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In a flurry of heavy headlines that constantly inundate our feeds, acts of good connect us back to our faith in humanity. Witnessing just one person go out of their way to make the world a better place is a powerful healing salve against apathy. It reminds us all of what we are collectively capable of creating. This is the philosophy that Upworthy wholeheartedly believes in, hence why we’re always sharing uplifting stories of people giving kindness, generosity and support to their fellow humans.

That’s also why we’re partnering with P&G, the maker of some of our favorite household products like Tide, Always and Pampers, to bring you the 2023 Acts of Good Awards, and celebrate the individuals who are giving back and strengthening their communities.

Think of it like the Oscars of kindness. Half as formal but twice as feel-good.

Besides providing the world with brands we know and trust, P&G is a company doing good acts, whether it’s supporting hygiene education, helping struggling communities gain access to basic necessities or delivering essentials for families impacted by disasters.

Here are just a few of the ways P&G’s Acts of Good make meaningful impact:

• Helping millions of girls not miss school due to a lack of access to period products with Always #EndPeriodPoverty.
• Serving over 90,000 families affected by emergencies and disasters through the Tide Loads of Hope mobile laundry program.
• Closing America’s smile gap by providing oral care, products and education to millions with Crest and Oral-B.

Between May 12 – June 4, 2023, in partnership with P&G, Upworthy will be accepting nominations that shine a light on individuals who go above and beyond to help others in their community through their own #ActsOfGood. Be it the superstar volunteer or the person who rallies the neighborhood to support the local food bank. Odds are you probably know someone who is a perfect candidate. You might even be one yourself!

Based off a simple criteria—elevated effort, unique impact and how those actions reflect Upworthy and P&G’s commitment to strengthen communities and inspire positivity and inclusion—three winners will be selected to receive a $1,000 donation to the non-profit organization of their choice.

Plus their good work will be celebrated on Upworthy’s social media. We know that #ActsOfGood are their own reward, but it’s even better when that kindness gets amplified.

Care to submit yourself or someone you know? Visit upworthy.com/actsofgood and fill out the form for a chance to win and do even more good.

After a few months of single releases like “Put You On Game,” “Nasty,” and “Fall For You,” Russ offers fans a more filling appetizer with Chomp 2.5, the follow-up to his 2021 album Chomp 2.

Whereas Chomp 2 was a full-length collection of songs, Chomp 2.5 returns to the roots laid by the original EP with six new songs. Also while both previous projects were notable for pairing the New Jersey rapper with multisyllabic spitting peers like Big Sean, Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks, Mozzy, Papoose, and Ransom, this time, he goes solo. This time, though, he’s got a star-studded collection of producers aboard for the trip including 9th Wonder, The Alchemist, Boi-1da, Havoc, and Statik Selektah.

Russ’ independent hustle took him places in 2022, from reuniting with Black Thought on “Because,” to collaborating with Ed Sheeran on “Are You Entertained.” And although he canceled his European tour for mental health reasons, he was also able to boast that he’s the first solo rapper to perform at the pyramids.

The Uproxx cover star also launched his own “artist-friendly” label, continuing his crusade to prove that the major record labels are obsolete and artists are better off doing their work for themselves.

Check out Chomp 2.5, out now via Diemon, below.

In our latest episode, Steven declares that Ian is a surgeon, Dr. Han. (Is this meme old yet? Will anyone know what we’re talking about next week?) Actually, our first order of business is talking about In Times New Roman, the just-announced new album by Queens Of The Stone Age due June 16, their first in six years. We try to sort out our current feelings about this band, and the murky personal life of Josh Homme. (We also struggle, of course, to correctly pronounce “Homme.”)

Next we talk about the end of two institutions that we sort of thought ended in the aughts, but actually shut down this week: The pop-punk band Sum 41, and the legacy media outlet MTV News. Ian actually goes to bat for Sum 41 by giving them a “yay,” while Steven is an indifferent “nay.” But MTV News was a formative outlet for both of us as ’90s kids, especially the gravitas-rich lead anchor Kurt Loder.

