show some love for the losers Delightfully irreverent Underdogs isn’t your parents’ nature docuseries Ryan Reynolds narrates NatGeo's new series highlighting nature's much less cool and majestic creatures Jennifer Ouellette – Jun 15, 2025 3:11 pm | 5 The indestructible honey badger is just one of nature's "benchwarmers" featured in Underdogs Credit: National Geographic/Doug Parker The indestructible honey badger is just one of nature's "benchwarmers" featured in Underdogs Credit: National Geographic/Doug Parker Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Narrator Ryan Reynolds celebrates nature's outcasts in the new NatGeo docuseries Underdogs. Most of us have seen a nature documentary or two (or three) at some point in our lives, so it's a familiar format: sweeping majestic footage of impressively regal animals accompanied by reverently high-toned narration (preferably with a tony British accent). Underdogs, a new docuseries from National Geographic, takes a decidedly different and unconventional approach. Narrated by with hilarious irreverence by Ryan Reynolds, the five-part series highlights nature's less cool and majestic creatures: the outcasts and benchwarmers, more noteworthy for their "unconventional hygiene choices" and "unsavory courtship rituals." It's like The Suicide Squad or Thunderbolts*, except these creatures actually exist. Per the official premise, "Underdogs features a range of never-before-filmed scenes, including the first time a film crew has ever entered a special cave in New Zealand—a huge cavern that glows brighter than a bachelor pad under a black light thanks to the glowing butts of millions of mucus-coated grubs. All over the world, overlooked superstars like this are out there 24/7, giving it maximum effort and keeping the natural world in working order for all those showboating polar bears, sharks and gorillas." It's rated PG-13 thanks to the odd bit of scatalogical humor and shots of Nature Sexy Time Each of the five episodes is built around a specific genre. "Superheroes" highlights the surprising superpowers of the honey badger, pistol shrimp, and the invisible glass frog, among others, augmented with comic book graphics; "Sexy Beasts" focuses on bizarre mating habits and follows the format of a romantic advice column; "Terrible Parents" highlights nature's worst practices, following the outline of a parenting guide; "Total Grossout" is exactly what it sounds like; and "The Unusual Suspects" is a heist tale, documenting the supposed efforts of a macaque to put together the ultimate team of masters of deception and disguise (an inside man, a decoy, a fall guy, etc.).  Green Day even wrote and recorded a special theme song for the opening credits. Co-creators Mark Linfield and Vanessa Berlowitz of Wildstar Films are longtime producers of award-winning wildlife films, most notably Frozen Planet, Planet Earth and David Attenborough's Life of Mammals—you know, the kind of prestige nature documentaries that have become a mainstay for National Geographic and the BBC, among others. They're justly proud of that work, but this time around the duo wanted to try something different. Madagascar's aye-aye: "as if fear and panic had a baby and rolled it in dog hair" National Geographic/Eleanor Paish Madagascar's aye-aye: "as if fear and panic had a baby and rolled it in dog hair" National Geographic/Eleanor Paish An emerald jewel wasp emerges from a cockroach. National Geographic/Simon De Glanville An emerald jewel wasp emerges from a cockroach. National Geographic/Simon De Glanville A pack of African hunting dogs is no match for the honey badger's thick hide. National Geographic/Tom Walker A pack of African hunting dogs is no match for the honey badger's thick hide. National Geographic/Tom Walker An emerald jewel wasp emerges from a cockroach. National Geographic/Simon De Glanville A pack of African hunting dogs is no match for the honey badger's thick hide. National Geographic/Tom Walker A fireworm is hit by a cavitation bubble shot from the claw of a pistol shrimp defending its home. National Geographic/Hugh Miller As it grows and molts, the mad hatterpillar stacks old head casings on top of its head. Scientists think it is used as a decoy against would-be predators and parasites, and when needed, it can also be used as a weapon. National Geographic/Katherine Hannaford Worst parents ever? A young barnacle goose chick prepares t make the 800-foot jump from its nest to the ground. National Geographic An adult pearlfish reverses into a sea cucumber's butt to hide. National Geographic A vulture sticks its head inside an elephant carcass to eat. National Geographic A manatee releases flatulence while swimming to lose the buoyancy build up of gas inside its stomach, and descend down the water column. National Geographic/Karl Davies "There is a sense after awhile that you're playing the same animals to the same people, and the shows are starting to look the same and so is your audience," Linfield told Ars. "We thought, okay, how can we do something absolutely the opposite? We've gone through our careers collecting stories of these weird and crazy creatures that don't end up in the script because they're not big or sexy and they live under a rock. But they often have the best life histories and the craziest superpowers." Case in point: the velvet worm featured in the "Superheroes" episode, which creeps up on unsuspecting prey before squirting disgusting slime all over their food. (It's a handy defense mechanism, too, against predators like the wolf spider.) Once Linfield and Berlowitz decided to focus on nature's underdogs and to take a more humorous approach, Ryan Reynolds became their top choice for a narrator—the anti-Richard Attenborough. As luck would have it, the pair shared an agent with the mega-star. So even though they thought there was no way Reynolds would agree to the project, they put together a sizzle reel, complete with a "fake Canadian Ryan Reynolds sound-alike" doing the narration. Reynolds was on set when he received the reel, and loved it so much he recoded his own narration for the footage and sent it back. "From that moment he was in," said Linfield, and Wildstar Films worked closely with Reynolds and his company to develop the final series. "We've never worked that way on a series before, a joint collaboration from day one," Berlowitz admitted. But it worked: the end result strikes the perfect balance between scientific revelation and accurate natural history, and an edgy comic tone. That tone is quintessential Reynolds, and while he did mostly follow the script (which his team helped write), Linfield and Berlowitz admit there was also a fair amount of improvisation—not all of it PG-13.  "What we hadn't appreciated is that he's an incredible improv performer," said Berlowitz. "He can't help himself. He gets into character and starts riffing off [the footage]. There are some takes that we definitely couldn't use, that potentially would fit a slightly more Hulu audience."  Some of the ad-libs made it into the final episodes, however—like Reynolds describing an Aye-Aye as "if fear and panic had a baby and rolled it in dog hair"—even though it meant going back and doing a bit of recutting to get the new lines to fit. Cinematographer Tom Beldam films a long-tailed macaque who stole his smart phone minutes later. National Geographic/Laura Pennafort Cinematographer Tom Beldam films a long-tailed macaque who stole his smart phone minutes later. National Geographic/Laura Pennafort The macaque agrees to trade ithe stolen phone for a piece of food. National Geographic The macaque agrees to trade ithe stolen phone for a piece of food. National Geographic A family of tortoise beetles defend themselves from a carnivorous ant by wafting baby poop in its direction. National Geographic A family of tortoise beetles defend themselves from a carnivorous ant by wafting baby poop in its direction. National Geographic The macaque agrees to trade ithe stolen phone for a piece of food. National Geographic A family of tortoise beetles defend themselves from a carnivorous ant by wafting baby poop in its direction. National Geographic A male hippo sprays his feces at another male who is threatening to take over his patch. National Geographic A male proboscis monkey flaunts his large nose. The noses of these males are used to amplify their calls in the vast forest. National Geographic Dream girl: A blood-soaked female hyena looks across the African savanna. National Geographic A male bowerbird presents one of the finest items in his collection to a female in his bower. National Geographic The male nursery web spider presents his nuptial gift to the female. National Geographic Cue the Barry White mood music: Two leopard slugs suspend themselves on a rope of mucus as they entwine their bodies to mate with one another. National Geographic Despite their years of collective experience, Linfield and Berlowitz were initially skeptical when the crew told them about the pearl fish, which hides from predators in a sea cucumber's butt (along with many other species). "It had never been filmed so we said, 'You're going to have to prove it to us,'" said Berlowitz. "They came back with this fantastic, hilarious sequence of a pearl fish reverse parking [in a sea cucumber's anus)." The film crew experienced a few heart-pounding moments, most notably while filming the cliffside nests of barnacle geese for the "Terrible Parents" episode. A melting glacier caused a watery avalanche while the crew was filming the geese, and they had to quickly grab a few shots and run to safety. Less dramatic: cinematographer Tom Beldam had his smartphone stolen by a long-tailed macaque mere minutes after he finished capturing the animal on film. If all goes well and Underdogs finds its target audience, we may even get a follow-up. "We are slightly plowing new territory but the science is as true as it's ever been and the stories are good. That aspect of the natural history is still there," said Linfield. "I think what we really hope for is that people who don't normally watch natural history will watch it. If people have as much fun watching it as we had making it, then the metrics should be good enough for another season." Verdict: Underdogs is positively addictive; I binged all five episodes in a single day. (For his part, Reynolds said in a statement that he was thrilled to "finally watch a project of ours with my children. Technically they saw Deadpool and Wolverine but I don't think they absorbed much while covering their eyes and ears and screaming for two hours.") Underdogs premieres June 15, 2025, at 9 PM/8 PM Central on National Geographic (simulcast on ABC) and will be available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu the following day.  You should watch it, if only to get that second season. Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer Ouellette Senior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 5 Comments

May 2023 was kind of a big deal. A little ol’ game called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (ring any bells?) was released, and everyone was playing it; Tears sold almost 20 million copies in under two months. However, it wasn’t the only game that came out that month. While it may not have generated as much buzz at the time, Planet of Lana is one of 2023’s best indies — and it’s getting a sequel next year.Planet of Lana is a cinematic puzzle-platformer. You play as Lana as she tries to rescue her best friend and fellow villagers after they were taken by mechanical alien beings. She’s accompanied by a little cat-like creature named Mui (because any game is made better by having a cat in it). Together, they outwit the alien robots in various puzzles on their way to rescuing the villagers.The puzzles aren’t too difficult, but they still provide a welcome challenge; some require precise execution lest the alien robots grab Lana too. Danger lurks everywhere as there are also native predators vying to get a bite out of Lana and her void of a cat companion. Mui is often at the center of solving environmental puzzles, which rely on a dash of stealth, to get around those dangerous creatures.Planet of Lana’s art style is immediately eye-catching; its palette of soft, inviting colors contrasts with the comparatively dark storyline. Lana and Mui travel through the grassy plains surrounding her village, an underground cave, and through a desert. The visuals are bested only by Planet of Lana’s music, which is both chill and powerful in parts.Of course, all ends well — this is a game starring a child and an alien cat, after all. Nothing bad was really going to happen to them. Or at least, that was certainly the case in the first game, but the trailer for Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf ends with a shot of poor Mui lying in some sort of hospital bed or perhaps at a research station. Lana looks on, and her worry is palpable in the frame.But, Planet of Lana 2 won’t come out until 2026, so I don’t want to spend too much time worrying about the little dude. The cat’s fine (Right? Right?). What’s not fine, however, is Lana’s village and her people. In the trailer for the second game, we see more alien robots trying to zap her and her friend, and a young villager falls into a faint.Children of the Leaf is certainly upping the stakes and widening its scope. Ships from outer space zoom through a lush forest, and we get exciting shots of Lana hopping from ship to ship. Lana also travels across various environments, including a gorgeous underwater level, and rides on the back of one of the alien robots from the first game.I’m very excited to see how the lore of Planet of Lana expands with its sequel, and I can’t wait to tag along for another journey with Lana and Mui when Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf launches in 2026. You can check out the first game on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.See More:

