Entertainment
Netflix's New Plan To Totally Take Over A Formally Independent Media Space
By Robert Scucci
| Published

It’s official. Last Podcast on the Left is coming to Netflix. I first heard the news on Wednesday, January 21 during the weekly Side Stories episode, when series host Marcus Parks announced that the true crime comedy podcast would be showing up on Netflix feeds by the end of the month. In this case, the long-running series is part of a licensing play, meaning the video episodes from the back catalog will simply be available to stream on Netflix for subscribers, while regular listeners can continue using Spotify or their podcast apps as usual.
In other words, if you don’t have Netflix, you can still tune in week after week to listen to Last Podcast on the Left. But if you’re a diehard Netflix junkie, you can now catch the show there without changing your media consumption habits.

While this is great news for Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ed Larson, it also points to a much larger shift in the media landscape as we move further into 2026. That shift is Netflix making a serious push to dominate the podcast space.
Last Podcast On The Left Reaching A Wider Audience
Hosted by Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ed Larson, Last Podcast on the Left is a true-crime and comedy podcast covering everything from serial killers and alien invasions to government conspiracies and just about any other macabre subject imaginable. The series debuted in 2011, clocked in over 1,100 episodes, and has only continued to grow in popularity over the years.

I’ve always gravitated toward the “Heavy Hitter” series, where they spend multiple episodes unpacking the lives and crimes of figures like BTK, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and Aileen Wuornos. That said, the show has been a part of my weekly listening routine for over a decade at this point, and I’m glad to see what started out as a bootstraped project continue to flourish. If you have a dark sense of humor and enjoy learning about the worst people and events in history while three dudes work out their shtick through exhaustive research, it’s hard to beat. I’m hopeful this Netflix deal helps the show reach a wider audience without compromising its integrity or legacy.
Licensing Existing Properties Vs Netflix Originals
Personally, I breathed a sigh of relief when Marcus Parks clarified that Last Podcast on the Left’s involvement with Netflix was strictly a licensing arrangement. It’s still the same show, just using Netflix’s infrastructure and reach to capture a new audience. Alongside that, the group has also hinted at additional projects that will land on the streaming platform in the coming months, which should broaden their scope as podcasters, media personalities, and content creators. It feels like a rare win-win kind of situation, especially since ownership of the show was not transferred in the process.

On a much broader scale, Netflix plans to go hard on podcasts in 2026 by partnering with Spotify, iHeartMedia, and Barstool Sports as a way to distribute already existing shows to the streaming sector. On the flip side, this also means Netflix is beginning to produce its own podcasts to fill their ever-growing content slate. As of this writing, Bridgerton: The Official Podcast will operate as a companion piece to the hit series and is scheduled to debut on January 29, 2026.
Beyond that, it’s still unclear what original podcast concepts not tied to already existing IPs will look like, especially when filtered through committee decisions and the kind of focus-group feedback Netflix productions are known for. Netflix has already announced The Pete Davidson Show, and The White House with Michael Irvin recently saw its debut, but it feels inevitable that scripted podcasts are probably coming next. If that happens, I’m genuinely curious about how Netflix plans to hold the attention of distracted viewers who may not be listening to a word anyone is saying.
Entertainment
Microsoft Office 2024 for Mac and PC gets smarter with AI, now 60% off
TL;DR: Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business for Mac or PC is on sale for $99.97 through March 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT, offering 60% off Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more.
$99.97
$249.99
Save $150.02
If your work revolves around documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and email, Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business brings those core tools together with updated features designed to keep everyday tasks moving efficiently. The lifetime license for Mac or PC is priced at $99.97, representing a 60% discount off the regular price, and ends on March 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Included are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook — the familiar lineup, installed directly on your device for both online and offline use. Office 2024 brings performance improvements across the whole software. In Excel, for example, working with large datasets or handling multiple workbooks is quicker and more reliable. For anyone who routinely works with numbers or builds reports, this added speed can make daily tasks less tedious.
Mashable Deals
Content creation tools have also been refreshed. PowerPoint now supports recording presentations with voice narration, video, and closed captions, which is a plus for remote meetings, online classes, or sharing presentations after the fact. Word adds Focus Mode to help reduce distractions as you write, alongside AI-powered suggestions to sharpen up your prose. Built-in research features keep citations and references at your fingertips, so you can stay in the zone without switching tabs.
Microsoft’s Fluent Design system brings Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook a cohesive look and feel. Touch and pen support is now smoother on tablets and convertibles, and customizable templates and themes make it easy to create polished work without a designer’s eye.
Collaboration tools are built in as well. Real-time co-authoring allows multiple people to work on the same file simultaneously, with chat, comments, and version history helping track changes and feedback. Deeper integration with Microsoft Teams centralizes file sharing and communication within the Office environment.
Mashable Deals
Microsoft Office 2024 Home & Business is designed for users who already rely on Microsoft’s core apps and want updated features without changing how they work. For $99.97 through March 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT, the current deal makes it easier to step into the latest version at a lower cost, especially if those tools are already part of your daily routine.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
Super Bowl LX performers: Who is singing the anthems
The Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl pre-show featuring Green Day may be taking up all the attention when it comes to Super Bowl performances — and rightfully so! Everyone is looking forward to what the internationally known artists will do or say regarding President Trump and ICE.
However, other musical artists are performing at this year’s Super Bowl as well.
Charlie Puth to sing national anthem
Kicking the show off with the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the Grammy-nominated singer Charlie Puth. Puth’s debut single, “Marvin Gaye,” featuring Meghan Trainor, was a Billboard chart hit upon its 2015 release. Puth has since had other hits, including “We Don’t Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez),” “Attention,” and “Nothing But Trouble.”
Mashable Top Stories
Brandi Carlile to perform patriotic song
Next up, singing “America the Beautiful” is singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile. Carlile has a whopping 11 Grammys and two Emmy awards. Her biggest hit was 2007’s “The Story,” but she is also known for songs like “Broken Horses” and “The Joke.”
Coco Jones to sing Black national anthem
Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” has become a Super Bowl staple since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed it at the event. Singer and actress Ledisi performed the song at last year’s game.
Entertainment
How A Star Wars Set Malfunction Caused A Cast Member To Meet Jesus
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated

Would you believe that arguably the most recognizable figure in the entire Star Wars franchise once ran into Jesus? This was no Jedi, although it’s admittedly fun to imagine what the Son of God might have had to say to someone else who could come back from the dead as a powerful ghost. No, the Star Wars character in question was R2-D2, and he had an accidental meeting with the divine when a remote control malfunction sent him to the set of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth tv movie!
A long time ago (1977, to be precise), in a desert far, far away (Tunisia), two very different filmmakers were working on two very different projects. Franco Zeffirelli (best known for his Oscar-nominated Romeo and Juliet) was working on Jesus of Nazareth, which blended the four Gospels of the biblical New Testament into a single TV movie. Meanwhile, fresh off the success of American Graffiti, rebel filmmaker George Lucas was working on Star Wars, a movie that would effectively define his life while reshaping pop culture history as we know it.
Meeting The Maker

Aside from the involvement of James Earl Jones, these projects didn’t have much in common, and Lucas and Zeffirelli generally stayed out of each other’s way despite their sets neighboring one another. That all changed thanks to a scene requiring R2-D2 to be piloted using a remote control. While actor Kenny Baker was often inside the droid for scenes where R2 had to stay relatively still, there were some scenes in which George Lucas simply needed to move the little astromech from Point A to Point B.
In this case, Lucas intended for R2-D2 to exit a scene by rolling out from behind a sand dune. To do this, they intended to use a remote control, but the unit malfunctioned. Therefore, instead of stopping where the filmmakers intended, R2 just kept going until (as if guided by a higher power) he ended up on the set of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth.
Fortunately, the runaway astromech didn’t cause any damage to the set of the Jesus TV movie, something that we can only assume would be some kind of sin. These days, the whole incident has become a bit of amusing trivia for Star Wars fans to share among themselves. At the time, though, R2 encountering a savior from heaven was just one more reason that filming this sci-fi blockbuster had become a living hell.
When Droids Move In Mysterious Ways

Reportedly, this is one of many incidents in which the droids weren’t doing exactly what the filmmakers needed them to do. On top of that, the droids were powered by exotic batteries that were hard to replace, and those batteries were soon drained in the hot Tunisian sun. Making matters worse, the truck storing R2-D2 and other droids once caught fire, damaging valuable props and costing George Lucas money he couldn’t really afford to spend.
Fortunately, it all worked out: after all these onset issues, Star Wars became one of the most successful films ever made. There are many reasons for this, including its perfect cast, killer effects, and charming story. However, we can’t discount the possibility that the movie’s success is a product of divine intervention; after all, his excursion to meet Jesus proves R2-D2 is a droid with friends in very high places!
