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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Everything Everywhere Daily - The Shroud of Turin

In the 13th century, a French knight came forward and displayed what he claimed was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

Almost immediately, its authenticity was challenged by religious authorities. 

In the centuries that followed, it became an object of fascination, curiosity, veneration, and controversy.

Finally, after centuries of conflicting opinions, scientists were allowed access to the cloth to date it, but even that didn’t end the debate.

Learn more about the Shroud of Turin and its history on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.


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NBN Book of the Day - Roger Moorhouse, “Wolfpack: Hitler’s U-Boat War 1939-45” (HarperCollins, 2025)

Winston Churchill famously remarked that the threat of the German U-Boats was the only thing that had “really frightened” him during World War Two. The U-Boats certainly claimed a bitter harvest among Allied shipping: nearly 3,000 ships were sunk, for a total tonnage of over 14 million tonnes, nearly 70% of Allied shipping losses in all theatres of the war. With justification, then, they are an integral part of the traditional narrative of the Battle of the Atlantic; a story of technological brilliance, dramatic sinkings, life and death, and – of course – the sinister, unseen threat of the U-Boats themselves.

For Allied seamen during the war, the U-Boat was a hidden menace, a faceless killer lurking beneath the waves; and the urgent needs of survival afforded them little time or energy to consider the challenges and privations of their enemy. History, however, affords us that time and energy, and any pretence of comprehensiveness demands that we consider what life was like for the crews of those most claustrophobic vessels; packed into a steel hull, at the mercy of the enemy, of the elements – and of basic physics.

Germany’s U-Boat crews posted the highest per-capita losses of any combat arm during World War Two. Some 30,000 German submariners were killed – over 75% of the total number deployed – the vast majority of whom have no grave except the seabed. Using archival sources, unpublished diaries and existing memoir literature, Wolfpack: Inside Hitler’s U-Boat War (Basic Books, 2025) by Roger Moorhouse gives the U-Boatmen back their voice, allowing their side of the narrative to be aired in a comprehensive manner for the first time.

With that testimony, Wolfpack takes the reader from the heady early days of the war, when U-Boat crews were buoyed with optimism about their cause, through to the challenges of meeting the Allied counterthreat, to the final horror of defeat, when their submarines were captured by the enemy or scuttled in ignominy. Using the U-Boatmen’s own voices to punctuate an engaging narrative, it tells their story; of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation and – ultimately – failure.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts

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New Books in Native American Studies - Joe Watkins, “Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future” (U Arizona Press, 2025)

In Indigenizing Japan: Ainu Past, Present, and Future (University of Arizona Press, 2025)archaeologist Joe E. Watkins provides a comprehensive look at the rich history and cultural resilience of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan, tracing their journey from ancient times to their contemporary struggles for recognition.

Relaying the deep history of the islands of Japan, Watkins tells the archaeological story from the earliest arrivals some 40,000 years ago to 16,000 years ago when local cultures began utilizing pottery and stone tools. About 2,300 years ago, another group of people immigrated from the Korean peninsula into the Japanese archipelago, bringing wet rice agriculture with them. They intermarried with the people who were there, forming the basis of the contemporary Japanese majority culture. As the Japanese state developed on the central Islands of Honshu, Ryukyu, and Shikoku, the people of Hokkaido continued developing along a different trajectory with minimal interaction with the mainland until colonization in the mid-nineteenth century, when the people known as the Ainu came under Japanese governmental policy.

Watkins's insightful analysis highlights the Ainu's enduring spirit and their resurgence as part of the global Indigenous movement. Key events such as the 1997 Nibutani Dam case and the 2007 recognition of the Ainu as Japan's Indigenous people are explored in depth, showcasing the Ainu's ongoing fight for cultural preservation and self-determination. By situating the Ainu's experiences within broader global colonial histories, Indigenizing Japan underscores the shared struggles and resilience of Indigenous communities worldwide.

Joe E. Watkins is a senior consultant for Archaeological and Cultural Education Consultants (ACE Consultants), based in Tucson, Arizona. His study interests concern the ethical practice of anthropology and anthropology's relationships with descendant communities and populations on a global scale.

Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network.

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The Allusionist - 219. Making Trouble

A change of scene for one episode: recently the brilliant poet and performer Molly Naylor interviewed me for her podcast Making Trouble, about creativity, and she kindly let me run a version of that episode here for you. We're talking about ideas, but also long-term creative careers, mortality, podcasting, external validation, and Molly offers some great prompts for either sparking ideas or making a dinner conversation a bit more lively. Find her work at mollynaylor.com, and listen to Making Trouble in the very place you listen to podcasts.

Content note: this episode contains category A and B swears.

Visit theallusionist.org/trouble for more information plus a transcript of the episode. And hit the Contact tab to send me a request for an etymological explanation, or a word problem you're having, or observations sparked by previous Allusionists.

Support the show at theallusionist.org/donate and as well as keeping this independent podcast going, you also get behind-the-scenes info about every episode; livestreams with me, Martin and my ever-growing collection of dictionaries, and the charming and nurturing Allusioverse Discord community, where we chat about language and not-language, and there are some plans for a Zoom Halloween get-together. Together we're also watching the current seasons of Great British Bake Off - donors also get a weekly work of flanfic about the show - and the Canadian version thereof; from 2 November we'll get into the knitting show Game of Wool; and on 8 November we'll be watching the gorgeous Mira Nair film Monsoon Wedding.

Find the Allusionist at youtube.com/allusionistshow, instagram.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, @allusionistshow.bsky.social… If I’m there, I’m there as @allusionistshow. 

Our ad partner is Multitude. If you want me to talk compellingly about your product, sponsor an episode: contact Multitude at multitude.productions/ads. This episode is sponsored by:

•  The Language Lover’s Lexipedia, An A-Z of Linguistic Curiosities: the new book by alumsionist Joshua Blackburn, who makes the game League of the Lexicon. Both game and book are packed full of language facts and fascinating tidbits. Get them where you buy books and games, and check out leagueofthelexicon.co.uk

• Squarespace, your one-stop shop for building and running your online forever home. Go to squarespace.com/allusionist for a free trial, and get 10 percent off your first purchase of a website or domain with the code allusionist.

• Home Chef, meal kits that fit your needs. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering Allusionist listeners fifty per cent off and free shipping on your first box, plus free dessert for life, at HomeChef.com/allusionist.

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Up First from NPR - Kiwi vs. Predator

In New Zealand, a nationwide extermination campaign is underway. It's one of the most ambitious in the world. The country is home to more than four thousand native species that are threatened or at risk of extinction. To protect its biodiversity, New Zealand has embarked on an experiment that aims to eradicate all invasive species by the year 2050. Can the country pull it off? And how far should humans go to reverse the damage we’ve caused?

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | Did The Trump Administration Censor Speech?

For years, conservatives claimed that the Biden administration was pressuring tech companies to censor conservative speech with no solid evidence. 


In Trump 2.0, the administration is explicitly bragging about doing the very same thing they accused democrats of. What gives? 


Guest: Renée DiResta, Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of “Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality”


Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.

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Global News Podcast - President Trump oversees agreement between Thailand and Cambodia

President Trump attends ASEAN summit in Malaysia, and oversees an agreement between Thailand and Cambodia to normalise relations after their short border conflict earlier this year. Also: Hurricane Melissa bears down on Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the anniversary of floods that killed more than 200 people in Valencia; groups of indigenous peoples may be wiped out in the next ten years; voting for the next mayor of New York; a former world chess champion denies bullying; the release date of a Japanese film about a bear attacking humans is delayed - because of real bear attacks; and the row over a new Chinese embassy in London.

The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk