SpaceX is significantly upping the ante of its Starship test flight program, with the next rocket launch expected to demonstrate payload deployment for the first time.The payload in question will be 10 Starlink simulators that will be similar in size and weight to the next-gen satellites SpaceX plans to use Starship to deploy in space. These model spacecraft will travel on the same trajectory as the upper stage, which is also called Starship, and splash down in the Indian Ocean.The operational version of these satellites, called V3, will likely be the first real payloads Starship flies. Indeed, bringing Starship online is the linchpin to SpaceXs plans to more rapidly deploy its Starlink satellite constellation and reduce the costs per satellite launched. SpaceX currently launches Starlink using its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, but the next-gen V3 satellites are expected to be much heavier than the current V2 Mini spacecraft. Thanks to Starships incredible payload capacity, SpaceX has said it plans to deploy 60 V3 satellites per Starship launch, which will add 60 terabits per second of capacity to the Starlink network.Per satellite, that equals out to more than 10 times the downlink and 24 times the uplink capacity compared to the V2 Mini satellites.In a blog post ahead of the seventh test launch, which is expected to take place later this month, the company said it is also introducing a slew of upgrades to the rocket. These include improvements to the propulsion system, avionics, and heat shield, that SpaceX says will boost reliability and performance. During this test, SpaceX will also attempt to catch the Super Heavy booster, a feat that the company accomplished for the first time during the fifth test in October.Topics

Dara Khosrowshahi is resigning from the board of autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation, citing a desire to focus on his ongoing responsibilities as CEO of Uber and reduce external board commitments, according to a Friday regulatory filing.Khosrowshahis resignation was effective as of Tuesday. Aurora says Khosrowshahis decision to leave the board was not the result of any disagreement with the company.The Uber chief executive and Aurora Innovation go way back. In 2020, Uber offloaded its own self-driving unit, Uber ATG, to Aurora. The deal at the time involved Uber handing over its equity in ATG and investing $400 million into Aurora, giving it a 26% stake in the combined company.Khosrowshahi joined Auroras board as part of the deal. Through Uber Freight, Ubers freight brokerage platform that connects shippers and carriers, the ride-hail and delivery giant maintained its connection with Aurora. In June, Uber and Aurora announced a multi-year collaboration to put trucks powered by Auroras technology on the Uber Freight network.Ubers relationship with Aurora, however, is not exclusive. The company also has a deal with Waabi, the self-driving truck startup founded by Raquel Urtasun, who had previously served as chief scientist and head of R&D at Uber ATG.

Friday, December 27, was supposed to be the start of a relaxing holiday weekend.But it was chaos for thousands of small business owners who use Bench, an accounting and tax startup based in Canada that raised $113 million from investors like Bain Capital Ventures and Shopify.That morning, they found themselves unable to log into their accounts right as tax season was starting. Benchs entire website was offline except for a notice that Bench had shut down after 13 years of operation.Benchs hundreds of staff found themselves laid off effective immediately without any severance or notice, multiple ex-employees told TechCrunch. Emails TechCrunch sent to employees that day bounced back.The move was so sudden that one customer who kept years of data on Benchs website, and was even featured on its front page before it went offline, learned of the shutdown only when TechCrunch called him for a reaction.I was not aware of that, Justin Metros, co-founder of Radiator, said. Ive never seen anyone just shut down like that. Thats crazy.Benchs automation strugglesBench portrayed itself as a tech-forward bookkeeping and tax startup with an intuitive platform that any small or mid-size business could use. It claimed more than 12,000 customers by the time it shut down. One reason for the companys struggles was a push to embrace AI and other automation tools in recent years, according to some staffers.It turns out that its simpler to automate accounting tasks, like categorizing expenses, in theory than in practice, former staff told TechCrunch. One former employee claimed the only way Bench could scale was AI, but its execution was flawed and the tools it built didnt work properly. Overreliance on these tools, sometimes at the expense of human bookkeepers, caused delays, with books passed around different teams instead of staying with one staffer.Those delays caused some customers to quit. One former employee told TechCrunch some customers were still waiting for their 2023 books in September 2024, well past key tax deadlines.According