Latest news with #PentagonPizzaIndex
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Criterion turned its film archives into a streaming powerhouse
The average consumer subscribes to 4.5 streaming services, many of which offer content that feels largely indistinguishable from one another. How one company is revolutionizing the way we use everyday water Pentagon Pizza Index: The theory that surging pizza orders signal global crises 5 signals that make you instantly more trustworthy at work When Netflix disrupted film and television in the late 2010s, it introduced a new model of viewership: an endless blend of originals and archives, delivered through a finely tuned personalization algorithm. Today, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, and many others follow the same playbook. Not the Criterion Channel. The streamer rejects the infinite-content model, instead curating rotating collections of select films that appear for just a few months. Their offerings range from mass-market to niche indie: A recent example, 'Surveillance Cinema,' matched the $350 million-earning Minority Report with the tiny French neo-noir Demonlover. It also turns away from algorithmic recommendations—every title is handpicked by a programmer. Aliza Ma, the Criterion Channel's head of programming, says that she's 'offended' by the big streamers' model of curation. 'It's absurd in the face of art and curiosity that you would think somebody's past behavior could indicate future taste,' she tells Fast Company. This approach has earned the Criterion Channel a loyal following among artistically curious cinephiles, creating a stable, low-churn subscriber base. For just $10.99 a month, viewers from the U.S. and Canada can escape the clutches of streamer sludge. The mega-viral Criterion Closet doesn't hurt either. 'I would have expected that broader is better,' Ma says. 'It's a brilliant surprise to us that the more specific we get, the more we pull focus on a subject or theme, the better it seems to reach people.' For over 30 years, Criterion was known as a seller and refurbisher of physical media. Their DVD and Blu-ray archives sustained the business, while the company licensed their films to several video-on-demand (VOD) services. First they were available on Mubi, then Hulu, and finally FilmStruck, the streamer from Turner Classic Movies. But when FilmStruck shut down in 2018, Criterion president Peter Becker and his team decided to create their own point of access. The Criterion Channel was running by 2019 and has since eclipsed the company's physical media business. In 2024, Criterion and its sister company, Janus Films, were sold to billionaire Steven Rales, founder of the film studio Indian Paintbrush and a minority owner of the Indiana Pacers. The channel's focus on curation naturally narrows its appeal. In the ongoing 'streaming wars,' Criterion isn't trying to compete on scale. Instead, it leans into its niche. 'You have to think you care about movies enough to want a streaming service really devoted to movies,' Becker says. But specificity also creates a highly loyal customer base, he adds. Asked whether one specific collection surged traffic at the site, Becker notes that there are 'different points of entry for everybody.' Some are more popular within the streamer's walls than others—both Ma and Becker reference the 2023 'High School Horror' set featuring movies like Donnie Darko and I Know What You Did Last Summer. But subscribers come more for the curation than for any individual film, meaning they're likely to stay longer. Michael Cunningham, acclaimed author of Day and The Hours (the latter of which was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman), is a subscriber to the Criterion Channel. 'I'm a fan because Criterion is keeping alive films that would otherwise fade away and be forgotten,' he writes in an email to Fast Company. 'It reminds us that greatness resides in a wide range of movies, from Potemkin to Some Like It Hot.' Estimating the Criterion Channel's size is a difficult task. The company declined to provide Fast Company with revenue or user figures, only saying that it 'has grown steadily since we launched.' When its predecessor FilmStruck shut down in 2018, the subscriber base was estimated at just 100,000. The Criterion Channel has likely surpassed this—it has over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play store alone. But that's still small compared with other specialty streamers like Mubi, which has more than 5 million Google Play downloads. It's audience is also shifting. 'If you had gone back 10 or 15 years and looked at who was collecting DVDs and Blu-rays, you would have seen a heavy disproportion of people who were male and over 30,' Becker says. 