The Cybersecurity World is on Edge as “Black October” Comes to a Close

Plus: The Undoing of Nick Fuentes; An Oral History of Little Shop of Horrors; Gay People Explain Gay Halloween

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October 29, 2026

Jamiroquai was right—the future is made of virtual insanity. As Julia Black reports, just days ago, “two serious security vulnerabilities were revealed in PHP, the programming language behind more than 70% of the internet’s web pages.” Cybersecurity experts find this especially alarming because it’s only the latest in a series of historically scary breaches. “We’re just in an exceptionally unresilient moment, coming up against systems which are designed to exploit that lack of resilience,” one tells her. In other words: Whoa, it’s a crazy world we’re livin’ in! Elsewhere, Nathan Taylor Pemberton charts how racist troll Nick Fuentes’s influence on the right wing has waxed and, perhaps, waned, while Andrew Buss brings us an oral history of Little Shop of Horrors—that includes a rare interview with the reclusive Rick Moranis. More tomorrow!

HILLARY BUSIS FEATURES EDITOR

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IN MEMORIAM   Sir Patrick Stewart, Theater Titan and Star Trek Captain, Dies at 86   By Jordan Hoffman   The acting icon died following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” according to his rep. Read more

MIDTERMS 2026   The Undoing of Nick Fuentes, the Far-Right Kingmaker Who Wasn’t   By Nathan Taylor Pemberton   For close to a decade, the livestreaming extremist has led a growing cohort of young men toward what’s looked like the insidious post-Trump future of the right. But as his movement is consumed by nihilism and infighting, it’s become a fitting outgrowth of Trump’s own cult of personality. When reached for comment, though, Fuentes said he’s moving strategically. Read more

MOVIES   Feed Me: An Oral History of Little Shop of Horrors   By Andrew Buss   Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Frank Oz, David Geffen, Alan Menken, and more on what made the cult classic sing—and why its original ending was scrapped. Read more

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A BILLION TO ONE   As “Black October” Comes to a Close, the Cybersecurity World Is on Edge   By Julia Black   With cyberattacks on the rise, experts fear we’re in “an exceptionally unresilient moment.” Read more

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“Knights Will Be Knights.” At Medieval Times, a Dinner-Theater Kingdom Faces a Reckoning Serfs, wenches, queens, and knights on horseback bring a feudal fantasy to life. But away from the spotlight, lawsuits, allegations of sexual harassment and animal abuse, and a nine-month strike have plagued the popular themed restaurant.

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