Entertainment
Perfect 70s Mystery Thriller Is Legendary Director’s Paranoid Classic
By Robert Scucci
| Published

As somebody who works regularly in audio, I can’t believe that I never laid eyes on 1974’s The Conversation. Written, directed, and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation is a straight-up neo-noir mystery thriller that would make any audiophile want to immediately start tinkering with their setup just to see what it’s capable of. If you find yourself sitting in that camp, however, err on the side of caution, because you never know what kind of conversations you’ll pick up on, or what kind of trouble they might land you in.
From a technical standpoint, The Conversation is a great watch even for those who don’t care about audio engineering at all, because you’re never slammed with needless jargon or those dreaded junk-science explanations that tend to derail movies like this. There’s poetry in every switch flip and dial turn, each one nudging you closer to the truth as the paranoid conspiracy takes shape without giving away the entire farm too early.
Not A Private Eye, But A Private Ear

The Conversation wastes no time establishing its conflict as we’re introduced to Harry R. Caul (Gene Hackman), a savant-like surveillance expert whose claim to fame is wiretapping his subjects and documenting his findings. Haunted by a past investigation in which his work resulted in a triple murder, Harry is a deeply private man, as well as a painfully meticulous one. He’s supposed to maintain a strict level of emotional detachment due to the nature of his work, but his conscience has a habit of creeping in when it’s least convenient.
When tasked by his client, known only as The Director (Robert Duvall), to eavesdrop on a couple walking in circles around Union Square, Harry’s expertise becomes immediately clear. He uses multiple microphones planted at various vantage points to capture fragments of wandering dialogue, all with the intention of splicing the recordings together later to construct a single, unbroken conversation.

While isolating dialogue buried beneath a sea of static, one sentence slowly emerges from the noise: “He’d kill us if he got the chance.” Disturbed by what he’s uncovered, Harry attempts to seek clarification from The Director, only to be intercepted by Martin Stett (Harrison Ford), the Director’s guarded and vaguely menacing assistant. Fearing that his work may once again result in innocent bloodshed, Harry finds himself trapped between his talent, his trade, and his conscience, struggling to serve his client while grappling with the possibility that the people he’s listening to may be in real danger.
It’s Not What, It’s How

Francis Ford Coppola was smart enough to lean into The Conversation’s technical aspects without alienating the audience through overexplanation. Thanks to Gene Hackman’s effortless handling of complicated audio technology, we’re shown a workflow that reveals an enormous amount about Harry’s personality without a single line of exposition spelling it out. The muscle memory on display as he spools tape, wires together homemade EQ boxes, and obsessively hunches over his workstation to dial in just the right amount of clarity before delivering his findings to The Director makes for a remarkably rich character study. Harry playing the hell out of his saxophone as a way to blow off stream when he’s stressed out is just the icing on the cake.
The Conversation’s mystery itself is packed with twists and reversals that force you to question where everyone’s loyalties lie, and where Harry fits into the larger picture. This isn’t a traditional whodunit so much as a “who will do it?” and that distinction matters. The tension comes from watching Harry slowly realize that he may not just be an observer, but a participant, all while his paranoia feels increasingly justified. The added unease from the assumption that other surveillance professionals could be listening in on him as well only deepens the dread, leaving you to wonder which tapes will end up in the wrong hands as Harry desperately tries to close out the job without any blood on his hands.


