kelly burch

I’ve been part of The Wiggles for 14 years, making kids’ content. My son doesn’t watch videos on phones.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Simon Pryce, who will be touring the US and UK with “The Wiggles” later this year. It has been edited for length and clarity.

During the 14 years I’ve been performing as one of “The Wiggles,” I’ve watched thousands of kids sing along with us and do the movements that go with our songs. It was cute, but I didn’t fully understand the significance until I had my son Asher, who is now 5.

As a parent, when you see your child clap along with a song for the first time, that’s a major milestone. That’s why “The Wiggles” have been so popular for 35 years now: we’re connected with child development. The way that kids watch TV has changed, but the way they develop hasn’t. We’re able to tap into that with catchy tunes, helping parents and kids celebrate those developments, while having fun along the way.

My son doesn’t watch small screens, but he watches TV

My son just started school, but he’s never watched a video on a phone. My wife Lauren and I made that decision right from the beginning. We want him to see the phone as a device for communication and information gathering.

He only gets to watch the iPad if he’s on the plane or in the hospital (which he’s been in a few times). Sometimes that backfires — on a long-haul flight last year, the flight attendant told me Asher had been awake longer than anyone else on the plane, because he was so excited to watch the iPad. More recently, Asher had a minor cough and suggested I take him to the hospital, but I know he just wanted some screen time.


Red Wiggle headshot

Simon Pryce has been the Red Wiggle for 14 years. 

Courtesy of The Wiggles



Although we’re pretty strict with small screens, Asher watches a fair bit of TV. He’s not into “The Wiggles” though. Because I tour so much — about four months out of the year — I think he associates the Red Wiggle with me being away. He doesn’t get comfort from seeing me on the screen, but he does love coming to live shows.

We want our only child to have close relationships with his peers

My wife Lauren and I met through “The Wiggles.” The show was putting together a circus skit, and I was the ringmaster, while Lauren was a gymnast. She was also teaching gymnastics to the kids of other Wiggles.

We’ve been together nearly 16 years now, and married for nine. I think her father was surprised when I finally proposed. For a long time, Lauren and I spent up to nine months each year touring with the group. That delayed our plans to have a family, because I didn’t want Lauren to feel like a single mom.

We intended to have more than one child, but it hasn’t worked out that way. As the parents of an only child, you think all the way down the track: who will Asher have when we’re gone? We’ve been intentional about surrounding him with other children his age, including friends and cousins. That’s important developmentally, but we also hope it will cement lifelong bonds.

I believe success is having solid relationships

Becoming a dad has reminded me to bring more fun and playfulness into my work. Listening to Asher make up words and stories, I’m reminded of the beauty of a child’s imagination. The other day Asher was singing “It’s raining pajamas.” How silly and fun is that? As adults, we’re only limited by ourselves.

Today I’m 54. I can’t believe that when it comes out of my mouth. When you’re younger, you perceive what a certain age might be like, and it’s nothing like that when you arrive. But I’m happy, and that’s what matters most.

As adults, we automatically equate success with finances, but I want Asher to know that success comes in many different forms. My grandparents — who taught me to sing — only wanted me to be happy. I think success is seen in your relationships with your loved ones and your ability to try something new. If you can work through solutions in good times and in bad times, you can get through anything in life.




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Aditi Bharade

AI is now part of Coach and Kate Spade designers’ workflow

Coach and Kate Spade designers have added AI to their design workflow.

On a Thursday earnings call, CEO Joanne Crevoiserat was asked how and where Tapestry is investing in AI.

She answered that Coach and Kate Spade’s designers now use AI in their day-to-day work, but the design process starts with hand-drawn sketches.

“So there is still a human and a need for design eye, right,” Crevoiserat said. “They do a sketch. But what AI helps is they can iterate on that sketch.”

“They can do color multipliers. They can make design tweaks, much faster than we could in the past,” she added.

She said AI tools have sped up the supply chain and product development timelines, which then drive the company’s growth.

Coach and Kate Spade are both known for their affordable luxury handbags, popular with aspirational luxury shoppers.