Big and Small Underwater Faces — 3rd Place. Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula always yield amazing encounters with leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx). Boldly approaching me and baring his teeth, this individual was keen to point out that this part of Antarctica was his territory. This picture was shot at dusk, resulting in the rather moody atmosphere.   Credit: Lars von Ritter Zahony (Germany) / World Ocean’s Day Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The striking eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl peers at the camera. Just four days later, she would be dead, hit by a speeding boat and one of the 20,000 whales killed by ship strikes each year. Photographer Rachel Moore’s captivating image (seen below) of Sweet Girl earned top honors at the 2025 United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition. Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us — WinnerThis photo, taken in Mo’orea, French Polynesia in 2024, captures the eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl, just days before her tragic death. Four days after I captured this intimate moment, she was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her death serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes every year. We are using her story to advocate for stronger protections, petitioning for stricter speed laws around Tahiti and Mo’orea during whale season. I hope Sweet Girl’s legacy will spark real change to protect these incredible animals and prevent further senseless loss.Credit: Rachel Moore (USA) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Now in its twelfth year, the competition coordinated in collaboration between the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, and  the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Each year, thousands of underwater photographers submit images that judges award prizes for across four categories: Big and Small Underwater Faces, Underwater Seascapes, Above Water Seascapes, and Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us. This year’s winning images include a curious leopard seal, a swarm of jellyfish, and a very grumpy looking Japanese warbonnet. Given our oceans’ perilous state, all competition participants were required to sign a charter of 14 commitments regarding ethics in photography. Underwater Seascapes — Honorable MentionWith only orcas as their natural predators, leopard seals are Antarctica’s most versatile hunters, preying on everything from fish and cephalopods to penguins and other seals. Gentoo penguins are a favored menu item, and leopard seals can be observed patrolling the waters around their colonies. For this shot, I used a split image to capture both worlds: the gentoo penguin colony in the background with the leopard seal on the hunt in the foreground.Credit: Lars von Ritter Zahony (Germany) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Above Water Seascapes – WinnerA serene lake cradled by arid dunes, where a gentle stream breathes life into the heart of Mother Earth’s creation: Captured from an airplane, this image reveals the powerful contrasts and hidden beauty where land and ocean meet, reminding us that the ocean is the source of all life and that everything in nature is deeply connected. The location is a remote stretch of coastline near Shark Bay, Western Australia.Credit: Leander Nardin (Austria) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Above Water Seascapes — 3rd PlaceParadise Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic Peninsula. When I visited, the sea was extremely calm, and I was lucky enough to witness a wonderfully clear reflection of the Suárez Glacier (aka Petzval Glacier) in the water. The only problem was the waves created by our speedboat, and the only way to capture the perfect reflection was to lie on the bottom of the boat while it moved towards the glacier.Credit: Andrey Nosik (Russia) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Underwater Seascapes — 3rd Place“La Rapadura” is a natural hidden treasure on the northern coast of Tenerife, in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands. Only discovered in 1996, it is one of the most astonishing underwater landscapes in the world, consistently ranking among the planet’s best dive sites. These towering columns of basalt are the result of volcanic processes that occurred between 500,000 and a million years ago. The formation was created when a basaltic lava flow reached the ocean, where, upon cooling and solidifying, it contracted, creating natural structures often compared to the pipes of church organs. Located in a region where marine life has been impacted by once common illegal fishing practices, this stunning natural monument has both geological and ecological value, and scientists and underwater photographers are advocating for its protection. (Model: Yolanda Garcia)Credit: Pedro Carrillo (Spain) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Underwater Seascapes — WinnerThis year, I had the incredible opportunity to visit a jellyfish lake during a liveaboard trip around southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Being surrounded by millions of jellyfish, which have evolved to lose their stinging ability due to the absence of predators, was one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had.Credit: Dani Escayola (Spain) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Underwater Seascapes — 2nd PlaceThis shot captures a school of rays resting at a cleaning station in Mauritius, where strong currents once attracted them regularly. Some rays grew accustomed to