The Conversation is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Entertainment
Moon phase today: What the Moon will look like on March 22
After several nights of near darkness, the Moon is finally illuminated enough that keen sky gazers can start to spot some features on the surface again. Keep reading to find out what you may be able to see tonight.
What is today’s Moon phase?
As of Sunday, March 22, the Moon phase is Waxing Crescent. According to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide, 14% of the Moon will be lit up tonight.
Tonight marks the return of enough of the Moon’s surface to see some exciting features. For example, without any visual aids NASA tells us you can spot the Mare Fecunditatis and the Mare Crisium. These are situated on the middle right of the moon, or middle left if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere.
With binoculars or a telescope, you’ll see these and also the Edymion Crater, positioned at the top right, or bottom left.
When is the next Full Moon?
In North America, the next Full Moon is predicted to take place on April 1.
What are Moon phases?
NASA says the Moon takes about 29.5 days to orbit Earth, going through eight different phases. We always see the same side, but the Sun lights up different portions as it moves, which is why it can look full, half, or just a thin sliver. These changing shapes are called the lunar phases, and there are eight in total:
Mashable Light Speed
New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).
Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).
First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.
Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.
Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.
Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)
Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.
Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.
Entertainment
This $430 MacBook Pro deal wont stick around for long — act fast to save
TL;DR: Get a near-mint Apple MacBook Pro (2020) for $429.97 (reg. $1,999) — featuring a Retina display, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD while stock lasts.
$429.97
$1,999
Save $1,569.03
MacBook Pros are known for their performance and build quality, but they’re also known for their price tags. That’s why refurbished deals can be worth paying attention to, especially when they involve higher-end models.
Right now, a near-mint Apple MacBook Pro (2020) is available for $429.97 (reg. $1,999) for a limited time. With Grade A refurbished condition, it arrives in like-new condition, while delivering the same performance the MacBook Pro line is known for.
Key features:
-
2GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
-
16GB RAM for smooth multitasking and demanding workloads
-
13.3″ Retina display (2560×1600) with Apple’s True Tone technology
-
Intel Iris Plus Graphics for creative work and streaming
-
Touch Bar for shortcuts
-
Touch ID fingerprint login
-
Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
-
Up to 10 hours of battery life for working on the go
-
Optimized for the latest macOS
If you’ve been waiting for a reasonably priced MacBook Pro, this refurbished 2020 model is on sale for just $429.97 (reg. $1,999) while stock lasts.
Mashable Deals
Want to see more deals? Visit the shop and use code MARCH15 to save an extra 15% sitewide through March 29. Exclusions apply.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
6 AdultFriendFinder features other hookup sites lack
For 30 years now, AdultFriendFinder has quietly positioned itself as the internet’s premier adult dating site and a go-to destination for singles chasing casual flings and hookups. Their success hasn’t been an accident. They’ve stayed on top of the game, and even survived the emergence of dating apps, by forging a unique identity to help them stand out in an incredibly crowded and competitive field.
If you’re looking to let your freak flag fly, AFF offers you the greatest variety of ways to do it — here are six features AdultFriendFinder has that you won’t find on any other dating site.
Credit: AdultFriendFinder
Naked content
One of the first things you’ll discover after creating an AFF account is that the site doesn’t shy away from hosting nudity, nor is it hard to come by. In fact, it’s extremely common for people’s profile photos to contain genitalia or full-frontal nudity rather than the typical headshot you’re likely to find on most other dating sites.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
—
readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
—
top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
—
popular choice for regular meetups
The nudity isn’t confined to photos, either. You can host videos on your profile, including explicit videos, and there are webcam feeds live at any given time that feature amateur and professional models in various states of undress.
If you find yourself distracted by all of the nudity or just want to browse the site in public without getting arrested, you can turn on the adult content filter by navigating to your profile settings in the top right of the screen, scrolling down to Content Filter and then selecting either No Nudity, Some Nudity or Everything (the default setting, naturally).
Live webcam feeds
There’s certainly no shortage of webcam sites on the internet, but it’s rare to find a dating site that hosts live webcam feeds, not only of professional models but also of regular men and women looking for connection.
Navigate to the Live Action menu at the top of your AFF window and choose between either Member Webcams or Pro Models. Once you’ve made this choice, you’ll be able to create even more specific search filters, including by gender (Men, Women or Trans), Nude or Non-Nude, and even by proximity to you.
The Looksmaxxing Glossary: Every term you need to understand the internet’s most unhinged subculture
One thing to note, however: while free members can view webcam feeds (including more than one at a time), only Gold members and above can actually chat with models.
Discussion forums, blogs, and group chats
Unlike traditional dating sites, which only seek to match people in one-on-one interactions, AdultFriendFinder encourages group dynamics, especially in their Community section. Here you’ll find not only personal blog posts by AFF users commenting on their experience, sharing stories or posting queries, but also group discussion boards organized around literally hundreds of interesting topics.
Many of these are sexual in nature (there’s a polyamory group, for example, and a “women who like older men” group), but many are organized around interests and hobbies, including politics, tech, travel, movies and music.
Mashable Trend Report
Best of all, you can participate in these communal discussions without having to subscribe to AFF’s Gold membership, which helps to keep these places more lively than they would otherwise be if only paying members could access these spaces.
Erotic stories
Fun fact: erotic fiction now accounts for approximately 25 percent of all fiction sold in the United States, so it’s hardly surprising that erotic writing (“literotica” for those in the know) would be a major draw. What is surprising, however, is how few online dating sites take advantage of it.
AdultFriendFinder members who wish to read or write sexy stories, real or imagined, can navigate to the Community menu and select Stories, where they’ll uncover a near-unlimited array of stories, novels, fan fiction and even erotic poetry.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can explore the stories at random, but AFF also deploys a clever tagging system that allows you to search by topic, with popular options including First Time, Sci-Fi, TSTV (trans and transvestite), and Voyeur.
Popular stories achieve higher ratings and greater on-site visibility, and popular authors can actually build a large following on the site, so whether you’re eager to read more erotic fiction or aspire to write some, AFF has you covered.
Contests
One of the more fun aspects of AdultFriendFinder is that it genuinely seeks to cultivate a sense of community and actively encourages its users to spend more time on the site, especially in the public-facing sections. Their on-site contests are a fantastic example of this in action.
About once a month, the site hosts a themed photo contest, asking members to submit photos and then allowing the rest of the site to vote on which submissions best reflect or embody the contest caption.
The most recent photo contest theme was “Velvet Secrets: Valentine’s Masquerade,” while prior contests include “Naughty & Nice” for the holidays and “Midnight Mischief.” Winners get a special badge they can display on their profile, as well as tons more profile visibility, so there’s a strong incentive to participate.
To enter, scroll to the Community menu and then find Contests at the very bottom of the options list. If there’s an active contest and you are logged in to your account, you’ll be given the option of participating.
Kink-based profile search
Every online dating site or app has a profile section, where you can fill out pertinent personal information such as your sexual orientation, level of education, and whatever hobbies, interests or special skills you have that might make you stand out from the crowd, but AdultFriendFinder takes things a step further by offering members the opportunity to list their kinks.
If you navigate to your profile name in the top right of your AFF screen and then select Dating Profile and Edit Profile, you’ll have the opportunity to add to your My Kinks section. Popular options here include BDSM, voyeurism and cross dressing, but the full list is far more extensive.
Best of all, these kink lists aren’t merely decorative. If you have a premium account, you can actually search out other members by their chosen kinks, allowing you to find the people in your area who like exhibitionism or have a foot fetish, for example.
There’s no shortage of online dating sites, and even no shortage of hookup-first sites, but when it comes to adult dating, AFF clearly separates itself from the competition with its wide array of kink-friendly features and accommodations.
