Cult Week

Cults and extreme beliefs fascinate us because we are all susceptible to their pull. Cult Week explores these stories — and the liminal spaces between the real and the imaginary.

Photo taken in Innsbruck, Austria
Dmitri Pronchenko / EyeEm/EyeEm/Getty Images
Cult Week
How an ultra-nationalist religious group became one of the most popular film producers in Japan

Happy Science is an ultra-nationalist New Religious group that uses the media, a political party, and educational institutions to further its controversial belief system.

by Alicia Haddick
happy science movie still
HS Productions

THE LATEST

Cult Week

You need to watch the best cult thriller of the year on Netflix ASAP

Cult Week

How one Ancient Greek thinker revolutionized math — and possibly started a cult

Cult Week

Is fandom a cult? The religious fervor fueling Star Wars, Marvel, and more

Cult Week

10 years ago, Joaquin Phoenix made the most realistic cult thriller ever

Gaming News

A Surprising New Pokémon Game Is Free To Play From Your Smartphone

By Robin Bea

Gotta search ‘em all!

Feature

The Rise And Fall Of AI-Generated Trailers

By Dais Johnston

Are these works made out of fan passion or ulterior motives?

Gaming

Toxic Final Fantasy Players Could Be Banned For Abusing Square Enix Devs

By Robin Bea

Play nice or else.

Our Sci-Fi Lives

83 Years Ago, One Sci-Fi Writer’s Prediction Of A Coming Content Crisis Eerily Resonates Today

By Roger J. Kreuz and The Conversation

Imagine an endless library that contained every possible permutation of letters. The truth is out there, but can you find it?

Gaming

‘Super Smash Bros.’ Creator Has Been Working On a Mysterious New Game Since 2022

By Robin Bea

End of an era.

Gaming

14 Years Later, This Gaming Hotspot Is the Happiest Place on Earth

By Mo Mozuch

Galloping Ghost has more than 1,000 machines — and unlimited lives.

Gaming

Streamers Refuse Black Myth: Wukong Dev’s Apparent Attempt to Hide Its Sexist Past

By Robin Bea

Game Science can’t escape the skeletons in its closet.

Gaming

You Can Play Puzzle Games On LinkedIn Now, But I Don’t Know Why You’d Want To

By Robin Bea

A puzzling addition.

Feature

The Rise and Fall of DisneyChannel.com

By Allison McClain Merrill

From the late '90s through the early 2010s, Disney offered up clever online games based on the network's most popular TV shows.

Opinion

Rooster Teeth Was Too Good For the Internet — Until It Wasn’t

By Eric Francisco

A eulogy for the imperfect studio behind Red vs. Blue.