You decide – has YouTube made a mistake by removing dislikes?
YouTube has announced that dislikes will no longer be visible as an attempt to combat ‘targeted harassment’. Is this a move to genuinely help creators or is it pandering to corporate sponsors and brands? YouTube has begun hiding dislikes from viewers on all videos. The company says it has...
Current in Culture
Independent record store boycotting Adele over vinyl shortage
Skeleton Records in Birkenhead is boycotting Adele’s new album ‘30’ due to a vinyl shortage. Over 500,000 copies of her album have been pressed despite materials currently being sparce worldwide. Adele will be dominating the charts for the foreseeable future with the imminent release of her new album ‘30’. Whether...
Eight dead at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival
Eight people died and hundreds were injured at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival in Houston due to a mixture of mismanagement, negligence, and an unwavering focus on profitability over human life. Eight people and hundreds more were injured in a crowd crush at Astroworld Festival over the weekend. Launched in 2018 by...
Who is Messy the COP Ness Monster?
Waterbear’s new denim draped sculpture, Messy the COP Ness Monster, aims to prove a circular economy is more tangible than her folklore inspiration. Ever noticed how the back-pocket of your jeans is shaped like a dragon scale? No? Luckily sustainability-focused streaming service WaterBear did, and they really ran with the...
Squid Game crypto currency scam shows the pitfalls of investing
A digital token based on the hit Netflix show Squid Game has lost 99.9% of its value overnight in a move experts are calling a ‘scam’. It is an example of the potential dangers of digital investment, which continues to grow in popularity with Gen Z. I’m sure that you’ve...
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...
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 a regular basis, but when reading up on some of the latest advances in the field of eco-friendly materials this...
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 fill up once more with the congested stress of hurried employees, work anxiety and stress has steadily risen alongside...
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 huge success in the pursuit of clean energy. Wind power is one of the most popular sources of renewable energy...
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 October’s cover star. Rock announced the news on Twitter last week, writing ‘I’m a @playboy bunny DUHHHHHH’ above two images from...
