The Daily - Sunday Special: The 10 Best Horror Movie Franchises
The only thing Gilbert Cruz loves more than celebrating Halloween is watching scary movies. And between the classic horror franchises that span decades and the prestige original films of the current moment, he has seen hundreds of them.
On today’s episode, Gilbert puts his knowledge to use in conversation with his fellow horror aficionados Jason Zinoman and Erik Piepenburg. They comb through a century of spooks, frights and screams to crown the Top 10 franchises in cinema history.
Horror franchises discussed on this episode:
“A Nightmare on Elm Street”
“A Quiet Place”
“Alien”
“The Amityville Horror”
“Candyman”
“Child’s Play”
“The Conjuring”
“The Exorcist”
“The Evil Dead”
“Final Destination”
“Friday the 13th”
“Halloween”
The Hannibal Lecter films
“Hellraiser”
“The Hills Have Eyes”
“Insidious”
“Jaws”
“Night of the Living Dead”
“The Omen”
“Paranormal Activity”
“Phantasm”
“Poltergeist”
“Psycho”
“The Purge”
“The Ring”
“Saw”
“Scream”
“Terrifier”
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
The Universal monster films
“V/H/S”
On Today’s Episode:
Jason Zinoman is a critic at large for The Times and the author of “Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror.”
Erik Piepenburg covers culture for The Times, and writes a monthly column about horror movies.
Additional Reading:
25 Jump Scares That Still Make Us Jump
Five Horror Movies to Stream Now
‘Good Boy’ Review: Sit. Stay. Scream.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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The Gist - Jeremy Workman — “Walking Every Block, Hiding in a Mall”
Two conversations with documentarian Jeremy Workman: first on The World Before Your Feet (a quest to walk every NYC block), then on Secret Mall Apartment (artists who built a hidden flat inside Providence Place Mall). Curiosity, urban change, and the quiet stunts that reveal a city.
Produced by Corey Wara
Production Coordinator Ashley Khan
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The Daily - ‘The Interview’: Anthony Hopkins on Quitting Drinking and Finding God
The legendary actor, 87, is looking back with tears in his eyes.
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Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - The Canal, the Crash and the Ketamine – Pushkin’s Reign of Error
We have a special episode for you today! In which Nate and Maria join their fellow Pushkin hosts to dive deep into the art of failure.
Tim Harford of Cautionary Tales shares stories of minor mistakes with massive consequences. Jonathan Goldstein of Heavyweight speaks with his friend, the writer Sheila Heti about the cost of mistakes and whether we're really in control of how many we make. And, our very own Nate and Maria give a gambler's take on the strange science of regret.
Cautionary Tales and Heavyweight are available wherever you get your podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Kentucky-raised, New York-forged, and newly “A Jewish Star,” Ariel Elias breaks down how outsider status becomes comic superpower. We talk growing up Jewish in the Bluegrass, explaining Kentucky to New Yorkers, the “Earl” name bit, airline misery (farewell, Southwest), and writing cleaner for synagogue gigs without losing edge. She unpacks her viral beer-can moment and how it led to Kimmel, why “hack” is about angle not topic, the art of the long-simmer callback, and learning to say no (and yes) at the right times.
Produced by Corey Wara
Production Coordinator Ashley Khan
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The Bulwark Podcast - Ryan Holiday: Life Is Too Short to Be a Bootlicker
Ryan Holiday joins Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes
1A - The News Roundup For October 24, 2025
Following a federal court’s approval, the Trump administration is one legal hurdle away from getting the green light to send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon. And Trump reversed his decision to send troops to San Francisco after a conversation with the city’s mayor.
Plus, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to refuse to swear in newly-elected Arizona congresswoman Adelita Grijalva.
And, in global news, Israel returned the bodies of several hundred Palestinian prisoners this week. And the fragile ceasefire holds between Israel and Hamas holds; despite Israel killing more than 100 Palestinians and injuring at least 230 over the last two weeks.
Donald Trump says a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine has been called off.
And, days before President Trump is set to visit the country, Japan swears in its first-ever female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
We cover the most important stories from around the world on the News Roundup.
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The Commentary Magazine Podcast - We Love Our Robot Overlords
A conversation about how Donald Trump controls all news in this country morphs unexpectedly into a deep dive into large language models, uncanny valleys, AI, driverless cars, and everything scary about everything. Give a listen!
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Federalist Radio Hour - Protecting Religious Freedom In An Age Of Secularism
You can find Wilsey's book, Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, here.
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