divers, allowing close encounters like this. Sadly, after the severe bleaching that the reefs here suffered last year, such gatherings have become rare, and I fear I may not witness this again at the same spot.Credit: Gerald Rambert (Mauritius) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us — 3rd PlaceShot in Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina—a protected shark sanctuary—this image captures a Caribbean reef shark weaving through a group of silky sharks near the surface. Using a slow shutter and strobes as the shark pivoted sharply, the motion blurred into a wave-like arc across its head, lit by the golden hues of sunset. The abundance and behavior of sharks here is a living symbol of what protected oceans can look like.Credit: Steven Lopez (USA) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org  Above Water Seascapes — 2nd PlaceNorthern gannets (Morus bassanus) soar above the dramatic cliffs of Scotland’s Hermaness National Nature Reserve, their sleek white bodies and black-tipped wings slicing through the Shetland winds. These seabirds, the largest in the North Atlantic, are renowned for their striking plunge-dives, reaching speeds up to 100 kph (60 mph) as they hunt for fish beneath the waves. The cliffs of Hermaness provide ideal nesting sites, with updrafts aiding their take-offs and landings. Each spring, thousands return to this rugged coastline, forming one of the UK’s most significant gannet colonies. It was a major challenge to take photos at the edge of these cliffs at almost 200 meters (650 feet) with the winds up to 30 kph (20 mph).Credit: Nur Tucker (UK/Turkey) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Above Water Seascapes — Honorable MentionA South Atlantic swell breaks on the Dungeons Reef off the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, shot while photographing a big-wave surf session in October 2017. It’s the crescendoing sounds of these breaking swells that always amazes me.Credit: Ken Findlay (South Africa) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us — Honorable MentionHumpback whales in their thousands migrate along the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia every year on the way to and from their calving grounds. In four seasons of swimming with them on the reef here, this is the only encounter I’ve had like this one. This pair of huge adult whales repeatedly spy-hopped alongside us, seeking to interact with and investigate us, leaving me completely breathless. The female in the foreground was much more confident than the male behind and would constantly make close approaches, whilst the male hung back a little, still interested but shy. After more than 10 years working with wildlife in the water, this was one of the best experiences of my life.Credit: Ollie Clarke (UK) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Big and Small Underwater Faces — 2nd PlaceOn one of my many blackwater dives in Anilao, in the Philippines, my guide and I spotted something moving erratically at a depth of around 20 meters (65 feet), about 10 to 15 centimeters in size. We quickly realized that it was a rare blanket octopus (Tremoctopus sp.). As we approached, it opened up its beautiful blanket, revealing its multicolored mantle. I managed to take a few shots before it went on its way. I felt truly privileged to have captured this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod. Among its many unique characteristics, this species exhibits some of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism in nature, with females weighing up to 40,000 times more than males.Credit: Giacomo Marchione (Italy) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Big and Small Underwater Faces – WinnerThis photo of a Japanese warbonnet (Chirolophis japonicus) was captured in the Sea of Japan, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Vladivostok, Russia. I found the ornate fish at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), under the stern of a shipwreck. This species does not appear to be afraid of divers—on the contrary, it seems to enjoy the attention—and it even tried to sit on the dome port of my camera.Credit: Andrey Nosik (Russia) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us — 2nd PlaceA juvenile pinnate batfish (Platax pinnatus) captured with a slow shutter speed, a snooted light, and deliberate camera panning to create a sense of motion and drama. Juvenile pinnate batfish are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange—a coloration they lose within just a few months as they mature. I encountered this restless subject in the tropical waters of Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait. Capturing this image took patience and persistence over two dives, as these active young fish constantly dart for cover in crevices, making the shot particularly challenging.Credit: Luis Arpa (Spain) / United Nations World Oceans Day www.unworldoceansday.org

These Australian Cockatoos Learned to Operate Drinking Fountains With Their Feet to Quench Their Thirst Birds in Sydney’s western suburbs have figured out how to get a sip from the fountains, even though they have access to nearby streams Cockatoos in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, will wait in line for a taste of drinking fountain water. Klump et al., Biology Letters, 2025 Australia’s suburban-dwelling cockatoos are adept at picking up new skills. The clever birds had already figured out how to open trash cans to access scraps in neighborhoods outside Sydney—and now, scientists have observed others using their claws to turn on drinking fountains. Barbara Klump, a behavioral ecologist now at the University of Vienna, first noticed the cockatoos drinking from public water fountains west of Sydney in 2018. She thought someone had forgotten to turn off the water, but video footage from her research project showed a bird operating the handle with its foot. “Then, of course, a million questions went through my mind,” she tells Gemma Conroy at the New York Times. “How the hell did it figure that out?” Now, after monitoring cockatoos with wildlife cameras placed near one drinking fountain in Sydney’s western suburbs, Klump and her research team have confirmed that the birds regularly do this in local parks—something local wildlife experts also told her, per the New York Times. Over 44 days, the team recorded nearly 14 hours of the cockatoos around the fountain. The birds made 525 drinking attempts, of which 41 percent were successful. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters. Smart cockatoos use their beaks and claws to drink from water fountain Watch on Turning on the water fountains takes skill, so it makes sense that not all attempts worked out. To quench their thirst, the birds would place one foot on the fountain’s stem and the other on the spring-loaded handle, twisting it clockwise by leaning their body weight. “It’s a bit of an awkward body position they have to hold, but it’s pretty impressive,” says Lucy Aplin, an ecologist at the Australian National University and a study co-author, to Peter de Kruijff at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The researchers don’t yet understand why the birds go through the effort of maneuvering the fountains when there are easily accessible streams and creeks nearby. At the fountains, meanwhile, the cockatoos will wait for as long as ten minutes to get a turn to drink. “They appear to be quite willing to queue for a considerable amount of time,” Aplin says to Science News’ Jake Buehler. One possibility is that the birds have gotten a taste for the purer water coming from the fountains, explains Klump to Jack Tamisiea at Science. Or, the birds may prefer the height of the fountain, as drinking from a ground source leaves them less able to see predators like eagles and falcons. Spending time at the fountains could also be a form of social cohesion for the birds. “I think all three are possible,” Aplin says to Science News. The cockatoos might also just enjoy turning on the fountains, adds Alice Auersperg, a cognitive biologist at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, who was not involved in the research, to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “If there is no super urgent need and you’re not dying of thirst, then why not do something you enjoy?” Klump says to the New York Times. For now, the fountain drinking behavior hasn’t spread widely among Sydney’s cockatoos. The researchers looked through the citizen science platform Big City Birds, but they didn’t find any evidence of the behavior happening outside of the western suburbs. That’s unlike the species’ trash bin-opening habit, which has inconvenienced homeowners across at least 44 different suburbs. Residents in Brisbane, Australia, however, have also spotted cockatoos drinking from water fountains, Alpin says to the New York Times. The birds don’t migrate, so the two populations couldn’t have learned the behavior from each other. This suggests there’s potential for the “independent invention of the behavior and local spread in other places,” Alpin adds. Given their cleverness, it might not be long until more cockatoos are drinking from Australia’s fountains. Klump tells Science that she believes the birds are likely to come up with more ways to operate them, even fountains that turn on in a different way. “They’re so innovative and good at problem solving that they seem to eventually figure out a solution,” says Klump. “In a weird way, cockatoos constantly surprise me, but I’m also never that surprised.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized carnivorous marsupial in the dasyurid family, and one of six extant species of quolls. Endemic to Australia, the species occurs on the island of Tasmania, and was formerly found across much of southeastern mainland Australia before becoming functionally extinct there in the 1960s. Eastern quolls are about the size of a small domestic cat and have a thick, light fawn or near-black, coat with white spots. They are solitary predators, hunting at night for their prey of insects, small mammals, birds, and reptiles. This fawn-morph eastern quoll was photographed in Upper Esk, Tasmania. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp Recently featured: Battle of Diamond Rock Drosera capensis Cucumis metuliferus Archive More featured pictures

FX’s The Bear returns to Hulu for a fourth season on June 25. This season will once again test Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), and the rest of The Bear crew as they try to push their restaurant, and each other, to be the best they can be. The original docuseries Call Her Alex arrives on June 10, following podcast host and media mogul Alex Cooper as she prepares for her first tour. This docuseries also tells the story of how Cooper went from the host of a successful podcast to the CEO of a media empire, all within six years. Here’s everything that’s coming to (and leaving) Hulu in June. Hulu New Releases – June 2025 June 1 Adam (2019)Alien (1979)Alien 3 (1992)Alien Resurrection (1997)Alien vs. Predator (2004)Alien: Covenant (2017)Aliens (1986)Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)Beasts Of The Southern Wild (2012)Before Midnight (2013)Betsy’s Wedding (1990)Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)Big Eden (2000)Big Fish (2003)The Big Hit (1998)Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)Blue Jasmine (2013)Boy Meets Girl (2014)Breakin’ All the Rules (2004)The Bronze (2016)Bubble Boy (2001)Bugsy (1991)Cedar Rapids (2011)The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (2010)Cold Pursuit (2019)Cyrus (2010)Daddy Day Care (2003)Death on the Nile (2022)Deja Vu (2006)Delivery Man (2013)Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)Edge of Tomorrow (2014)Elena Undone (2010)Freddy Got Fingered (2001)The Girl Next Door (2004)Grown Ups (2010)Grown Ups 2 (2013)Happy Gilmore (1996)The Heat (2013)Hitchcock (2012)Hurricane Bianca (2016)Idiocracy (2006)Independence Day (1996)The Joy Luck Club (1993)Just Go With It (2011)Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)Let’s Be Cops (2014)Loving Annabelle (2006)Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018)Mamma Mia! (2008)The Mask (1994)Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (2015)Mirrors (2008)The Namesake (2007)A Perfect Ending (2012)Pineapple Express (2008)Predator (1987)The Predator (2018)Predator 2 (1990)Predators (2010)Pride + Prejudice + Zombies (2016)Prometheus (2012)Reno 911! Miami: The Movie (2007)Sordid Lives (2000)28 Weeks Later (2007)The War of the Roses (1989)We’re The Millers (2013)Working Girl (1988)You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (2008) June 3 I’ve Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved My Farm-Related Skills: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)The Quiz With Balls: Season 2 PremiereSo I’m a Spider, So What?: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Wise Man’s Grandchild: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Yuri on