Opinion – Chappelle’s transphobia is dangerous but he won’t be ‘cancelled’
We may have thought the Dave Chappelle fiasco would have died down by now. But it hasn’t, and it shouldn’t. For those that don’t know, Chappelle’s new Netflix series, ‘The Closer’, launched early this month. The tirade of transphobic jokes featured in the programme have caused an uproar that...
Current in Culture
Sperm plastic and hair textiles: a step too far?
Are we really so desperate in our fight against the climate crisis that eco-friendly materials made from fish semen and the human body are being presented as viable solutions? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for finding sustainable alternatives to products we know are detrimentally impacting our environment on...
London tests ‘chill-out carriages’ to combat work anxiety
New ‘chill-out carriages’ have been introduced on twelve DLR trains in east London, offering spaces for commuters to calm down during intense periods of work related stress. Nearly two years into the pandemic, many workplaces have slowly re-introduced staff to regular commuting and office hours. As our tubes and motorways...
Designer Joe Doucet creates new wind power wall
Artist and designer Joe Doucet has invented a spinning, gridded wall that could harness wind power without needing giant turbines and large spaces for farms. When someone mentions ‘wind power’, most of us think of massive white turbines in the rural countryside that require a ton of farmland. They’ve become a...
Playboy features its first ever queer male cover star
Playboy has announced queer influencer Bretman Rock as its latest cover star. What do these inclusive shifts mean for pop culture’s most exclusionary spaces? Playboy has long been known for its nude female models. But in a first for the magazine, gay Filipino Bretman Rock has been revealed as...
You decide – is Coldplay’s ‘sustainable tour’ eco-friendly or greenwashing?
Coldplay once vowed to only return to touring once it became a carbon neutral practice. Though it has been unable to stay true to this goal, the band says its latest tour will be significantly more eco-friendly than past efforts. Should others take note? As the world slowly recovers...
Marble sculptures on Tuscany’s sea floor prevent illegal trawling
Emily Young’s determination to increase environmental awareness through her art has seen her named ‘Britain’s leading living stone sculptor’ by the Financial Times. Born in London to a family of artists and politicians, Emily Young spent her life traveling across the world to learn about art, history, and its role of importance for different cultures. Though Young started out as a painter, by the early 1980’s she had begun carving into...
Arlo Parks launches art therapy initiative for global creatives
The South London musician is collaborating with Dazed and Converse to launch ‘Arlo’s Art Therapy’ for creatives who use their work as a release. Arlo Parks is known for using her music to express vulnerability – performing dreamy, poetic vocals about the ups and downs of love and life over low-key, soulful beats. The 21-year-old began writing as early as the age of eleven, penning out streams of consciousness, thoughts, and...
Parasocial relationships: Gen-Z and celebrity
The way we interact with celebrity has been irreversibly changed by how and how often we consume media. If you’ve ever felt like you ‘know’ a celebrity – you may want to keep reading. Don’t let the theoretical terminology leading this topic fool you into believing it’s complex. A parasocial relationship is simply a one-sided relationship, where an individual exerts time, interest, and emotional energy into another person who is...
Art experiment Planet City imagines a climate change metropolis
Created by architect and production designer Liam Young, Planet City is a science fiction art experiment that critiques and responds to the threat of climate change. If you’ve been keeping up with Thred’s antics over the past year, you’ll likely be aware of the growing urgency of climate change. We’re now seeing weather patterns become more extreme, with seemingly no sign of slowdown in resource usage or population growth despite...
