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SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (Sept. 26, 2025)

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I was at a funeral a few months ago when something was said to me that threw my status as my family's perennial singleton into sharp relief.

I was holding my cousin's new baby when a relative called out, "Get a good look at this. Because it'll be the last time you ever see Rachel holding a child."

My aunts, uncles, cousins, and even family friends turned their heads to do precisely as they'd been instructed: have a good gawp at me. Someone even took a photo to memorialise this moment.

SEE ALSO: The history of the single positivity movement goes back further than you think

It was the first good laugh I'd had during what had been an otherwise upsetting day.

That was the umpteenth time that day I'd had a comment about my absence of a partner. "Are you not married yet?" one relative asked me during the wake. "They haven't made the man for Rachel," someone else interjected. "Is that so?" I retorted.

This year, I'm celebrating 10 years of being single. A decade since I broke up with my last serious boyfriend and never looked back. This time has been an invaluable period of learning and personal growth.

That may well sound trite, but I've been reflecting on the knowledge this decade has brought me; the hard lessons reaped in moments of painful heartbreak, the experiences that brought with them unparalleled insights about myself. It's hard to distill 10 years of being boyfriend-free into one article, but I thought I'd share some of the most meaningful lessons I've learned during this time.

Some people are uncomfortable around single-by-choice women

The first lesson I learned is twofold.

The moment at the family funeral is one of innumerable interactions I've had the displeasure of enduring. In learning that my protracted singledom leaves some people scratching their heads, I also developed strategies for deflecting those comments and feeling decidedly unbothered by them. Need I remind these people that they were the ones instructing me to "D-U-M-P" the last time I had a boyfriend. Like seriously, what do you want from me?

SEE ALSO: It's time to reclaim singledom as a symbol of power

It's not just my extended family. I've noticed friends attempting to explain my status as an unattached human, inserting their own narrative each time. "I think I've figured it out," one friend informed me. "You just text guys without ever going on dates with them."

"You're so weird," another friend told me. "It's just not a priority for you right now, that's all," another concluded. The latter statement is closest to the truth. But, why is my lack of boyfriend something that requires an explanation or excuse? When was the last time you heard a couple explaining why they're not single?

When was the last time you heard a couple explaining why they're not single?

I've become very skilled at deflecting the inane questions about my singledom with vaguely witty quips. "I've actually opted for a life of feminist separatism!" is my current favourite. But mostly I just laugh loudly and drink my wine.

During a recent family gathering, a younger female relative brought up the comments I get about my lack of boyfriend. "Does it not make you really angry? Because it annoys the hell out of me." The truth is, it really doesn't. "Oh I honestly couldn't give a fuck," was my reply.

Perhaps the absence of a boyfriend makes my family and friends uneasy. Perhaps they ponder how this peculiar anomaly ended up in their family. But the only opinion I care about on this particular subject is my own. And frankly, I feel chill as fuck about being single.

There is no 'if' and 'when'

For much of my teens and twenties I told myself I’d go on a date once I’ve lost weight. I'd feel good about myself once I shed a few pounds. When I'm thin, I’ll be desirable and therefore "girlfriend material".

I, like many women and girls, ingested the patriarchal idea that to be desirable means to be thin. I have battled the perilously close relationship my weight and self-worth have had since girlhood. At school, I longed to switch places with someone else. I looked at other girls in my year who carried themselves with an air of confidence. I longed to be them. I yearned to know what it felt like to like the skin you're in. But the truth is, those girls may well have been fighting their own inner battles.

Those thoughts didn't go away. They got louder, more difficult to drown out. Sometimes they quietened down, but there was always a low hum thrumming in the background. I tried to address them in the worst way possible — by limiting my food intake. But the self-worth I had promised myself never arrived. I waited for it but it never came. I realised the change didn’t need to come from outside — it wasn’t the flesh on my body that needed to change, but the thoughts within it. My relationship with food is better now. But from time to time those thoughts rear their heads.

Loving yourself is hard. But it's the most important relationship any of us will ever have.

A few months ago, I uttered some of those thoughts aloud to two of my dearest friends. That since adolescence I'd been promising myself a life that could only be unlocked if I looked a certain way. Like a video game with a level I just couldn't get to. "Man, the patriarchy has really done a number on us," one friend replied.

"One day," my other friend cut in. "You will look back at photos of yourself and realise just how hot you once were." When she said this, I started to cry. I'd already experienced the beginnings of that during one meandering down memory lane. I'd looked through photos of myself from several years ago and felt unspeakably sad that I hadn't realised how lovely I had looked.

Like Lizzo said: "It's so hard trying to love yourself in a world that doesn't love you back."

Loving yourself is hard. But it's the most important relationship any of us will ever have.

Alone time is a precious commodity

An older man once told me to make the most of my writing career while I'm young and child-free. "Because once you have kids, you won't have time." I wondered if he'd ever say that to a male journalist.

Speaking of gender and writing, a recent Guardian piece — entitled "A woman's greatest enemy? A lack of time to herself" — really crystallised everything I've felt as a woman with a desire to write.

"A few months ago, as I struggled to carve out time in my crowded days for writing, a colleague suggested I read a book about the daily rituals of great artists," writes Brigid Schulte in the piece. "But instead of offering me the inspiration I’d hoped for, what struck me most about these creative geniuses – mostly men – was not their schedules and daily routines, but those of the women in their lives." Schulte concluded that in order to create, long stretches of alone time are vital, but "that’s something women have never had the luxury to expect."

SEE ALSO: How to move on after a situationship ends

Since I started writing creatively during my childhood and adolescence, I have struggled with a feeling of antsy nervousness that someone was going to come along and tell me to get up and make myself useful. Even when you have two feminist parents, it takes decades of work to unlearn the socially imposed idea that writing time is a guilty pleasure — time you've stolen from other more deserving tasks.

I am not very good at multitasking. I am prone to distractions. I am, in short, a writer. In order to get any writing done outside of my 9-5 workday, I basically need enormous swaths of uninterrupted creative alone time. My weekends and evenings are spent writing, punctuated with coffee or drinks with friends. As a writer, I find that aloneness is key. Both in terms of having space to think and plan, as well as unbroken periods of free time to just sit and write the damn thing.

NO. TIME. Credit: vicky leta / mashable

As my friend pointed out, I have prioritised writing above all else in my life — with the exception of my immediate family. But that often feels like it has come at a cost. Broken friendships. Cancelled dates. Endless guilt and feelings of complete selfishness.

Corollary statement: I know it's possible to do both. There are women writers in loving relationships. I just haven't yet figured out how to do both.

The reality for me, at least, is that I find dating one enormous distraction. One that I tend to dip my toe in and out of when I have the time and energy. Maybe I'm selfish. Or maybe I'm just doing what male writers have been doing for centuries — maybe even millennia.

But avoiding distraction is not always easy, and it teaches you some brutal lessons.

SEE ALSO: Access to this intuitive writing app is on sale for 50% off Some people mean more to you than you do to them

A man I used to love came to stay at my flat three months ago. What ensued was probably one of the worst things I've ever put myself through.

