In this Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Kanye West arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
From laughs to thrills to in-real-life dramas, this weekend Cheddar recommends Season 4 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," the Steven Soderbergh cyberthriller "Kimi," and two Netflix Documentaries: "The Tinder Swindler" and "Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy."
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 4 - Amazon Prime
Picked by Sr. News Editor Dina Ross
Maisel is back, and I am here for it! If you haven't already gotten pulled into the charm of the Amazon Original series, it's time. The show follows a funny lady (played by Rachel Brosnahan) who is trying to make it as a standup comedian in the 1950s and '60s in order to put food on the table and a roof over her family's heads (in a sweet uptown doorman apartment). As you may recall, that wasn't an easy era for upscale women to work, divorce, or do many of the things we take for granted today. Add in a wacky family, a straight-talking manager, and it's a recipe for television success. I can't wait to see what Mrs. Maisel gets up to next when the new season drops Friday, February 18.
Kimi - HBO Max
Picked by Reporter Alex Vuocolo
Prolific director Steven Soderbergh (director of Ocean's 11 and its sequels) churns out movies so quickly that sometimes they just pop up on your streaming platform one day. That was the case with his latest, a cyberthriller called Kimi. After his excellent heist flick No Sudden Moves from last year, I was ready for whatever Soderbergh did next, and Kimi didn't disappoint. It's about an agoraphobic tech worker who hears a violent crime in the data stream but struggles to convince her company to do anything about it. If that sounds very zeitgeisty, it is, but Soderbergh does the material justice by delivering a tense, stylish chamber piece.
The Tinder Swindler - Netflix
Picked by Digital Editor Mike Nam
Between 2017 and 2019, women throughout Europe might have found themselves matching with a handsome, jet-setting son of a diamond oligarch on Tinder. He seemed too good to be true — and he was. Simon Leviev, according to The Times of Israel, was running a Ponzi scheme on his lovers, swindling cash from one lady in order to party extravagantly with another lady in his life. I'm absolutely fascinated and disgusted by grifters, and Leviev used a crew of pretenders, spun high-stakes stories to create a bubble of paranoia around his victims, and created an entire fake history on the Internet, all seemingly out of the classic con man playbook. Netflix has put out a gripping documentary from the perspective of some of the women he bamboozled, who later aided in taking down his schemes, and now that we're past Valentine's Day, it's well worth the watch — especially since he hasn't exactly left the public eye.
Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy - Netflix
Picked by Producer Lawrence Banton
The first part of the highly-anticipated Netflix documentary Jeen-yuhs has finally premiered on the platform. The trilogy's three parts, to be released weekly, documents the early days of Ye West's music career with never-before-seen footage. The artist-formerly-known as Kanye initially became renowned for his work behind the scenes by producing records for some of the biggest hip hop stars, including Jay-Z and Scarface, but the documentary looks at the many obstacles he faced in pursuing his own rap career. It's sort of hard to imagine that Ye, one of the biggest megastars today, wasn't able to garner early support from the music industry given the multiple hits, moments, and classic albums he's put out since.
The video game industry has come a long way from the first commercialized 3D video game in 1980, but it still has a long way to go. Video game creators have recently been called out for not having realistic Black hairstyles in their games and graphic artists are now taking matters into their own hands by creating The Open Source Afro Hair Library. Jovan Wilson, 3D artist and resident for The Open Source Afro Hair Library, joined All Hands to discuss.
Neil Young has come up with an ultimatum for Spotify: his music or Joe Rogan’s podcast. This comes over concerns that the podcast is spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation to its listeners. "The Joe Rogan Experience," which is exclusive to Spotify, is currently the number one streamed podcast on the platform.
The American Federation Teachers Union has announced its latest partnership with NewsGuard in efforts to help educators play a greater role in deciphering facts from fiction that students see online. They say the goal is to help students build critical-thinking skills while also teaching them the importance of media literacy. Executive Vice President of Partnerships at NewsGuard, Sarah Bandt, joined Cheddar to talk more.
Doctor Caroline Leaf has created a 21-day program, consisting of five simple, but mindful, steps designed to rid our minds of toxic thoughts, anxiety, and depression. This brain detox is scientifically proven to impact one's happiness and success. Doctor Caroling Leaf, neuroscientist, author, and speaker at Switch Your Brain, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Foodable Labs data shows restaurants that started offering vegan options saw a 13% increase in traffic. According to this 2018 study, 51% of U.S. restaurants now offer vegan options, and we can expect that number to keep rising. This week, one plant-based, fast-casual restaurant celebrates the grand opening of their first brick-and-mortar store in New York City: PLNT Burger. Ben Kaplan, CEO of PLNT Burger, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Commercial and residential buildings account for 13% of carbon emissions in the U.S., according to the EPA, and one company says it has a solution. Runwise says it has updated the boiler and heating systems of thousands of buildings, and that its technology not only lowers carbon output but also saves landlords money. Lee Hoffman, Co-Founder and COO of Runwise, joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Kirsten Jordan, real estate broker and star of 'Million Dollar Listing New York,' joins Cheddar News to talk about the state of New York City real estate, tips for homebuyers, and season 9 of the Bravo show.
No. 2 pencils or Scantron bubble sheets are a thing of the past for the SATs. Priscilla Rodriguez, head of college readiness assessment for the College Board, joined Cheddar News Wrap to talk about the modern overhaul of the college entrance exam. On top of the change to an all-digital format and shorter time limit, the latest iteration will feature updates to help with flexibility and security. "As we've built our own digital testing platform, the app the students will do this on, we built this with security at the core," Rodriguez said. "And, in going digital we can do something we can't do today, which is, give every student who's taking the SAT, let's say in a given day, even in a given room in a school, a different version of the SAT."
