M&S ad controversy highlights social responsibility of brands
Amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza, marketing blunders like these demonstrate the urgency of brand due diligence. Each year, the arrival of Christmas creeps slightly earlier. Nowadays, we’re still busy binning Halloween decorations and transforming pumpkins into a buffet of soups and risottos when Mariah Carey starts defrosting. And it...
Current in Culture
14-year-old develops new bar of soap to treat melanoma
Heman Bekele may have found a strikingly simple answer to skin cancer treatment: a bar of soap. Despite extortionate amounts of fundraising and tireless research, a cancer cure still often feels like a pipedream. But as far as cancer research goes, it's long been suspected that the answer to one...
The Rock’s wax figure is part of a much bigger problem
The actor reached out to a Parisian museum after his wax figure was revealed to have a much paler complexion than his own. Last week, the unveiling of a Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson statue raised eyebrows not for its impeccable likeness, but for a glaring issue that’s sparked a broader...
How structures made from oyster shells can help prevent coastal erosion
Reef Design Lab based in Melbourne uses locally sourced oyster shells mixed with concrete to build structures that reduce coastal erosion and support marine wildlife. Along the shore of Port Phillip Bay in Australia, large dome-shaped modules sit submerged just below the water’s surface. Though they resemble large sand dollars at...
Julian Assange’s case to define the future of whistleblowing
The case of Julian Assange has taken the media by storm igniting bombshell debates from the public to governments. Julian Assange became a prominent figure in the press when he made classified information public via WikiLeaks. Established in 2006, WikiLeaks has become a powerhouse for previously unknown information, causing...
Lego’s new braille bricks are a step toward more inclusive toys
Bricks with studs corresponding to braille numbers and letters have been designed to help blind and visually-impaired children learn through play. Since 2020, Lego have been quietly distributing a groundbreaking toy – free of charge – to select schools and services catering for visually-impaired children. The brand’s braille bricks were designed with...
Pokémon and Van Gogh collaboration causes scalping chaos
A recent promotional collaboration between Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum lead to commotion both online and in person, as scalpers attempted to make a profit from reselling. The Pokémon company has apologised for the chaos that ensued after launching a new collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Last week, the museum opened a new exhibit that showcased several depictions of famous Pokémon re-imagined within some of Van Gogh’s...
Opinion – SSC Napoli proves social media is a powerful weapon
Despite an empty apology from the football club, Osimhen’s racist treatment on TikTok has already done irreversible damage. Victor Osimhen may be the first footballer to sue his own club over social media mistreatment. The 24-year-old threatened legal action against SSC Napoli last week, after the club shared videos mocking Osimhen to their TikTok channel. The tone of the content was undeniably racist, and all videos have since been deleted. But the...
Canada’s blunder is a lesson in the importance of historical literacy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologised after the government accidentally honoured a Nazi. ‘Deepest apologies.’ Those were the words of a Canadian parliamentary official following a major gaffe by the country’s political leaders. At a House of Commons meeting last week – attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – members of parliament were seen honouring an individual who served in a Nazi unit during World War II. The...
The ‘Future Library’ is humanity’s sustainable literary time capsule
In 2014, a project was set underway to plant one thousand tree saplings in Norway. Their destiny? To be turned into books a century from now, as part of the Future Library project. When you imagine what the world will look like one hundred years from now, you probably don’t think about which books humans will be reading. Perhaps after reading this, you will. Deep in Norway’s Nordmarka forest sits...