We'd had a fling three years ago. But that fling was re-flung one or two more times after the first fling ended. I fell in love. I usually preface that sentence with "stupidly," but I know it didn't feel stupid at the time. Those feelings, it would appear, were not returned. Against the advice of my friends and family, I said yes to seeing him during a visit to London. In hindsight, I should have heeded their warnings.

As we sat drinking wine in the wee small hours, he veered the conversation in the dangerous territory of his love life. "The thing is, I'm just really difficult to love," he told me. I — a person who had, unbeknown to him, loved him once upon a time — told him he wasn't. He snapped at me: "you don't know my experience." Perhaps not, but I do know my own.

Sometimes you feel things. Sometimes other people don’t. Don’t take it personally.

What happened next sparked an epiphany. He reeled off the important romances he'd had in recent years. My name was notably absent from the list. "Before my ex, there was no one for three years."

I nodded and made all the right noises, but my head was quietly totting up the maths. In this equation, the answer was clear: I was "no one". What had been a fallow period of unromance for him had been a phase of unparalleled heartbreak and self-torture for me.

Later, I cried down the phone to a friend as he slept peacefully on the sofa downstairs. It was a moment of realisation that I had lived an alternate reality in which I'd deluded myself that I'd mattered to someone. The truth of the matter was that I didn't make the cut of memorable romances.

Realising that he'd meant a lot more to me than I had to him was a necessary realisation, albeit a painful one.

Sometimes you feel things. Sometimes other people don’t. Don’t take it personally.

When to dump him

A few days ago I was rooting through my old things at my parents' house when I found my old diary from the year I turned 21 — which coincided with my last serious relationship.

Several pages into the diary, I came across an entry dating back to 2009, around the time I decided to end things with my last boyfriend. "Had, at this stage, decided that I needed to dump Nick," I wrote. "What a bore. Don't understand why I hadn't done it already??!"

If you'll excuse the unabashedly heartless tone of the writing (I was 21), I think I might have been onto something. Not that I took that lesson remotely to heart back then, of course. Nope, it's taken me 10 years of lingering too long in toxic situationships and turbulent casual flings to finally get the hint: you should have dumped him a long time ago.

There was the guy who was so emotionally abusive that I used to throw up after I spent time with him. That same guy who would shake his head at me when I asked a question and say my name in admonishment. That same guy who would shush me and roll his eyes at me. Needless to say, I never want to see or hear from him ever again.

There was the guy in another city who invited me to come stay with him for a few days who casually dropped in one evening that he had a girlfriend — only after we'd slept together, of course! There was even a guy this summer who didn't listen when I said I wasn't free for a date that very afternoon, who promptly showed up at my house declaring "I've come to collect you, let's go!" Sorry, what?

If there's one thing you learn from a decade of dating, it's boundaries. Boy, do I have some serious boundaries now.

Being single has taught me to be kinder to myself. Credit: vicky leta

These men all outstayed their welcomes in my love life. The one blessing is that I now know what I will and will not put up with. I know the red flags. I know the things to be wary of. And crucially, I know when to utter those delicious three words: "We are done."

Life, as we all know, is brimming with lessons. Some of those lessons are harder than others.

There have been the lightning-flash epiphanies that arrived at my lowest ebbs. Moments like the time I stood crying on a New York City sidewalk, I made a promise to myself about how I should be treated by future men in my life. There have also been more gradual educational opportunities — things that have taken years to figure out, and others I'm still working on.

Most important of all, this decade of being single has taught me to be kinder to myself.

Knowing when to silence the inner critic, how I deserve to be treated, that my value lies not in whether or not I have a partner, that alone time is precious. These are the pieces of wisdom I will carry with me for decades to come.

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This article was first published in 2019 and republished in 2025.

South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho first caught international attention in 2016, when he unleashed the unique zombie horror of Train to Busan upon the world. From there, he built out his zombie-infested franchise with the animated prequel Seoul Station and the souped-up action movie Peninsula. For his latest, The Ugly, Yeon leaves the monsters behind, but he's created a chilling thriller all the same. 

Like Train to Busan, his latest centers on a father and child. But rather than the workaholic businessman learning to dedicate himself to his love-starved young daughter (specifically so she won't be turned into a literal ankle-biter), The Ugly explores the relationship between another single, hardworking father and the grown son following in his footsteps. However, the lessons learned from this family story are less hopeful than those from Train to Busan.

So, brace yourself.

SEE ALSO: NYFF 2025 preview: 14 films you'll want to see for yourself (and how) What's The Ugly about? 

Yeon adapted his own debut graphic novel, Face, for the screenplay, which centers on Dong-hwan (Park Jeong-min), a fortysomething Korean man who works with his blind father, Yeong-gyu (Kwon Hae-hyo), a renowned engraver. His whole life, Dong-hwan has been at his father's side, watching how he overcame adversity and the mockery of others to become not just a success in his business but also a celebrity, heralded by newspapers as a "living miracle" for his engraving skills. 

Actually, Dong-hwan is pretty over all this fawning, which is where The Ugly begins. A TV producer named Su-jin (Han Ji-hyeon), seemingly the latest in a long line, is pestering Yeong-gyu for an interview and B-roll footage, when Dong-hwan gets a very strange phone call. The authorities have found a pile of bones buried on a mountainside. The ID card found with them suggests they belong to his mother, Young-hee, who ran off four decades ago. 

With the help of the story-hungry Su-jin, Dong-hwan seeks to understand not just what befell his mother, but also who she was — and if she was ugly.

The Ugly calls into question what "ugly" means. 

All Dong-hwan knows about his mother is that she left him and his father. Whatever else might have been shared has been unspoken between them. But with the confirmation of her death, others in her life have plenty to say. Long-lost family members, former co-workers at a clothing factory, and her old boss are all quick to agree on one thing: She was ugly. 

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Masquerading as a writer for the TV documentary, Dong-hwan is able to get an unfiltered view from these strangers, who readily compare his mom to a monster in her appearance and giggle over her nickname, Dung Ogre. They recount stories meant to illustrate what a mess of a person she was. But with each one, Dong-hwan instead sees a woman who pointed out the ugly truth, even when it made her unpopular. 

Yeon Sang-ho withholds a key detail to keep viewers on their toes. Credit: Well Go USA

In seeking to know his mother, one thing Dong-hwan wants deeply is to see her. He was so young when she died that he has no memory of her. His father, being a blind man, has no photos of her. And even her family insists she was camera-shy because "she was ugly." A photo of her would be a way to properly remember her at her funeral, where her remains are just bones. But more than that, it would be a way for her to become real to Dong-hwan. 

Yeon illustrates Dong-hwan's journey to understand his mother by presenting flashback scenes that reflect his perspective, not that of the story's teller. What I mean by this is, even when stories are told from those who despise her and call her "ugly," Yeon never shows her face. Either it's obstructed by the long, lanky dark hair that hangs down from her head and onto her shoulders, or it's just out of frame. Whether or not she is ugly is not a question we are invited to answer in these scenes. Instead, we are urged to judge her by her actions — as her son does. 

