Can child acting ever be ethical?
In a world driven by fame, money, and internet notoriety, is pushing your child into acting inherently abusive? Nickelodeon star Jennette McCurdy certainly wants you to think about it. If you grew up in the late 2000s – and were lucky enough to have a Sky TV dish on the...
Current in Culture
Should we criticise musicians for entering high luxury fashion?
Frank Ocean’s new $27,000 USD sex toy reveal has left many fans disappointed and muddled. At what point does a popular musician’s entry into fashion and other high-end avenues become exploitative? Frank Ocean unveiled a $27,000 USD male genital sex toy this week - complete with a nude photography...
This new sustainable lamp uses water to generate light
A Colombian designer has collaborated with renewable energy company E-dina and Wunderman Thompson to build a lamp that generates light using salt water. It could help over 800 million people worldwide with little access to electricity. Ever been stuck out in the wilderness without a torch? Phone run out...
US Senate passes the nation’s first ever climate legislation
Getting the Inflation Reduction Act passed is one of Joe Biden’s most impactful moves as President yet. It will seek to avert global climate catastrophe by drastically reducing US greenhouse emissions, but also lower prescription drug costs for citizens, and increase taxes paid by large corporations. Environmentalists, climate activists, and...
The Jaguar Foundation reports poor gender equality in dance music
A new report titled ‘Progressing Gender Representation in UK Dance Music’ by The Jaguar Foundation finds that the industry is heavily skewed toward male artists. I’m sure you’ve no doubt read or heard about the gender equality problem within the music industry. Whether it’s song writing, performing, festival organising, headline...
Fanni Sandor’s tiny wildlife sculptures encourage eco-sensitivity
Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created tiny, biologically accurate sculptures that encourage viewers to appreciate the delicacy of even the smallest patches of wildlife. Anyone remember that primary school banger of a hymn that told us God has the ‘whole world in his hands?’ Hungarian artist Fanni Sandor has created...
3D printers are being used to create living dirt structures
A team of designers in Jerusalem intends to swap emission heavy materials like concrete and reinforced steel for 3D printed living structures made entirely of natural resources. 3D printing has come a long way in the last 20 years and is slated to become $56bn market by 2027. In the last year alone, we’ve written about sustainably printed fashion, design homeware made from food waste, and even...
London Zoo places handbag on display to raise poaching awareness
To make a clear statement about animal poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, the London Zoo has displayed a brown crocodile skin bag where its Siamese crocodiles usually reside. Visiting London Zoo presents an exciting opportunity to observe some of the world’s most elusive creatures without ever having to leave the concrete jungle. What you wouldn’t expect to spot is a designer, crocodile leather handbag positioned behind the layer of glass...
Beyoncé removes ableist slur from new album after backlash
The singer’s decision to withdraw the lyric from her new song ‘HEATED’ has drawn a mixed response. Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’, a prodigious, 62 minute cacophony of dance and ballroom culture, has revived us – fawning and jubilant – from the slog of an endless heatwave. As we throw our limbs about to these 16 new tracks, it seems queen Bey can do no wrong. Her devoted ‘Beyhive’ – a legion of notoriously...
Amateur urban planners use DALL-E to re-imagine cities without cars
You probably know the DALL-E application best for the strange meme material it generates, but it has genuinely useful applications too. Recently, amateur urban planners have been using it to re-imagine cities designed for pedestrians, and the results are captivating. DALL-E is where many of us go to waste time, right? A dull afternoon at work is made that little bit brighter by generating absurd memes like Shrek at the strip club,...