throughout the show to step outside the story and tell personal tales: Robinson of his ancestors, Quijada of a time when he witnessed the same kind of prejudice and division that would have alienated Carlos and Henry centuries ago. Each moment builds on Quijada and Robinson's reminders that it's up to us to pass down the unknown stories of the Underground Railroad that led south, culminating in a goosebump-inducing moment of audience participation.

By inviting the audience into their stories and showing us how each song is created, Quijada and Robinson have created a riveting, joyful take on an unsung chapter of American history. It's one that I guarantee you won't forget.

Mexodus is now running Off Broadway through June 14.

So far, Nintendo has given us almost nothing about what to expect from the Switch 2 in the second half of 2026. However, reports suggest The Legend of Zelda fans are getting a major gift for the venerable series' 40th anniversary.

According to a prominent Nintendo leaker called Natethehate, and corroborated by Video Games Chronicle, Nintendo is set to release a full-scale remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 this holiday season. Of course, Nintendo hasn't confirmed this yet, and there's a chance it's not even real. But, as someone for whom Ocarina is about as important as a piece of art can be to a person, I can't stop thinking about it.

Assuming it's real, what should an Ocarina of Time remake bring to the table? And what kinds of pitfalls should it avoid? Let's talk about it. And if all of this turns out to be a false alarm and there is no remake, I humbly welcome all of you to call me an idiot in the future.

An Ocarina of Time remake should be different enough to justify its existence Maybe don't go quite as hard as the 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' games do, but they're a decent starting point. Credit: Square Enix/Steam

To start, I should note that you can play the original Ocarina of Time on a Switch or Switch 2 right now via the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. I am of the belief that remakes exist to supplement the original work, not replace them, so it's paramount that Nintendo keep the original playable on modern platforms, and I have no reason to believe the company would remove it from the NSO service.

With that in mind, if this purported remake is going to a $60+ major holiday release that exists alongside the original, it needs to set itself apart. There are plenty of ways to do that. For starters, it might not hurt to modernize the controls a bit. I love the way the original Ocarina feels, with Link's weighty, substantial movement grounding him in the game's world in a beautiful way. Ocarina's heavy use of context-sensitive actions gave Link a huge number of ways to intuitively interact with said world, which set the game apart from other 3D action-adventure titles at the time.

The iconic title screen needs to stay. Credit: Nintendo

That said, there are a lot of people who don't have three decades of nostalgia for this game baked into their memories. Some folks are younger and may have started their Zelda journeys with newer games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. For a portion of the modern gaming audience, Ocarina's original control scheme feels clunky and unwieldy.

Even I, a person who loves the original release as much as I can possibly love anything, will admit that lining up jumps or trying to precisely throw bombs can be a chore. It also just doesn't make much sense on anything other than a Nintendo 64 controller, for which Ocarina was hyper-specifically designed.

Whoever is making this rumored remake needs to make it make sense on a Switch 2 controller. It might also help to add new content to Link's seminal 3D adventure, which might please fans of the original. New or reworked side quests, an additional optional dungeon, or even a smaller second adventure with a different playable character (looking at you, Sheik) would each individually do a lot to make players new and old flock to this remake. As long as it all fits naturally into the original game's structure, of course.

But they shouldn't just turn it into Breath of the Wild Great game, but not something the 'Ocarina' remake needs to emulate. Credit: Nintendo

One thing I've seen some fans online suggest that I vehemently disagree with is the notion of turning Ocarina of Time into a full-blown open-world adventure in the same vein as the two big Switch games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. This is an idea that might sound enticing until you think about it for a few seconds. Let me explain why.

More than anything, that's just not what Ocarina of Time ever was. Hyrule Field felt massive, expansive, and mysterious in 1998, but Ocarina at its core is a pretty linear game where there's typically only ever one authored solution to any problem. It's not about creativity in puzzle-solving like Breath and Tears, it's about using a boomerang to open a door in the exact way the designers want you to.

This may sound stifling to fans of the newer games, and in the arc of the Zelda franchise, that formula was indeed stifling enough to inspire the need for a series overhaul, but it's an apples-and-oranges thing.

New Zelda is a physics sandbox, while old Zelda focused more on the creativity of the designers than the player. In practice, one could very easily argue that the old style produced better pacing, and it allowed each game to have a large arsenal of fun items to use, rather than a small handful of powers like in the newer entries. If you've never used the Hookshot, you don't know what you're missing.

Crucially, you can also finish Ocarina of Time in like 20 hours. Not everything needs to be a 100-hour epic.

The remake needs to have a fresh look

Honestly, if this remake exists, the most important decision for its developers to make concerns how it will look. I am not an artist, so I don't have much in the way of specific ideas for how it should look. But I don't think a straightforward adaptation of the original game's graphics is the way to go.

If you just do "Ocarina of Time but modern," you run the risk of inviting ungenerous comparisons between the original and the remake. It would also be boring, just as it would be to simply convert Ocarina into the more Studio Ghibli-inspired Breath of the Wild art style. Zelda has reinvented itself visually more times than almost any series, and it's time for that to happen again.

But it also needs to respect the original's distinct vibes

In playing some of the original release recently for research purposes, one thing that stuck out to me is just how weird it often is. I think about NPCs like Grog, the gaunt misanthrope who mostly exists to tell you how much he hates his parents, or the creepy music box guy. At one point, you can play music on your ocarina for the enjoyment of a bunch of cartoon frogs. It's a goofy game with a lot of heart, and I hope that doesn't get lost in translation.

There are lots of other things that I think can be updated without being lost, such as the original game's brilliant soundtrack. That could use a full orchestral re-arrangement. I'm also open to other ideas, but for now, these are the things that have been swimming around my mind the most about this potential remake.