Yeon Sang-ho delivers a twisted crime tale. 

The answers to the murder mystery are not wildly surprising. But to Yeon's credit, they are well charted. With each interview, Dong-hwan plays detective, piecing together who could have possibly wanted his mother dead. The reveals are satisfyingly gut-wrenching. 

Beyond that, however, in seeking her, he comes to better understand his father too. Through old stories unearthed, he sees how his father and mother responded differently to challenges. And so, now more than ever before, Dong-hwan is left to wonder who he resembles. It's a point brought up by the TV producer Su-jin, who says early on that Dong-hwan looks like his dad. But "resembles" takes on a deeper meaning as he learns ugly truths. In what ways is he like his dad and like his mom? This question becomes the one that will stick with you. 

In the end, The Ugly is a stirring thriller, bolstered by dark twists, and paid off with a final scene that plays like a monkey's paw curling. What if what you want is ultimately what you get? Can you handle it? 

The Ugly is now playing in theaters

UPDATE: Sep. 26, 2025, 9:17 a.m. The Ugly was reviewed out of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. 

Scarlett Johansson gives audiences a terrific gift with Eleanor the Great by offering June Squibb a role worthy of her talents.

The 95-year-old Academy Award–nominated actress who thrilled this critic last year with the pitch-perfect action-comedy Thelma brings her wonderful moxie to the title role, delivering a performance that is side-splittingly funny and tear-jerkingly poignant. 

While the premise of this movie will raise eyebrows, Squibb's approach to the material is flawless. Her comedic timing is deliciously sharp, whether dressing down a rude grocery store employee or backhand complimenting her onscreen daughter (Jessica Hecht). It's the kind of shrewd humor mastered by tough-as-nails grannies, and memorialized in The Golden Girls. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Thursday Murder Club' review: 'Only Murders' fans, brace for your new cozy crime fixation

Yet beyond these biting barbs, Eleanor is also thrilling for how she refuses to be ignored. She'll push back against those condescending strangers — always younger — who write her off as some dotty ol' biddy. And she won't flinch to make others uncomfortable when it comes to expressing herself, even in grief. 

Now, how she goes about that is certainly the film's most challenging element. But through Eleanor's misadventures, Eleanor the Great becomes a beautiful — albeit bumpy — comedy about the agony and ecstasy of love and grief. 

What's Eleanor the Great about? 

After a social mishap, 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb) lies about being a Holocaust survivor. But in the screenplay by Tory Kamen, the how and why of this shocking act are pretty compelling. For one thing, she's not doing it to gain anything — except a way to remember her late best friend. 

You see, Eleanor the Great begins with Eleanor and Bessie (Rita Zohar), besties for decades who have supported each other through marriage, children, grandchildren, and widowhood, eventually moving to an apartment in Florida where they were roomies for 11 years. And then, Bessie died.

Alone and yearning for connection, Eleanor moves back to New York City, where her daughter Lisa and grandson Max (Will Price) live. But their bustling schedules mean she's still alone. In search of community, she stumbles upon a support group of Holocaust survivors at the Manhattan Jewish Community Center. Eleanor wasn't one, but Bessie was. To share Bessie's stories as if they were her own with the group allows Eleanor a space to remember the friend she misses. But this deception grows deeper when a journalism student named Nina (Erin Kellyman) asks to profile Eleanor. As the two women grow close, it's harder and harder to admit their bond began over a lie — especially when Nina's dad, a newscaster named Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), gets involved. 

Eleanor the Great revels in the beauty of friendship and the value in grieving. 

Missing Bessie, Eleanor makes some shocking choices to forge a new friendship with Nina. But by Eleanor's sharing her grief — even masked as it is through Bessie's stories — she gives Nina a space to speak about her own, as Nina lost her mother just six months earlier. Obviously, they're going through different kinds of mourning, but just having someone who will let you talk and cry makes a big difference.

Even with our best friends, grief can be hard to talk about, which Eleanor the Great recognizes. Sure, friends want to be supportive. But grief is big and scary and reminds us of death. So, we push it away as best we can, even when it means pushing away those we love. 

But grief is an ocean, and we're all flowing toward it. We cannot escape it. Staying afloat in it is exhausting, and it can feel at times as if you'll drown in it.

The Greatest Generation, of which Squibb, Eleanor, and Bessie, are a part, lived through the horrors of World War II. Then they were basically encouraged to buck up and carry on. I saw this in my own grandparents, some who fought in the war, some who faced world-rattling deaths at home. They put a wall around the pain of these times, and even as I became an adult, I only got brief glimpses into their experiences with such grief. I saw them tremble, swallow it, and barrel on, over and over. And now they're gone, and I contain an ocean for all of them.

Eleanor, however, rejects this attitude of silence, and so becomes the ear Nina needs, and vice versa. The tears they spill remembering those they loved and lost are hard. But within this crying, they also revel in those people, those personalities, and those quirks. There's a deep joy in that, and that would be lost if we didn't brave the tears. 

Eleanor the Great is a solid New York City story with a wobble at the end.

Like Mikey Madison in Anora, Eleanor the Great is a character-centered comedy in New York City that depends intently on the resilient lead shouldering the world around them. And Squibb does this with seeming effortlessness. (Also, both movies have pivotal scenes in Coney Island.) In this portrayal, she not only gives another entertaining and deeply funny turn, but also commits to cinema another aspirational take-no-shit granny. She reminded me of my own, and that too made me cry, because I miss her. But like the women in this movie, it's a pain and a pleasure to remember the incredible lady I lost. 

To Johansson's credit, the movie — while leaping locations, delving into flashbacks, and handling several sensitive topics — flows well, carried by the screen presence of Squibb and her terrific grandma-granddaughter chemistry with Kellyman. They share a love and respect that never fumbles into the pitfalls of ageist assumptions of either the elderly or the young. 

However, the final act gets away from Johansson, as it veers from a fairly grounded film into the treacly sentimentality of a Hallmark movie. A climactic news report feels convenient and unconvincing, considering how everything that's come before felt more or less feasible. It feels like Johansson and/or Kamen felt that after such a shocking lie, scads of sugar needed to be poured on the ending to help the movie's medicinal message go down. It's not enough to ruin the experience, but it undercuts Eleanor to make so much of the conclusion about someone else's idea of her. 

This qualm aside, I loved Eleanor the Great. As someone grappling with grief, I could relate to the heroines' yearning to discuss it and fear doing so would isolate them. I cried with them and laughed with them. In the end, I was a mess. But my heart was also full, thanks to Eleanor, which was pretty great. 

Eleanor the Great is now playing in theaters.

UPDATE: Sep. 26, 2025, 9:12 a.m. Eleanor the Great was reviewed out of the Toronto International Film Festival.

One Battle After Another is sure to be one of the most critically heralded movies of the year. On paper, that might seem obvious. This film is written and directed by 11-time Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson, maker of Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, Phantom Thread, and Licorice Pizza. True to Anderson's form, it boasts a compelling ensemble cast that includes big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, and Teyana Taylor, as well as incendiary new talent Chase Infiniti. And on some level, it's inspired by a dense novel, Thomas Pynchon's Vineland. But don't let the wild praise make you think you know what to expect.