Ice: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)Presence (2025)June 4 The Great House Revival: Complete Season 5June 5 National Anthem (2023)June 6 Not Her First Rodeo: Complete Season 1Predator: Killer of Killers: Film PremiereBorat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation … (2006)Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)Hot Shots! (1991)Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)Shallow Hal (2001)The Ringer (2005)June 7 Gypsy’s Revenge: Complete Season 1I (Almost) Got Away With It: Complete Season 3Kids Baking Championship: Complete Season 12Murder in the Heartland: Complete Season 1Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing: Complete Season 1Sister Wives: Complete Season 12June 8 Scream (2022) June 9 Beyblade X: Season 1B Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! June 10 Call Her Alex: Complete DocuseriesAnd Then We Danced (2019)Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)June 11 The Snake: Series PremiereGran Turismo (2023)June 12 The 1% Club: Season 2 PremiereJune 13 Atsuko Okatsuka: Father: Special PremiereAbsolution (2024)June 14 90 Day Fiance: Complete Season 590 Day Fiance UK: Complete Season 2Guy’s Grocery Games: Complete Seasons 32 & 33I’d Kill For You: Complete Season 3Joel McHale: Live from Pyongyang (2019) June 16 My Happy Ending: Complete Season 1 (Sub)Black Christmas (2019)June 17 SALLY (2025)Skincare (2024)June 19 The Quiet Ones (2024)June 20 The Bravest Knight: Season 2BOut Come the Wolves (2024)June 23 Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything: Documentary PremiereHelck: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)My Instant Death Ability is Overpowered: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)My Isekai Life : Complete Season 1 (DUBBED & SUBBED)June 24 Survive (2024) June 25 FX’s The Bear: Complete Season 4June 27 F*ck Marry Kill (2024)June 29 The Bachelor: Complete Seasons 27 & 28June 30 Boonie Bears: Time Twist (2024)Texas True Crime: Complete Season 5The Actor (2025)Leaving Hulu – June 2025 June 1 Christmas with the Campbells (2022)June 2 The Amazing Maurice (2022) June 4 Intrigo: Dear Agnes (2019)June 8 Indemnity (2021)June 10 Here Before (2021)Warhunt (2022)June 11 Intrigo: Samaria (2019)June 13 The Worst Person in the World (2021)June 17 Ted K (2021)The Ledge (2022) June 22 The Burning Sea (2021)June 24 Big Gold Brick (2022)Gasoline Alley (2022)June 25 The Desperate Hour (2022)June 30 Transfusion (2023)

Nebraska is the latest state to crack down on how kids can use social media. The state's governor, Jim Pillen, recently signed into law a package of bills aimed at restricting certain social media features that keep kids hooked on the platform. The final bill signed, called the Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act, will require companies to offer time limits on usage, restrict certain categories of content and provide chronological feeds instead of algorithmic ones that promote infinite scrolling. The Age-Appropriate Online Design Code Act, also known as LB504, details that social media companies can only collect the minimum amount of personal data from younger users, and offers parents more tools to limit how their children use their accounts. Along with those restrictions, the law prohibits any ads related to gambling, alcohol, tobacco or drugs from reaching kids on social media.  Alongside LB504, the signed package of bills includes LB140 that limits student use of smartphones in schools, LB383 that requires social media companies to verify the age of its users and require parental consent for creating accounts, and LB172 that creates criminal penalties for AI-generated pornography. "Collectively, all these bills have an incredible impact on helping our teachers and giving our schools the opportunity to teach our kids, instead of being disrupted in the classroom," Pillen said in a press release. "They also provide parents with the tools they need to protect our kids from big tech online companies and predators." The law is set to go into effect January 1, 2026, and any companies that violate these new regulations will face civil penalties. Nebraska is the latest state to restrict social media usage for minors, but Texas is also trying to pass a similar ban. With more efforts to regulate social media, NetChoice, an Internet advocacy organization whose members include Google, Meta and X, has voiced criticism of these states' efforts, arguing that they infringe on First Amendment rights and user privacy. In 2022, California signed a similar law meant to protect underage users, but it has since been in a legal battle following a lawsuit filed by NetChoice that claims a violation of free speech rights.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/a-new-nebraska-law-wants-to-make-social-media-less-addictive-for-kids-171510432.html?src=rss

Cicadas are back at it again in 2025, already emerging in droves to announce the approach of summer with their screeches. If you live in the Eastern U.S., get ready to meet (and hear) Brood XIV (14), this year’s batch of periodical cicadas. Cicadas in Brood XIV have begun to pop up in multiple states, climbing out of the underground holes that they’ve spent the last 17 years in. Now, they’ll dedicate the entire month of June to mating and laying eggs before dying. Learn more about the lives of these noisy insects and what makes Brood XIV so noteworthy. Cicadas From South to NorthPeriodical cicadas consist of seven species, falling under 15 broods that either emerge every 13 or 17 years. They’re not the same as annual cicadas, which arrive every summer in much smaller numbers and don’t have the same synchronized development.Most years, one brood of periodical cicadas makes an appearance above ground. However, 2024 was an extraordinary year for cicadas because two adjacent broods (XIII and XIX) overlapped. The rare double-brood event was a must-see, since the next double-brood won’t occur until 2037 (IX and XIX will emerge together, but they aren’t adjacent). This year’s Brood XIV — a 17-year brood — won’t bring as much cicada chaos as last year, but its range is undoubtedly impressive. Cicadas will appear mostly in the Midwest and South, with a large swath concentrated from southern Ohio, down through Kentucky, and Tennessee. Their prevalence in Kentucky has led some to designate Brood XIV as the “Bourbon Brood”.Cicadas in Brood XIV will also appear as far south as northern Georgia and as far north as Long Island, New York, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Brood