TL;DR: Live stream Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL for free on ITVX. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

A number of interesting NHL fixtures are taking place this weekend, including Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning. Both sides are well positioned in the Atlantic Division, but both need a win to end a concerning run of losses. We're expecting a evenly-matched contest at TD Garden.

If you want to watch Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning?

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on April 11. This fixture takes place at TD Garden.

How to watch Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning for free

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL is available to live stream for free on ITVX.

ITVX is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock ITVX to live stream the NHL for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly 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 the UK

4. Visit ITVX

5. Watch Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning for free from anywhere in the world

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 streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the NHL without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL (plus more NHL fixtures) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for ITVX?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ITVX, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

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).

Watch Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL for free with ExpressVPN.

HULU BUNDLES: Hulu is offering a range of bundle deals so you can stream from its impressive library without breaking the bank.

The best Hulu deals and bundles in April 2026: Best Hulu Bundle Deal Disney+ and Hulu Bundle $12.99/month with ads Get Deal Best HBO Max Bundle Deal Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max Bundle $19.99/month with ads, $32.99/month ad-free Get Deal Best Student Deal Hulu Student Deal Hulu with ads for $1.99/month Get Deal Best ESPN Bundle Deal Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle $35.99/month Get Deal

There's a wide range of excellent shows and films to watch on Hulu. From The Testaments to season two of Paradise, it's a library that's full of options to keep you entertained this spring.

If these have caught your eye and have you itching to sign up for Hulu, we're here to help you get the best deal. Outside of the standard ad-supported and ad free plans, there are quite a few bundle deals available with Hulu that are worth exploring if you're looking to save some cash. This includes the Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max package.

SEE ALSO: 'Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice' review: Time-traveling gangster comedy is a must-see crowd-pleaser

Below you can find details on Hulu's best bundles at the moment — alongside information on both its ad-supported and ad free plans, if you just want the basics — offering you a way to save on the service right now.

Best Disney+ bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Disney+ and Hulu Bundle $12.99 per month with ads Get Deal Why we like it

For those interested in the ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu Bundle, which sets you up with Disney+ alongside Hulu, it starts at $12.99 per month. If you'd prefer the Premium ad-free version of this plan, this jumps to $19.99 per month.

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle — $12.99 per month

• Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Premium — $19.99 per month

Best HBO Max bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle $19.99/month with ads, $32.99/month ad-free Get Deal Why we like it

This is one of the best Hulu bundles available at the moment. Starting at $19.99 per month, this bundle grants you access to Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max's streaming services for a much lower price than what you'd pay for the three of them separately. It's an incredible deal to take advantage of, especially if you've already got Disney+ and HBO Max subscriptions. There are two plans to choose from with this bundle, and they are:

• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (with ads) — $19.99 per month (save 42%)

• Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle (no ads) — $32.99 per month (save 41%)

Best student deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Hulu Student Deal Hulu with ads for $1.99/month Get Deal Why we like it

If you're a student enrolled at a university, you can score a Hulu (with ads) plan for even lower than the above bundles. Hulu's Student Deal gives eligible college students the ability to buy a Hulu (with ads) plan for just $1.99 per month. Hulu notes that the deal lasts "so long as student enrollment status remains verified," then it goes back up to the standard monthly price.

• Hulu Student Deal — $1.99 per month

Best ESPN bundle deal Opens in a new window Credit: Hulu Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle $35.99/month Get Deal Why we like it

Alongside the big Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max bundle, Hulu also has plans for sports fans that throw in ESPN Select or ESPN Unlimited. According to ESPN, "ESPN Select includes ESPN+ content only. Fans who want ESPN+ exclusively may subscribe to the ESPN Select plan. ESPN Unlimited includes all of the ESPN networks and services, including ESPN+." 

The Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle, which has ads, is available for $35.99 per month. The Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited premium bundle without ads is available for $44.99 per month.

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle — $19.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Select Bundle Premium — $29.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle — $35.99 per month

• Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Unlimited Bundle Premium — $44.99 per month

Hulu's monthly plans

If you're just looking to jump straight into Hulu's library without any fancy bundles, there are a couple of subscription options to consider. The ad-supported tier comes in at $11.99 per month, but you'll get your first month free, which is a great way to test the waters and see if it's the right fit for you. If you want to go ad free, that'll cost you $18.99 per month. Unfortunately, this plan does not offer a free trial like its ad-supported sibling.

• Hulu (with ads) — $11.99 per month (get first month free), $119.99 per year

• Hulu Premium (no ads) — $18.99 per month

If you really want to go big on a streaming investment, there's the Hulu + Live TV plan. This costs a whopping $89.99 per month for its ad-supported plan, but comes with plenty to keep you busy. Hulu + Live TV (with ads) gets you access to 95+ channels, unlimited DVR, Disney+ (with ads), ESPN Select (with ads), and Hulu (with ads). If you want to go even bigger with the ad-free plan — which offers Hulu (no ads), Disney+ (no ads), and ESPN Select (with ads) alongside Live TV — it'll cost you $99.99 per month. The ad-supported plan also offers a free trial, but for just three days instead.

• Hulu + Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN Select (with ads) — $89.99 per month (three day free trial)

• Hulu Premium + Live TV, Disney+ Premium, and ESPN Select (no ads) — $99.99 per month

• Hulu + Live TV, Disney+ Premium, and ESPN Select — $94.99 per month

• Live TV Only — $88.99 per month

Wondering what to watch once you get set up with a Hulu plan or bundle? We're here to help with that as well. Have a look at our roundups of the 30 best comedies on Hulu, the 25 best sci-fi movies on Hulu, and the 26 best horror movies on Hulu to start building your watchlist. And if you're in the mood to binge-watch a show, check out our breakdown of the 25 best shows on Hulu.