Entertainment
How Battlestar Galactica Used American Paranoia To Turn The Series Into A Classic
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Battlestar Galactica is the most successful reboot of a series in history. The change from the horrible Galactica 1980 with its reliance on stock footage and annoying characters to the dark, grim tone of Ronald D. Moore’s reboot was a hit.
It also helped that the more mature series was able to tap directly into the state of American politics of the early 2000’s and managed to turn the Cylons into an obvious metaphor for the rampant paranoia that reshaped society. Episode 6, “Litmus” is when the subtle metaphor was delivered to the audience with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer as the colonists trade freedom for safety and security.
The Paranoia Of Battlestar Galactica’s Skinjob Cylons
Following the water-tank sabotage in Episode 2, “Water,” and a Cylon suicide bombing by a copy of Number Five (Matthew Bennett), Commander William Adama (Edward James Olmos) orders Sergeant Hadrian (Jill Teed, a guest star on every 90’s/00’s sci-fi series) to launch an investigation that, at her urging, is an independent tribunal. The news that the Cylons can now appear in human form can’t be kept a secret any longer. President Roslin (Mary McDonnell) makes the announcement to the Colonial Fleet, hoping that while it’s going to stoke paranoia, it will ultimately lead to the capture of any more Number Two and Number Five models hiding in plain sight.
Roslin’s announcement is a large, neon sign that might as well point directly to the Bush administration’s actions after 9/11, when, in an effort to protect the public, the TSA was created as an extra layer of security at all airports, and a large, nationwide campaign was set up asking for civilians to share tips with the FBI on anything strange and suspicious they see. Countless shows and films tapped into the political movement of the time to either show how its punishing citizens, or is a necessary evil. It’s a complex question, how can you protect a society without informing them of a very real danger, but then again, that danger may or may not actually be there, and if anyone can be a Cylon, isn’t that setting up a witch hunt?
Battlestar Galactica Showed There Are No Easy Answers
Hadrian’s tribunal comes across as a witch hunt in-universe, but to the viewer, we know how close she came to finding out the truth. Focusing on a hanger hatch that was found open, which led to a room with a dead marine and the missing explosive cache, Hadrian questions Chief T yrol (Aaron Douglas), who tries to turn the security failure back on her, when Hadrian lays a verbal reverse-UNO and says the real security concern is Boomer (Grace Park). Unknown to her, Hadrian is able to piece the entire puzzle together, from Tyrol and Boomer’s relationship to the pilot’s true nature as a Cylon.
Adama shutting down the Tribunal and declaring it a witch hunt is both satisfying, as Tyrol and Boomer are sympathetic characters, and horrifying since Hadrian was on the cusp of putting Boomer, an actual Cylon, away. Instead, Hadrian’s the one arrested, and Socinus, a low-ranked specialist on the flight deck, takes the fall for the hatch being opened. Tyrol argues that his friend is covering for him, and comes clean about the relationship with Boomer, but Adama forces the Chief to leave with the consequences of his actions.
“Litmus” was written by Jeff Vlaming, a name you might not know, but he wrote for The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., NCIS, Xena, Stargate Universe, The X-Files, Fringe, and even more sci-fi hits during his long career. It’s a testament to his skill that Battlestar Galactica’s sixth episode wasn’t subtle at all in what it was really about, but managed to leave open the question of which path, Hadrian’s or Adama’s, was the correct one to take. It comes down to the viewer’s personal politics and philosophy, but as with most of the questions that the series raises, there’s no easy answer.
Entertainment
How to watch AFL live streams online for free
TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 AFL for free on 7plus. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Aussie Rules is a uniquely fast-paced and physical game that provides entertainment to millions of fans every week, but for whatever reason, this entertaining sport hasn’t really traveled outside of Australia. We think that should change, because we firmly believe that the rest of the world would absolutely love footy.
What’s not to love. Outrageous displays of skill? Check. Huge tackles and the occasional physical altercation? Check. Some of the best haircuts and facial hair you’ve ever seen? A big check.
If you want to watch the 2026 AFL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
What is the AFL?
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the leading professional competition of Aussie Rules Football.
The AFL currently consists of 18 teams spread over Australia’s five mainland states. The league features 23 rounds in the regular season, with the team with the best record awarded the minor premiership. The top 10 teams from the regular season standings compete in a five-round finals series, culminating in the AFL Grand Final.
The defending champions are the Brisbane Lions.
Mashable Top Stories
When is the 2026 AFL?
The 2026 AFL season is the 130th edition of the Australian Football League. This season runs from March 5 to Sept. 26.
How to watch the 2026 AFL for free
Every round of the 2026 AFL season is available to live stream for free on 7plus.
This free coverage includes matches on Thursday nights, Friday nights, State Footy Saturdays, Sunday afternoons, and Sunday night games. 7plus will also show marquee games and every match in the AFL Finals Series including the Brownlow Medal and the 2026 AFL Grand Final.