Ferocious, funny, and jam-packed with provocation, One Battle After Another is a film so explosive in its ideas and execution that I doubt any one review can encapsulate all it's got going on. So, allow me to use my review to stress this: Whatever you're anticipating from Anderson's latest, this movie is more.

Believe the hype: One Battle After Another is a banger.

One Battle After Another is a blistering ensemble effort.  Teyana Taylor and Leonardo DiCaprio in "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

One Battle After Another's posters and first trailer might have you thinking this movie is centered on DiCaprio's character. However, the thriller begins with a bang in the form of Perfidia Beverly Hills (Taylor), a radiant and robust revolutionary with rebel squad the French 75.

The first act follows Perfidia closely, as she and her team storm an immigrant detention facility to free its prisoners. From there, she gets involved with two very different men, in mood and politic. The first is Pat "Ghetto Pat" Calhoun (DiCaprio), a bomb-maker whose enthusiasm for the cause is as explosive as his handiwork. The other is Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Penn), a military man who is repulsed by Perfidia's principles but turned on by everything else about her. 

This gnarly triangle of love, sex, and transgression plants a seed that leads to Perfidia getting pregnant, resulting in a daughter named Willa, who'll never know her mother. A pivotal act pitches Pat and the baby into hiding, with the help of fellow revolutionary Lady Champagne (a scorching Hall).

Act 2 picks up 14 years later, when Lockjaw is freshly motivated to recover the missing father-daughter duo. So, the bulk of the film becomes a fight for Willa (Infiniti). Lockjaw is chasing the teen down for his own nefarious means; Pat (who is living under the alias Bob) is desperate to save her from the fiend who took her mom away. But Willa is no damsel in distress. A Black American woman, educated to understand — at least in part — the mission of her parents, she's a warrior born and raised. In that, she becomes more of a protagonist than her dad, Pat.

Teyana Taylor is in the role she was born to play; Chase Infiniti is a star.  Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills in “One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

One Battle After Another takes a big risk by cutting Taylor out of the film at the end of the first act. This actress/singer/songwriter/choreographer is so dynamic onscreen that she commands not only these violence-loving white men, but also the audience's complete attention. Brandishing an automatic weapon and a big, round pregnant belly, she is a fearless force to be reckoned with. And once the plot veers away from Perfidia, we experience a hint of the loss her family feels. We share an ache for her to return and be complicated, powerful, and glorious in her wrath and principle.

Essentially, Taylor's character casts a long shadow over the film's second act. Yet, within Willa's intense coming-of-age arc, Infiniti grows beyond this shadow. At a glance, Willa begins as a pretty average American girl, dressed in a bouncy taffeta skirt, white tee, boots, and a leather jacket. She's stylish but not standout, and she shoulders a familiar Gen Z frustration with her father's "polite" confusion over they/them pronouns. Mostly though, she's annoyed that he's dedicated to live as a reclusive pothead, requiring her to be a grown-up before her time.

Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall get tense in "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

This father-daughter conflict blooms as military forces invade the school dance. In the blink of an eye, Willa must make the leap from average teen to on-the-run rebel, as the storming government forces have no mercy for this child. Infiniti's own eyes powerfully show the shock of this forced transition in close-up. As she's bounced from a van to a safe house — where the legacy of her mother is muddied — Willa struggles to grasp all the ways her world is being turned upside down, not because of any choice she made, but because of the war and the identities she was born into. And as the film barrels into its climax, Infiniti evolves this pathos into action with a jaw-dropping execution. 

One Battle After Another is a rollercoaster of a thriller.  Benico del Toro strategizes in Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

I kid you not, though this movie is nearly three hours long, I'd have believed you if you told me it's 90 minutes. While Anderson is known for a meaty runtime, he has rarely crafted so propulsive a plot line that the film just races by. This is all the more impressive considering the sprawl of characters, arcs, drama, comedy, and politics that come into the mix. 

Without getting into spoilers, Anderson's execution of fight scenes offers a mix of slapstick and heart-wrenching relentlessness. Reflecting how violence works in so much of American media, it is used here both as comedic entertainment and gut-punching dramatic impact. Yet the most thrilling sequence is a car chase in the climax that puts us in the seats of both the pursued and the pursuing. The result is truly that of a rollercoaster, making this critic's stomach flip. But unlike a theme park attraction, there's no promise of how this ride may end. So as our vision is taken up by another hill ahead, with no idea what comes with the fall to follow, a mounting fear sets in, which Anderson pays off masterfully.

While Anderson is known for a meaty runtime, he has rarely crafted so propulsive a plot line that the film just races by.

Beyond the action, Willa and the other Black revolutionary women of the film ground One Battle After Another's drama. Denied the privileges of the white men who are their allies or foes, their stakes in this rivalry are more starkly captured. It's beyond pride. Their bodies, regarded as political, are the frontline of their war. By contrast, the white men who are rivals here are portrayed as clowns.

Sean Penn is funny and terrifying; Leonardo DiCaprio is a terrific clown in One Battle After Another. Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor face off in "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Col. Lockjaw is a man of ruthless ambition. Specifically, he aspires to be in the secret society of white nationalists called the Christmas Adventurers. Loosely inspired by Vineland, One Battle After Another veers more closely to the tradition of media like The Adventures of Superman's "The Clan of the Fiery Cross" and the Coen Bros' O Brother, Where Art Thou? in terms of making a mockery of such dangerous and demented white power groups as the KKK. Surrounded by preppy, rich, and powerful white men, Lockjaw has conversations that are equal parts repellent and hilarious for their sheer outrageousness, like the earnest use of the phrase "semen demon."

In this realm, Lockjaw is an admired tough guy, and Penn pursues that vision by bulking up like an action figure and carrying himself in a stiff physicality that suggests not so much discipline as crippling repression. Forced into a box of his own making, Lockjaw is vicious, vengeful, and violent, but also a laughable fool, and the remnants of the French 75 will let him know it.

DiCaprio as Pat (or Bob) is Lockjaw's foil though he, too, is a buffoon. As teased in the film's trailers, years in hiding have been spent getting stoned. So when called upon to recall access codes from 14 years before, he is absolutely at a loss. Scrambling for help, Pat races to Willa's martial arts instructor Sergio St. Carlos (a sublimely stoic yet serenely funny Benicio del Toro). Together, they make a dazzling comedy duo of the Goofus and Gallant variety.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a terrific clown in "One Battle After Another." Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Fans of The Wolf of Wall Street will giddily recall DiCaprio's physical comedy from the quaaludes sequence as he fumbles and bumbles trying to get to the extraction point to reunite with his daughter. Yet these scenes are not just comic relief that masterfully balance the chest-gripping tension of Willa's thread of escape. Considering Anderson's own life, there's a self-reflective vulnerability here.

