VICE

We discussed Santa Muerte, the Mexican folk saint who is the personification of death, with death expert Megan Rosenbloom and comedian Cornell Reid.

Richard Linklater is the filmmaker behind some of indie film's preeminent classics. His early break throughs, Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993), captured and defined our generation more genuinely than had been done before, and perhaps since. Boyhood, out in theaters July 11, is true to Linklater form in its exploration of the nuances of youth and life. It was ambitiously shot over 12 years, following the upbringing of a boy from the age of six until his high school graduation. In this episode of VICE Meets, Reihan Salam and Linklater discuss the inspiration behind the film and his career. It also includes behind-the-scenes footage from throughout the film's production.

One major drawback to the social media giants, Facebook and Twitter, is how vulnerable users are to unwanted attention. It’s always a bummer to see Aunt Linda crash a perfectly good comment thread on Facebook, and equally a bummer to get trolled by random followers to a joke you post on Twitter. Not to mention how depressing it is to see that apparently all of your friends are always doing better than you in every aspect of life. Where can we go to feel comfortable on social media? Where do you have the most fun? Which is the biggest necessity? And in the end, is it all just another means for advertisers to pitch products to you? VICE contributors Grant Pardee and Alison Stevenson spoke with Matt Ingebretson, a comedian and writer for The Soup’s web content, to dig deeper.

The following interview with the cast and creators of The Interview—Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Evan Goldberg—was conducted by VICE on December 9, two days before the world premiere of the film in Los Angeles. At that time, hackers calling themselves the "Guardians of Peace" had compromised SONY servers and leaked a trove of sensitive emails that exposed and embarrassed senior company officials. Nonetheless, the film was still on track to be released on Christmas Day. On December 16, a new threat from the hackers promised a 9/11-style attack if the film was released as planned, and within hours the major theater chains across the country withdrew their support of the film. With no distribution, SONY announced that they had no plan to release the film. Over the course of the following days, as SONY was pilloried in the media by high profile celebrities and politicians, including President Obama, for having caved in to the hackers, senior company officials were working behind-the-scenes to create an alternative release plan. On December 25, as promised, SONY released The Interview using a coalition of over 300 independent movie theaters across the country. Additionally the film was also released on the film's website "seetheinterview.com" and via a number of other digital platforms including Google Play, YouTube, and XBOX.

It's the third episode of VICE After Dark with John Lurie, a live internet radio show hosted by cult icon John Lurie. You know John. He's the guy from Fishing with John, all those Jim Jarmusch movies, the band the Lounge Lizards, and the creator of the fictional musician Marvin Pontiac. John's priority for the last 12 years has been ​his paintings: http://bit.ly/Lurie-Art Tonight's episode is all about getting in over your head. Biting off more than you can chew. Everyone does it, and it often leads to crippling embarrassment.

We have a “first time” for everything. All the things we do in our lives now, no matter how mundane, had to start somewhere. That’s what “Firsts” is all about. Looking back, and remembering moments in our lives that we often try to forget. In this episode, we talk about our first heartbreak. My co-host, VICE Associate Editor Dave Schilling along with comedian Dave Ross managed to turn sadness into a laughing matter. We delved into the people that broke our fragile souls for the very first time, and even go on some lovely tangents about dating, toddlers, and Donkey Kong Country. Listen to the sheer and utter agony for yourself. Reflect on your own first heartbreak, and thank me later.

It's the second episode of VICE After Dark with John Lurie, a live internet radio show hosted by cult icon John Lurie. You know John. He's the guy from Fishing with John, all those Jim Jarmusch movies, the band the Lounge Lizards, and the creator of the fictional musician Marvin Pontiac. John's priority for the last 12 years has been ​his paintings: http://bit.ly/Lurie-Art Tonight's episode is all about nervousness. Everyone gets nervous. People who say they don't can't be trusted and should have the backs of their necks examined for proof they're a robot. What makes you nervous, and how do you cope? One thing we're not nervous about is our lineup of special guests tonight, because it's unbeatable. Actor, writer, director, and former firefighter Steve Buscemi will be calling in. So will Evan Lurie, the musician/composer/brother of the host.

"VICE After Dark with John Lurie" is a live internet radio show hosted by cult icon John Lurie. You know John. He's the guy from "Fishing with John," all those Jim Jarmusch movies, the band the Lounge Lizards, and the creator of the fictional musician Marvin Pontiac. John's priority for the last 12 years has been his paintings - http://www.johnlurieart.com. We gave him a nighttime talk show to chat about whatever he wants, because why not. Seemed like a good idea to us.

