Opinion – do we really need Christmas adverts this year?
Festive favourite brands like John Lewis and Sainsbury’s are toning down their Christmas adverts as the cost of living crisis looms. But is seasonal marketing truly necessary this year? For years, the start of the festive adverts has signalled the beginning of Christmas. Like most seasonal traditions, the launch of the...
Current in Culture
Magazine causes outrage with racist World Cup cartoon
A new cartoon by French magazine Le Canard enchainé has been decried for its racist depiction of Qatari footballers. It’s a prime example of football at its worst. A caricature published in le Canard enchainé has caused outrage on social media for its depiction of Qatari footballers as terrorists. The...
Opinion – ‘Queerbaiting’ creates unfair pressure on young celebrities
18-year-old actor Kit Connor announced he was bisexual this week, claiming that pressure from fans and the media had forced him out of the closet. Are we forcing celebrities out of the closet? It sounds like a bizarre question. Just a few years ago, being queer in the public eye...
Opinion – politicians should stop trying to be celebrities
Constant media coverage kickstarted the personalisation of politics, where leaders aren’t seen as representatives but more as ‘personalities’ that the public tries to know, relate to, and measure their own values against. Is this damaging? Yesterday, the wiser half of Britain collectively scoffed and eye-rolled after learning that its former...
Saatchi Gallery’s new exhibition spotlights Black visionaries
The New Black Vanguard features photographers Campbell Addy and Tyler Mitchell, spotlighting Black visionaries at the intersection of art and fashion. The Saatchi Gallery’s latest show, ‘The New Black Vanguard’, is – as its name would suggest – a celebration of Blackness. Photographer Campbell Addy, whose work features in the exhibit...
This lamp is made from just three recycled orange peels
One of the key challenges humanity faces is finding ways to turn ‘waste’ into items that are both functional and attractive to use. A design studio in Italy is utilising the country’s most popular fruit to create eco-friendly homeware. On the third day, God said: ‘let there be light.’ Not...
Kevin Spacey has won lawsuit against Anthony Rapp
The jury’s decision marks a difficult turning point in the #Metoo movement. This week, as a jury concluded actor Kevin Spacey was not guilty of molesting Anthony Rapp – an assault that Mr Rapp alleges took place when he was just 14 – Spacey dropped his head in relief. Hugging lawyers and others, Spacey said he was ‘deeply grateful’ for the court's decision. The lawsuit had been based on Anthony Rapp’s...
Two designers are turning food waste into home accessories
While minimising the amount of food we throw away should be a top priority in light of the climate crisis, the task of finding a renewed purpose for unavoidable agricultural waste has landed in the hands of talented creatives. In the age of upcycling, we tend to focus on reworking materials like wood, metal, and plastic in order to transform them into something new. But addressing one of the biggest...
Alex Jones to pay $965 million USD for Sandy Hook defamation
Infowars founder and right-wing conspirator Alex Jones has been ordered to pay nearly $1 billion USD in damages to the families of Sandy Hook victims, after years of abuse and harassment from his followers. Right wing conspirator and commentator Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $965 million USD to the families of Sandy Hook victims. The verdict was read out on Wednesday in Waterbury, Connecticut, 20 miles from the...
Opinion – ‘Kim, there are people that are dying’ is a toxic mindset
The popular phrase has become a default when we – or others – complain about trivial things in our lives, but could this thought process be damaging? We live in the era of heightened global awareness, with the ability to know what’s going on in virtually any part of the world at any time. If you have news app notifications on, you know how disconcerting it is to receive a ping...
