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Mariner’s conspiracy board from Star Trek: Lower Decks s01e05 [NST #436] appears in full in The Art of Star Trek: Lower Decks (IDW, 2026). ▲ The Art of Star Trek: Lower Decks (IDW, 2026), pages 100-101
A digital corkboard with string appears in the lead illustration by the Wired Staff (drawn from Getty Images) for David Gilbert’s “MAGA Is Increasingly Convinced the Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged,” article for Wired (17 April 2026). ▲ David Gilbert, “MAGA Is Increasingly Convinced the Trump Assassination Attempt Was Staged,” Wired (17 April 2026), illustration by Wired Staff/Getty Images From contributor Carl Thompson.
As in previous episodes [NST #572, #585], Big City Greens s04e16 (Disney Channel, 2025) contains a classic string wall. ▲ Big City Greens s04e16 (Disney Channel, 2025)
A classic investigation room appears in Pod (dir. Mickey Keating, 2015). ▲ Pod (dir. Mickey Keating, 2015)
A classic string board appears in Daredevil: Born Again s02e03 (Disney+, 2026), mirroring one in the previous season [NST #1191]. ▲ Daredevil: Born Again s02e03 (Disney+, 2026)
Throughout the 1990s until his death in 2000, Mark Lombardi produced an array of pencil diagrams, which he called “Narrative Structures” (also “Interlock” diagrams) on the connections between various entities involved in financial and political scandals. Some examples, drawn from various online overviews: ▲ Mark Lombardi, Narrative Structure example
The Fortnite [see NST #1232] spin-off Fortnite Save the World (Epic Games, 2020) uses a classic string board for its mission briefings. ▲ Fortnite Save the World (Epic Games, 2020)
Classic string boards appear in Blue Prince (Dogubomb/Raw Fury, 2025). From contributor Justin Wigard.
Classic investigation boards appear in Dark Light (dir. Padraig Reynolds, 2019). ▲ Dark Light (dir. Padraig Reynolds, 2019)
A few classic variants appear in Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver, 2023). ▲ Dead Island 2 (Dambuster Studios/Deep Silver, 2023)
A preview page from one of L. Pidge’s Infinite Wheatpaste comics, posted by Avery Hill Publishing on instagram, contains red thread connections. ▲ L. Pidge, Infitine Wheatpaste (2026) From contributor Colin Beineke.
A classic investigation board appears in Tiny Bookshop (Neoludic Games/Skystone Games, 2025). ▲ Tiny Bookshop (Neoludic Games/Skystone Games, 2025)
The cover of Michael Shermer’s Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational (2022) employs some classic red string. ▲ Michael Shermer, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational (2022), cover From contributor Barry Hudek.
A classic string investigation board appears in Elsbeth s02e14 (CBS, 2025). ▲ Elsbeth s02e14 (CBS, 2025)
The opening credits of Psycho Killer (dir. Gavin Polone, 2026) strobe between red and black iterations of string and investigation boards. ▲ Psycho Killer (dir. Gavin Polone, 2026)
A string map, described as a “wall of death,” appears in Deadly Impact (dir. Robert Kurtzman, 2010). ▲ Deadly Impact (dir. Robert Kurtzman, 2010)
The cover of Joseph Packer and Ethan Stoneman’s Cypher Culture: Conspiracy, Fandom, and the Messages That Were Not There (LSU Press, 2026) is structured as a classic string board. ▲ Joseph Packer and Ethan Stoneman, Cypher Culture Cypher Culture: Conspiracy, Fandom, and the Messages That Were Not There (LSU Press, 2026), cover
Classic string maps appear in Demon Witch Child (dir. Amando de Ossorio, 1974). ▲ Demon Witch Child (dir. Amando de Ossorio, 1974)
As in prior seasons [NST #909, #912], a couple of classic string boards appear in Hilda s03e07 (Netflix, 2023). ▲ Hilda s03e07 (Netflix, 2023)
Elaborate mind maps, similar to those in Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes games [NST #434], are featured in Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases (Blazing Griffin/Microids, 2021). ▲ Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases (Blazing Griffin/Microids, 2021)
Classic variants appear in an explanation scene in Redwood Massacre: Annihilation (David Ryan Keith, 2020). ▲ Redwood Massacre: Annihilation (David Ryan Keith, 2020)
by Michael Uhall 0. IntroductionForty minutes into Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman (2013), we encounter a pivotal scene. Marina – one half of a well-to-do Dutch couple – crouches in the garden shed, frantically sweeping at a pile of spilled potting soil. Realizing the gardener’s been murdered, she’s trying to hide the evidence. Her husband Richard appears, and she makes a hasty excuse for the mess. Richard: “But, darling, you don’t need to tidy that up. That’s what the gardener is for.” She tells…
A classic string map and investigation board appear in The Calling (dir. Jason Stone, 2014). ▲ The Calling (dir. Jason Stone, 2014)
Some string boards appear in one of the film clips inside the game Not for Broadcast (NotGames/tinyBuild, 2022). ▲ Not for Broadcast (NotGames/tinyBuild, 2022)
As in prior seasons, another variant—this time a full-room orderly documentation of an investigation—appears in Fargo s03e10 (FX, 2017).
A planning board gets some string connection in Plush (dir. Catherine Hardwicke, 2013).
A classic map-based string board appears in Do Not Enter (dir. Marc Klasfeld, 2026).
The trailer for the upcoming special Punisher: One Last Kill (Disney+, 2026) briefly includes a classic variant.
Digital red string appears in the lead illustration by the SPLC for Jeff Tischauser’s “Mapping the Communication Network Inside Patriot Front,” article for the Southern Poverty Law Center (17 March 2026).
A classic variant appears briefly in Spawn #250 (Image, February 2015).