Everyone dies. Good morning! You are going to die. Hi, hello, we are all fucking ticking time-corpses. It sucks, but embracing that awful fact might make all this bullshit a little easier. We Americans barely confront death, instead marketing our entire culture to the enviable youth and their sweet, sweet, disposable income. Fuck that, let’s talk about it. In our second installment of What Happens When You Die, our resident death expert Megan Rosenbloom (whose next Death Salon is in San Francisco October 11th http://deathsalon.org/future-events/death-salon-sf-2014/) teaches us about Tibetan Sky Burials, which are even more metal than they sound. Our special guests for this episode are comedians Guy Branum (Head Writer of X-Play on G4, Chelsea Lately) and Billy Wayne Davis (Last Comic Standing, WTF with Marc Maron). Joining them are VICE contributors Josh Androsky and Grant Pardee.

VICE contributors Grant Pardee and Josh Androsky sat down with two internet personalities who have harnessed social media for aims that are not totally lame. Comedian Mike Burns is perhaps best known as the creator of @dadboner on Twitter, which is the ongoing story of Karl Welzein, a divorced dad in Michigan who defines himself by his love of Van Halen and muscle cars. Molly McIsaac has gained a significant following online in the opposite way: by being herself. She made on Twitter and Instagram by being a geek personality who advocates for body positivity. Her presence helped land her a spot on a SyFy reality show about superfans and today she works as a social media manager for a new media company. We spoke with Mike and Molly about how they've used social media and how personal branding has affected them on the latest edition of the ENTITLEMENT Podcast.

Megan Rosenbloom is a librarian who works with rare books and the history of medicine, and is the co-founder and director of Death Salon. She joined us, and our two special guest comedians—Kyle Kinane and Chris Fairbanks—to chat about our untimely demise.

Firsts Ep. 1: First Time Having Sex, w/ Kyle Kinane & Chris Fairbanks: ENTITLEMENT Podcast by VICE

This week on the VICE podcast Reihan Salam sits down with filmmaker Errol Morris to discuss his latest film The Unknown Known, a portrait of one of the leading architects of the Iraq War, Donald Rumsfeld. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-…id634513189?mt=2

This week on the VICE podcast Reihan Salam sits down with Michael German, a 16-year veteran of the FBI, who recently joined the Brennan Center where he'll focus on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and reform, in the center's fight to advance effective national security policies that respect constitutional values and the rule of law. Today we chat with German about the way in which the FBI has changed since 9/11. Check out the Best of VICE here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Best-Of Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-…id634513189?mt=2

This week on the VICE Podcast Reihan Salam sits down Nigerian-American journalist Dayo Olopade, to discuss her new book, The Bright Continent: Breaking Rules and Making Change in Modern Africa. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts

This week on the VICE Podcast Reihan Salam sits down with the founders of Upworthy, Peter Koechley and Eli Pariser. Koechley has been making important ideas irresistible for more than a decade -- as an Onion editor, a viral video producer, and now, as a co-founder of Upworthy; Pariser has dedicated his career to figuring out how technology can elevate important topics in the world -- as an author, an online organizer, and most recently, as a co-founder of Upworthy. Today, these two chat with us about Upworthy, it's creation and where they see it heading in the future, as well as the ever-expanding media landscape. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-media/id634513189?mt=2

This week on the VICE podcast Reihan Salam sits down with Melissa Gira Grant, an independent journalist who has been writing and reporting on the sex industry for the past ten years. Grant recently authored a book, Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work, in which she calls for an overhaul in the way we think about sex work. Today, she chats with us about the history, the myths, and the criticisms of the sex industry and shares her perspective on how sex work is primarily about economic activity, and those who perform sexual labor shouldn't be criminalized or treated any differently than any other laborers trying to survive in our treacherous economic system. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-media/id634513189?mt=2

This week on the VICE podcast Reihan Salam sits down with filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer to discuss his academy award nominated documentary, The Act of Killing. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-media/id634513189?mt=2

Robyn Doolittle is the author of Crazy Town--a new book chronicling the absurd political messiness that the city of Toronto has endured at the hands of their crack smoking mayor: Rob Ford. As one of three journalists to have seen the infamous crack video, Robyn has covered the Rob Ford story extensively for the Toronto Star; so we had our VICE Canada Managing Editor Patrick McGuire sit down with her to review the past few years of Toronto politics. From Rob's nearly constant gaffes and presumably drug-addled soundbites, to whether or not he can win the 2014 election, to Canada's restrictive freedom of information laws... it's a comprehensive chat. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-media/id634513189?mt=2

This week on the VICE Podcast, Reihan Salam sits down with David Epstein, former senior writer at "Sports Illustrated," reporter at ProPublica and author of "The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance." David and Reihan chat about the ways that human biological diversity impacts athletic ability, and how this understanding could affect the future of elite sports. Watch more VICE Podcasts here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Podcasts Check out the VICE podcast on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/vice-media/id634513189?mt=2