Michael Penix Jr. was limited to just 21 games but able to extend his NCAA eligibility after suffering four season-ending injuries during his four years playing quarterback at Indiana. He then transferred to Washington and played 28 games during two seasons for the Huskies, including the CFP National Championship Game against No. 1-ranked Michigan. Though the game was a loss for Washington, it was still a win for Penix, as he got more exposure to a national audience and reminded football fans about his near-flawless performance in the CFP semifinal game against Texas.

During the month of April, we’re publishing a series of interviews, essays, advice columns and reported features about the male friendship crisis in the U.S., a particularly troubling slice of the country’s larger loneliness epidemic. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so we’re breaking it down from all angles in The Male Friendship Equation.

What are you owed when an airline cancels your flight? In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation sought to help travelers navigate the issue by launching the Aviation Consumer Protection Dashboard, which provided “easy access to information about services that U.S. airlines provide to mitigate passenger inconveniences when the cause of a cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control.” Now, it’s taking things a step further.

America’s Pastime apparently has an issue with the white that accompanies the red and blue in America’s flag. At least that’s the conclusion one could draw after MLB umpires forced Chicago Cubs reliever Luke Little to change his glove because of white in the patch before he was allowed to pitch against the Houston Astros with one out in the seventh inning.

The past few decades have seen an explosion of men’s jewelry brands, signaling a renaissance that shows no signs of fading away. Now, it’s the norm for men to rock bracelets, rings or necklaces, often putting as much thought into these accessories as they do their garments. From luxury standards like Cartier or David Yurman to artisanal favorites like Miansai or Peyote Bird, there are a myriad of options for guys to choose from. While I appreciate a signet ring or pendant necklace, a bracelet is perhaps the easiest way for a style veteran or a newbie to dip their toe into the jewelry-sphere as it can easily complement a watch, be worn on its own or be tastefully stacked. And once you are accustomed to wearing one, or a few, it feels weird not to have one, or a few, on.

If there’s one thing to understand about Luke James, it’s that he’s done a lot, across all facets of the entertainment industry. Since the jack of all trades got his start singing backup for Tyrese, he’s written songs for the likes of Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Chris Brown. He appeared in Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” music video. He’s earned three Grammy nominations of his own for his impressive R&B catalog, and when the time came to branch out into acting, his range made him a natural on Broadway. And yet, his latest project is unlike anything he’s done before.

During the month of April, we’re publishing a series of interviews, essays, advice columns and reported features about the male friendship crisis in the U.S., a particularly troubling slice of the country’s larger loneliness epidemic. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so we’re breaking it down from all angles in The Male Friendship Equation.

One of the best grains for making beer has secretly been with us for a long time. It’s called fonio, an ancient African grain that’s now part of a large craft brewing initiative to highlight its versatility and sustainability. That initiative is “Brewing for Impact,” and it’s a major part of a celebration of Garrett Oliver’s 30th anniversary as the James Beard award-winning brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery, a New York institution that’s helped foster the craft beer movement and promote social change within the beer industry.

There’s a singular place where the histories of comedy, music and film all converge, and its name is The Blues Brothers. Saturday Night Live castmates John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd started a band to tap into the music that they loved, one that became wildly popular and led to a now-classic film that debuted in 1980. In his new book, The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic, Daniel de Visé explores the lives of both Aykroyd and Belushi, the music they made and the chaotic production of the film The Blues Brothers. It’s a fascinating look at the evolution of two comic geniuses and the birth of their unlikely musical collaboration. InsideHook spoke with de Visé about the book’s origins, the film’s legacy and what some decades-old VHS tapes have to do with it all.

When it comes to ice, does size matter? Well, that all depends on the drink. “If you’re serving a slow sipping cocktail, like an Old Fashioned, you want a big block of ice because the dilution is slower,” explains Tom Macy, New York-based cocktail educator and founder of Social Hour Cocktails. “Or if you’re shaking a cocktail and want more aeration to give a drink more foaminess, then you want big cubes, too.”

Aperol arrived with full force in the United States in the early 2000s after it was purchased by the Campari Group. They put serious marketing dollars behind introducing Americans to the Aperol Spritz, and with it, the very concept of aperitivo — which is fitting because the brand takes its very name from the early evening, Italian social ritual.

Twenty years ago today, the Chargers selected Eli Manning with the first pick in the 2004 NFL draft and then traded him to the Giants for No. 4 overall pick Philip Rivers after Manning threatened to sit out the season. “It was my decision,” Manning revealed in 2021, shedding light on what went down. “I was just worried about the Chargers organization at the time. Manning’s call or not, it was a move that worked out, generally, for both teams — Manning went on to win two Super Bowls with the Giants, while Rivers put together a (likely) Hall-of-Fame career and kept the Chargers in contention year after year before leaving the franchise as LA made the pivot to Justin Herbert at QB 1.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Frédéric Arnault — son of LVMH founder Bernard Arnault — would vacate his position as CEO of TAG Heuer in order to take up a new job as the top dog at LVMH Watches Division. Replacing him in the C-suite at TAG Heuer would be Julian Tornare, previously CEO of Zenith and an old hand at the watches game. Both men had left a significant imprint on their respective companies — Arnault by widening TAG’s reach through celebrity brand ambassadors and by taking the beloved Carrera collection in a distinctly modern direction; and Tornare by embracing Zenith’s heritage, releasing beautiful vintage reissues while simultaneously developing new models using the maison’s signature El Primero movement family.

I really don’t have much of a green thumb. Growing up, my parents’ and grandparents’ gardens were teeming with fresh fruit and veggies of all kinds. It’s difficult for me to eat cucumbers these days because there was nothing quite like noshing them straight from the garden, rinsed with the hose and dressed with a touch of salt (everything else pales in comparison). The plants I’m really good at growing are the ones that thrive from neglect (I currently have a little cactus with about 10 flowers, and my fig tree that sat dormant outside all winter sprouted new leaves last week — success!).

During the month of April, we’re publishing a series of interviews, essays, advice columns and reported features about the male friendship crisis in the U.S., a particularly troubling slice of the country’s larger loneliness epidemic. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so we’re breaking it down from all angles in The Male Friendship Equation. This is part two of Friends in a Polarized Nation: interviews with men who are reaching across some of the country’s biggest divides.