Have you heard? Tiltify’s creator awards, a ‘Drunk History’ comeback, and a 95-year-old podcaster.

Each week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends, updates, business moves, and more from around the creator industry.

This week, generous creators are getting the recognition they deserve, a sloshed web series returns to its roots, and the hot new podcaster is a nonagenarian podcaster.

Creator commotion

Tiltify is feting generosity with its Creator Impact Honors. Many creators who fundraise for charitable causes use Tiltify to organize their campaigns. Now, Tiltify is giving back: It has established a jury (with MatPat as one of the members) to hand out honors across six different impact categories. Tiltify itself will provide data to the jury but will not participate in the deliberations itself.

So long to a good dog named Tucker Budzyn. There are a lot of adorable Golden Retrievers who star in short-form videos across the social web, but out of all those pups, Tucker may have been the most precious. Sadly, the internet-famous pooch passed away earlier this week due to complications stemming from a lymphoma diagnosis.

Pop culture minute

Raise a glass (or ten) to the return of Drunk History. One of the first web series to transition to TV was Drunk History, in which Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner get their comedy friends rip-roaringly drunk before asking them to retell a famous historical event. Drunk History made it to TV via Comedy Central, but as it makes its glorious return, its new three-episode run will be distributed through the Comedy Central YouTube channel.

Speaking of triumphant returns, Pen15 is a hit on TikTok. Gen Z has discovered Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle‘s pitch-perfect satire of Millennial-coded tween angst. It’s been years since Pen15‘s two-season Hulu run ended, but thanks to TikTok tags like “Anna sadcore,” Erskine and Konkle’s brand of comedy is reaching a new generation of frazzled youngsters.

Will the YouTube-to-Hollywood horror pipeline ever slow down? I’ve lost count of the number of creator-led horror features that have been greenlit since Backrooms and Obsession became box office gold. The latest YouTube star fitting that description is Spencer Lackey. After getting millions of social media followers through his horror shots, Lackey is linking up with Neon and Blumhouse to bring a project called Lust to life.

Jake and Logan Paul are coming to ESPN — as executive producers. The brothers’ influencer boxing matches haven’t yet aired on the Worldwide Leader in Sports, but thanks to Jake and Logan’s Most Valuable Promotions and Wheelhouse, the Pauls will get to play executive roles in an upcoming ESPN series. Their untitled reality competition project will take place in the world of combat sports.

The biz

Trick or treat! Feastables is running a campaign for Halloween (because of course it is).

The snack brand affiliated with MrBeast wants its confections to be prized additions to candy bags this Halloween season. To that end, Feastables has launched a Ryan Trahan-esque publicity stunt: It is looking for the most Halloween-obsessed locale in the United States.

bbnos$ delivered a rap performance in Roblox. Now he’s a character in Subway Surfers. The Canadian artist, who often collaborates with star creators, likes to stay ahead of digital trends. His inclusion as an avatar in Subway Surfers will put him in a game that often appears as background entertainment in unrelated short-form videos.

Bonkers Toys has another creator-inspired addition to retail shelves: The “rizz face.” After inking product deals with kid-friendly IP like Dhar Mann Studios and Skibidi Toilet. Now, it has linked up with another Gen Alpha touchstone: The Rizzler, who will be coming to physical storefronts in the fall of 2027.

D’Aydrian Harding is telling kids to “stay sober” at Spencer’s. Yet another mall retailer is bringing creator-designed merch to its shelves. Harding’s teetotaling catchphrase looks good on a hoodie and harkens back to the days of Danny Duncan’s “Virginity Rocks” merch.

Politics as usual

Donald Trump has opinions about the U.K. plan to favor public broadcasters on YouTube. Authorities in the U.K. want broadcasters like the BBC to enjoy similar advantages on digital to the ones that reward them on TV screens. The POTUS sees that effort as a form of “extraterritorial censorship,” and in this particular case, YouTube seems to agree with the President’s take.

U.S. conservatives believe that TikTok is censoring their videos. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: A right-wing political bloc is accusing a major social media platform of operating with a liberal bias. Disputes like this one explain why the GOP is so eager to knock down Section 230 and eliminate the protections it provides.

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez wants to know why Congress is so obsessed with Hasan Piker. The progressive political streamer lives rent-free in the heads of elected officials, many of whom have never interacted with him directly. AOC, however, has collabed with Piker in the past, and she thinks her colleagues are wasting their breath when they condemn the streamer and his unabashed takes.

The internet is a strange place

Is Uncle Junior the oldest celebrity host in the podcast game? Actor Dominic Chianese is best known for portraying Tony’s uncle on The Sopranos. Now, at age 95, he’s trying a new gig: podcasting. Alongside his son Dominic Jr., Chianese is launching Dominic & Junior, a show filled with nostalgic reminiscences. Perhaps the elder Chianese will belt out “Core ‘Ngrato” for old time’s sake.

If you talk about hot dogs on social media, Dolories the Weenie Warlock will come for you. Today told the story of a TikTok commentor who has a keen eye when it comes to hot dog bun brands. The Dolores lore (Do-lore-s?) goes deeper than you’d think, so check it out the next time you’re chowing down on a glizzy.