'That has been completely shattered.' Criterion, the company behind the channel, still operates its specialty DVD business and commissions a stable of writers to pen essays on its archive. But the Criterion Channel is the company's 'most far-reaching project,' Becker says. And then there's the company's infamous closet. It began in 2010, when Guillermo del Toro stepped into Criterion's DVD archive in New York and picked out his favorites. Choosing among a collection organized only by spine number, del Toro professed his love for François Truffaut's The 400 Blows. Criterion has continued to pump out these 'Closet Picks'—the videos are now significantly less grainy—and posts them to YouTube. 'We record a couple a week, and we're always amazed by the conversations we have in there,' Becker says. 'I think it's a relief for the people in the Closet, because they don't have to talk about their own movies.' Creatives see the Criterion Closet as more than a stop on their press tour, though. Griffin Dunne, star of films like Martin Scorcese's After Hours, relished the opportunity to rifle through Criterion's archives. 'There are a few benchmarks in an actor's or director's career,' Dunne wrote in an email to Fast Company. 'Getting your first job, any job, in the movie business. Seeing your name in a New York Times review for your first film. Getting nominated or winning for any of the EGOTs. Being invited to the Criterion Closet to talk about your favorites films.' The closet has since gone mobile. Criterion now takes a portable version on the road, drawing fans who line up for hours. Becker even recalls a couple who got engaged inside. 'We're always amazed and gratified at how young the people who come out are,' he says, noting that most attendees are in their 20s and early 30s. The traveling closet of films also reveals the diversity of Criterion's audience. Few titles are picked more than a handful of times. While some favorites recur—Richard Linklater's films, for example, or Anora—most picks are highly personal and eclectic. Has the Criterion Closet helped funnel audiences back to their streamer or paid offerings? Becker isn't interested in talking shop. The closet wasn't set up as a marketing tool, so they don't track it as one. But it has been a helpful brand extension, he concedes. 'When 13 million people see the Ben Affleck video, that's a lot of people,' Becker says. 'We're definitely reaching more people than would have sought us out without it.' Affleck's first pick from the Criterion Closet was Jean Renoir's The Rules of the Game, the 1939 French satire celebrated for its humanist worldview. It's hard to imagine the film finding traction on Netflix. How would they package it? What thumbnail image or search-friendly pitch could make it click? Its age alone might be a barrier—back in March, the oldest title on Netflix was 1973's The Sting. But viewers can find The Rules of the Game on the Criterion Channel. It appears in a 'French Poetic Realism' collection, alongside commentary from Cunningham, the novelist. They can watch the film, explore its historical context, and dip into criticism, too. That's what the Criterion Channel offers: not just content, but curation. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
A slice of crisis: Is pizza the Pentagon's secret political barometer?
Imagine a world where global crises aren't just brewing in diplomatic cables or hushed war rooms but subtly telegraphed by an unexpected surge in pizza sales. It sounds like something out of a spy novel, yet this fascinating concept, popularly known as the Pentagon Pizza Index , is once again sparking conversation. From its shadowy Cold War origins to recent viral moments on social media, this quirky, unofficial theory suggests that a sudden rush of pizza — or any takeout food —to the US defense and intelligence hubs could be the first delicious hint of an impending major geopolitical event. What is the Pentagon Pizza Index? The Pentagon Pizza Index is a quirky, unofficial theory that suggests a surge in pizza (or other takeout food) orders to the Pentagon and other US Defense or intelligence buildings can indicate an impending major geopolitical event. On June 14, two Domino's locations near the Pentagon registered abnormally high amounts of traffic for a Friday (throughout the day and evening), hinting at the onset of the Iran-Isarel conflict. The logic It is believed that when government officials and staff are working late into the night on urgent, high stakes matters (like military operations, international conflicts, or significant policy decisions), they can't leave their posts for food. Therefore, they rely heavily on quick, shareable, convenient and calorie-rich food like pizza to keep them going. A dramatic increase in pizza orders signals heightened activity and a potential crisis brewing. When pepperoni predicted peril This intriguing theory known as 'Pizza Intelligence,' or 'Pizzint,' goes back to the Cold War. At that time, Soviet analysts reportedly kept a close eye on pizza deliveries to US government buildings. Sudden surges in food orders to the CIA & Pentagon, were considered informal indicators of the looming crisis. In 1990 Frank Meeks, a Washington DC Domino's franchise owner, observed a spike in orders to CIA buildings. The next day, Iraq invaded Kuwait, confirming his 