Opinion – ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos are entirely unappetizing
The trend of sharing our daily meals invites harmful diet tropes, unhealthy comparisons, and a general disillusionment with food. So why can’t we escape ‘What I Eat in a Day’ videos? There’s a peculiar flavour to modern voyeurism, and it comes in the form of meal vlogging. Otherwise known as ‘What...
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What Reddit vs X says about internet groupthink
Multiple subreddits are banning X links in protest of Elon Musk’s salute at the presidential inauguration. The implosion of ideological groupthink online highlights the fascinating potential of digital community. Elon Musk was one of a number of tech-giants who took center stage at Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. The X...
The politics of pink Kashmiri tea
In Kashmir, savoury pink tea is a staple. But outside the valley, it’s been rebranded into something sweeter, almost sparking a quiet identity crisis. Let’s unpack the history, evolution, and brewing debate over what makes nun chai truly Kashmiri (hint: it’s salt). ‘Bas bas! Main itna nahi kha paungi! (Enough,...
Why do we love mocking scam victims online?
You can try and deny it, but we love laughing in the face of innocent scam victims. The more elaborate the scam, the louder the taunts. But at a time when anti-bullying agendas are everywhere, why are we so quick to mock the internet's most vulnerable? A very shoddy photoshop...
US court rules that elephants are not people
A court has ruled that five elephants from Colorado zoo are not people after an animal rights group argued that they were effectively imprisoned. A court has ruled that elephants are not legally regarded as people. This bizarre judgement is the result of an ongoing bid to free five elephants...
Is crochet anti-capitalist?
Are we so obsessed with watching other people document their creativity for profit that we’re unable to separate our own creativity from capitalism? Crochet has gone through several evolutions since its (debated) origins in Europe. It is widely agreed that Chinese craftsmen introduced a needlework style known as tambouring to...
Is it really lonely at the top?
It’s long been posited that money can’t buy happiness – apart from maybe the £9.90 it costs for prescribed antidepressants – but can alienation caused by excessive wealth harm our ability to form interpersonal connections? The other day I was walking through the display rooms in a well-known, Swedish, affordable furniture retailer, when my best mate pointed out two sinks side by side in one of the show bathrooms. She made...
‘Fogvid’ was our favourite conspiracy theory of 2024
As barmy conspiracies go, Fogvid 24 made a late play for the title of most baseless and far-fetched of 2024. Let’s get into the details still spreading throughout the tendrils of Facebook. Last year was a great year for conspiracy theories, creatively speaking – in terms of plausibility, perhaps not. In April, Elon Musk apparently replaced pigeons with AI-powered drones to gather data for Space X, Taylor Swift was outed...
Opinion – Gen Z are becoming more about crochet than clubbing
Gen Z seem to be more about crochet than clubbing these days. When did this shift happen and what are the probable causes, though? I love going out. I love the loud music and the pulsating walls. I love dark rooms and sporadic lighting. I love the throng of people that it’s too loud to even attempt conversation with, and the ‘profound’ conversations with strangers you meet for a...
The power of swearing in positions of powerlessness
Is being explicit how we cope with how out of control things are – and how out of control we feel? Recently, internationally acclaimed Irish popstar CMAT (Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) posted an Instagram story responding to someone who criticised how much she swears on social media. She explained that, sometimes, when there’s nothing else you can do to relieve yourself from the shittyness of a situation (like an underpaid job that...
