Sure enough, last week’s hints of looming unrest blossom this week in a full-scale coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in alt-history drama series For All Mankind, season 4, episode 3, “The Bear Hug.” And who’s in the middle of it all? Why, the former head of NASA, of course — Margo Madison.

In the span of one episode — released Wednesday instead of Friday for the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend — she gets horribly tortured and finds herself in a big new space-agency job. But it ain’t NASA this time. I’d say you can’t make this stuff up, but someone did. Meanwhile, another coup unfolds at private space-exploration company Helios Aerospace.

Apple TV+ slipped out the third episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters a few days early so Godzilla could arrive in time for Thanksgiving. Here’s a quick recap that puts it in context not only with the earlier episodes and MonsterVerse movies but also events of the 20th century.

Read on if you’re ready for massive spoilers about the latest episode, plus some speculation about the show’s future.

SwitchEasy’s MagEasy brands makes tons of cool Apple accessories, and they’re up to 60% off for Black Friday. But you can take another 5% off is you use coupon code cultofmac at checkout!

That will make the deals you nab on cases, chargers and more for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and MacBooks even sweeter. The promotion goes through November 28.

Today’s featured setup packs two powerful MacBooks Pro — an M1 Max for work and an M3 Pro for play. To give them hassle-free equal time with peripherals, including a big, beautiful OLED smart TV serving as a display, the user employs a Thunderbolt 4 dock bristling with ports for maximum connectivity options.

Never worry about losing your pet again with one of Nine Twenty Eight’s new AirTag dog collars. The family-run Canadian retailer — new to the Cult of Mac Store — designs the collars with a double-stitched slot for an AirTag, which is included with some models.

That way, you have a secure, comfortable collar for your pooch that also lets you use Apple’s AirTag tracking technology to help ensure he or she never gets lost.

Nine Twenty Eight also makes cat collars, but currently the lineup in the Cult of Mac Store is a selection of small, medium and large dog collars — and personalization is an option on the medium and large sizes!

The European Parliament voted Tuesday to approve a strong right-to-repair proposal. It aims to make consumer electronic goods more repairable, with companies required to prioritize repairability over replacement.

The draft legislation still needs to go through negotiations between the Parliament and the Council before it can go into effect.

A gift that always goes down well with Apple fans, no matter the time of year, is a brand-new pair of AirPods. But it’s important to ensure you pick the right pair out of the four on offer if you really want to impress.

In our AirPods buying guide, we’ll help you choose between AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max — and highlight some of the best cases and charging accessories to go with them.

ChatGPT makes it easy to quickly produce high-quality written content — assuming you know how to use it. You see, the generative AI platform creates content based on the prompts you use to solicit said content. And the quality of the resulting content depends to a large part on the quality of your prompts.

So basically, it’s the age-old computing truism: garbage in, garbage out.

Don’t let garbage happen. Learn to craft effective ChatGPT prompts with The Ultimate ChatGPT Prompts Guide. Usually sold for $119, this resource is primed to assist you in using AI the right way for years to come — and it’s currently available for only $19.97.

The Apple TV+ episodes that would ordinarily appear later this week are all instead going to debut on Wednesday, November 22. That includes Lessons in Chemistry, For All Mankind and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

The reason shouldn’t be hard to guess. In the United States, Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, and many people will either be traveling to visit family or hosting visiting family members.

With one of the biggest shopping events of the year upon us — Black Friday, which no longer lasts for just one day — don’t forget it’s not just for techie holiday gifts. You also can bag big bargains on Microsoft software like Windows and Office. Find fantastic deals on those products and more in the Black Friday Sale at CdkeySales.com!

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Almost everything is cooler when you can see right through it. Sadly, Apple stopped making transparent devices when it discontinued the iconic iMac G3. But for those craving that retro look, Elago offers a transparent Clear band for Apple Watch that looks absolutely terrific.

Made from a strong and lightweight thermoplastic, it’s incredibly comfortable to wear all day long. And it’s insanely affordable at less than $13. I’ve been wearing one for months now and it has easily become one of my favorite Apple Watch bands.

Ever feel like you could use a personal assistant in your life to deal with fast-tracking responsibilities and tasks? You may not be able to hire a secretary, but advancements in artificial technology make it simple to consistently sustain a narrower focus and appeal to more customers.

For a limited time, a one-year premium Laxis AI Meeting Assistant subscription is available for only $47.99 (regularly $160). That’s 70% savings on a highly rated service that automatically captures the most important information from customer interactions.

If leaked images prove correct, Apple will adopt a new design for the iPhone 16 Pro’s battery featuring a metal shell on top. This could help with heat dissipation.

