Ryan Benk

Ryan Benk

@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Award winning (if you're into that sort of thing) Producer/Reporter for NPR's Weekend Edition. Health, horror, punk, movies, cats and lifting heavy things. DC is a real place. Husband guy. SAGAFTRA https://www.npr.org/people/942414025/ryan-benk

15.2K followers1.4K following2.5K posts

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

www.npr.org/2026/10/25/n... @stephengrahamjones.com talks @ayesharascoe.bsky.social through what makes a good scary story, a truly terrifying fright in our third installment of our fear series. And I guarantee you, you will have trouble sleeping after reading his latest novel OFF THE RESERVATION.

npr.orgWhat makes a good spine-tingler? Stephen Graham Jones says it's all in the endingHorror writer Stephen Graham Jones says horror's current moment is powered by more than just fear.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

ICYMI: I was on ATC chattin w/ @malloryyu.bsky.social and @joelrose.bsky.social about all things queer horror. Specifically, we take a stab at how queer representation has changed in the genre, and what makes some older films complicated for queer viewers. www.npr.org/2026/10/18/n...

npr.orgFor decades, horror films have been infused with queer themesNPR's Mallory Yu, Ryan Benk and Joel Rose discuss how queer themes and characters have long found a home in horror films.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Guys, do you remember that you wrote Bullet the Blue Sky? Or Cedars of Lebanon?

Paste Magazine@pastemagazine.bsky.social

Bono wants to “invite” Republicans back to U2’s music tinyurl.com/uadc9jjn

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

ALL OF A SUDDEN is worth every single minute of its 3 hr 17 min runtime. It's somehow understated and small, while also being grand and deep. What constitutes actually living? And what risks are holding us back from really achieving a life well-lived? It's brilliant and rare.

Ryan Benk reposted

Charlie Warzel
@cwarzel.bsky.social

genuinely think that chartbeat and real-time audience traffic insight dashboards are one of the worst things to happen to the media industry. it found out what people read and wanted and public trust has pretty much only sharply declined since then

This post is unavailable.

Ryan Benk reposted

Zach Schonfeld
@zachschonfeld.bsky.social

I interviewed producer Ben Vaughn about what it was like to produce Ween's country album and recruit legendary Nashville session musicians to play on songs like "Piss Up a Rope." This interview gets deep into Ween lore—here's the full Q&A:

tunabassoons.substack.com"When They Said We Want to Make a Country Album, My Answer Was: Which Country?”: The Making of Ween’s Country CurveballA long conversation about Ween’s ‘12 Golden Country Greats’ with the guy who produced it.

Ryan Benk reposted

Stephen Graham Jones
@stephengrahamjones.com

Oh, man. Didn’t know this was announcing yet:

Greg Greene@igreggreene.bsky.social

What the--? Does this say what I think it's saying?? @stephengrahamjones.com is writing a Spidey story? 🕸️ 💥 www.murphysmultiverse.com/marvel-sfx-t...

murphysmultiverse.comMarvel Celebrates Sound Effects with 'Marvel SFX' Anthology Series Launching in January - Murphy's MultiverseMarvel Comics is spotlighting one of the most iconic elements of comic book storytelling—the visual sound effect—in an…

Ryan Benk reposted

NPR
@npr.org

Listeners of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday may already know that host Ayesha Rascoe loves horror. But why do scream queens (and kings) like her like what's frightening? The answer may surprise you. n.pr/4yiLWVs

n.prDon't be scared: Being afraid is outright fun, and maybe usefulListeners of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday may already know that host Ayesha Rascoe loves horror. But why do scream queens (and kings) like her like what's frightening? The answer may surprise you.

Ryan Benk reposted

Danielle Kurtzleben
@titonka.bsky.social

1) it’s great the times painstakingly attempted to document how much this had grown 2) and also how do you do the article about HOW this is happening without addressing WHY? What CAUSED this uptick? Did you try to figure that out?

Jamal Greene@jamalgreene.bsky.social

A massive, and massively underrated, threat to a functioning democracy. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/10/11/u...

nytimes.comThreats of Political Violence Have America’s Elected Officials Living in Fear (Gift Article)A Times investigation has found that violent threats have become a new normal among public officials, reshaped private lives, cost millions in security and pushed people out of office.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

The first story in our series on fear is out! Listen to hear @ayesharascoe.bsky.social scream! But also find out why researchers think people like getting scared and how it may actually help us in real life. And it kind of serves as a defense of the horror genre. Loved producing this series.

npr.orgDon't be scared: Being afraid is outright fun, and maybe usefulListeners of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday may already know that host Ayesha Rascoe loves horror. But why do scream queens (and kings) like her like what's frightening? The answer may surprise you.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Between Tucker's conspiracies and Steven Crowd*r's new red hue, I can only conclude that every maga manosphere podcaster will eventually meld together into one mega maga podcasting rat king like right wing resident evil

Ryan Benk reposted

Prism
@prismreports.org

After a farmworker died & another became disabled after a heat stroke, their employer keeps sending workers on H-2A visas out to the blistering North Carolina fields. Our co-published investigation by @tinavasquez.bsky.social is up now in @theguardian.com, with photos by Kaoly Gutierrez.