Tapestry isn’t the only fashion company that’s invited AI into its design studios.

A designer for the fashion label Alice + Olivia told The Wall Street Journal in January that she sees AI as a “creativity explosion,” and that the brand’s recent collection featured tarot-card-inspired prints generated with AI tools like Leonardo AI and Adobe Firefly.

An IT and tech director for LVMH told the Journal in June that design teams in the French luxury giant are using AI to generate mood boards for inspiration.

Smaller independent designers are also using AI in their processes. Business Insider reported in September that Jasline Ang, a silk designer in Singapore who worked at Goyard and Louis Vuitton, uses ChatGPT and Midjourney to create visuals for her social media campaigns. However, Ang said the tools have not been helpful in her artmaking itself.

Tapestry reported second-quarter revenue of $2.5 billion, a 14% increase from the same period last year. The company’s stock rose more than 10% after the strong earnings. It’s up 95% in the past year.

Coach’s sales contributed heavily to the company’s success in the last quarter, rising about 25% year over year. Crevoiserat said this was driven by Coach’s Tabby handbag collection, which is popular with Gen Z customers, Tapestry’s target audience.

However, Kate Spade reported a 14% drop in revenue in the last quarter compared to last year, to $360 million. Crevoiserat said this was because there had been a deliberate attempt to reduce Kate Spade’s promotional activity.




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Ashley Stewart Business Insider

Amazon execs say layoffs are part of turning the company into the ‘world’s largest startup’

Internal memos from Amazon executives explained the company’s decision to lay off 16,000 corporate workers as necessary to become the “world’s largest startup,” according to the messages viewed by Business Insider.

“Our ambition is to be the world’s largest startup,” Amazon executives wrote in two such memos viewed by Business Insider. “That means doubling down on a culture of ownership, speed, and experimentation — which requires us to continue evolving how we’re structured.”

The “world’s largest startup” has become a common refrain under Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who repeatedly referenced the company’s ability to operate like a startup in his latest shareholder letter.

The memos viewed by Business Insider, written by Amazon Web Services vice president Prasad Kalyanaraman and senior vice president Colleen Aubrey, include other similarities, providing insight into how Amazon likely directed its top executives to communicate about the layoffs:

  • Notifications within the teams in the US and Canada have been completed.
  • Identical language stating, “Please take care of yourselves and each other,” and that “the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available 24/7 for free and confidential support.”
  • Acknowledging that changes are difficult and ending with a forward-looking statement about what remaining teams can accomplish.

Greg Pearson, another AWS VP, also addressed layoffs in a memo and urged staff to “use technology to simplify work,” Business Insider previously reported. Amazon also shared more information for laid-off employees in an FAQ and emails from Amazon HR chief Beth Galetti.

Internal Slack messages viewed by Business Insider suggest affected teams include those within the company’s AWS cloud unit, such as the AI cloud service Bedrock, the cloud data warehouse service Redshift, and the ProServe consulting team, as well as retail business teams such as the Prime subscription service and the last-mile Delivery Experience team.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Read the memos below:

Prasad Kalyanaraman, VP of AWS Infrastructure:

Team,
I want to provide an update on the organizational changes that Beth Galetti shared in her A to Z post earlier today. As Beth noted, these decisions are part of our ongoing effort to position the organization for the future while staying nimble and focused on delivering for our customers. Our ambition is to be the world’s largest startup. That means doubling down on a culture of ownership, speed, and experimentation—which requires us to continue evolving our structure.
The notifications to impacted colleagues in our organization who are based in the U.S. and Canada, have now been completed. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representatives and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees.
First and foremost, I want to thank the impacted colleagues who have worked tirelessly for our customers. I want to acknowledge that changes like this can be hard on our entire team. These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organization for future success. Changes like these are difficult, especially when they affect colleagues we value. These decisions don’t diminish what we’ve built together; rather, they’re about positioning us to sustain and extend that impact as we continue to build the foundation for the future.
I also want to recognize what our team has accomplished this past year as we’ve made tremendous progress on scaling to meet unprecedented customer demand. These results reflect the talent, dedication, and collaboration across the breadth of our very diverse organization that must work together seamlessly — and those are qualities that will remain our foundation as we move forward.
Please take care of yourselves and each other. Remember that the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available 24/7 for free and confidential support.
Thank you for your resilience and continued focus on delivering for our customers. I’m confident in our team’s ability to navigate this transition and emerge stronger.
I’m looking forward to what we’ll accomplish together in the months ahead.
Prasad