With his partner Maya Rudolph, he has four children, making him a white father to Black daughters. So, it's easy to imagine that in Pat, as with Daniel Day-Lewis's Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread, there's a personal inspiration point, where the filmmaker is grappling with balance between self and family. Where in Phantom Thread it's one of work and home life, specifically quality time with his wife, One Battle After Another explores the fear of being too self-involved or out-of-touch to be the father a Black daughter needs in a space where her very existence is deemed political by those in power.

All of this to say, One Battle After Another delivers on the trailers' promise to be a wildly funny thrill ride, rich in star power. But true to Anderson's signature, it's also probing depths both political and personal, raw and ruthless. Alongside Sinners, it will undoubtedly be declared one of the best films of the year, not only for what it brings to cinema in terms of spectacle and spirit, but also what it has to say about America today.

One Battle After Another will be in theaters on VistaVision, 70mm film and IMAX nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.

Paul Thomas Anderson's new film One Battle After Another is gearing up to be one of the most talked-about movies of the year. Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, it is already garnering much excitement leading up to its theatrical release on Sept. 26. Part of the excitement is that it marks Anderson's first time working with both Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro; most of the stellar cast are also working with Anderson for the first time. In fact, One Battle marks Chase Infiniti's feature film debut.

Mashable reporter Ty Cole had the opportunity to sit down with most of the cast — DiCaprio and del Toro, as well as Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and the scene-stealing Infiniti — to discuss the making of One Battle After Another.

DiCaprio took Ty through the premise of the film: "Just the sheer premise of an unexpected, flawed protagonist, that his past comes back to haunt him as he's trying to raise a daughter. He's trying to connect with her... You come into this slice of life of him getting stoned, watching TV, getting into an argument with his daughter, and then his sort of political ideology and his past comes back to haunt him, but he can't remember the password to save his only child."

When asked what it was like firing a huge machine gun while wearing a massive pregnant belly, Taylor exclaimed, "I was able to rest my gun up on the belly and feel like Tony Montana!" She also went on to describe how the belly itself was actually quite high-tech. "[Paul] wanted me to really feel like I was pregnant, so the belly was heavy... We had to scan my whole body to get that belly. The stomach was high-tech, for sure."

Infiniti shared the biggest lesson she has learned from working with such an experienced cast: "More than anything, the film taught me how to trust myself more. As an actor, you have to trust yourself and trust that the people around you who are leading you and supporting you throughout everything, they've got you. Throughout filming, I learned that I could trust myself more and I could push myself in ways that I never even imagined."

When asked what is the one battle he is tired of fighting, DiCaprio responded, "Our inability to communicate with one another."

One Battle After Another will be in theaters on VistaVision, 70mm film and IMAX nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.

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SAVE $700: As of Sept. 26, the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus portable power station is on sale for $1,499 at Amazon. This is $700 off its list price of $2,199.

Opens in a new window Credit: Jackery Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus $1,499 at Amazon
$2,199 Save $700 Get Deal

Whether you want it for your next camping trip or as backup power around the house, a portable power station is worth picking up. Ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon is offering some excellent discounts on quite a few models. The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus has even dropped by $700.

This discount has dropped the price of the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus to $1,499. If this offer has caught your eye, you'll want to be quick to jump on it as Amazon currently has it marked as a limited-time deal. It may not stick around at this price for long.

SEE ALSO: How to sign up for Amazon Prime ahead of Prime Big Deal Days

The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus features up to 3,000W capacity that can power a wide variety of devices. 10, in fact. It comes with five AC outlets, one car port, two 100W PD USB-C ports, and two QC3.0 USB-A ports. On top of that, it has a perfectly portable design with a little handle and wheels to help you move it around.

Act fast to score $700 off the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus at Amazon. And as mentioned before, there are plenty of other portable power station deals to explore right now at the retailer. This offer on the Jackery HomePower 3000 portable power station is another that's definitely worth a look.

TL;DR: India vs. Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup is available to live stream for free on Tamasha. Access this free streaming service from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2025 Asia Cup final is looming large on the horizon, but first we've got the final Super Four fixture between India and Sri lanka. India are looking in fine form as they aim to defend their title — can Sri Lanka produce a big performance and topple the champions before the main event?

If you want to watch India vs. Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is India vs. Sri Lanka?

India vs. Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup starts at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 26. This game takes place at the Dubai International Stadium.

How to watch India vs. Sri Lanka for free

India vs. Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup is available to live stream for free on Tamasha.

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

Live stream India vs. Sri Lanka in the 2025 Asia Cup 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 Pakistan

4. Visit Tamasha

5. Live stream India vs. Sri Lanka for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 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 taking advantage of these offers, you can watch the 2025 Asia Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you plenty of time to watch the tournament for free.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live streaming is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for Tamasha?

ExpressVPN is the top choice for live streaming on free sites like Tamasha, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including Pakistan

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

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also 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 $12.95 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream the 2025 Asia Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $1,070: The Segway Cube 2000 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $629.99, down from the list price of $1,699.99. That's a 63% discount and a record-low price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Segway Segway Cube 2000 portable power station $629.99 at Amazon
$1,699.99 Save $1,070 Get Deal

In case you haven't kept up on consumer trends, a portable power station is the "must-have" item for fall. They're incredibly useful during a power outage to keep your phone charged, refrigerator cooling, and the WiFi router operational. The market is becoming pretty crowded with brands offering portable power stations but there's a unique offering today that's a ridiculously good deal.

As of Sept. 25, the Segway Cube 2000 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $629.99, down from the list price of $1,699.99. That's a major 63% discount that takes $1,070 off the list price. As you might imagine, that's a record-low price.

Like the name suggests, the Segway Cube 2000 offers 2,048Wh of power with plenty of charging port options. It packs in three AC ports, two 100W USB-C, and four USB-A ports. It might seem odd move for a scooter company to make a portable power station, but it makes a lot of sense. Scooters require solid batteries, and at the core, that's exactly what a portable power station is.

SEE ALSO: The Jackery HomePower 3000 portable power station with two 200W solar panels is $1,400 off at Amazon and it comes with a free Jackery Explorer 550

Segway is using a modern FLP battery which should last for at least 4,000 cycles. That's over 10 years of draining the battery every single day. In real life terms, 2,000Wh can recharge a phone about 175 times, keep a coffee maker on for almost two hours, or a hair dryer running for about 3.6 hours.

Those stats mean the Segway Cube 2000 is great to use during power outages or packing along on camping adventures. It also come with a IP56 rating and it's made with a multi-layered waterproof design. It's worth noting a 2,000Wh portable power station is not exactly lightweight, and the Segway Cube 2000 weighs about 60 pounds. The built-in handles will make it easier to carry around.

For a price comparison, the DJI Power 2000 comes with fairly similar specs and it's currently on sale for $969 at Amazon.

If you've been considering a portable power station but have been waiting for a great deal, it might not get any better than this. The price to power ratio of today's sale price on the Segway Cube 2000 is damn impressive. Snag it before this limited-time deal ends.

Stephen Colbert unpacked President Donald Trump's "campaign of vengeance against his enemies" on Thursday night's Late Show, including "the one foe who refuses to take him up," the United Nations escalator.