From there we piggyback on Steven’s recent column about the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories and talk about whether the album is a classic, overrated or both. (Steven and Ian both landed on “both.”) What’s not overrated is American Football buying the American Football house, which is another thing that happened this week, though the story made Ian sad about that a beloved combination A&W/Long John Silver’s that is gone from his college town.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian hypes the hyperpop/pop-punk hybrid Hot Mulligan, while Steven talks up a reissue from the Cleveland guitarist/composer Mark McGuire.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 138 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at indiecastmailbag@gmail.com, and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

The Phoenix Suns‘ season came to an unceremonious end on Thursday night. For the second year in a row, Phoenix got blown out at home in an elimination game, with Thursday’s loss being a 125-100 defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets to send Nikola Jokic and co. to the Western Conference Finals.

Outside of a big night from Cameron Payne, basically nothing went right for the Suns on the day. That especially applied to Kevin Durant, as the team’s All-Star forward started the evening 1-for-10 from the field and ended with 19 rebounds, five rebounds, and five assists. And after the game, Durant expressed his disappointment in the manner in which Phoenix got taken down.

“It sucked,” Durant said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It was a bad feeling. Embarrassing.”

The Suns were short handed in their question to knock off the 1-seed in the Western Conference. Chris Paul suffered a groin injury earlier in the series that held him out, while Deandre Ayton was unable to play in Game 6 due to a rib injury that he suffered a game prior. Regardless, trading for Durant at the deadline was the sort of all-in move that comes with an eye on winning a ring as soon as possible. The good news for Phoenix is that Durant is under contract until the end of the 2025-26 campaign, while Devin Booker has one more year on his current deal before his supermax extension kicks in and will keep him under contract through the 2027-28 season.

Lauren Boebert was recently taken to task by a constituent after she proposed legislation to enshrine the AR-15 as the “national gun.” Now (and via other legislation), she is climbing aboard the Meatball DeSantis train as he continues his (ironically anti-Republican in a way) stance of attacking a business that brings billions of dollars annually to the Florida economy. Disney CEO Bob Iger reacted by suggesting that he could pull future investments (up to $17 billion over the next decade), and this arrives after Disney sued DeSantis for essentially being a d*ck over his state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Along the way, DeSantis has threatened to erect a prison next to Mickey’s home turf in the state, which are more than fighting words to a business that’s helped keep Florida financially afloat for five decades. And Lauren Boebert is making it known — by adding her voice to an anti-Disney bill introduced by Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas — that she is down with Ol’ Pudding Fingers.

Nehl initially introduced this bill in 2022, and he’s now reintroduced it in light of his party’s increasing anti-Disney sentiment, largely due to the conglomerate’s support of the LGBTQ+ community. Boebert, who has raised hell over drag queen storytimes in her district, was all too happy to join.

The legislation proposes removing the decades-old no-fly zones (put into place for national security reasons due to the Iraq War) above Disney theme parks. Here’s Boebert’s quote from a press release:

“Woke corporations shouldn’t get any favors from the government,” said Congresswoman Boebert. “The FAA has no business granting a no-fly-zone over Disney parks. Universal Studios, Hershey Park, Six Flags, and other theme parks don’t have no-fly-zones over them, and it’s time for Disney to get the same treatment. No corporation should get preferential treatment from the government—especially when it is grooming children. Go woke, go broke.”

I’m not sure what this alignment says about Boebert’s Trump devotion, but regardless, it’s wild to see Republicans declaring war against business, all for getting in jabs against “wokeness.” And last week, Boebert rambled through a hearing about “woke corporate activism” from Disney, as seen below.

Yes, part of the GOP is on an anti-business bender. MAGA diehard Kid Rock literally shot up cans of Bud Light to protest the Dylan Mulvaney matter, which also inspired Boebert into her own Bud Light-themed self-own.

Meanwhile, Boebert rival Adam Frisch (who nearly defeated Boebert in 2022 and will run against her again in 2024) wants to know why Boebert is ignoring her own district and focusing upon Florida. “Yet another display of NOT focusing on our district by Lauren Boebert,” Frisch tweeted. “These culture war distractions don’t fool the hard-working folks of Colorado. They know she’s not right for Western and Southern Colorado.”

It’s a fair point.

Lil Durk earned his musical nickname, “The Voice,” because of his vivid lyrical depictions of growing up in Chicago’s tumultuous South Side. His new single, “All My Life,” featuring J. Cole, shows he isn’t taking his platform for granted. The song marks the first release from his forthcoming album, Almost Healed, due out later this month.

Produced by Dr. Luke, the rapper detours from high-energy drill music sound for a more subdued production style. Trading in his over-the-top percussive elements for an angelic choir filled with local youth. As Durk raps, “I decided I had to finish, but the media called me a menace / I done sat with the mayor and politicians, I’m tryna change the image / You can’t blame my past no more, I come from the trenches,” it’s clear that he’s heard the criticism of his recent advocacy work.