to the former staffers, Bench went through multiple rounds of layoffs starting in late 2022. By the end of 2024, less than 400 people said they worked at Bench on LinkedIn, compared to almost 700 in January 2023.Tumult at the topExecution issues were compounded by tumult in Benchs executive suite. Benchs first CEO, co-founder Ian Crosby, left in 2021 a few months after Bench raised a $60 million Series C round. Crosby accused unnamed board members of forcing him out to be replaced by a professional CEO after he disagreed with strategic decisions.I hope the story of Bench goes on to become a warning for VCs that think they can upgrade a company by replacing the founder. It never works, Crosby wrote in a LinkedIn post after the sudden shutdown.Benchs second CEO was Jean-Philippe Durrios, who had previously served as CFO. He focused on making the company profitable, according to former staff. Automation could, in theory, make Bench rely less on costly human labor to service its many customers. But the gambit didnt work amid execution issues, customer churn, and waning investor interest in non-AI-related companies.Bench switched CEOs yet again in November 2024, bringing in Adam Schlesinger, an executive-in-residence at VC firm Inovia Capital, one of Benchs investors.By that point, a decision was made to sell the company, according to Schlesinger, a former Microsoft executive who also recently served as the president of a tequila company, Siempre Tequila.I was put in place by Inovia capital and then took the company through a process to go get acquired, Schlesinger told TechCrunch. They needed somebody to steer the ship through what is a hard process.An unlikely revivalThat process didnt pan out. On December 27, Bench abruptly shut down without giving its employees any notice or severance, multiple former staff told TechCrunch. The move was forced by a bank calling in Benchs venture debt, The Information reported. Bench had continued making sales right up to the day of the shutdown, according to a former employee.The shutdown sparked a rash of media attention in the US and Canada. Ironically, its that attention which saved Bench, Schlesinger told TechCrunch.It was only after we shut down that all the P.R., including from you guys, basically made the world aware that we were for sale, and we had some great interest after that, Schlesinger said.I havent slept in 72 hours, Schlesinger admitted.The acquirers were unconventional. Jesse Tinsley, the CEO of Employer.com, an HR tech firm based in San Francisco, was on vacation in Florida when he saw the news about Bench a day after the public shutdown. Tinsley, who runs a host of HR and recruiting-related businesses, had only bought the Employer.com domain name for about $450,000 a month before, he posted on LinkedIn.Tinsley and his team spent the next 36 hours hammering out a deal. By Monday morning, Employer.com had officially announced its planned acquisition of Bench for an undisclosed price.I had never formally met anyone on the Bench team until Saturday afternoon, Tinsley later tweeted, sharing the infamous photo of Elon Musk carrying a sink into Twitter, only with his face and a bench photoshopped into the image. Nonetheless we saved hundreds of jobs and thousands of customers being left in a huge lurch.Uncertainty remainsEmployer.com is making big promises about reviving Bench. To start, it is re-extending job offers to a large number of former Bench staff, Bench Chief People Officer Jennifer Bouyoukos told TechCrunch.It also says it will honor customer contracts and fully service their accounts, Tinsley tweeted. Benchs initial shutdown notice recommended its clients file for a six-month extension with the IRS to find a new bookkeeper. Now, Bench isnt recommending extensions as long as customers decide to stay on.But there are uncertainties remaining around Benchs sustainability, given its last-minute fire sale.Acquisitions typically take months and require extensive due diligence, which would be impossible to conduct over a holiday weekend. Employer.com also had no direct experience in accounting until the Bench acquisition instead, it focuses on payroll, recruiting, and other HR-related fields. If Benchs downfall shows anything, its that accounting is its own beast.There are also concerns about whether customers will have access to the same quality of service, given the sudden firing of all of Benchs staff on December 27. Although many staff are being hired back, at least some are being offered only 30-day contracts, three former employees told TechCrunch.In response, Employer.coms Chief Marketing Officer, Matt Charney, told TechCrunch that while the deal happened quickly, it involved multiple legal firms and Employer.com feels very very comfortable with Benchs reputation and track record. On Employer.coms lack of prior accounting experience, Charney says that Bench was acquired for its people, experience, and customers, who can help us acquire that expertise very, very quickly. Employer.com declined to comment specifically on the 30-day contracts as of press time.