Like current iPhones, the purported iPhone 16 Pro battery has an L-shaped design. However, it has a capacity of 3,355mAh. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro uses a 3,274mAh capacity cell.

If your computer setup could use a new external display, don’t sleep on Amazon’s Black Friday bargains on Samsung monitors. You can nab steep discounts of up to nearly half off regular prices on a few items, with more like a third off on many others.

And the selection is as wide as some of those ultra-wide displays! If you want to spend less, you can skip 4K-resolution screen and find choices with 1080p resolution.

Everybody loves a winner — except when they don’t. The NFL’s New England Patriots saw so much success over two decades, with six Super Bowl wins, they gained a lot of fans as well as haters.

But even if you despise the Pats, who are having another post-dynasty bad year, you might want to consider watching the upcoming 10-part documentary series The Dynasty: New England Patriots. The teaser trailer Apple TV+ dropped last week takes a decidedly defeated tone after the opening scenes wallow in the thrill of victory.

The series, which promises “unprecedented access” to the team, debuts February 16 on Apple TV+. If it sparks riots in Boston, we’ll know it touched a nerve.

Mac mini, Apple’s small-but-mighty desktop machine, does a lot of things well — especially the M1 and newer models. They make bigger desktop computers unnecessary for people who don’t need truly massive computing power.

And today’s featured M2 Mac mini user found a way to greatly expand his computer’s capabilities with a vertical stand that also saves space on the desk.

Following a recipe in the kitchen? Assembling furniture via online instructions? Taking a hands-free call in the tub? Sometimes you need to put your iPhone where you can see it, or talk via speaker, without holding it — and that’s when a magnetic wall mount comes in handy.

SwitchEasy sells two such mounts in the Cult of Mac Store, and through December 1 you can get a third one free when you buy two of the handy devices.

International travel data can be quite expensive if you stick with your normal carrier. eSIM plans are often more affordable, and that’s especially true during a limited-time sale.

After a Black Friday price drop, you can get an aloSIM lifetime eSIM for just $18.97 — and it comes with a $50 credit toward data plan(s) of your choice. However, this deal lasts through November 27 only.

Apple’s decision to finally ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C on iPhone 15 means that you now have infinitely greater flexibility when it comes to connectivity. Whether you want to hook up storage drives, an external display, or even an Ethernet cable, you can do it all with USB-C.

But there is a catch. First, you’ll need a suitable USB-C hub or adapter that lets you connect all the peripherals you want to use through one port. Here are the best USB-C hubs you can buy today for iPhone 15.

Apple is reportedly still working on the Vision Pro’s distribution plan and final testing. Due to this, the mixed-reality headset will launch around March 2024.

This is a couple of months later than the company’s initial target of a January launch. At the “Wonderlust” event on September 12, Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed the Vision Pro is “on track to ship early next year.”

iPad 10 is a capable tablet for school or fun, and you can now grab one for $349. And the entry-level iPad 9 is down to a mere $229. That’s $100 off either model, a truly significant saving on what are already Apple’s lower-price tablets.

The holiday season is almost here, and those planning to gift an iPad can take advantage of these deals before they go away.

No matter what piece of Apple gear we’re talking about, it’s not so glamorous when its battery goes dead. Rather than packing separate charging cables for all your devices, cover all your basic charging needs with a 6-in-1 charging cable: the inCharge X Max!

Ahead of Black Friday through November 27, this nifty cable — which works with USB-C, Lightning and more — is only $16.97 (regularly $39)!

In this week’s Awesome Apps roundup, we have a way to play Legos without the mess, an app that’ll read aloud almost anything, 700 workouts on your Apple Watch, and the best Safari extension ever.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Tests performed on the M3 MacBook Pros reveal the performance-crushing effects of thermal throttling and skimpy RAM. Erfon is not impressed!

Also on The CultCast:

• Apple shocks everyone by pledging to support Rich Communication Services for better texting between iPhones and Android devices.
• Griffin runs down some of the most interesting new features coming soon in iOS 17.2.
• Apple reportedly plans to overhaul the iPad lineup next year, and a mammoth 12.9-inch iPad Air is apparently on the menu.
• If the iPhone 16 gets exclusive AI features, will Siri really get smarter? We’re extremely skeptical.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stomped onto Apple TV+ on Friday, bringing the biggest star yet to the streaming service: Godzilla.

As a lifetime fan of kaiju films, I’m here to review the first two episodes, and also to remind viewers of MonsterVerse lore brought up in the new series. I even throw in some speculation on what’s coming in later episodes.