'Pizzint' suspicions. Unusual? Surely One of the most notable recent instances of the Pentagon Pizza Index in action occurred on April 13, 2024. That night, as Iran unleashed a massive drone and missile strike against Israel, screenshots from various food delivery platforms showed pizzerias surrounding the Pentagon, White House, and Department of Defence tagged with the telling status of 'busier than usual.' (Source: Economic Times) Pentagon to the Pizza Index: 'We got sushi too' A Pentagon spokesperson reacted to the Pizza delivery index of June 13 and clarified they do not need to order pizza as there are many pizza options inside Pentagon and also, they have sushi, sandwiches, donuts, etc. According to a report published by Tasting Tables, March 27, 2025, the Pentagon, has cafes for quick coffee runs to full meals. Here's a sampler: McDonald's Dunkin Donuts Baskin-Robbins Taco Bell Panda Express Jamba Juice Potbelly Sandwich Works Tropical Smoothie Café Panera Bread Subway Popeyes Starbucks Moe's Southwest Grill
India.com
4 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
What Is Pizza Index? Curious Clue To America's War Mood Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
In the world of geopolitics, terms like soldiers, drones, missiles, and fighter jets usually dominate discussions around war. But what if the word pizza starts trending during a military conflict? That's exactly what happened amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran—and it's led analysts to revisit a quirky but intriguing phenomenon known as the Pizza Index Theory. Yes, you read that right. Now, let's give you more details: What Is the Pizza Index? Often referred to as the Pentagon Pizza Index, this theory suggests that a sudden spike in pizza orders around the Pentagon—headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense—can foreshadow an imminent military operation. The logic is simple but fascinating: when high-level, late-night meetings take place in the Pentagon—especially those involving national security—staffers often order pizza in large quantities, a trend that appears right before major military moves. The theory recently resurfaced when just before Israel launched a military strike on Iran, pizza delivery apps around the Pentagon showed a sharp rise in wait times. On June 12, social media platform X was flooded with screenshots showing unusually high delivery delays from pizza outlets near the Pentagon—particularly around 6 p.m. Interestingly, there had been no delays earlier in the day. This raised eyebrows: was there a crucial meeting happening at the Pentagon during that time? A few hours later, Israel struck Iran. Even former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Israel had informed the U.S. about the strike beforehand. The theory implies that the surge in pizza deliveries might have coincided with a high-level strategy session or military briefing. #DNAWithRahulSinha | पिज्जा इंडेक्स से पता चला हमला होने वाला है.. पिज्जा इंडेक्स और पेंटागन क्या है कनेक्शन ?#DNA #PizzaIndex #Pentagon #US @RahulSinhaTV — Zee News (@ZeeNews) June 17, 2025 The Numbers Don't Lie According to social media posts and order tracking data, the waiting time for pizza orders spiked around 6 p.m. on June 12 and gradually returned to normal by 7 p.m., indicating that the meeting may have wrapped up by then. Historical Patterns Though the Pentagon consistently denies the validity of such theories, historical patterns suggest otherwise: October 1983: The night before the U.S. invaded Grenada, pizza orders near the Pentagon reportedly doubled. December 1989: Prior to the U.S. invasion of Panama under President George H. W. Bush, pizza demand saw a sudden spike. August 1, 1990: On the eve of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Pentagon-area pizza orders surged. April 13, 2024: Just before Iran fired 300 drones and missiles at Israel, a spike in pizza deliveries around the Pentagon was recorded. Cold War era: Soviet spies reportedly monitored pizza delivery patterns in the U.S. and used the codename "Pizzint" (short for Pizza Intelligence) to anticipate possible military actions. Why Pizza? Pizza is quick, easily shareable, and convenient—making it the food of choice during long hours of strategizing. In fact, some American journalists jokingly say, 'Forget following the news—follow the pizza.' It's a light-hearted jab, but it reflects the unusual accuracy of this pattern over decades. So while it might sound like satire, the Pizza Index Theory has enough circumstantial backing to at least merit curiosity. Whether it's a coincidence or covert clue, it adds an oddly appetizing twist to the serious business of war. In modern warfare, it seems that before the missiles launch—pizza is delivered.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Block's CFO explains Gen Z's surprising approach to money management