Gym Environment | Samuel Girven via UnsplashGyms are hotspots for germs and bacteria, meaning maintaining a clean gym can be the difference between attracting and losing clients. If you run a large commercial gym, the first important decision is who and how to clean your gym. Whether its the ceiling or the floor, each surfaces cleanliness is crucial to your businesss success. Below, well examine five expert tips for maintaining a pristine gym environment and a successful business.Choose a Reliable Cleaning CompanyInvesting in reliable, professional cleaning for gyms begins with defining your cleaning needs. Understanding what you want makes choosing the right company that aligns with those needs easier. For instance, if you want a company with some of its staff working full-time on your premises, you must define that need and go for companies that can deliver.Every cleaning company specializing in gyms and fitness centers follows a specific cleaning routine and offers specific services based on its capabilities and expertise. Besides experience, licensure, and good online reviews, check if the company covers the services you need, like vacuuming, gym sanitization, and any other extra services you may request.Give Special Attention to High-Traffic AreasDirt and germs thrive in your gyms high-traffic areas. To maintain a pristine gym, you must pay special attention to these areas to ensure members always have an inviting, clean exercise space. Ensure you describe the key target areas to the cleaning team during the first briefing and ask that they clean those spots with precision and thoroughness.Cardio zones, entryways, and weightlifting areas are the most common high-traffic areas to include in your list. Before the next cleaning, ensure the right cleaning products and sanitization methods are used in these areas to keep them clean and healthy for a long time.Declutter and Clean Locker Rooms and RestroomsDepending on how your gym is designed, every member gets a dedicated space whenever they come for their sessions. If their locker rooms are littered with clutter and disorganized items, members might lose interest in your gym and even cancel their membership. The situation worsens if the restrooms are not maintained to the highest standards of cleanliness.Ensure the locker rooms and restrooms are cleaned daily and any clutter is put in its rightful place or disposed of. Prioritize regular disinfection of handles, lockers, and benches to minimize the spread of germs. Decluttering lockers occasionally may also help eliminate unpleasant odors and maintain a fresh environment.Before opening the gym, ensure that soap dispensers, paper towel dispensers, and hand dryers are refilled or functioning optimally. Disinfect and clean sinks, toilets, and restroom surfaces daily to maintain high cleanliness standards for an irresistible gym.Create Some Rules for Members Brett Jordan via Unsplash Labib Jaffar via UnsplashWhile its your role as the owner to ensure members find a clean gym for workouts, its the members role to keep it clean. Create basic rules for gym etiquette, including how members should handle litter in the gyms common and private areas. Remind them of the importance of using litter bins for waste disposal and create a list of things allowed and not allowed in certain gym areas.Even if your gym is spick and span, if members leave gyming equipment scattered on the floor after use, the place might look unsightly for members coming in after them. Remind each member to pick up items after use and return them to their rightful places to ensure order and tidiness.Incorporate Green Cleaning PracticesAny consistent efforts you make toward achieving eco-friendly cleaning practices will go a long way in reducing your ecological footprint. You can incorporate green cleaning practices in your gym in several ways:Implement green cleaning techniques such as energy-efficient equipment or microfiber cloths, which minimize water and energy usage during cleaning.Use eco-friendly cleaning products that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and derived from natural ingredients to offer a safer gyming environment for members and reduce environmental impact.Encourage recycling within your gym to minimize waste generation. You can install waste recycling bins categorized as biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste so members can help with the categorization and collection of waste for easy recycling.As a gym owner, your primary focus should be to provide a conducive environment for your members to work out and achieve their desired body and health goals. Maintaining a clean gym ensures they achieve their dreams with minimal strain while you gain higher returns on your investment. Use these tips to improve your gyms hygiene and start attracting more long-term clients into your business.GymnasiumsTips Leave a comment

Finlandia Hall, a 1971 concert venue designed by Alvar Aalto on the banks of Helsinki, reopens to the public this weekend. The ribbon cutting comes after a three year renovation helmed by Arkkitehdit NRT, a local office. The new and improved Finlandia Hall has features it previously did not: A restaurant and wine cafe, exhibition space, a design shop, and even two hotel rooms open for booking by tourists and Finnish citizens alike. The concert hall annually draws 200,000 visitors and this latest round of improvements is essential for helping the institution double that in 2025.The renovated concert hall can now accommodate double the number of annual visitors. (Tuomas Uusheimo)The building is owned by the City of Helsinki. Arkkitehdit NRT took special care upgrading Finlandia Halls white clad facade, and the Aalto interiors and furnishings. Where new construction took place, the renovation architects painstakingly stayed close to the original buildings qualities and idiosyncrasies.In the cafe large windows afford expansive views out to the surrounding landscape. (Riikka Kantinkoski)Soon, Finlandia Hall will host events, concerts, congresses and meetings of all sizes. And, for some tourists, theres a new opportunity to spend the night at Finlandia Hall. Two apartments, dubbed Finlandia Homes, inside the complex previously used for staff accommodation, have been restored for booking, replete with original midcentury artworks. Theres also Finlandia Bistro, a restaurant which pays tribute to Alvar Aaltos love for Italy, officials added. At Finlandia Bistro, the furniture selection and material palette pays homage to canonical project where it was built. Aalto used Carrera marble in Finlandia, as tie to Mediterranean culture.Finlandia Bistro pays tribute to Alvar Aaltos love for Italy. (Riikka Kantinkoski)Finlandia Homes were decorated in respect to Aaltos style and furnished with Artek classics and the buildings original furniture, making them perfect for admirers of design and cultural heritage, officials shared.Two apartments were restored at Finlandia Hall, which are now available for tourists to stay overnight. (Tuomas Uusheimo)This June, a permanent exhibition will be installed that experientially tells the story of Alvar Aaltos, Aino Aaltos and Elissa Aaltos architectural and creative diversity, Finlandia Hall added. The exhibition offers an opportunity to gain deep insight into Alvar Aaltos legacy and design principles, as well as their influence on modern architecture and Finnish design.The reopening comes amid a wave of excitement in Helsinki, after five shortlisted proposals for Finlands New Museum of Architecture and Design were shared with the public last month.

This large, brick gambrel-roofed Colonial home in West Goshen, Connecticut, was built over decades beginning before the American Revolution and has remained in the same family ever-since! In 1767, Captain Jabez Wright (1737-1813) married Martha Baldwin of Goshen, and began constructing this farmhouse of brick. When the war broke out, he fought in New York, he also served as captain of a company of Connecticut militia, turning out to repel the British forces at New Haven. He would largely complete the home by 1787, and ultimately died in 1813. After successive ownership of generations of the Wright family, the property was owned by Henry G. Wright (1831-1917), a farmer who represented Goshen in the state legislature and held many town positions. The first Methodist sermons in town were also held in the home. Henry Wright died at 86 years old on this property, after being attacked by a bull. When entertaining guests, he showed others a prized bull, and possibly fell into the pen, and was trampled and attacked. The Wright Homestead is unique for its brickwork with bonds and burned headers, resembling many Colonial-era homes in Virginia, but this house can be found on the back roads of Goshen, Connecticut!

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What to watch this weekend.Credit: Paramount / Peacock / NetflixIts the first weekend of 2025 and I have to admit, things are off to something of a slow start in the new year. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes its nice to not have too many new shows and movies out so that we can catch up on all the stuff we missed in the past year (or years, as is so often the case).Ive posted my Worst TV Shows and Best TV Shows of 2024 lists. The latter may give you some ideas on what to watch that may have fallen off your radar. And as always, Ive scoured the internet for whats new to stream this weekend, as well as some theatrical releases that might tickle your fancy.If you have any tips or I missed something, shoot me a message on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You can check out last weekends streaming guide right here.Whats New & Notable This Weekend (12/13/24)Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)MORE FOR YOUThe adorable duo of Wallace and Gromit return for this family-friendly Netflix flick. This is a rare offering from Netflix in that it has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score with critics and a 98% with audiences. Thats pretty wild! Most Netflix movies barely release Fresh. Of course, fans of the lovable claymation duo expect nothing less. This should be a nice movie to watch with your kids (or just with your inner child and a bucket of nostalgia).Lockerbie: A Search For Truth (Peacock)Colin Firth stars in this harrowing true story about the December 21, 1988 Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Firth is such a great actor and this looks absolutely incredible. He plays Dr. Jim Swire, nominated by the victims families as their spokesperson as they try to uncover the truth behind the terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of all 259 passengers. A total of five episodes will air weekly on Peacock every Thursday.The 2025 Golden Globes (Paramount+)The big Golden Globes award ceremony kicks off at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on Paramount+ and CBS this Sunday. Nikki Glaser hosts. I almost never watch award ceremonies these days, but they can have their entertaining (and frustrating) moments.The Rig - Season 2 (Prime Video)Prime Videos horror series about an offshore oil rig returns for a second season. I didnt watch the first and heard mostly mixed things. But if youre a fan of the genre or the series, you can tune back in. The entire season is out on Prime Video now.Cunk On Life (Netflix)Philomena Cunk returns to explore the meaning of life. Or something. Who