In the accompanying visual directed by Steve Cannon, Lil Durk and J. Cole join in with the young people on the set to unify into one collective voice. The video serves as a touching reminder that while the youth are indeed the future, it takes efforts from their elders to clear the way for them.

Watch the full video above.

Almost Healed is out 5/26 via Alamo Records/Sony. Find more information here.

In the midst of George Santos being hit with federal charges for fraud, a documentary film crew has come forward with their experience with the super shady congressman.

The team was attempting to make a documentary about Santos, who burst into his first year in Congress on a world of lies that were exposed almost immediately after he took office. Just for a small sample, Santos claimed to be Jewish, a college volleyball champ, and a savior of dying animals, none of which proved to be true. He also had some highly questionable campaign finances that have now led to federal charges, and that apparently wasn’t his only cash grab.

Via The Daily Beast:

In the audio, which was reportedly recorded during conversations between [filmmaker Blake] Zeff and Santos in January and February, Santos can be heard asking what the project will mean for him “monetarily.” “Look, I don’t have a number in my head,” Santos says in the clip aired on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber on Thursday night. “Like, the fact that I’m having these conversations, these are conversations I never in a million years thought I would be having. But when in Rome, you know, let’s have the conversations.”

According to Zeff, asking for money to appear in interviews is not “unlawful,” but despite Santos’ claim to the contrary, it’s “not common” for politicians to request payment. But then again, nothing about Santos has been common.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Dolly Parton has been teasing a rock cover album for a while after she was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. She recently announced that the title will fittingly be Rockstar and the tracklist includes features from Kid Rock, Miley Cyrus, Lizzo, Paul McCartney, and more.

Now, she’s shared the single “World On Fire,” which is one of few original tracks. It narrates the apocalypse, not hesitating to dive straight into current events: “Don’t get me started on politics / Now how are we to live in a world like this / Greedy politicians, present and past / They wouldn’t know the truth if it bit ‘em in the ass,” she sings.

She teased the rock album at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 induction ceremony. “Well, I’m excited, I’m doing a rock and roll album,” she said. “I thought, ‘Well, the time is right.’ Timing’s everything. I had always thought I might do one, but I hadn’t thought about doing it right now. But I thought, ‘Well, why not right now, with all the hoopla and all the craziness that went on around this?’ So I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do a lot of classic songs. I’ve written a few rock songs, and I’m gonna have a lot of the icons sing with me.”

Listen to “World On Fire” above.

Rockstar is out 11/17 via Butterfly Records. Find more information here.

Welcome to our Yellowjackets Sting Meter. We’ll measure the erratic, unexplainable behavior of the show’s main lineup, ranking them according to how dangerous, deadly, and certifiably insane they appear in each episode. Who’s just a whacky worker bee and who gets crowned Mad Queen of episode seven’s “Burial”? Let’s find out.

The brakes have blown. The rails are gone. And Yellowjackets is just careening wildly into a hallucinatory hellscape filled with jazz numbers, teenage fight clubs, and baby goats named Bruce. We couldn’t be happier.

After the devastating finale of episode six, the show returns this week with some light-hearted fare (still of the f*cked-up variety). As the snow begins to thaw and the girls emerge from the tragedy of Shauna’s stillbirth, new tensions arise within the group and one team member looks to end it all. In the present, a bit of forced self-care brings deep-buried issues to the surface and delivers a shocking twist we probably should’ve seen coming.

Episode seven’s “Burial” is asking all kinds of disturbing, self-reflective questions of our favorite cannibals — and there’s not a mudbath in sight.

Queen Bee – Misty Quigley

Misty Quigley has officially lost it. She may have never had it. But if she did, it’s gone now. And by it, we mean her sanity. When we chatted with Sam Hanratty about the show’s curly-haired wildcard, the actress revealed that the loss of Crystal (Nuha Jes Izman) would send her spiraling to new depths, and in episode seven’s “Burial,” we’re beginning to once again catch glimpses of the power-hungry teen so desperate for attention, she destroyed her team’s only chance of being rescued back in season one. In the past, Misty is covering up her tracks, faking concern for her dead bestie so that the other girls don’t suspect her of foul play. She does a good thing in the process by convincing Coach Ben to hobble away from the cliff’s edge, but does saving one life serve as penance for taking another? (At least she kept those flesh-eating mean girls from snacking on another girl’s bones.)