Colleen Aubrey, SVP of Applied AI Solutions:

Hi,
I wanted to follow up on Beth Galetti’s post about organizational changes to A to Z earlier today. As Beth noted, this is a continuation of the work we’ve been doing for more than a year to strengthen the company by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy, so that we can move faster for customers. Our ambition is to be the world’s largest startup. That means doubling down on a culture of ownership, speed, and experimentation—which requires us to continue evolving how we’re structured.
Our organization plays a critical role in putting AI to work for our customers, transforming how companies deliver value to their customers, and these changes will help us sharpen our focus. I’ve seen how this team innovates and collaborates to solve real-world business challenges through applied Al. These strengths will be essential as we move forward with focus and clarity.
The notifications to impacted colleagues in our organization who are based in the U.S., Canada, and Costa Rica have now been completed. In other regions, we are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies and possibly result in longer timelines to communicate with impacted employees. Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success. Please take care of yourselves and each other. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available 24/7 for free and confidential support.
Thank you for your continued focus on delivering for our customers. I’m confident in our team’s ability to navigate this transition and emerge stronger, and I am positive that we’ll accomplish great things together in the months ahead.
Colleen

Have a tip? Contact Ashley Stewart via email at astewart@businessinsider.com or Signal at +1-425-344-8242. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.




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I’ve visited Las Vegas several times — the best part of every trip is less than an hour outside the city

“One time is enough.”

That’s what I’d heard countless times about visiting Las Vegas before making the trip myself. I’d always wanted to go, if only to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Turns out, one time wasn’t enough. I’ve been five times now, and I have no doubt there will be a sixth. The nightlife and gambling aren’t what keep me coming back, though.

These days, I skip the casinos and explore nature instead — and one of my favorite places is about 45 minutes outside the city: Valley of Fire State Park.

There was no turning back once I found a side of Vegas I didn’t know I was missing


Atlatl Rock in Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire has some incredible sandstone formations.

Erin Sanchez



In 2013, I went to Vegas to celebrate surviving grad school with a couple of friends.

Being first-timers, we wanted to see everything the Las Vegas Strip had to offer. About 28,000 steps and a midday shoe change later, we felt we’d seen all we could in a single day.

That first trip was a whirlwind of neon lights and shirtless men dancing on tabletops (they don’t call it “Sin City” for nothing). It was fun, but I wondered if there was even more to experience in the area beyond the sensory overload of the Strip.

Flying into Las Vegas from Seattle, I’d noticed the rugged, desert mountains surrounding the city. Those same mountain ranges also caught my eye from the mayhem of the Strip.

A couple of years later, when I returned to the city with my husband, I’d finally get to see them up close.


Arch rock in  Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire State Park looks otherworldly.

Erin Sanchez



After a day on the Strip, the two of us decided to get out of the city and visit the Valley of Fire. We didn’t know much about the park, but the impressive Google images and proximity were enough to convince us to check it out.

We rented a car, then headed northeast of Las Vegas and found ourselves in a sea of sand and rocky red outcroppings within an hour.

After paying a small entry fee, the booth attendant gave us a detailed map and tips for avoiding heatstroke. Then, we spent the entire day exploring the geologic wonders of the Mojave Desert.


Petroglyphs on Atlatl Rock

We even spotted markings on some of the rocks in Valley of Fire State Park.

Erin Sanchez



The 40,000-acre recreation area had awe-inspiring sandstone formations, ancient petroglyphs, and hiking trails with Instagram-worthy photo ops around every corner.