knows with Cunk? Shes funny and off-kilter and her documentaries are hilarious. Cunkactually Diane Morganspoofs the documentary genre, carries out ridiculous interviews and is just a lot of fun in general.The Fall Guy (Prime Video)The Fall Guy has been available on Peacock, but now its available for many more viewers on Prime Video. Ive been meaning to watch the Ryan Gosling / Emily Blunt action movie for ages now and I think I finally will this weekend. It got great reviews, has charismatic stars and a fun premise and still somehow bombed at the box office. Go figure . . .Selling The City (Netflix)A real estate themed soap opera from the makers of Selling the OC, Selling The City takes viewers to the East Coast with a new cast of beautiful characters and melodrama. Im not above soap operasI devoured Sons Of Anarchybut I must admit this is not my cup of tea. Maybe its yours!Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 (Netflix)Kevin Costners sprawling, ambitious, old-school Western Horizon: An American Saga is just the first of four planned films, with a second part hitting theaters sometime in 2025. While the film was critically and financially a failure, its seen new life in streaming and now that its on Netflix is sure to gain an even bigger audience. I genuinely liked the film, though it certainly moves at an odd pace and eschews conventional narrative in favor of something a lot looser and less plot-driven. Hopefully Chapter 2 ties up some loose threads and gets the story rolling forward.Wicked (VOD)One of my very favorite movies of 2024 is now available to rent or purchase on Prime Video and elsewhere. I want to buy it, but I decided to order the 4K Blu-ray version instead, which wont release until next month. For the sound, for the visuals, the 4K disc will be worth the wait. I genuinely loved this adaptation of the Broadway musical, which I saw for the second time this past year when I visited NYC and went to not one, not two, not three, but four Broadway shows in two days. That was fun!Other movies out on Video-On-Demand include:The Order with Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult about an FBI agent tracking down bank robbers who are hitting banks to fund a white supremacist terrorist cabal. This is based on a true story and looks excellent. Im tempted to buy it but I assume it will land on a streaming service soon.The Wild Robot which was my second-favorite animated film of 2024 after Inside Out 2. Such a beautifully animated, heartwarming film thats sure to tug on parents heartstrings while delighting younger viewers.The Return stars Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus, washed up on the shores of Ithaca after the Trojan Wars. A retelling of Odysseus without all the mythology. Its gotten fairly positive reviews from critics and audiences.Small Things Like These stars Cillian Murphy as a father who discovers disturbing revelations at a local convent in Ireland in 1985. This looks both disturbing and fantastic.Nosferatu (In Theaters)I included this last week as a theatrical release worth watching, and now that Ive seen it I thought I should recommend it one more time. While I realize this will not be for everyonemy readers either loved or hated it, basicallyI fall into the loved it camp. You can read my glowing review right here.Other movies currently in theaters include Mufasa, Sonic 3, and The Brutalist. That last one is the one Id like to go see, but its not at my movie theater! It stars Adrian Brody as architect Lszl Toth who escapes postwar Europe and builds a new life in America. The movie, and its star Adrien Brody, are receiving a lot of buzz. It sounds terrific, though its a whopping 3 hours and 35 minutes long. Still, 94% of critics and 89% of audiences give this A24 film a thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes. Not too shabby.Whats Airing WeeklyWe have certainly slowed down when it comes to shows airing each week, with many ending in the past few weeks and fewer new shows to watch, which is good because I have so much to catch up on! Since some pretty big new shows are headed our way, from Severance to Season 2 of The Night Agent, Im happy we have a brief lull in content.Dexter: Original Sin has become my most-anticipated show of the week. Im always eager for a new episode to drop each Friday on Paramount. Its amazing how good this show ismy expectations were so lowand how great the younger cast portrays their older counterparts from the original series. Heres my review. (Paramount)Star Wars: Skeleton Crew continues to be a ton of fun, a wonderfully lighthearted pirate adventure that mirrors The Goonies and pays tribute to many great classic adventure films of old. Jude Law is wonderful and the cast of kids that make up our heroes does a terrific job as well. This, along with the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and the first season of Andor, is the best Star Wars on Disney+. Only a couple more episodes to go.Im way behind on Silo (Apple TV) Landman, Outlander and still have to watch Squid Game. I havent started Creature Commandos yet, either, though it looks like a pretty fun animated DC show. Ive been catching up on Say Nothing on Hulu, however, which is excellent, exciting, disturbing and based on true stories that took place during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. I also finally watched Bad Boys: Ride Or Die which I found incredibly fun and silly, and Killers Of The Flower Moon which I reviewed right here. It should have won Best Picture over Oppenheimer.Further Reading From Yours Truly:Dont forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!What are you watching these days? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.

