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Samantha Woodruff

Bio: Samantha Woodruff is a graduate from Washington State University with a Bachelors in English and Technical Writing. An avid reader since childhood, she has always had a strong connection with storytelling and writing. Her interests include art, cooking, video games, and movies. Samantha is excited to join the NYC Tastemakers team and have a chance to share her work with a wider audience through this internship.
Movies

Why Viewers Keep Coming Back to Apocalyptic Movies

I’d wager a guess that most people don’t look upon the idea of the end of the world very fondly. Yet, a popular genre of film focuses on just that, humanity’s destruction. We see this type of narrative played out again and again on the big screen. Why? Most apocalyptic ...

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Sports

FIFA Fans Cancel Tickets Ahead of 2026 World Cup

What began as discontent over ticket prices and potential visa issues has turned into a full-force boycott of this year’s FIFA World Cup. Approximately 16,000 people have cancelled their tickets already, and that number is continuing to grow. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being hosted by the United States, ...

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Latest News

A Look at the First Two Weeks with Mayor Mamdani

Winning with over 565,000 votes, Mamdani took the New York mayoral election by storm with his ambitious plans and focus on making NYC affordable for all. It has been just two weeks since Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor. What has he been able to accomplish in that time? ...

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Science and Technology

Plastic Waste Fuses with Rocks to Create Technofossils

There are multiple types of these plastic-rock hybrids. Plastistones are formed when plastic melts and bonds with existing rocks. Plastistone is used as an “umbrella term” for these plastic and rock mixtures. Other categories of plastistones include plastiglomerates, which are rocks made from sedimentary particles and other debris held together ...

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Food

Should the US Adopt France’s “Supermarket Law” for Food Waste?

Next month will mark 10 years since France enacted “Loi Garot”, a law to regulate food waste from supermarkets. As of 2016, 18% of the food produced in France went to waste, approximately 10 million tonnes. Originally pioneered by councilman Arash Derambarsh, this law proposed that supermarkets larger than 400 ...

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Politics

Trump Cracks Down on Altering National Park Passes

What do you think of when you hear the words “national parks”? Is it the gorgeous landscapes of the Grand Canyon, the rocky coastlines in Acadia, or one of the many majestic creatures that call national parks home? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the passes used to enter ...

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Music

Will “Everybody’s Album” Ever Reach the #1 Spot on the Billboard Charts?

“Do you want to be a part of internet history?” This is what you are asked when you visit the Everybody’s Album website. Everybody’s Album is a public project where people can submit their own 1-second recording or soundbite, which is then added to the album. The goal of the ...

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Movies

The Importance of Behind-the-Scenes Footage

What was once something relegated to the “bonus features” section of a DVD is now becoming one of the ways filmmakers are combating the increase in AI-generated content. Studios have begun to focus on releasing behind-the-scenes footage as “proof” that their content was created by humans. With the introduction of ...

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Latest News

New York Nurses Go on Strike

Nearly 15,000 nurses will go on strike this morning, according to the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Nurses voted to authorize this strike last month if an agreement was not met over this past weekend. NYSNA says that the strike includes nurses from medical centers in Manhattan and the ...

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Latest News

Man Armed with Sharp Object Shot by Police in New York Presbyterian Hospital

At 5:27 pm last night, New York Police Officers received multiple 911 calls about a man armed with a sharp object inside the New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. This man was threatening to cut himself and others with what callers believed to be a knife.  Officers arrived at the ...

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Theater

Buena Vista Social Club: A Must-See Show on Broadway

The Tony award-winning musical “Buena Vista Social Club” is still going strong in 2026. It tells the story behind the recording of the famous album, of which it shares its name. The musical is co-directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, of “Hamilton” and “In The Heights” fame, and his father, Luis A. ...

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Books

Listening to Audiobooks is a Valid Form of Reading

Some would argue that listening to audiobooks does not count as reading. As literacy rates decrease at an alarming rate in this country, there seems to be a growing sense of pride in being able to say that they “physically read” that book, especially to those who consider themselves to ...

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