White Lotus creator Mike White reveals his gay father’s wild past with Christian televangelists

You've never heard a coming out story quite like this.

Even by Hollywood standards, Mike White is quite the character. Born Michael Christopher White, the award-winning actor, producer, director, and screenwriter has been active in the industry for over 25 years. He's penned screenplays for films like School of Rock and Nacho Libre, while also writing and producing shows including Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks.

He's proven to be a reality TV savant, too—White reached second place on Survivor: David vs. Goliath and competed twice on The Amazing Race (season 14 and The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business) alongside his father, Mel. But if you’ve heard anything about Mike White lately, it’s likely due to the gargantuan success of his HBO Max series, The White Lotus, which has earned him three Primetime Emmy Awards and is now in its third season. During a recent appearance on Andrew Sullivan's The Dishcast podcast, White revealed an intriguing piece of family history. Before becoming an LGBTQ+ activist, his father, Mel, was a prominent ghostwriter for America's televangelist movement.

People who’ve visited the U.S. share the 15 'strangest' things Americans don't realize are weird

"The ads blasting at you at gas stations stress me out so much."

Americans who haven’t spent much time abroad are probably unaware of the culture shock many people feel when they travel to the good ol’ U.S.A. The interesting thing is that it provides people who live in the U.S. a unique perspective on the American way of life that we may not notice otherwise.

People love many things about the United States, whether it’s the freedom to start a business, its gregarious people, the world-class entertainment, or it's movies or theme parks such as Disneyland or Universal Studios. People also love visiting the U.S. because of the country’s amazing national parks. However, as in any country, America does have some unique quirks that separate it from the rest of the world.

Everyone deserves a safe place to call home—no matter their background or income.

Join us and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on April 1st at 12:30 PM ET  for a free, exclusive screening of “From Hope to Home” - a moving 3-part docuseries produced by People's TV spotlighting three changemakers (Fair Share Housing Center, Four Bands Community Fund, and Ground Solutions Network) who are tackling the affordable housing crisis head on with community driven solutions. Let’s talk about how housing impacts health—and what we can do to make a difference.

A crow had to solve a 9-puzzle escape room to get some chicken nuggets. Watch her ace it.

It's no secret that crows are smart, but this is incredible to witness.

When you think of some of the smartest animals on Earth, you may think of dolphins, chimps, elephants, or even the surprisingly intelligent octopus. But do you think of crows?

We've learned a lot about crow intelligence since scientists ramped up research on corvids in the 1990s and 2000s, and we're still discovering things crows can do that people didn't think were possible. Some reports estimate that crows have the approximate reasoning and memory skills of a 7-year-old human, which is pretty darn impressive-sounding. But to watch that intelligence on display is truly mind-blowing.

A writer shared how he alters song lyrics to make chores fun. Scores of people chimed in.

It's impossible NOT sing along to people's delightful alternative lyrics.

Music is such an ubiquitous part of our lives that we often don't notice how frequently it enters our consciousness. (All the more reason to support arts education and pay working musicians what they're worth, but that's a whole other article.) One perfect example of the big role music plays is how often we sing to ourselves, sometimes in the most delightful and hilarious ways.

Writer Jonathan Edward Durham shared that he sings "La-un-dry" to the tune of The Cranberries' "Zombie" every time he does the wash, and that admission launched a chorus of people sharing how they, too, sing to themselves with altered song lyrics to make chores or mundane life tasks more interesting or fun.