XIV is notable for being the second largest brood after XIX, a 13-year brood referred to as “The Great Southern Brood." Brood XIV is also considered to be the ancestral group from which all other 17-year broods have been shaped. This brood holds a special place in history, as its forebears were first recorded by the Pilgrims in the Plymouth Colony in 1634. Understanding the Cicada Lifecycle Cicadas in Brood XIV were last seen above ground in 2008; the ones that lived back then laid the eggs that have now become the fully-fledged cicadas emerging this year. The cicada life cycle starts when eggs that are located underground hatch into nymphs, which eat fluid from the roots of trees. The nymphs undergo five juvenile stages over the course of years, molting with each stage. They eventually crawl out of exit tunnels and find a spot to molt one final time, marking the start of adulthood. Once the adult cicadas’ exoskeleton hardens, they then focus on mating. The males climb up trees and produce their shrill songs en masse, using muscles to vibrate a rigid part of their exoskeletons called tymbals. After mating, a female cicada lays upwards of 600 eggs that will hatch after six to ten weeks, long after all of the adults have died. The newborn nymphs will then fall out of trees and burrow underground to begin the cycle anew. The Issue with Stragglers Tracking and mapping periodical cicadas of each brood is an ongoing process that needs updating nearly every year. The majority of broods come out on time, but it turns out that not all cicadas are flawless in their timekeeping.One factor that complicates tracking efforts is the existence of stragglers, cicadas that emerge earlier or later than their brood is supposed to. Stragglers that arrive at the wrong time could potentially mix with separate, adjacent broods, causing gene flow. For example, the concern this year is that previous broods could have stragglers that appear late and intermingle with Brood XIV. These stragglers could come from Brood X, which last emerged 4 years ago (and stragglers tend to emerge 1 or 4 years after their parent brood). There usually aren’t many stragglers for any given year, and they’re often picked out quickly by predators. However, some survive and influence nearby broods that emerge on time, which can throw off the data that scientists collect. Beyond the inevitable racket that they’ll create, cicadas are entirely harmless. They don’t bite or sting, but at the very least, be prepared for a loud month ahead. Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:University of Connecticut. Brood XIVArizona State University. Cicada Life CycleUniversity of Connecticut. Straggling and core 17-year broodsJack Knudson is an assistant editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before joining Discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and previously interned at Recycling Today magazine.

Image by Getty / FuturismMental HealthIt's a common refrain these days that some specific invention was a mistake, in our age of seemingly every human innovation blowing up catastrophically in our faces. And what better subject of our collective remorse than the advent of the entire internet, the glorious information superhighway now turned AI slop trough?According to a new survey conducted in the UK, this appears to be the sentiment held by nearly half of young people — at least across the pond — who are mourning missing out on the diverging timeline where they aren't chronically online and wracked with brain rot.Of the nearly 1,300 total participants between the ages of 16 to 21 years old, 68 percent said they feel worse after spending time on social media. A full 50 percent said they would support a "social media curfew" cutting off how long they could spend on these apps. And astonishingly, another 47 percent outright felt that they would prefer to be living their youth in a world without the internet at all.The survey, conducted by the British Standards Institution, raises tough questions about how the internet affects teenage and young adult mental health, and what should be done to intervene — without being too controlling or draconian."That nearly half of young people would prefer to grow up without the internet should be a wake-up call for all of us," Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smart Phone Free Childhood, said in a statement. "We've built a world where it's normal for children to spend hours each day in digital spaces designed to keep them hooked."The problems may start practically when the young generations are just out of the womb. Studies have shown excessive iPad use in young children, for example, to be linked with emotional and social issues as they get older.Their online experience becomes especially fraught when they're teenagers, a point when they're exploring more of the web and begin to venture into adult spaces. This comes with excitement for youngsters, but plenty of danger, too, from being targeted by predators in video games to algorithms that draw them down an extremist pipeline.The rise of AI has added a whole new dimension of ethical nightmares. On Futurism, we extensively covered the chatbot platform Character.AI, whose putatively kid-friendly chatbots have attempted to groom underaged users. One 14 year-old-boy even developed an unhealthy with a Character.AI chatbot before dying by suicide, resulting in an ongoing lawsuit against the company.According to the recent survey, two-thirds of the participants said they spend more than two hours on social media every day. Among them, young women reported facing more harassment, at 37 percent, than young men, at 28 percent. Merely using social media may itself be a source of misery: a recent study which followed 12,000 preteens as they grew up to become teenagers over the course of three years, found that as their social media usage went up, so did their depression symptoms."Young people are now asking for boundaries — for curfews, age checks, meaningful limits, and real protection," argued Greenwell. "They are ready for change."But it won't be that simple. "We need to make clear that a digital curfew alone is not going to protect children from the risks they face online," Rani Govender, policy manager for child safety online at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, told The Guardian. "They will be able to see all these risks at other points of the day and they will still have the same impact."Share This Article