The Guardian@theguardian.com

Heatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same company

theguardian.comHeatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same companyA farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but the contractor is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

I for one welcome the roasting of Sarah Longw**l lately because it shows that sometimes lesbians can have as horrible of opinions as gay men. Thank you, Sarah. 🙏🏼

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Scrolling fast and fully thought this was a picture of the magic kingdom castle

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com

Fewer young people are sticking with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than did in previous generations—and some of the religion's most distinctive characteristics may be slipping away, too, @nancywalecki.bsky.social reports.

bit.lyAre Mormons Losing Their Distinctiveness?People born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have tended to stay members for life. But that pattern has started to shift.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Good article but the subtitle did kinda make me cringe. This should probably have the caveat "straight" in front of men. Gay men have always been on the forefront of facial hair - whether mustaches or now beards. And I assure all of you, we don't do it for female attention

Jennifer Ouellette@jenlucpiquant.bsky.social

What’s the point of beards? www.popsci.com/science/why-...

popsci.comWhat's the point of beards?Women don't necessarily think men with beards are more attractive.

Ryan Benk reposted

McSweeney's
@mcsweeneys.net

Wait. What? www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/ten...

mcsweeneys.netTen Objects Around Your House That Are Actually Just Tilda Swinton Getting Lost in a RoleNovember 5, 2021 (her b-day) 1/13/23
New York Magazine@nymag.com

Tilda Swinton is writing a memoir. But get this: it’s a little different from the normal celeb tell-all. ‘Material Evidence’ will eschew linear narrative, instead examining Swinton’s life through a series of objects.

vulture.comCan You Believe It? Tilda Swinton’s Memoir Will Be Unconventional.Tilda Swinton is writing a memoir. But get this: it’s a little different from the normal celeb tell-all. ‘Material Evidence’ will eschew linear narrative, instead examining Swinton’s life through a series of objects.

Ryan Benk reposted

Ian Weissman, DO
@drianweissman.bsky.social

In a small kidney cancer trial, nine people received an experimental vaccine tailored to their own tumors. None experienced a recurrence during a median follow-up of roughly three years and four months after surgery. www.sciencealert.com/nine-patient...

sciencealert.comNine Patients Received a Personalized Kidney Cancer Vaccine. None Had a Recurrence.How do you teach the immune system to recognize a cancer cell? Researchers are taking clues from the tumor itself, selecting unusual protein fragments and putting them into a vaccine.

Ryan Benk reposted

James “Vamp” Fleet
@horrorfilms101.bsky.social

Buried implication is GG’s Drama / Musical Or Comedy categories correspond to Serious Cinema / Unserious Cinema, and the studio figures horror belongs in the latter category.

The Hollywood Reporter@thr.com

THR can exclusively report that Obsession has been submitted in the musical or comedy categories for the upcoming Golden Globes. Details: bit.ly/4e1Fivl

Ryan Benk reposted

Mad Scholar Frights
@mattzollerseitz.bsky.social

"It’s the kind of movie about evil billionaires that evil billionaires would enjoy, which makes it the worst kind of movie about evil billionaires." @williambibbiani.bsky.social is one of the greats

Candice Frederick@candicefrederick.bsky.social

‘Digger’ Review: Tom Cruise Gives 110% in This Powerless, Self-Adulating Claptrap www.thewrap.com/creative-con...

thewrap.com‘Digger’ Review: Tom Cruise Gives 110% in This Powerless, Self-Adulating ClaptrapTom Cruise give his all in "Digger," Alejandro González Iñárritu’s smug, self-aware social commentary that's like bad "SNL."

Ryan Benk reposted

Randy Shulman
@randyshulman.bsky.social

"The way we see it, this is D.C.'s bar. It is not our bar. We're just the stewards." HV Entertainment is coming to D.C. with a stake in Pitchers and A League of Her Own. It will run both bars while Dave Perruzza remains the majority owner.

metroweekly.comLGBTQ Hospitality Group Acquires 49% of Pitchers and ALOHOHV Entertainment, which is focused on keeping LGBTQ spaces in community hands, has partnered with owner Dave Perruzza as it expands into D.C.
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Long story, maybe for another time, but just after college, I ended up at a party attended by almost exclusively comedians. A few of them are currently writers for some really big shows. And honestly it was terrifying. I mean the quick wit and conversational dexterity were sensational.

View full thread
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

And to really put a point on it, if any one of their supposed dead heroes -- Carlin, Hicks, Williams, Radner, etc -- were ever to ride from the dead and shown idk, like Burn the Boats or Man of the People, or w/e, they would all RUN not crawl back into their coffins

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Long story, maybe for another time, but just after college, I ended up at a party attended by almost exclusively comedians. A few of them are currently writers for some really big shows. And honestly it was terrifying. I mean the quick wit and conversational dexterity were sensational.

View full thread
Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

That has ever made me feel a fraction of the way that one night house party in Tallahassee did. Like I would run circles around all of these anti woke "comedians." And so that the thing right? Not only are these people annoying and odious, they're just simply not fucking funny.

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

They aren't good at the one thing they're supposed to be good at. That's why one anon with a YT channel can wreck them just by playing you their own clips. Like their own words lol. Sure they have some moral deficiencies but the most aggravating thing is that they lack any meaningful talent

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

Long story, maybe for another time, but just after college, I ended up at a party attended by almost exclusively comedians. A few of them are currently writers for some really big shows. And honestly it was terrifying. I mean the quick wit and conversational dexterity were sensational.

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

I mean even after kicking so many kegs you could melt the aluminum down and mold it into a flight-ready 747, and enough weed to sedate a god, these people were still fucking hilarious.

Ryan Benk
@ryanbenk.bsky.social

It was glorious but intimidating. This was before the real advent of podcasting and certainly before comedians built an entire industry out of them. But we do have them now. And we have hours and hours of them yapping off the cuff, and I gotta tell you there isn't a single episode of JRE or Flagrant