How the magical TV works

👀 What I’m watching: Gilmore Girls

📰 What I’m reading about: Measles

👕 What I’m wearing: Winnie-the-Pooh

🌮 What I’m eating: Taco smashburgers

👨🏼‍💻 What I’m working on: My old TV

I like Gilmore Girls for precisely the same reason my dad hates it - the fast-talking dialogue. “No one talks like that!” he would declare, walking by the TV one afternoon in the mid-2000s while most of my sisters were watching, and I was pretending to not enjoy it.

He’s right. No one talks that quickly, in succession, all the time. Though I did always appreciate the implication that it’s because they were constantly drinking coffee at Luke’s. Still, I love the dialogue and supposedly insanely long scripts because they’re so dense, packing so much into 42 minutes of each episode for seven seasons (and then eventually a decent, if somewhat disappointing Netflix revival).

This is what I’ve been trying to do with my “short-form video” scripts - pack as much in as possible. When we first launched on TikTok in 2019, we were told by our TikTok rep that videos should be around 12 to 19 seconds. Since then, TikTok has expanded to allow for 10 minute videos. Shorts and Reels also started at 60 seconds, then expanded to three minutes.

You may have noticed in the last month that the videos are often over two minutes. In the last year, they almost always exceeded that on the first draft, but I would cut for time, assuming the audience and algorithm would not appreciate anything over 80 seconds. That is clearly not the case! This Bad Bunny fact check blew past the two minute mark and went viral on all three major platforms.

So, unlike Rory, I’m evolving on screen. And unlike the Gilmore Girls creators during the Netflix revival, I am not stuck in time, writing someone in their 30s like they’re still 22. I am 35 and I accept that, for now.

I use the ‘time-traveling Dave’ trope often in videos to illustrate how f***ing confused people would be at almost any point in the past if they visited us now. Right now, I have one video idea penciled in about the completely avoidable measles outbreak in the U.S., buoyed by a Health Secretary who has the same charisma as weeks-old leftovers that have been reheated in the microwave at least twice.

I apologize for the name-calling, but it’s really difficult to be sympathetic to someone ushering in this measles era with dangerous rhetoric, completely unproven by science. Instead of focusing on RFK Jr.’s uncanny resemblance to one of the aliens in Mars Attacks! wearing a human suit, I would direct you to this really incredible, horrific, important piece by my one-time colleague Elizabeth Bruenig, now at The Atlantic.

The entire article is told from the (fictional) perspective of someone who did not vaccinate their kids from the measles. It’s heartbreaking and unfortunately based entirely on our current reality.

Anyway, science is real! Please share this incredible piece to anyone who may be on the fence about vaccinating their child.

I knew when I bought this sweater, now featured in several videos, that it was a good sweater, a great sweater even. And dear reader, the comment section has spoken.

So, I must address two things. One, this is the most expensive sweater I’ve ever purchased, and it’s not even close. That said, the $198 was well worth it. It’s comfortable and seems to sum up my cartoon-ish approach to news. I also delighted in wearing it at a YouTube conference last week that was otherwise filled with very buttoned-up professional people. I like a suit and tie but I don’t think my work is suit and tie type of work (unless I’m pretending to be JD Vance).

I felt like I had to address the hefty price tag before addressing the second thing, that many asked: where did I get it?

It’s a store called Rowing Blazers. I’ve followed them on Instagram for awhile but waited to make a big purchase until the right clothing item came. This one is that purchase - for a whopping $198.

If you do happen to buy something form them as a result of my accidental modeling, let me know at [email protected]! Maybe we can turn this into an actual paid collaboration. Because, up until this point, I’m just wearing if for the love of sweater.

Do you like tacos? Do you like smashburgers? Then I have the recipe for you.

My wife found this Smash Burger Taco recipe to me last week, gently sending it to me, as if to say “wouldn’t these be nice to eat??” I’ve already made them twice. Also, I just really love caramelizing onions. Win-win.

I consider myself a news creator. But more than anything, I’m a video editor first. If you don’t know editing, I’ll try to keep this about the basics. Mostly, I just want to show you how I edit footage into the TV in the videos.

Once upon a time, I learned how to edit on Final Cut Pro. Then, Apple purchased it and systematically worked to make it worse and more ‘user-friendly.’ So, like many video editors, I switched to Adobe Premiere and never looked back.

Every year, Adobe makes changes to all its software, including Premiere. Sometimes it’s significant, sometimes not. As I downloaded Adobe Premiere Pro 2026, the Final Cut Pro trauma once again caused me to hold my breath. I’d heard there were decent changes this time around.

I am relieved to say the changes are overall very good, if a bit confusing. Some aspects of the program have been relocated to other windows. So, after panicking for a moment, unable to find the masking tool, I realized it was just in a different place and waaaaay better than it used to be. Here’s what it looks like before I ‘mask.’

Then, I add a mask. Now using the much-improved masking tool, which really allows me to cover the edges accurately:

Finally, I place the clip underneath the mask. I also sometimes use a Premiere tool called “corner pin” to adjust for the angle of the TV.

What I love about this format is I can throw in a bunch of different videos into any given edit. And I can really play with the video itself, ‘punching in’ on a subject, instead of showing the entire shot. For comparison, here’s the actual size of the clip I used:

Do you like these behind-the-scenes edits? Do you want me to get more in the weeds? Let me know! [email protected].

Still here? Enjoy this video from the vault: