Latest Stories from Flo
Is London about to legalise cannabis?
A new report backed by the Mayor of London calls for some cannabis possession to be decriminalised in the capital. Sadiq Khan is supporting calls for the partial decriminalisation of cannabis in the UK capital, following a study by the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC). According to reports by the LDC, the global policing of drug usage – particularly cannabis, which remains the most contentious substance when it comes to international...
Are small plates a scam?
I can’t help but wonder whether London’s most fashionable way to eat is leaving us full of regret and not much else. In London’s ever-expanding constellation of small plates restaurants, you’re not really here to eat. You’re here to experience. To share. To marvel at the micro greens. To spend £48 on what amounts, practically speaking, to a deconstructed sandwich served on artisan crockery. The rise of small plates in London...
Why are we still so hung up on feminine muscles?
Women are building strength for themselves, but a culture still rooted in fear of female power isn’t ready to let go of patriarchal body ideals. The female body has long been asked to shrink. That demand was both physical and philosophical. As a culture we’ve prized quietness and smallness in women, with the latter becoming somewhat of a shorthand for virtue – i.e, the less space you occupied, the more...
Why are we conflating our jobs with our identities?
All work leaves no room for self. So how do we separate our careers from our lives? If you took away your Slack status, your email signature, or your LinkedIn profile, how would you define yourself? In other words, do you know who you are without your career? Whenever I meet someone new, the details of my job tend to crop up in the first few minutes. And likewise, if I’m...
Half of British women turn to therapy and martial arts over safety fears
A demand for self-defence is the product of cultural self-blame. If you’re a woman, you’ve probably walked alone with your keys between your fingers at least once. Your heart rate has quickened when you hear someone approaching from behind after dark. You’ve pretended to take a phone call when heading home at night. These small rituals may sound overblown to a cisgender man, but they’ve become an unwelcome mainstay of womanhood....
Opinion – Do we really need another biopic?
From the Beatles to Anthony Bourdain, nobody is safe from the biopic treatment. It’s the symptom of a creative industry high on nostalgia and low on imagination. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood came for Anthony Bourdain. The man who made a career of evading easy categorisation (chef, anti-celebrity, philosopher of the palate) has now been posthumously slotted into what is arguably the most reductive genre:...
Does labour’s school uniform reform miss the mark?
A new government bill claims to cut costs on UK school uniforms, but critics argue it’s a superficial fix to a deeply stratified system. Keir Starmer’s labour government has announced plans to make school uniforms more affordable. Under the new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, most state schools in England will be required to cap the number of compulsory branded uniform items to three, with secondary schools allowed a...
What does Mark Carney’s win mean for Canada?
The Liberal Party has staged an unexpected comeback. But with Trump back in the White House, Canada’s new prime minister may need more than economic credentials to hold the line. By any conventional political metric, Mark Carney should not be Prime Minister of Canada. He is a latecomer to party politics, having only assumed leadership of the Liberal Party two months ago. He has never held elected office. His resume...
Why is Gen Z turning to religion?
In the face of digital disconnection, faith is emerging as an unlikely refuge for today’s young people. You’d be forgiven for assuming Gen Z might be the most secular cohort in modern history. They’re famously left-leaning in their politics, fly in the face of many traditional values surrounding marriage and child-rearing, and have also become a generation staunchly aligned with environmental concerns (the inherently scientific nature of these issues sitting...
This new anti-spiking stir stick might save your life
A discreet new device called Spikeless is fighting drink spiking one cocktail at a time. The greatest invention of 2025 might have arrived, albeit in an unlikely form. It might not be the latest iPhone, but scientists have developed a new device that might just save your life the next time you go out for drinks; a small plastic stick. This isn’t just any plastic stick. Spikeless, a discreet, colour-changing...
