Latest Stories from Flo
Can social media ever tackle it’s body shaming issue?
Backlash against TikTok’s new ‘chubby filter’ suggests so – but is it enough? TikTok’s algorithm may feel chaotic and unpredictable. One minute you’re scrolling past a hotel recommendation, the next a meme about your overbearing boss, then a tour of the M&S aisle. But apps like these have built dedicated algorithms that feed us content they think we want to see. Everything we share, like, and linger on feeds this system information...
Is Gen Z finally romanticising millennial culture?
As the cyclical conveyer belt of internet trends could have predicted, Gen Z are now obsessed with the generation they fought so hard to shun. But as romanticised images of the early 2010s crop up on social media, is there any truth to these rose-tinted glasses? Gen Z has gleefully mocked millennial culture for the past decade, transforming social media into a slightly terrifying space for anyone over the age...
Harvard promises free tuition to almost all of its students
One of the world’s most prestigious universities has taken a significant step toward overhauling the US higher-education system. Will other institutions follow suit? For a school synonymous with privilege, Harvard University has announced a wildly democratic move to cut almost all tuition fees. Beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, all qualifying students will be able to attend the college free of charge. Given that around 86% of US households earn less...
Why has ‘Adolescence’ had such an impact?
The new Netflix limited series, following the family of a young boy who is arrested for murder, is already the most watched show in the UK and has infiltrated discussions in Parliament. Its success speaks to the insidious impacts of social media on a generation increasingly misunderstood by the world around them. ‘I want it to be shown in schools, I want it to be shown in Parliament. It’s crucial...
What’s all the trouble with Disney’s Snow White?
A live-action remake of the 1937 classic has been hampered with controversy from the start. But why is a story about a princess, seven dwarfs, and an apple causing so much drama? For better or worse, Disney has been churning out live-action remakes of its classic tales for the past few years – an effort to modernise now rather outdated, but still beloved stories for a new generation. Some have been...
Who pays the price for natural disasters like Cyclone Alfred?
Race, class, and resilience continue to shape the climate crisis, as Australia’s East coast is hit by a deadly typhoon. In the early days of March, Australia’s east coast – home to the country’s most populous cities including Sydney and Brisbane – was hit by a storm that, despite being downgraded to a tropic low, left a significant trail of devastation in its path. Cyclone Alfred has resulted in widespread power...
Reflecting on the Oscars and the limits of celebrity activism
For Zoë Saldaña, an Oscars win was the joyous crescendo of an incredible awards season. But it also became a stark indictment of Hollywood’s complex relationship with socio-political representation. Zoë Saldaña has enjoyed one of the most successful award season sweeps in recent memory, having taken home the prize for best supporting actress at every major 2025 ceremony. But the film for which she’s received these accolades has been fraught with...
The Amazon is being destroyed for a climate summit
Yep, you read that correctly. We’re living through peak dystopian greenwashing. There’s something morbidly poetic about bulldozing eight miles of pristine Amazon rainforest to build a road to a… climate summit. A new four-lane highway has cut through tens of thousands of acres of land ahead of COP30, which takes place in the Brazilian city of Belém. The goal is to reduce traffic as around 50,000 people descend on the...
Number of women doctors surpasses men in the UK
In Great Britain, the rise of female doctors is a triumph worth celebrating amid pervasive gender inequality worldwide. For the first time ever in the UK, female doctors now outnumber their male peers. Women now make up 50.04% of the nation’s registered doctors, a shift that coincides fittingly with International Women’s Day. According to the General Medical Council (GMC), the number of women on its register has overtaken men for...
LA celebrity activism is clashing with environmental justice
As stars in one of California’s wealthiest areas protest against toxic waste disposal following devastating fires, the mass destruction of LA’s poorer communities highlights the inherent elitism of environmental discourse. Los Angeles is still recovering from some of the most devastating fires in its history, which burnt through the Pacific Palisades community at the beginning of January and continued for a number of weeks. By the time the fires were...