Apex predators are on the move in Call of Duty®: Mobile Season 5 — Primal Reckoning. Deploy to the Zoo Multiplayer map, apply new skins to your Combat Axe and Smoke Grenade, and wield the new VMP SMG. In Battle Royale, visit Buy Stations around the map; eliminate enemies to take their cash for your next purchase. The new Battle Pass brings a collection of Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, and more with a futuristic dystopian theme inspired by the season’s collaboration with NieR: Automata, including a themed event featuring the Kui Ji - YoRHa No. 9 Type S operator and two Draws featuring the operators Kestrel - YoRHa No. 2 Type B and Fiona St. George - Commander White. Season 5 — Primal Reckoning launches on May 28 at 5PM PT. Multiplayer: New Map First making its appearance in the original Call of Duty®: Black Ops, Zoo returns for its debut on mobile. The mid-sized map challenges Operators to survive in an abandoned zoo featuring a massive monorail track cutting through the aging facility. Well suited to the season’s dystopian theme, Zoo offers a creative layout incorporating animal pens, gift shops, and other attractions in an overgrown, dilapidated setting. Gear Up With Buy Machines Buy Machines are deploying in Battle Royale on the Isolated Map in Season 5, offering another means of getting ahead of the competition! Purchase weapons, Perks, and Scorestreaks from the multiple Buy Stations that spawn across the map. Loot the environment for cash to purchase useful items like armor and ammo refills, unique weapons like the Purifier flamethrower, and different types of Perks. Eliminated Operators will drop their currency, so scoop it up and buy something nice for yourself. Don’t forget to watch your back while shopping! NieR: Automata Take command of the elite YorHa Unit as they launch a counteroffensive against the Machine Lifeforms in an exciting collaborative event with NieR: Automata. Complete objectives to earn action points which can be spent to move through a branching path.     Reach checkpoints, navigate counterattack routes, and collect Skill Chips to unlock exclusive routes. Conduct the counterattack successfully to earn rewards like the Kui Ji - YoRHa No. 9 Type S operator and four different melee weapons themed around NieR. New Weapon, Combat Axe Reskin The Primal Reckoning Pass features free and premium items including new Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, Calling Cards, and additional Call of Duty® Points to spend on your next Premium Pass or Store purchase. Battle Pass Free Tiers Keep the enemy at bay with the new VMP SMG, a versatile weapon with a high fire rate, high magazine capacity, and moderate recoil. Apply a new look to the Combat Axe with a reskin for the deadly throwable and earn other free tier rewards including a variety of Skins, Weapons Blueprints, Vault Coins, and more. Purchase the Premium Pass for the chance to earn all the content in the Primal Reckoning stream, including relentless hunters like Gustavo — Viciousness, Lazarus — Scrim Net, American Bulldog — Tentacles, and Kitsune – Blue Line Optic. Track your prey and eliminate the target with Weapon Blueprints like the Koshka — Snow Leopard, Hades — Scales, ASM10 — Birds of Prey, LW3-Tundra — Hunter Tracker, and the VMP — Stun Slash, based on the new Season 5 weapon. Battle Pass Subscription: Enlist with the Ground Forces by purchasing a Battle Pass Subscription, granting additional monthly rewards along with a 10% boost to Player and Weapon XP, discount coupons, and limited discounts on 10x crate pulls. The Season 5 Ground Forces will unlock the Baker — Cobra Hunter Operator Skin, MSMC — Snake Weapon Blueprint, and Backpack 4 — Snake. Complete Standard, Special, and Elite Missions to progress through the Season 5 Challenge Pass. Use your earned Challenge Tokens to purchase items in the Exchange including a reskin for the Smoke Grenade, an epic Bathysphere – Killer Whale operator skin, camo crates, and over a dozen Secret Cache of varying rarities. Secret Caches have been updated in Season 5 with a new legendary AK-47 – ICB Rifle replacing the previously available legendary Stun Baton. This new weapon comes alongside new updates to the system with Universal Shards being introduced. These shards can be used for future cache rewards based on the type, so if you’ve already completed the Mythic AK117 you’ll now earn Universal Mythic Shards to use for the next Mythic we release. Check the in-game Events tab throughout the season for new Missions and rewards. For more intel on seasonal activities, check the Mission Board or general Events space located in the main menu. New Mythic Weapon Draw: Leader and weaponsmith Rin Yoshida is prepared to do whatever it takes to come out on top. This Draw features the Operator as well as the new Mythic VMP — Toxic Blooms Weapon Blueprint, forged with hardened plasma crystals and designed to eradicate enemies with otherworldly precision.  NieR: Automata: Get the chance to acquire NieR: Automata themed content across two Draws, each led by a featured character. Kestrel - YoRHa No. 2 Type B leads one Draw which also includes the themed legendary PP19 Bizon – Morph Symphony and two melee weapons.  For the other draw, it is led by Fiona St. George - Commander White and with several themed weapons including the legendary AK-47 – Final Apocalypact and two unique melee weapons.New Legendary Draws: Look out for other incoming Draws including the Rainbow Death Legendary Weapon Draw featuring Bulldozer as a tactical unicorn. Battle Pass Vault: Revisit Season 8 — Train to Nowhere as it arrives in the Vault. Claim Epic Operator Skins like Vanguard — Nocturnal Elite, Misty — Undercover Agent, and Adler — Dapper. Get Epic Weapon Blueprints you might have missed out on like the M4 — Prince of Time and the AK-47 — Monster Crash. Season 5 — Primal Reckoning launches on Call of Duty: Mobile on May 28 at 5PM PT. See you online. For the latest Call of Duty Mobile news, visit the Call of Duty: Mobile website, as well as Call of Duty: Mobile on YouTube. Also follow Call of Duty: Mobile on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For the latest Call of Duty intel, visit Call of Duty, as well as Call of Duty on YouTube. Also follow Call of Duty on X, Instagram and Facebook. © 2019-2025 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION , CALL OF DUTY and CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. (C) Square Enix For more information on Activision games, visit the Activision Games Blog. Also follow @Activision on X, Instagram, and Facebook.