Goosebumps: The VanishingCredit: Disney+Telling Rob Letterman (Goosebumps 2015, Detective Pikachu) and Hilary Winston (My Name Is Earl, Community), the executive producers on Disney+s Goosebumps: The Vanishing, that Ive grown carnivorous plants for over 30 years wasnt on my 2024 bingo card. But its exactly how our Zoom chat began a few weeks ago.I told them how watching this second season was, in effect, like going to church. A strange, hungry, vine-choked church, sure. But church, nonetheless.Im sure you had a few notes, Hilary said, laughing.Yeah, I dont know how technically accurate we were, Rob admitted.I went on to say that when David Schwimmers botanical character interacted with a sinister spore-birthed bulb for the first time in the initial Stay Out of the Basement episodes, I recognized how it was modeled after Rafflesia, the stinking corpse lily of Southeast Asia, a parasitic giant flower that feeds solely on other plants. Or in the case of Goosebumps: The Vanishing, Ross Geller from Friends.Thats probably what it is, by the way, Rob said, chuckling. I know we took it from a real-world flower.We had all those meetings with Weta, who did the VFX, with all sorts of weird plants from all over the world, Hilary added. Really cool stuff Id never seen before. Then we were like, oh, we actually have a job to do, after we looked at plants for two hours. We could have used your expertise!It seems I should have let Rob and Hilary know about my carnivorous plant obsession before they wrote The Vanishing, but hey, better late than never. I was so very close to finally monetizing my extensive and utterly useless knowledge of Venus flytraps, sundews and pitcher plants. Ill have to write my own plant story, I suppose. Watch out, world.MORE FOR YOUI can see it now: A The Vanishing spin-off entitled The Famishing, and it will be about my starving, mutated, couch-sized sundew, and how its not sticky anymore, because I refuse to feed it the annoying neighborhood kids. Hit me up, Disney. My schedule is wide open.Full disclosure: We put more time into the dad plant jokes than we did into a deep dive into the plants themselves, Rob told me. Those are spot-on. We have killer plant jokes.We have extras we can share with you, from the cutting-room floor, Hilary added.I might just have to take her up on that, actually. Bonus plant dad jokes sound rather delightful, though the ones that made it into the show are already top-tier.From a planning angle, I was rather interested in how the Goosebumps show team transitioned from the first season into The Vanishing. Last years reboot surprised a lot of fans who were accustomed to the middle grade book source material, as well as the original Fox Kids TV show, both of which leaned into safer scares. Last year, the Disney+ show aged up the characters and story, which now dealt with high schoolers and darker themes.Hilary WinstonCredit: Disney+Its an anthology series, Rob began, which we kind of love, because its the nature of the books. It just felt like that was in the spirit of Goosebumps, and in the spirit of R.L. Stine never having a happily-ever-after at the end of his storiesthey always end with a twistso the first season ended in the canon of Goosebumps. When we explored doing a season two, we just wanted to swing the pendulum and do something totally different. Hilary and I zeroed in on New York pretty quickly. We thought it would be really fun to show a different side of New York and show the urban/suburban vibe, if you will, and shoot a gritty, grounded, relatable story again with a whole new set of characters.For fans of season one, and with the anthology, we wanted to make sure we were consistent in tone, and that our storytelling had some of the same DNA, Hilary continued. Much like in season one, in season two, we took a central mystery and had each of our characters [experience] their own individual journey and connection to that mystery and have their own books. We were able to [choose] another set of beloved Goosebumps booksStay Out of the Basement being one that we loved, thats one of my favorites that we didnt get to do in season one. So then when we built out that world and mapped the characters to these books and their stories, so that there is a feeling of like, this isnt totally random and new and everything is different. If you enjoyed season one, youre going to enjoy season two as well.Being a fellow writer, I went on to ask about the Goosebumps writers room. I imagined it to be a dank dungeon coated in sentient green slime, echoing with bloodcurdling howls and cackles, buzzing with malevolent spectral energy. Definitely haunted, obviously. I needed