On Tuesday, ahead of his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, the president found his ascent literally foiled by a stopped escalator, then by technical issues including a failed teleprompter. Days later, Trump accused the U.N. of "triple sabotage," hitting his social media platform Truth Social with a lengthy post claiming "three very sinister events! This wasn't a coincidence..."

The White House opened an investigation with the Secret Service and demanded the U.N. do the same, with U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reporting that the escalator "had stopped after a built-in safety mechanism on the comb step was triggered at the top of the escalator," likely caused by Trump's own videographer. And the teleprompter? Dujarric said in a statement for the U.N., "We have no comment since the teleprompter for the U.S. president is operated by the White House."

As for the alleged "third sabotage," Trump claimed attendees "couldn't hear a thing" if using the U.N. Interpretation System. A U.N. official responded in a statement: "The sound system was designed to allow people at their seats to hear speeches being translated into six different languages through earpieces."

It's a lot to unpack, dissect, and examine. It would require a person wearing many hats to investigate. At least three hats.

So, on The Late Show, Colbert donned three Sherlock Holmes hats and three Sherlock Holmes pipes as the characters of "Escalator Investigator," "Teleprompter Investigompter," and "Ineffective Acoustics Detective Sleuth-Fix" to get to the truth of the matter.

SAVE OVER $100: As of Sept. 26, the Holy Stone HS600D drone is on sale for $399.98 at Amazon. That's 20% off its list price of $499.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Holy Stone Holy Stone HS600D Drone $399.98 at Amazon
$499.99 Save $100.01 Get Deal

There are already some great deals to shop on Amazon, even a couple of weeks ahead of the Prime Big Deal Days event. If you've been looking to jump on the drone bandwagon, the retailer has a few standout options on sale at the moment, including a great discount on the Holy Stone HS600D drone.

The Holy Stone HS600D drone normally retails for $499.99, but for a limited time shoppers can scoop it up for $399.98. This makes for $100.01 in savings, which is a very nice offer to take advantage of ahead of Prime Big Deal Days. Limited-time deals don't usually last for long, so you'll want to act fast to grab it at this low price.

SEE ALSO: How to sign up for Amazon Prime ahead of Prime Big Deal Days

If you're looking to capture high-quality images from high up in the sky, the Holy Stone HS600D drone features a three-axis brushless 4k EIS camera that can help get the job done. Its powered by two batteries that can provide a total flight time of up to 80 minutes, so you can spend plenty of time roaming around capturing 8K images, 48MP photos, or 4K/30FPS videos.

The HS600D comes as part of a nice bundle that sets you up with everything you need to start flying right away. It comes with the drone, a controller, two batteries, a type-C charging cable, spare propellers, a gimbal protector, a propeller holder, and three more connection cables: Lightning, Micro-USB, and Type-C.

Grab the Holy Stone HS600D drone for $399.98 while the offer is still available at Amazon. If you're curious what other drones are on sale at Amazon, you can also save on the DJI Mini 4K drone there right now.

Comedian, actor, and author Kate McKinnon hit the seitan wings on Hot Ones this week, and reader, "The wings, they are hot."

Running through hot vegan wings of steadily increasing spice level, The Roses star unpacked host Sean Evans' staggeringly well-researched questions about her career on Saturday Night Live, playing screwball protagonists, finding the essence of comedic characters through juxtaposition, doing impressions as a kid, and her book series The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science.

"I can feel it on my tongue, mentally," McKinnon says. "You're ruining my mind through pepper and it's working."

The highlight? McKinnon explaining angler fish mating rituals and their "dangling sacks of gonads" in detail holding a toothpick like a cigarette. It's frankly superb.

SAVE $550: As of Sept. 26, the Roborock S8 Max Ultra is on sale for $749.99 at Amazon. That's a 42% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: roborock Roborock S8 Max Ultra $749.99 at Amazon
$1,299.99 Save $550 Get Deal

October's Prime Day is just around the corner, but thanks to Amazon's Daily Deals, you don't need to wait to score a great deal on a robot vacuum. As of Sept. 26, the Roborock S8 Max Ultra is on sale for $749.99, a $550 discount and its lowest-ever price. Who can argue with that?

This is a perfect robot vacuum for deep cleaning, thanks to its 8000Pa suction and dual vibration mop modules that scrub up to 4,000 times per minute. It even has fancy cleaning features like the Advanced FlexiArm side brush that reaches into awkward corners and hard-to-reach spaces under furniture, as well as the Extra Edge Mopping System that delivers impressive edge cleaning.

SEE ALSO: iRobot is early to the party — shop October Prime Day Roomba deals now

The dock for this model is fantastic and reduces your chores even more. From automatic hot water mop washing (up to 140°F) and hot air drying to detergent dispensing, dust collection, and water replenishment, it makes maintenance almost effortless.

The vacuum also benefits from smart navigation, using 3D obstacle avoidance and PreciSense LiDAR mapping to create detailed maps of your home. Carpets stay protected thanks to the automatic mop lifting. And it couldn't be easier to use, the Roborock app gives you full control, letting you adjust cleaning intensity, set temporary cleaning zones, or focus on certain areas.

Get this robot vacuum deal from Amazon while it's at its best-ever price.

Last month, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was accused of creating a live cloud copy of every U.S. citizens' Social Security information, one without appropriate security oversight or tracking to determine who accessed the data. A concerning new report from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) has now echoed these allegations, finding that DOGE created an environment of "serious cybersecurity vulnerabilities, privacy violations, and risk of corruption." 

Led by ranking member Sen. Gary Peters, HSGAC's six-month investigation concluded that DOGE's mishandling of data has put U.S. citizens at high risk from malicious actors, including but not limited to "foreign adversaries" such as China, Russia, and Iran. An internal risk assessment by the Social Security Administration (SSA) reportedly found a 35 to 65 percent chance of a "catastrophic adverse effect" due to a data breach. In a worst case scenario, this could potentially require every single U.S. Social Security number to be reissued. 

SEE ALSO: Did Elon Musk's DOGE copy the entire Social Security database to an insecure cloud system? A whistleblower says it did.

"The potential breach of this sensitive data, and its potential misuse, significantly increase the urgency for DOGE to stop any high-risk projects and disclose its work to Congress and the public," read the report.

DOGE's inadequately secured cloud database of U.S. citizen's data would be alarming enough. However, HSGAC also raised serious concerns about the "layer of secrecy" surrounding the organisation's operations. Such secrecy, the report says, "shields [DOGE] from meaningful oversight and accountability," with SSA officials "unable to provide specific details on what their DOGE team was working on, and to whom they were accountable at the agency beyond other DOGE-affiliated officials."

In fact, HSGAC staff reported seeing DOGE workspaces cordoned off within agencies by armed guards. Employees of these other agencies were not provided clear, specific reasons why such excessive and unusual methods were warranted, according to the report.

