Where Russia meets Rusholme
Down an unassuming side-street of Rusholme, not far from some of the university campuses, an onion-shaped dome stands proud against the cloudy Mancunian sky. Rusholme is itself a vibrant melting pot of different, cultures, demographics and attitudes: students wandering between the hipster bars and c
Creating Narratives to Change the Mood
On the first page of our story The future seemed so bright Then this thing turned out so evil I don’t know why I’m still surprised. Even angels have their wicked schemes And you take that to new extremes But you’ll always be my hero Even though you’ve lost your mind.
Post-Post Truth
When the Oxford Dictionary announced ‘post truth’ as its word for 2016, media around the world were quick to link the term to the improbable political events of the year. Trump’s startling triumph in the American Presidential elections, the success of the Brexit movement in Britain and the ris
Birthright and Need: the Politics of Belonging
In a world of Trump, Brexit and Marine Le Pen, national identity is key to making sense of people’s choices. A law passed by the Spanish government in June 2015 allowed anyone with genealogical proof of being related to a victim of the 1478 Spanish Inquisition is entitled to dual Spanish citizensh
Gay men don’t get to be angry
In a gorgeous essay for Lenny released in June 2016, actress and comedian Casey Wilson quoted something her father used to say after one of his outbursts of rage. “Men have anger.” So do women, Wilson explains. And so do gay men, I’d add. This year, I had a rough summer, and read Wilson
A getaway to Goa
“You want people to come to India, without having to deal with Indians”, Aishwarya Rai tells Martin Henderson in the Bollywood, Jane Austen spin-off Bride and Prejudice. Henderson’s ‘Mr Darcy’ plans on investing in a 5-star resort to attract western tourists. The resort is to be built in I
A Life of Grime
‘Without this shit I be losing my mind (…) So much more than drugs and violence it’s young black kids refusing to cry.’ – J-mal, A Life of Grime (2016) It’s dark in the studio. The room sits just above a railway line on the outskirts of Stratford, and Sam, the so
Whatever Happened to Baby Twin Peaks?
There are few shows on television that get to join the cult classics club. Some are comedy trailblazers: Friends, Arrested Development, Community. Others are dramas which either display stellar story-telling such as Firefly, or push the bounds of what we can discuss on television, like UnReal, which
“I call myself an artist that writes with poetry”: An Interview with Robert Montgomery
I pick up the phone to Robert Montgomery and start speaking in the same manner as I would to someone I have known for years. ‘Hey, how are you? Have you had a really busy week?’ I ask him, rather abruptly. He humours me, and decides to talk me through his schedule that week. ‘I’ve […]