Latest Stories from Flo
Can we stop dressing celebrities in looted ancient artefacts?
Zendaya is the latest star facing backlash for her red-carpet fashion choices – this time sporting a pair of ancient Iranian artefacts to promote Christopher Nolan’s latest film The Odyssey. Only a handful of stars have the fashion world under their thumb quite like Zendaya (and her trusty stylist Law Roach). But the actor has faced a rare wave of backlash for her latest outfit choice. While promoting Christopher Nolan’s...
Is vocational training the future of education?
On World Youth Skills Day, the UN has argued a changing job market calls for a new educational approach. The world looks very different from a decade ago, when I was taking my A-Levels. Now young people are leaving school to a largely thankless job market, ill-equipped to accommodate the skills learnt through traditional education. Technological development, the rise of AI, and a professional landscape transformed by remote working have...
Will a maternity commissioner tackle Britain’s cultural problems on motherhood?
The role has yet to be finalised or filled, but the government is already facing criticism over its decision to appoint a maternity commissioner. The UK government has announced plans to appoint a maternity commissioner following ‘shocking’ failings in maternity care across England. Whoever takes on the new role will be responsible for spearheading an overhaul of the maternity healthcare system after a major review and sustained pressure from...
Does V.A.R suggest the future of super technology isn’t so black-and-white?
The intense backlash against digital interventions in sport proves we’re still slow to trust the tech designed to help us. For all the promises made about Video Assistant Referee (V.A.R) technology, if this World Cup has proved one thing it’s that people don't want perfect decisions. They’d rather have decisions they truly believe in. V.A.R has, over the course of this summer, become football’s most controversial player. Recent flashpoints involving Argentina...
Why several African nations are rejecting US aid
After pulling foreign assistance to African countries last year, Trump's government is again offering hundreds of millions in financial aid. But the support comes at a cost, and many nations aren't willing to pay it.
Ghana is the latest African country to turn down a new funding deal from the Trump administration, after the US president dismantled the governing body that oversaw foreign assistance during his second term.
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Is loneliness the latest Gen Z status symbol?
A pivot on singledom, the rise of ‘lonely influencers’, and a crackdown on self-optimisation have more and more of us romanticising the lonely life. I’ve grown up feeling that loneliness is something to hide, or at least feel negative about. My earliest visualisation of adult loneliness was probably Bridget Jones singing ‘All By Myself’ in her pyjamas, and as I evolved through school, university, and my first jobs, I came to...
Parenthood is costing women their academic careers
Studies show a direct correlation between motherhood and a decline in academic tenure, with one in three women leaving academia after becoming mothers. When I was a student, I remember being struck by how many women were on my Art History course. Out of our 50-or-so cohort, I could count the men on one hand. But it was a very different picture when you looked at the staff. We had several...
FIFA overturning Balogun ban will be the lasting mark of Trump’s World Cup
Amongst blocked visas, overseas conflict, and soaring ticket prices, this year’s tournament has been marred by US politics. But Trump’s latest intervention in a FIFA red card ruling signals an ugly future for the beautiful game. The World Cup has always been political. By its very nature, a tournament that unites the globe has played out amidst international unrest, dictatorships, corruption scandals, and much more. But those moments have always existed...
Opinion – ‘Taste’ is Gen Z’s new buzzword
Acquiring it, demonstrating it, refining it – why is everyone so obsessed with taste these days? When I started working in marketing, fresh out of uni and riddled with too much anxiety to question any of the corporate jargon clogging up my inbox, I soon learnt that society is built on buzzwords. Back then, the term everyone was flinging about was ‘culture.’ Tapping into culture, connecting with culture – we were...
Toy Story 5 comes for big tech, but does the moral lesson land?
The latest instalment in the beloved franchise tackles a new villain: the iPad. But what does ‘Toy Story 5’ get wrong about kids and screentime? Since the first film dropped way back in 1995, Toy Story has warmed hearts and raised minds with its ragtag group of friends. Each iteration of the franchise – like every good kids movie – has presented a moral lesson, often taught with the assistance of a...