In the present, try as she might to escape the water coffin designed to penetrate her damaged psyche, Misty ends up floating through a bird core song and dance routine that might just be the whackiest thing we’ve seen on this show. John Cameron Mitchell singing rag-time tunes in a giant Parrot costume accompanied by a top-hat-wearing Elijah Wood? We’ll have whatever psychedelics the writer’s room was dosing with when they penned this beautiful monstrosity.

Shauna

All of the Yellowjackets need therapy, but no one needs it more than our favorite mini-van murdering mom, Shauna Shipman. The loss of her baby has finally hit her — in the past and in the present — and as it often does, grief twists her into a warped, angry shell of the person she used to be. She unleashes some of her anger on her teammates, beating Lottie to a pulp while the rest of the girls look on, shocked and terrified. In the present, despite dismembering a human being just a few episodes ago, Adult Shauna is having an existential crisis over the idea of killing a baby goat. No one’s told her she’ll have to slit Bruce’s furry little throat, but she agonizes over the possibility all the same until finally coming to the realization that yes, losing a baby so young and so tragically has actually stunted her emotional development and erected a barrier in her relationships with her husband and daughter. Maybe this whole “self-care” thing works after all?

Lottie

We’re sorry to say this, but Lottie Matthews is a hot mess. In the past, she’s sacrificing her face to Shauna’s fist – for the wilderness we guess? — despite knowing that she won’t be receiving any medical attention (or anti-inflammatories) after the fact. In the present, she’s been having conversations with her imaginary therapist and basing her entire approach to her glaring mental health issues on advice from her own hallucination. Girl, leave the self-help Goop-ing to Gwyneth Paltrow and go see a professional.

Coach Ben

Ben is disassociating so much that even his hallucinations are like, “Bro, wake up.” And things only get worse when he has to be talked off a cliff – literally – by the child who tried to roofie him into not being gay. Maybe we should just let Ben end it all.

Van

Van has lost belief – in Lottie, in the mysticism of the wilderness, in herself. She’s convinced Tai there’s a purpose in all of this and misplaced that same ideology in the process. In the present, she’s foraging herself a bottle of liquor and revealing a terminal cancer diagnosis before making out with her married high school sweetheart. Van’s not crazy, she’s just depressed.

Taissa

Without her sleepwalking alter-ego to stir up some chaos, Tai’s been fairly low-key in both the past and the present. She’s trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, to be a pillar of support for a grieving Shauna and a deflated Van. She’s painting sheds with makeup brushes and admitting she needs help — though she won’t be getting any from Lottie’s delusional cult-leading self anytime soon. She’s sharing her feelings and encouraging others to do the same, finding belief where there isn’t any proof, and protecting the weak (read: Misty Quigley). What do we call that, people? Growth.

Nat

Nat is a full-on convert of this heliotropic-simping intentional community and as happy as we are to see her mental health (supposedly) flourishing, her blind loyalty to Lottie is troubling. To say the least. What are the writers doing with Juliette Lewis this season? Somebody explain it to us.

Citizen Detective Thread

• What happened to Lottie’s actual doctor, who most definitely did not go on sabbatical?
• Is Van really sick, or is this just another way for her to put distance between herself and Tai?
• Why would Coach Ben’s hallucinations rebel against him now?
• And why the hell would he let Shauna destroy Lottie’s face like that?

Iconic electronic duo Daft Punk called it quits in 2021, but we’ve been hearing from them a lot lately. That’s because it’s the tenth anniversary of their final album, 2013’s Random Access Memories. Daft Punk marked the occasion today (May 12) by releasing a deluxe anniversary edition, which features about a half hour of previously unheard material from the era.

The highlight is “Infinity Repeating,” a song with The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas that didn’t end up making their album (“Instant Crush,” their other collaboration, does appear on the original LP, though). It’s a slow-burning effort, carried by keyboards and synths as the intensity gradually picks up over the course of the song.

Elsewhere in the bonus tracks are a couple of early looks at the album’s two Pharrell collaborations, “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself To Dance.” There’s an “early take” of “Get Lucky,” which runs for just half a minute and features the songs opening. They’ve also included “vocoder tests” for “Lose Yourself To Dance,” which sees the band and Pharrell trying out some different vocal settings.

Listen to “Infinity Repeating” and the “Get Lucky” early take above.

Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) is out now via Columbia Records. Find more information here.