The AFL was in the news for racism again this week, with allegations that former Hawthorn Club coaches separated First Nations players from their families and their partners, and even pressured one couple to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of the player's career. Former AFL player and ABC broadcaster Tony Armstrong made an impassioned statement about the allegations on ABC breakfast this week, and his words are well worth a listen
Lena Dunham penned a powerful piece for the October issue of Vogue about Marilyn Monroe, endometriosis, and losing your fertility [“Marilyn also dealt with severe endometriosis, a disorder of the reproductive system that remains woefully misunderstood and is the reason I had my own uterus ousted at age 31. Imagine being the most discussed woman in the world, both valued and cursed for your feminine power – what would it look like to be that woman and yet not be able to do what we think women should do?"]
Just because King Charles (still feels weird to say that) has been outspoken about biodiversity loss and global warming in the past, it doesn’t make him the climate king, writes Emily Atkin in her excellent climate newsletter Heated
A new Serial podcast ep dropped this week about Adnan Syed’s release from prison and we’re already impatient for the next update
What’s your cup by the bathroom sink?
In tech news: Meta has rolled out another pointless rebrand, Instagram is working on a tool to prevent cyberflashing, Penguin Random House is capitalising on #BookTok, Getty Images isn’t a fan of AI-generated content, TikTok has launched a standalone BeReal clone, BeReal is exploring in-app purchases, Spotify is giving Audible a run for its money, Youtube has become the first short-form video platform to share ad revenue with its creators and no one is happy with Adobe’s acquisition of Figma (their stock price dropped because shareholders think they overpaid and designers are concerned that Adobe will ruin the app)
Could being a better observer (rather than constantly thinking we’re the ones being observed) be the secret to a happier life? This piece in the Atlantic certainly puts forward a compelling case
The chess world is currently embroiled in a huge cheating scandal, with world number one Magnus Carlson accusing a teenager of cheating after they beat him at a major tournament. Carlson spat the dummy, dropping out of the tournament and forfeiting a subsequent rematch after a single turn. There’s been some wild rumours online about how the teenager cheated, including one that involves vibrating anal beads that uses AI to decide the next move
Okay so apparently Gen Z can’t read cursive and now educators and historians are worried about their ability to understand the past. Please, can one of our Gen Z readers write to us (in cursive, ha!) and tell us this isn’t true??
Iranian women are protesting on the streets in Iran right now, burning their hijabs and cutting their hair short. Here’s why
This profile of Tariq aka the Corn Kid is an absolute delight to read from start to finish [“Tariq hopes eventually people will stop asking him about corn. 'I really want to go to the park, but I can’t until I’m done with this,' he said.”]
Are you living your life for yourself or for others?
Interiors we bookmarked this week include this green kitchen, designer Emilia Wickstead’s west London home, this art deco Sydney apartment (those wavy dining chairs 🌊❤️) and this Northcote cafe-turned-home with an art and curio collection to die for
And in other news… Reaction gifs are ‘for boomers’ and ‘cringe’ according to Giphy, charcuterie boards are out and butter boards are in (plus 10 ideas to help you embrace the trend), a strong case for putting an ex-turned-BFF in your bridal party, why we need to ask our grandmothers more about their youth, how to rethink the way you train your pup, the case of Saturn’s missing moon, a Beyond Meat exec bit someone's nose while road raging (he knows that’s meat, right?), boyfriends of Instagram turned boyfriends of TikTok are taking back power, a dream account for those with an eclectic interior design style, this dog knows what they like, a Lithuania-based crisp company has launched vagina flavoured crisps, and a film all about chicken salt is coming to the Adelaide Film Festival