to know what their creative process looked like, how the team decided on which lucky Goosebumps titles were to be included.Oh, you mean after the chaos? Rob joked.It all starts with a Goosebumps tote bag [and] all these books that we would lug around, Hilary said. We were in-between offices, going different places and looking at the covers of these books. In all honesty, [we were] getting inspiration just like you do as a kid in the bookstore, picking out a Goosebumps title and the way you want to be scared. We would really move around the covers and be like oh, this is a great one and this is a great one and the story starts to appear, like it would be cool if a character did this or it would be cool if we focused on this.I wont spoil anything, but there are several nods to classic horror movies and books throughout The Vanishing, and Rob confirmed this.We like to dive into the subgenres of horror, and we reference a lot of our favorite films and stories of a certain era and pay homage. Pretty much every scene in every episode you can do some detective work and figure out where that came from.And speaking of horror, theres the notion of writing teenagers, its own mortification. I wanted to know: What were some of the specific challenges?The challenges are that Rob has to live with two teenagers while writing the show, Hilary joked.Rob LettermanCredit: Disney+I follow my kids around with a recorder and then I immediately text HilaryOh my God, youll never guess what they just did and said! Rob noted. My son is 18, my daughter is 16. Im in the hot zone of that all day long. But Ill say this: Especially this generation, they are exposed to so much more. Theyre so mature. Theyre just different, every generation is different. Theyre dealing with trauma, for real. Theres no monster or terrifying plant in the world thats going to be scarier than being a teenager going to high school right now. We try to be true to that and try to have an honest portrayal of what theyre like and what theyre going through when were writing.Perhaps this is why Goosebumps remains impressively evergreen; the delicate balance of comedy and horror is something kids (and adults, too) genuinely appreciate. Life is so reliably and brutally challenging, and I suppose its stress-relieving to laugh and scream in alternating fashion. Ive seen the first six episodes of The Vanishing, and David Schwimmer does an excellent job of juggling these opposing and somehow therapeutic psychic states.You know, comedians are so good at horror, Hilary explained. Theyre really walking the same line. Preparing for a joke or a scare are very similar, how you have to lead up to it and the timing it requires. Schwimmer is, one, an amazing person, but hes [also] such a great actor, such a great director, and somebody who got this project right away, got the character of Anthony. It was amazing to have somebody that is operating at such a high level and gets everything about this process. It made it so much easier for us and he elevated this season beyond with his talent.Goosebumps: The VanishingCredit: Disney+Speaking of David, apparently he got pretty engaged with the botanical aspects of his role, and judging by my own intense interest in plants, this probably means wed make for pretty good... pals? Im absolutely not going to make a Friends joke. Nope. I wont do it. Or maybe I just did? Im sorry, David. Restraint isnt my forte.To his credit, a lot of the botany jokes are from Schwimmer, Rob said. He was like, Im an actor, Im going to play this role. He did his research, he connected with botanists. He started sending us all these pictures for the t-shirts. He wanted to always be wearing a t-shirt that had a botany pun on it. So if you keep an eye on it, theres a lot of that stuff in [the show]. In episode two, he cuts into his arm. Its such an amazing performance, if you were there on the day [of shooting], because nothing is there. Hes miming the whole thing. We literally shipped that off to Weta and tried to match this performance that was perfectly intense and hilarious in moments. He poured his heart into this part. Its awesome.Ive really been enjoying the second season of Goosebumps so far, and yes, being a carnivorous plant fanatic does make me a tad biased. Still, I think Rob and Hilary (and team) have done a solid job with the writing and it was great to catch up with them and dive into some behind-the-scenes details.Its the new year and honestly, Im grateful. Would sending them thank-you Venus flytraps via FedEx be considered an overstep? Lets find out.Goosebumps: The Vanishing premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on January 10.