Besides roaming the richly saturated — often gravity-defying — petrified sand dunes, we also spotted lizards scurrying across the trails and hordes of adorable ground squirrels in the picnic areas.

Out here, I didn’t hear the constant dinging from slot machines, the mashup of strangers’ conversations, or the evangelists along the Strip admonishing passersby through megaphones.

I found everything I was looking for in a weekend getaway: sun, serenity, and spectacular scenery. Now I make it a point to escape to the Valley of Fire whenever I visit Las Vegas.

Vegas can be the perfect getaway, though maybe not in the way you might expect


Author Erin Sanchez standing among red rocks in Valley of. Fire

I’ve now visited the Valley of Fire State Park several times.

Erin Sanchez



One time in Vegas might be enough for some people, but not for me.

In addition to offering endless food and entertainment options, the city has no shortage of beautiful nearby spots for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers.

For those of us on the West Coast, Vegas is the perfect destination for a quick trip. It’s just a short flight away, and you can find great deals on resorts, especially when you travel during the less crowded summer and winter months.

If you’re looking to add more than Valley of Fire State Park to your desert itinerary, you can also easily make day trips to places like the Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon.

And as for whether I’m already planning my next trip — you can bet on it.




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30 classic movies and TV shows that Netflix would own as part of its Warner Bros. deal

  • Netflix is set to acquire Warner Bros. in a $72 billion deal for its streaming and studios business.
  • That means the streamer would own a slew of classic movies and TV shows from the WBD catalog.
  • Titles that would be owned by Netflix include “Casablanca,” “Friends,” and the “Harry Potter” franchise.

In a deal that is sure to disrupt Hollywood, Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for $72 billion.

In the deal, the streaming giant would acquire WB’s over 100-year vault of beloved film and TV titles.

That means that not only would current hits like “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” be owned by Netflix, but so would classic movies like “Casablanca” and “The Matrix,” as well as beloved TV shows like “Friends” and “The Wire.”

Below are 30 Warner Bros. movies and TV shows that are set to become Netflix titles.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm”

Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Courtesy of HBO

This series focuses on a fictionalized version of Larry David, the retired co-creator of “Seinfeld,” and his daily life in Los Angeles. The semi-improvised comedy series spotlights David’s irritability and cringeworthy social interactions, and helped turn its star into a cultural archetype of petty annoyances.

“Euphoria”


Zendaya as Rue in a first-look image for season three of

Zendaya in “Euphoria.”

HBO

This teen drama follows Rue, played by Zendaya, and her small circle of peers as they struggle with addiction, sexuality, and mental illness. The show’s maximalist aesthetic inspired glittery makeup trends that took over corners of TikTok. The show’s third season is set to air in April.

“Friends”


friends nbc

“Friends.”

NBC

One of the most iconic sitcoms of all time, “Friends” follows a group of six friends — and lovers, and siblings — living in New York City during their early adulthood.

“Game of Thrones”


game of thrones pilot

Sean Bean in “Game of Thrones.”

HBO

The fantasy drama based on George R. R. Martin’s novel series is known for its plot twists and intricate world-building. Not only did it create a global fan base and help bring adult fantasy to the fore, but the show’s popularity also created real-world travel trends to filming locations, including Croatia.

“Gilmore Girls”


gilmore girls fall

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel in “Gilmore Girls.”

The WB

A classic, if not the classic, television portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship, this series follows Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore’s (Alexis Bledel) lives in the sleepy town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Known for its witty dialogue, seemingly infinite references to coffee, and reliable boy drama, it remains a favorite comfort show among original fans and younger viewers.

“Gossip Girl”


Gossip Girl cast leaning against a railing

“Gossip Girl.”

Warner Bros.

This 2000s drama follows a group of ultrawealthy private-school students in New York City as they move through champagne-filled parties, messy relationships, and college applications. All the while, the anonymous blogger, Gossip Girl, dishes out secrets in the background. The show helped launch stars like Blake Lively and a generation of aspirational New Yorkers.

“Pretty Little Liars”


Pretty Little Liars

“Pretty Little Liars.”