7plus is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the AFL from anywhere in the world.
Live stream 2026 AFL from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Visit 7plus
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Live stream 2026 AFL for free from anywhere in the world
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The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 AFL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select AFL fixtures before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for 7plus?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 7plus, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Australia
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream the 2026 AFL for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
How to watch NRL live streams online for free
TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 NRL for free on 9Now. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
There are few other sports that can compete with rugby league when it comes to physicality and skill. It’s clever handling and outrageous trickery combined with absolute brutality, and that’s why we all love it.
And if you’re looking for all of that and more on a weekly basis, you should check out the NRL. It’s an electric competition featuring some of the best players and teams in the world. We’re definitely not knocking what you get in the Northern Hemisphere, but there’s something special about the National Rugby League. It feels like something wild happens every week.
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If you want to watch the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
What is the NRL?
The National Rugby League (NRL) is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia, including clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and New Zealand.
Each team plays 24 matches in the regular season, with the first-placed team at the end awarded the minor premiership. This is followed by a finals series contested between the eight highest-placed teams from the regular season, culminating in the NRL Grand Final.
The defending champions are the Brisbane Broncos.
Mashable Top Stories
When is the 2026 NRL?
The 2026 NRL season is the 119th edition of professional rugby league in Australia and the 29th season run by the National Rugby League. This season runs from Feb. 28 to Sept. 5.
How to watch the 2026 NRL for free
Select fixtures from the 2026 NRL season are available to live stream for free on 9Now.
9Now is geo-restricted to Australia, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in Australia, meaning you can unblock free live streams of the NRL from anywhere in the world.
Live stream the 2026 NRL from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:
-
Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
-
Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
-
Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia
-
Visit 9Now
-
Live stream the 2026 NRL for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch the 2026 NRL without actually spending anything. This clearly isn’t a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream select NRL fixtures before recovering your investment.
If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming sites from around the world, you will need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live streaming sport is on sale for a limited time.
What is the best VPN for 9Now?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on 9Now, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries including Australia
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
-
Fast connection speeds
-
Up to 10 simultaneous connections
-
30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Live stream the 2026 NRL for free with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
All the states Pornhub is blocked in now
The explicit tube site Pornhub is now blocked in 23 U.S. states.
This is due to age-verification laws. These laws vary state by state, but typically require visitors of a site with over a third of explicit content to submit a government ID or other form of age authentication. Louisiana was the first state to enact such a bill a couple of years ago, and now others have followed suit. In June, the Supreme Court deemed Texas’s age-verification law constitutional, setting a precedent for such bills that come before and after.
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According to one preliminary study, age verification won’t work to keep minors off porn sites. This is because of software like VPNs that allow someone to appear to be in a different location, and because of non-compliant websites. (The Florida attorney general is suing foreign-based porn sites for not instituting age verification.) Yet, these laws keep getting passed — and are encroaching on non-explicit websites as well, experts told Mashable.
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While Pornhub is not blocked in Louisiana, it is blocked in these states, a Pornhub representative confirmed to Mashable:
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Alabama
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Arizona
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Arkansas
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Georgia
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Idaho
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Kansas
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Mississippi
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Missouri
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Montana
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Nebraska
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North Carolina
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North Dakota
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Oklahoma
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South Carolina
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South Dakota
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Tennessee
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Virginia
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Wyoming
Pornhub isn’t blocked in Ohio despite the state’s age-verification law, due to a clause stating that establishing age verification methods doesn’t apply to a provider of an interactive computer service (Aylo considers itself one).
Mashable Trend Report
In Louisiana, where users must submit ID to view Pornhub, the site has seen traffic decline by around 80 percent, Aylo (Pornhub’s parent company) told Mashable.
“These people did not stop looking for porn. They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don’t ask users to verify age, that don’t follow the law, that don’t take user safety seriously, and that often don’t even moderate content. In practice, the laws have just made the internet more dangerous for adults and children,” Aylo stated when asked for comment by Mashable back in January.
In a statement to Mashable, Aylo continued:
First, to be clear, Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults.
Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous. Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.
Industry experts say that, in addition to not working for their intended purpose, age verification laws also raise concerns about privacy protection and safety since websites now have to host (even more of) people’s personal information. It will be harder to be anonymous online, which experts warn is dangerous to free speech. Adult industry experts Mashable spoke to in an explainer on age-verification laws advocated for device-level filters, as did Aylo in its statement.
Some in the adult industry worry about what Trump’s second presidential term will bring due to the conservative policy outline Project 2025 and its measures to ban porn. One of Project 2025’s authors, Russell Vought, was caught on a secret recording stating that age-verification laws are the “back door” to a broader porn ban.
A's OF Brent Rooker leaves game vs. Yankees with flank discomfort
How to watch AFL live streams online for free