One stock recently impacted by a whirlwind of volatility is Block—the fintech powerhouse behind Square, Cash App, Tidal Music, and more. The company's COO and CFO, Amrita Ahuja, shares how her team is using new AI tools to find opportunity amid disruption and reach customers left behind by traditional financial systems. Ahuja also shares lessons from the video game industry and discusses Gen Z's surprising approach to money management. Pentagon Pizza Index: The theory that surging pizza orders signal global crises What is a fridge cigarette? The viral Diet Coke trend explained 5 signals that make you instantly more trustworthy at work This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. This embedded content is not available in your region. As a leader, when you're looking at all of this volatility—the tariffs, consumer sentiment's been unclear, the stock market's been all over the place. You guys had a huge one-day drop in early May, and it quickly bounced back. How do you make sense of all these external factors? Yeah, our focus is on what we can control. And ultimately, the thing that we are laser-focused on for our business is product velocity. How quickly can we start small with something, launch something for our customers, and then test and iterate and learn so that ultimately, that something that we've launched scales into an important product? I'll give you an example. Cash App Borrow, which is a product where our customers can get access to a line of credit, often $100, $200, that bridges them from paycheck to paycheck. We know so many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That's a product that we launched about three years ago and have now scaled to serve 9 million actives with $15 billion in credit supply to our customers in a span of a couple short years. The more we can be out testing and launching product at a pace, the more we know we are ultimately delivering value to our customers, and the right things will happen from a stock perspective. Block is a financial services provider. You have Square, the point-of-sale system; the digital wallet Cash App, which you mentioned, which competes with Venmo and Robinhood; and a bunch of others. Then you've got the buy-now, pay-later leader Afterpay. You chair Square Financial Services, which is Block's chartered bank. But you've said that in the fintech world, Block is only a little bit fin—that comparatively, it's more tech. Can you explain what you mean by that? What we think is unique about us is our ability as a technology company to completely change innovation in the space, such that we can help solve systemic issues across credit, payments, commerce, and banking. What that means ultimately is we use technologies like AI and machine learning and data science, and we use these technologies in a unique way, in a way that's different from a traditional bank. We are able to underwrite those who are often frankly forgotten by the traditional financial ecosystems. Our Square Loans product has almost triple the rate of women-owned businesses that we underwrite. Fifty-eight percent of our loans go to women-owned businesses versus 20% for the industry average. For that Cash App Borrow product I was talking about, 70% of those actives, the 9 million actives that we underwrote, fell below 580 as a FICO score. That's considered a poor FICO score, and yet 97% of repayments are made on time. And this is because we have unique access to data and these technology and tools which can help us uniquely underwrite this often forgotten customer base. Yeah. I mean, credit—sometimes it's been blamed for financial excesses. But access to credit is also, as you say, an advantage that's not available to everyone. Do you have a philosophy between those poles—between risk and opportunity? Or is what you're saying is that the tech you have allows you to avoid that risk? That's right. Let's start with how do the current systems work? It works using inferior data, frankly. It's more limited data. It's outdated. Sometimes it's inaccurate. And it ignores things like someone's cash flows, the stability of your income, your savings rate, how money moves through your accounts, or how you use alternative forms of credit—like buy now, pay later, which we have in our ecosystem through Afterpay. We have a lot of these signals for our 57 million monthly actives on the Cash App side and for the 4 million small businesses on the Square side, and those, frankly, billions of transaction data points that we have on any given day paired with new technologies. And we intend to continue to be on the forefront of AI, machine learning, and data science to be able to empower more people into the economy. The combination of the superior data and the technologies is what we believe ultimately helps expand access. You have a financial background, but not in the financial services industry. Before Block, you were a video game developer at Activision. Are financial businesses and video games similar? Are there things that are similar about them? There are. There actually are some things that are similar, I will say. There are many things that are unique to each industry. Each industry is incredibly complex. You find that when big technology