ABC Family / Freeform

“Pretty Little Liars” follows four high school girls reeling from the disappearance and assumed death of their friend group’s former queen bee. The girls are being stalked by “A,” someone who seems to know every one of their secrets, past and present. Full of familial and romantic drama, the show created a loyal online fandom who traded theories about A on social media in the 2010s.

“Rick and Morty”


Rick and Morty.

“Rick and Morty.”

Adult Swim

In its eighth season and still going strong, this adult animated science-fiction comedy follows the brilliant alcoholic scientist Rick Sanchez and his anxious teenage grandson, Morty Smith, as they navigate multiple universes and their own familial relationships. The show is also relevant beyond the big screen, showing up often in memes.

“Sex and the City”


carrie bradshaw sex and the city

Sarah Jessica Parker in “Sex and the City.”

HBO

This HBO series follows four women in New York City figuring out careers, romance, and friendship. It centers on newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose voiceovers dot most episodes. The show is also considered a staple of fashion history, and Carrie herself became a style icon.

“The Sopranos”


James Gandolfini as Tony on

James Gandolfini in “The Sopranos.”

HBO

Few shows are considered as impactful as “The Sopranos,” which follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) through therapy sessions, the management of a sprawling criminal enterprise, and his chaotic relationships. At once depressing and hilarious, it is credited with demonstrating that television can be as artistically complex and ambitious as film.

“Succession”


Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin on season four of

Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin in “Succession.”

Claudette Barius/HBO

This series follows the Roys as the four adult children scramble for control of the family’s media empire. The comedy-drama offers an unflinching portrait of the ultrawealthy, what people will do for power, and familial dysfunction.

“Veep”


julia louis-dreyfus in veep

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “Veep.”

HBO

This political satire stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a self-centered and power-hungry vice president. “Veep” tracked real-world politics’ slide into the increasingly absurd and was a favorite among DC insiders.

“The West Wing”


The cast of

“The West Wing.”

NBCU

Created and written by Aaron Sorkin, “The West Wing” chronicles the drama of the White House’s senior staff. It follows the president, chief of staff, communications director, and others through both national and personal crises. The show premiered in 1999 and won 26 Emmys.

“The White Lotus”


Jennifer Coolidge with white wine

Jennifer Coolidge in “The White Lotus.”

HBO

Since its first season premiered in 2021, Mike White’s vacation anthology series “The White Lotus” has developed a cult following. Each season of the dark comedy-drama takes place at a different luxury resort around the world, and follows wealthy hotel guests and employees over the course of a week leading up to a death. The show often boasts big stars, like Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Imperioli, and Parker Posey.

“The Wire”


Michael B. Jordan (left) alongside Tray Chaney, Larry Gilliard Jr, and JD Williams in “The Wire.”

HBO

This crime drama set in Baltimore follows a wide cast of characters and explores city bureaucracy. Each season focuses on a different topic, from the drug trade to the school system.

“2001: A Space Odyssey”


“2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Stanley Kubrick’s space epic pushed the limits of visual effects, resulting in one of the most groundbreaking works ever put on the big screen. Kubrick’s other classics — “A Clockwork Orange,” “Barry Lyndon,” “The Shining,” and “Full Metal Jacket” — were also made at Warner Bros.

“Blade Runner”


blade runner the final cut

Sean Young and Harrison Ford in “Blade Runner.”

Warner Bros.

Ridley Scott’s trippy tale starring Harrison Ford as a detective in search of synthetic humans in a futuristic Los Angeles has inspired countless other sci-fi stories.

“Casablanca”


Casablanca Warner Bros

Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart, and Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca.”

Warner Bros.

With an all-star cast made up of Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Peter Lorrie, Claude Rains, and Sydney Greenstreet, this drama set against the backdrop of World War II is regarded as one of the greatest love stories ever put on screen. It also features not one but two famous movie lines: “Here’s looking at you, kid,” and, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

“Citizen Kane”


Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) makes a stirring campaign speech before a larger-than-life portrait of himself in a scene from Citizen Kane.

Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane.”

Warner Bros.

Orson Welles became a sensation in Hollywood when he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in this movie about the life and times of fictional newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane. The movie’s non-linear storytelling and unique camera angles inspired countless filmmakers in the decades since; many regard it as one of the greatest movies ever made.

“The Exorcist”


The Exorcist

“The Exorcist.”

Warner Bros.

Before “Jaws” or “Star Wars” became blockbusters, this was the movie audiences lined up around the block to see. William Friedkin’s supernatural horror about a young girl (Linda Blair) possessed by the devil became a box office sensation and the first-ever horror movie to be nominated for a best picture Oscar.

“Gone with the Wind”


Gone With The Wind

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in “Gone With The Wind.”

Loew’s Inc.

This best picture-winning epic set in the South during the Civil War made icons out of Vivien Leigh as the strong-willed Scarlett O’Hara and Clark Gable as the dashing Rhett Butler. The two would be immortalized in movie lore thanks to the famous line delivered by Gable to Leigh, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

“Goodfellas”


Goodfellas

Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta in “Goodfellas.”

Warner Bros.

Martin Scorsese’s beloved gangster movie is highlighted by powerful performances from Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci, who play based-on-real-life despicable mob wiseguys who cause mayhem from the 1950s to the 1980s.

“The Goonies”


sean astin the goonies

Sean Astin in “The Goonies.”

Warner Bros. Pictures

Under the watchful eye of Steven Spielberg, who came up with the story, director Richard Donner’s classic follows a group of teens who set out on a treasure-hunting adventure to save the small neighborhood they live in from foreclosure.

“The Matrix”


Keanu Reeves as Neo blocking bullets in The Matrix

Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix.”

Warner Bros.

Starring Keanu Reeves as a man who awakens from what he realizes is a simulated reality, “The Matrix” features action sequences and never-before-seen CGI effects that redefined the action movie genre overnight.

“Rebel Without a Cause”


rebel without a cause james dean

James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause.”

Warner Bros.

Nicholas Ray’s groundbreaking work didn’t just successfully tap into teenage life, it also turned its star, James Dean, into a matinee idol.

“The Searchers”


John Wayne standing in a doorway holding his arm

John Wayne in “The Searchers.”

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. is responsible for one of the greatest Westerns ever made. In this essential John Ford movie, John Wayne plays a Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece (Natalie Wood). Along with its powerful performances, the film’s lush vistas of Western terrain have stood the test of time.

“The Shawshank Redemption”


tim robbins and morgan freeman in the shawshank redemption

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in “The Shawshank Redemption.”

Columbia Pictures

Based on a Stephen King novella, “The Shawshank Redemption” stars Tim Robbins as banker Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced to life for the murder of his wife, though he’s actually innocent. In his two decades at Shawshank Penitentiary, Dufresne befriends an inmate (Morgan Freeman), launches a money laundering scheme with the warden, and plans a daring escape.

The “Harry Potter” franchise


ron weasley, harry potter, and hermione granger

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

Warner Bros. Pictures

All the titles from the beloved fantasy franchise will soon belong to Netflix. Presumably, so will HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

“The Lord of the Rings” franchise


lord of the rings gollum new line cinema

“Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

New Line Cinema

So will Peter Jackson’s trilogy of films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterwork.

Any version of Batman ever made


Michael Keaton with Batman symbol behind him

Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne.

Warner Bros.

Batman has been a cash cow for Warner Bros. all the way back to when Michael Keaton put on the cape in 1989. Whether it’s Keaton, Christian Bale, or Robert Pattinson, Netflix will soon be home to whatever version of the Dark Knight you’re a fan of — not to mention Superman and any other DC Comics character.




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Scientists finally think they know where the most dangerous part of this US earthquake zone is and it’s bad news for Washington

Hidden off the US Western shore, beneath the Pacific Ocean, is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. This fault is capable of generating earthquakes larger than magnitude 8 that can be felt hundreds of miles away, and a recent study has pinpointed the most dangerous segment along its 700-mile-long stretch.