"[DOGE] operates outside of, and even counter to, federal law and their purported efficiency and transparency goals," read the report. "DOGE, initially led by billionaire Elon Musk, consists primarily of workers with no policy or government experience and significant conflicts of interest, raising questions about both the effectiveness of and the motivations behind their work."

Other agencies were also unable to identify who was actually in charge at DOGE or provide "a clear chain of command," revealing an unclear leadership structure, the report says. While White House official Amy Gleason is officially DOGE's administrator, whistleblowers described her to HSGAC as "a figurehead with no real power over DOGE staff at agencies." This allegation seems supported by the fact that Gleason was technically in the role even while Musk was still acting as DOGE's de facto head.

Featured Video For You Humans could soon live underwater, in these deep sea habitats

The HSGAC report further alleged that U.S. citizens' data could potentially be misused to "benefit DOGE employees and the private companies with which many maintain strong ties." This appears to be a clear allusion to Musk's companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI. Musk announced his departure from DOGE in May, though the organisation still remained staffed by the billionaire's loyalists. 

DOGE was staffed by recent college graduates, many of whom had no prior government experience. These included Edward "Big Balls" Coristine, a 19-year-old who had allegedly provided support for a cybercrime group known for stealing cryptocurrency and hacking into law enforcement's email accounts.

"Even as DOGE personnel begin to leave government, it remains unclear what these individuals have done with the sensitive data they have had access to, including whether they have copied it to non-government devices for personal use or whether they have inappropriately manipulated or erroneously removed data," read the report. 

"The data these individuals have accessed would be valuable not only to foreign adversaries and bad actors, but also to private companies looking to gain an edge on competitors. DOGE’s actions not only put every American’s most sensitive information at risk, they also make our government and financial institutions vulnerable to large-scale disruption."

Established by President Donald Trump at the beginning of 2025, DOGE was ostensibly tasked with improving government efficiency by cutting costs. However, while Musk initially claimed DOGE would reduce government spending by a minimum of $2 trillion, he'd significantly revised this goal down to $150 billion by April. In the meantime, DOGE threw multiple government agencies into turmoil, laying off over 280,000 workers and dismantling several agencies entirely. Hundreds of these fired employees were asked to return to their previous jobs this week.

30% OFF: As of Sept. 26, Nomad eSIM plans (not counting those already on sale) are 30% off with the discount code MASH30. This discount code is valid until the end of 2025.

Opens in a new window Credit: Nomad 30% Off Nomad eSIM Plans With Code MASH30 Shop Now

Are you a frequent traveler who's tired of picking up pay-as-you-go SIM cards? An eSIM is a digital alternative that can set you up with data without any hassle. Nomad offers a range of eSIM plans for travelers, and Mashable readers can get 30% off Nomad plans right now with the code MASH30.

This offer is valid until the last day of 2025, so you have plenty of time to take advantage of this exclusive deal. It's worth noting that this offer does not apply to plans that are already on sale.

SEE ALSO: The fastest mobile services have been ranked, and there’s a clear winner

With Nomad's eSIM plans, you can stay connected in over 200 locations around the world. You can choose to shop between Local eSIMs, Regional eSIMS, or Global eSIMs, depending on which plan you think best fits your travel plans. They also list eSIM-compatible devices, so you can double-check if your phone is good-to-go before getting started.

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is a digital version of the traditional SIM card that can be slotted into your phone — an eSIM is applied through digital activation. An eSIM allows you to swap between carriers without having to physically switch out the card, providing a much smoother and more flexible cellular experience when traveling. That way, you can focus on your adventures and not your data.

eSIMs support multiple phone numbers, whereas physical SIMs typically only support one. eSIMs can also store multiple carrier profiles on a single device, unlike physical SIMs that can only support one profile per card. Nomad offers a more detailed breakdown of the difference between a physical SIM card and an eSIM, which you can check out here.

Make travel a breeze with the help of an eSIM from Nomad. And don't miss out on your chance to get 30% off with code MASH30.

SAVE $1,100: As of Sept. 26, the EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 is on sale for $2,599 at Amazon. That's a 30% discount on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: ECOFLOWECOFLOW DELTA Pro 3 EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 $2,599 at Amazon
$3,699 Save $1,100 Get Deal

If you live in a storm-prone area, a portable power station isn't just a "nice to have"; it can be an essential. In the case of a blackout, they can do anything from keeping your phone and devices charged to powering your refrigerator. Of course, prices range widely depending on what your needs are, but thankfully, more often than not, you can find a great deal on a top model.

And as of Sept. 26, EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 is on sale for $2,599 at Amazon, saving you $1,100 on list price. If you're looking for a power station that can give you reliable home backup, this is a great choice. With a 4,000W output (scalable up to 12,000W) and 120V/240V support, it can handle nearly everything, from major appliances like central AC units to water pumps. Its 4,096Wh battery capacity can even be expanded to a massive 48kWh with extra batteries or smart generators, giving you as much as 2–4 days of whole-home backup power.

SEE ALSO: The Segway Cube 2000 portable power station is over $1,000 off at Amazon — a new record-low price

And it's not overly complicated, either. In fact, EcoFlow states it's so easy to use, "a kid can manage it." There's no installation or over-the-top maintenance required, just plug your devices in and you're good to go. And its portable handle design makes it easy for this generator to go anywhere with you.

And even better yet, it doesn't make excessive noise while running. EcoFlow states it runs with hums as low as 30 dB, so it really is whisper-quiet.

Pick up this great power station deal from Amazon now.

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 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025:

AcrossWhat this clue is in

• The answer is Bold.

Rowing sport

• The answer is Crew.

Businesses where the tongue-twisted might order a 1-Across/5-Across?

• The answer is Cafes.

___ Bunny, "Space Jam" character

• The answer is Lola.

End of a cigarette

• The answer is Butt.

DownInclude secretly, as on an email

• The answer is Bcc.

Toothbrush brand

• The answer is Oral B.

Gaston's sidekick in "Beauty and the Beast" (French for "the fool")

• The answer is Lefou.

Resided (in)

• The answer is Dwelt.

Took a chair

• The answer is Sat.

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

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

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.

Instagram has always been pretty precocious. Now, just ahead of its 15th birthday, we have a new measure of its global fame — and it is on a level far beyond the dreams of regular teenagers.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Wednesday that the once-humble photo-sharing app, which he had the foresight to buy for a mere $1 billion in 2012, now has more than 3 billion active users. That's an extraordinary achievement, and not just because Instagram had barely cracked 30 million monthly active users at sale time.

Three billion is nearly 37 percent of the population of Earth. If it were a country, Instagram would be larger than India (which has the largest Insta audience), China, the U.S. and the E.U. combined. The Roman Empire, the British Empire, the American whatever-this-is — they can only dream of this level of conquest.

No empire, real or virtual (and these days who can tell the difference), has ever been forged this quickly. Even Instagram's older sibling, Facebook, only just hit 3 billion users in January, at the ripe age of 21. Instagram, launched on Oct. 6, 2010, is the true prodigy of the social media family. (WhatsApp is Meta's middle child; the company says it has 3 billion users too, but your mileage may vary on whether it counts as social media.)

Based on these growth numbers, there's every reason to believe Instagram will soon overtake big brother, and become synonymous with social media in the 2020s (and maybe even 2030s) the way Facebook was in the 2010s. (TikTok is on Insta's tail, but currently eating its dust with an estimated 1.6 billion active users.)

SEE ALSO: What to expect when you're expecting 8 billion internet users

Just as Alexander the Great was said to have wept when there was no more of the then-known world to be conquered, Zuckerberg may well lament that there are less than 5 billion smartphone users who could possibly download his app. (It's still banned in China, which Alexander couldn't reach either.)

Who counts as an Instagram 'user'?

But how does Zuckerberg's Meta count Instagram's "active users," anyway? And does it matter as much as the hype suggests?

It's an important question because Zuckerberg has been zigging and zagging on his metrics of late. In July, the company simply said that 3.48 billion people used the Meta "family of apps" — and that they did so every day. The last time Zuckerberg broke out Instagram's user number, on a quarterly call for investors and analysts in 2022, he pinned it at 2 billion monthly active users, which is the more frequently-used number. (MAUs are what we've used for TikTok and WhatsApp above.)

And Monthly Active Users (MAUs) is what Zuck meant this week, according to his Threads post. One that threw in a Breaking Bad GIF — "billions, with a b" — for extra swagger.

SEE ALSO: Who is actually using Threads?

So why switch from monthly to daily and back again? Is counting users as simple as receiving pings from servers when they log in, or is fuzzy math involved? Are we talking across all devices and web browsers, or smartphones only? Mashable reached out to Meta and asked them to walk us through the MAU-counting process, but the company is staying tight-lipped for now.

Still, there is some evidence to suggest that a Monthly Active User ain't what they used to be — and that counting the amount of time spent on the app may be a more relevant metric.

Take me, for an extreme example. Technically, I'm a Monthly Active User of Instagram. I'm part of the three billion-strong empire! But what that means is practice is that once or twice a month, I'll look someone up via their handle. I posted a grand total of two photos in 2024, and 15 in 2023, continuing a decline since 2020. According to Screen Time on my iPhone, my Instagram usage has dropped to an average 18 seconds a day.

Why? My feed has long felt too clogged with ads and algorithmic recommendations for me to truly enjoy it (and I'm far from alone on that front, especially given the controversial feed changes of 2024). The brand new redesign, which hides the post button and prioritizes DMs and Reels, makes Insta feel less friendly (at least to this user) than ever. It's a far cry from the app I loved in the 2010s (when at least one Mashable staffer declared an Instagram addiction, and I wasn't far off myself).

Why time on Instagram may be a better metric

Meta doesn't provide any kind of time-spent-on-app data for Instagram. Estimates from multiple online data services suggest it's around 32 minutes daily per Insta user, worldwide.

That might sound like a lot, but the number hasn't shifted since 2022. Previous to that, time on Instagram was increasing year on year. Now it may have flatlined.

SEE ALSO: President Trump finally inked a $14 billion TikTok deal to keep the app alive

TikTok is ahead of Insta here. The ByteDance app may have a billion-with-a-b fewer users overall, but those users spend an estimated average of 56 minutes every day on the app.

And that particular engagement figure is only going to become more relevant as the smartphone app market becomes saturated — as every single one of us downloads both apps on our phones, basically. The MAUs will encompass more and more of us, because who doesn't look at the occasional Reel or TikTok when their friends send one?

Minutes of usage per day may not be the only metric that matters, but it is a growing part of a complicated social media picture.

For now, perhaps the clearest snapshot of the social media landscape emerges if you multiply number of billion MAUs by daily average usage minutes. Do that math for TikTok, and you get 89. Do it for Instagram, you get 96.

The 'gram still wins, but TikTok is too close for comfort — close enough to take the swag out of Zuckerberg's boast.

This column reflects the opinions of the writer.

Only a few hundred light-years from the center of the Milky Way lies an enormous cloud of gas and cosmic dust coalescing to form new baby stars. 

Astronomers want to know why it's so fertile, especially when compared to the neighborhood. Despite having just 10 percent of the central region's star-making gas, the cloud, known as Sagittarius B2, accounts for half of all the area's stellar births, according to NASA. 

Getting to the bottom of that mystery may also give scientists new insights into the star-forming process as a whole. Stars create most of the chemical elements on Earth, including carbon and oxygen, which are essential for life. But even experts admit they have much to learn about the conditions necessary in space to create new stars. 

To study this mysterious nursery, scientists pointed the James Webb Space Telescope at it. The observations resulted in stunning new images of the galaxy's most massive star-forming cloud, just a short distance from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole that defines the center. 

"Webb’s powerful infrared instruments provide detail we’ve never been able to see before, which will help us to understand some of the still-elusive mysteries of massive star formation and why Sagittarius B2 is so much more active than the rest of the galactic center," said Adam Ginsburg, one of the principal investigators, in a statement.

SEE ALSO: In another star system, a Pluto-like world survived until the bitter end

In April, a team of astronomers used Webb to look closer at Sagittarius C, another nearby cloud, but one with relatively few babies, to chisel away at the same question: If there's a lot of available star-forming ingredients in this region, why aren't there more newborn stars? Researchers now believe powerful magnetic fields may have something to do with it — perhaps countering star formation.

Webb was specifically designed to sense invisible light at stretched-out infrared wavelengths. In short, light stretches — or "redshifts" — over time and distance by the expansion of the universe. Those infrared waves can also pierce through the prevalent gas and dust in space that obscure the view of far and naturally dim light sources. 

Left: MID-INFRARED In mid-infrared light, Sagittarius B2 only reveals its brightest stars. The dark areas are not empty space but filled with such dense gas and dust that light is blocked from reaching the telescope. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Adam Ginsburg / Nazar Budaiev / Taehwa Yoo / Alyssa Pagan Right: NEAR-INFRARED In near-infrared light, the diverse colors of stars in Sagittarius B2 are on full display, but less of its gas and dust shine through than can be seen in mid-infrared light. Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Adam Ginsburg / Nazar Budaiev / Taehwa Yoo / Alyssa Pagan

Infrared light passes through some of the region's thick clouds, allowing Webb to detect young stars and the warm dust around them. But one of the most intriguing aspects of the new study is what Webb still couldn't see. There are areas in the new images that appear dark. Scientists say they're not what they seem.

"These ironically empty-looking areas of space are actually so dense with gas and dust that even Webb cannot see through them," according to NASA. "These thick clouds are the raw material of future stars and a cocoon for those still too young to shine."

Researchers plan to do follow-up studies on the stars in Sagittarius B2 to learn more about their masses and ages. That information could help them understand how long the star-forming cloud has existed. Right now they can't say whether it's been going on for millions of years or an unknown process initiated it more recently. 

"Humans have been studying the stars for thousands of years, and there is still a lot to understand," said Nazar Budaiev, the other principal investigator, in a statement. "For everything new Webb is showing us, there are also new mysteries to explore, and it’s exciting to be a part of that ongoing discovery."

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