companies try to do gaming. They've taken over the world in many different ways, but they can't always crack the nut on putting out a great game. Similarly, some of the largest technology companies have dabbled in fintech but haven't been able to go as deep, so they're both very nuanced and complex industries. I would say another similarity is that design really matters. Industrial design, the design of products, the interface of products, is absolutely mission-critical to a great game, and it's absolutely mission-critical to the simplicity and accessibility of our products, be it on Square or Cash App. And then maybe the third thing that I would say is that when I was in gaming, at least the business models were rapidly changing from an intermediary distribution mechanism, like releasing a game once and then selling it through a retailer, to an always-on, direct-to-consumer connection. And similarly with banking, people don't want to bank from 9 to 5, six days a week. They want 24/7 access to their money and the ability to, again, grow their financial livelihood, move their money around seamlessly. So, some similarities are there in that shift to an intermediary model or a slower model to an always-on, direct-to-consumer connection. Part of your target audience or your target customer base at Block are Gen Z folks. Did you learn things at Activision about Gen Z that has been useful? Are there things that businesses misunderstand about younger generations still? What we've learned is that Gen Z, millennial customers, aren't going to do things the way their parents did. Some of our stats show that 63% of Gen Z customers have moved away from traditional credit cards, and over 80% are skeptical of them. Which means they're not using a credit card to manage expenses; they're using a debit card, but then layering on on a transaction-by-transaction basis. Or again, using tools like buy now, pay later, or Cash App Borrow, the means in which they're managing their consistent cash flows. So that's an example of how things are changing, and you've got to get up to speed with how the next generation of customers expects to manage their money. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Pentagon Pizza Index: The theory that surging pizza orders signal global crises
A different kind of pie chart is being used to predict global crises. A surge in takeout deliveries to the Pentagon has become a surprisingly accurate predictor of major geopolitical events, dubbed the 'Pentagon Pizza Index.' Tracking activity at local pizza joints in Arlington County, the X account Pentagon Pizza Report noted an uptick in Google Maps activity from four pizza places near the Pentagon on June 12. We, The Pizza, District Pizza Palace, Domino's, and Extreme Pizza all reportedly saw higher-than-usual order volumes around 7 p.m. ET. 'As of 6:59 p.m. ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity,' the X account posted. The timing? Just hours before news broke of Israel's major attack on Iran. The U.S. announced it was not involved in the attacks. 'We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement released by the White House on June 12. However, as the theory goes, the surge in traffic at local pizza joints close to government buildings may have signaled hungry military leadership hunkering down to monitor unfolding events. 'The kind of analytics we love,' read one comment on X. 'Google Maps research beats some spy agencies around the world,' another user reacted. The predictive power of pizza isn't a new theory. As Alex Selby-Boothroyd, The Economist 's head of data journalism, wrote on LinkedIn: 'The Pentagon Pizza Index has been a surprisingly reliable predictor of seismic global events—from coups to wars—since the 1980s.' During the Cold War, Soviet operatives reportedly monitored pizza delivery activity in Washington, believing a sudden uptick in late-night orders signaled military personnel working overtime. They even gave it a code name: 'Pizzint,' short for pizza intelligence. In January 1991, Frank Meeks, who then owned 43 Domino's outlets in the Washington area, told the Los Angeles Times: 'The news media doesn't always know when something big is going to happen because they're in bed, but [pizza] deliverers are out there at 2 in the morning.' He added that on the night of August 1, 1990, the CIA ordered a record number of pizzas in a single night—21 pies. A few hours later, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, marking the beginning of the Gulf War. As CNN's then-Pentagon correspondent Wolf Blitzer reportedly said in 1990: 'Bottom line for journalists: Always monitor the pizzas.' Of course, a correlation between pizza delivery and global crises is not a verified method of tracking world events. In a statement to Newsweek, the Pentagon dismissed the theory, noting they have plenty of pizza options inside the building, along with sushi, sandwiches, and donuts. They also disputed the timeline suggested by the Pentagon Pizza Report, saying it did 'not align with the events.'