The results will help scientists assess earthquake and tsunami risk for this region, including one particularly vulnerable state: Washington.

“This has been a subduction zone that’s been under-studied with the kinds of tools that we have available now,” geophysicist Suzanne Carbotte, a Bruce Heezen Lamont research professor at Columbia University, told Business Insider.

Armed with state-of-the-art technology that can probe deep beneath the ocean floor and create images, Carbotte and her team produced the first comprehensive survey of Cascadia’s complex, below-ground composition. They published their work today in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances.

The researchers discovered that Cascadia is broken up into at least four segments, which had been suggested by previous studies but never confirmed, Carbotte said.

The picture “before our study was a smooth surface with no obvious relationship to this segmentation,” Carbotte said. “But that smooth surface was based on very, very sparse data. And in places, no data.”

This new picture provides a much more accurate view of Cascadia’s complexity, and of the risk it poses to the US West Coast.

How the Cascadia Subduction Zone causes earthquakes


Diagram of the cascadia subduction zone

In the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the Juan de Fuca plate is slowly subducting under North America. As these two tectonic plates move against each other, it could trigger a giant earthquake.

USGS/Wikimedia commons



Cascadia is essentially the border between two tectonic plates: the massive North American continent, and the smaller Juan de Fuca plate.

The Juan de Fuca plate is gradually sliding (or subducting) eastward beneath the North American plate, which creates a megathrust fault: a place where tectonic plates move against each other in a dangerous way.

The stress that’s driving the Juan de Fuca plate under North America is continuous, Carbotte explained, but the plate’s movement is not. Sometimes, it gets stuck.

When locking up like this, the plates can only absorb stress for so long before they finally rupture, triggering an earthquake, she said.

This is what scientists think happened about 300 years ago when the zone ruptured offshore and the resulting earthquake formed a massive tsunami that slammed into the coast of Japan.

While Cascadia hasn’t produced a great earthquake since 1700, it’s only a matter of time.

Scientists can’t predict earthquakes but they can get a better idea of risk by understanding the fault’s complex structure deep below ground.

Carbotte and her team have moved the needle significantly on that front.

Zeroing in on risk


A partially collapsed building in Turkey after an earthquake

A partially collapsed building in Gaziantep, Turkey, after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the city. The Cascadia Subduction Zone can produce even larger, more dangerous quakes.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images



Carbotte and her team found lots of variability in the megathrust’s structure, which likely means that the hazard varies at different locations along the fault, said Janet Watt, research geophysicist at US Geological Survey Santa Cruz who was not involved in the study.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all answer, but it gives us an appreciation for that complexity,” Watt, speaking about Carbotte’s results, told BI.

Additionally, understanding that Cascadia is broken up into segments is key to assessing earthquake hazard, Watt said. That’s because this segmentation means that the megathrust could rupture in pieces, rather than all at once. This could impact the size of future earthquakes, because shorter ruptures trigger smaller quakes.

What’s more, the unique characteristics of each of these segments means each one poses a different level of risk. Another key finding from Carbotte’s study is that one of Cascadia’s segments is probably more likely to produce a great earthquake than the others.

This particularly dangerous segment essentially spans the coast of Washington, running from the northern Oregon border to southern British Columbia. It’s flatter and smoother than the other segments, meaning it could trigger the largest earthquakes, Carbotte told BI in an email.

Plus, this segment likely extends further into the US than the others, which is bad news for the state of Washington. If this segment ruptured, Washington’s coastal communities could face the most extreme shaking, although the quake would extend far beyond state borders, Carbotte wrote.

Knowing that could help this state prepare for the worst-case scenario. “I think this is an example of a study that will lead to action in the future in terms of building resiliency along the coastline. And it’ll be exciting to see where the science takes us,” Watt said.

Carbotte’s research emerges in the context of many other studies that are currently working to bring our picture of Cascadia into sharper focus.

“This is one particular study of a larger community effort that is going on to [understand] the system, and then communicate what that means to communities on the coastline and inland, and how we can actually turn science into action,” Watt said.


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