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The 13 best movies in theaters right now

2016-12-08T08:59:00-05:00

Headed to the movie theater? These are the 13 best movies playing in theaters in the US right now.

This list is updated each Friday, as necessary, and organized alphabetically.

A movie is eligible if it's in wide release (meaning it's playing in theaters nationwide) or in limited release in a major market (typically New York and Los Angeles). Films that have screened at festivals are not eligible until they are released in theaters. Not all films are showing in all cities, so check IMDB for your local listings.

This list is curated by Alissa Wilkinson, who sees pretty much every film out there but can't review all of them. So we've also included Metacritic scores and other notable reviews.

Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, explained

2016-08-31T13:01:00-04:00

Brazil's Senate just voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office, by a vote of 61-20. Here's what you need to know to understand why — and what comes next.

Police shootings and brutality in the US: 9 things you should know

2016-08-13T10:00:00-04:00

Since the August 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, police in America have been under heightened scrutiny. The Black Lives Matter protests in particular have shined a light on what many see as a systemic emphasis on excessive use of force by police, particularly on racial and ethnic minorities.

So here's what you need to know about use of force by police in America.

The Baltimore protests over Freddie Gray’s death, explained

2016-07-27T11:45:00-04:00

Baltimore was roiled by weeks of tense protests after the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal cord injury while in police custody. But the justice system ultimately punished no one for it.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, explained

2016-07-25T20:00:00-04:00

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a pending trade agreement among countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, including the United States, Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and Chile.

Brexit, the UK's vote to leave the European Union, explained

2016-06-24T10:26:14-04:00

Voters have voted in favor of "Brexit" — the UK leaving the European Union, with huge consequences for the British and the world.

Transgender people: 10 common myths

2016-05-13T13:45:00-04:00

Transgender issues have become a major front in the battle over LGBTQ rights. But there are still many misconceptions about trans people, who identify with a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth. For LGBTQ advocates, debunking these myths is vital not just for getting Americans better acquainted with trans issues — but to actually solving them, as well.

Contested conventions, explained

2016-04-05T22:58:38-04:00

It's the only way to stop Trump at this point. And it could cause a firestorm that tears the Republican Party apart.

The 13 best comic books right now

2016-03-04T10:17:00-05:00

It's a great time to be a fan of comic books. From angsty tweens to gay superheroes with an appetite for bloodlust to pulpy, feminist science fiction, the world of comics is as big and diverse as ever. And these are the 13 titles you should definitely be reading right now.

This list is updated every couple months, whenever new titles and storylines warrant inclusion, and is organized alphabetically. It's curated by Alex Abad-Santos, who reads a lot of different comic books but admits he has biases, including puppies over kittens, cakes over pies, the Joker over Magneto, the X-Men over the Avengers, and Storm over any other superhero on the planet.

Oscars 2016: the most confusing categories, explained

2016-02-28T15:25:00-05:00

One reason the Oscars maintain their prominence as not just the preeminent film award but the preeminent entertainment award, period, is that they don't hand out that many trophies.

The Oscars bestow honors in just 24 categories, all during their televised ceremony. Compared to, say, the Grammys' 83 prizes, the Oscars are relatively stingy — making each one precious.

And yet it's not uncommon to have absolutely no idea what some of the awards are actually for. Sure, most of us know what it means to win for acting, and the term "Best Costume Design" is self-explanatory. But what's the difference between Sound Design and Sound Editing? How long is a short film? And just what does a director do anyway?

For answers to your Oscar category questions and more, read on.

The Flint water crisis, explained

2016-02-15T16:25:27-05:00

The water crisis started with a broke city under emergency management trying to save money. It turned into a scandal that could sicken as many as 8,000 children and raised tough questions for Michigan's governor.

The Iowa caucuses, explained

2016-01-25T12:15:16-05:00

Why such a tiny contest has such a massive effect on the presidential race.

Why did crime plummet in the US?

2016-01-14T11:30:00-05:00

There's about half as much violent crime in the US as there was 25 years ago. Why?

Some theories (like mass incarceration) seemed pretty solid in the 1990s, but have been called into question as more data has come in. Meanwhile, some new theories — like lead getting taken out of gasoline — have gotten popular. But everyone agrees there's no one answer.

Hillary Clinton's email scandal, explained

2015-10-13T16:03:52-04:00

Hillary Clinton used a private server for her government email when she was secretary of State. Republican critics say that jeopardized national security.

The Syria war: a history

2015-09-16T10:06:42-04:00

A brief history of how Syria fell into a war that, since 2011, has killed 250,000 and sent half the population fleeing — including 4 million refugees.

How scientists hope to find alien life, in 7 steps

2015-08-11T08:42:07-04:00

Scientists are closer than ever to finding extraterrestrial life. Here's how they hope to do it.

Bernie Sanders 2016: a primer

2015-07-28T11:43:41-04:00

Bernie Sanders is challenging the Democratic Party to move to the left on economics, and hopes to start a "political revolution" that will rein in the power of the wealthy.

The 18 best TV shows airing right now

2015-07-27T12:15:01-04:00

Need something new to watch? These are the 18 best shows airing new episodes on television right now.

This list is updated once a week, holidays and vacations permitting, and is organized alphabetically.

Shows are eligible while they're on the air — and for one week after their finales. After that, we kick them off until they begin airing new seasons (whenever that happens). We make an exception for streaming shows that release all episodes at once; those shows are eligible for six weeks after their launch date. (Amazon's Fleabag, for instance, released its premiere season September 16, 2016, so it is eligible for our list through October 28, 2016.)

The list is curated entirely by Todd VanDerWerff, who watches more TV than you do (probably). In the event that you don't trust what he has to say, we've also included Metacritic scores and links to other reviews of note.

Jeb Bush 2016: a primer

2015-07-24T08:41:23-04:00

Jeb Bush thinks he can win the general election by using positive rhetoric and appealing to the Latino electorate. But he has to get through the primary first, and while he's raising boatloads of money from GOP elites and has a record of conservative achievements in Florida, it's still unclear whether his candidacy appeals to ordinary voters.

Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential run, explained

2015-07-23T15:34:15-04:00

Donald Trump is one of the dozen or so Republican candidates vying for the presidency in 2016. True to his celebrity background in the entertainment industry, Trump has a talent for garnering attention — and he's taken the GOP field by storm.

The Common Core, explained

2015-07-22T12:30:42-04:00

The Common Core standards are a major change to how American education policy works, part of an era of ambitious reform ushered in by the Obama administration. They're also a big political story — but not always for the same reasons.

The 6 biggest myths about the Iran nuclear deal

2015-07-17T11:13:13-04:00

The Iran deal mythmaking predates the Iran deal itself. When the actual agreement was still but a glint in the negotiating team's eye, it had already been declared to be both savior and downfall of nations. While there were kernels of truth in many of those arguments, they were often composed of spin, exaggeration, or even straight-up nonsense.

It can be easy to get lost in all of those myths, and hard to separate them out from what this deal actually does. Here, then, are a few of the most common myths about the Iran deal — debunked.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens: The 9 most important things we know

2015-07-10T14:36:56-04:00

The latest entry in the Star Wars canon hits theaters December 18, 2015. Here's everything we know about the film so far.