I spent months investigating a heinous crime: the wrongest bird in the history of cinema. Tonight the results of my investigation are in print for the first time. (🧵) https://t.co/JiXzc0s9FV

“are you wearing the—“ “Elphaba’s sex cardigan? Yes, I am.”

Today in @Slate: CRITICISM'S BIGGEST STRAWMAN: Once & for all, here's what "poptimism" was & wasn't, and why people keep blaming it for everything they dislike in culture. Most recently the esteemed Kelefa Sanneh, often (wrongly) said to have started it!

Picture books are not the same as when we were little. In many ways, they’re better. https://t.co/9HTSPZT8xR

LISTERS is the real deal: the funniest, most horrifying movie I've seen since WEAPONS. @TheBirdist explains: https://t.co/6k25bI6x7c

An important scoop from @LouisStaples cc @PulitzerPrizes. https://t.co/bpKDU133jA

If you, like me, frequently find your life ruined by a horror movie, you can find all of the other movies and shows we’ve rated here:

NOSFERATU also scored high in several categories (this was, of course, pre-thirst). https://t.co/rjBLX9FHZQ

The closest competitors are probably HEREDITARY and MIDSOMMAR. https://t.co/1cSTMOEZi5

Since 2019, @Slate has scientifically rated the scariness of nearly 50 different major horror movies, with charts. I'm not sure any movie has ever scored as high as WEAPONS. https://t.co/0viewtrj6K

The spoof movie was one of our most popular genres—and then, for years, it vanished. Who killed it? Det. @DItzkoff investigates, talking to original Naked Gun director @TheDavidZucker, new Naked Gun director Akiva Schaffer of @thelonelyisland, and more. https://t.co/2sDVDoYX4t

this that shit he put in the peach

it's impossible to do justice to sly's art and legacy but I did my best

Mr. @AlanSiegelLA has been the definitive writer about The Simpsons for more than a decade now, so I can't wait to read his new book. For now, here's a taste—about when the show’s writers told the censors to eat their shorts: https://t.co/PXwiBo9LUE

"[T]he bird in Charlie’s Angels is, I believe, the wrongest bird in the history of cinema . . . . It has haunted not just me but, as I’d later learn, the birding community at large for almost a quarter of a century." @ForrestW @Slate https://t.co/xB3hfoNcTl

@JohnAugust @zakpenn @McGsWonderland @TheBirdist @CornellBirds @drewweber @petersonguides @willapaskin @maxfreedperson @silentreading_ @SofKodner

@JohnAugust @zakpenn @McGsWonderland @TheBirdist @CornellBirds @drewweber @petersonguides My thanks also to the team at Decoder Ring, multiple members of whom had babies while I was investigating: @willapaskin, @maxfreedperson, Katie Shepherd, @silentreading_, and @SofKodner. You can also listen to the original audio version here: https://t.co/KtwNxtC00O

@JohnAugust @zakpenn @McGsWonderland But cracking the case also took the detective skills of several birders, including @TheBirdist, @CornellBirds’ @drewweber, and Nathan Pieplow, author of the definitive @petersonguides to the bird sounds of North America.

How did Charlie’s Angels get it so wrong? To solve this mystery, I spoke with nearly everyone involved in this scene, including its screenwriters (@johnaugust, @zakpenn), animal handler, sound editors, and director, the legendary McG (@McGsWonderland).

3) The song we hear on screen, which Diaz’s character identifies as that of a Pygmy Nuthatch, is neither a Pygmy Nuthatch nor a Venezuelan Troupial. It is an unknown third bird who identity has baffled birders for nearly a quarter of a century (until now).

2) Diaz’s character says that Pygmy Nuthatches "only live in one place: Carmel!" I've personally seen Pygmy Nuthatches in at least three states. You can even find them in three *countries.* Here is the range map of the Pygmy Nuthatch, as well as that of the Venezualan Troupial.