34 h. ago 480 sheeps’ heads in jars: Dark Mofo opens with another gory provocation

Trawulwuy artist Nathan Maynard’s installation intends to educate on Tasmania’s violent past – but will the lesson be lostGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIn the dimly-lit basement of a former furniture store in Hobart CBD, 480 embalmed sheep’s heads in specimen jars are arranged on industrial shelving units: 24 racks, each four shelves high and with five jars per shelf, in a neat grid. The fastidiousness of the presentation sits at odds with the inherent violence of the material; so do the expressions on most of the sheep’s faces, which range from serene to uncanny smiles.As if to dispel any false sense of quietude, the room’s lighting periodically switches to nightmarish red.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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37 h. ago ‘I’ve been crucified!’ Sarah Jessica Parker on dating, delis – and surviving three decades of Carrie haters

From being attacked for gentrifying New York to gen Z calling her toxic, Sarah Jessica Parker’s most famous role isn’t shy of controversy. As Carrie Bradshaw returns, she talks about being an antihero – and the death of fashionCarrie Bradshaw was undoubtedly not intended as a hate figure when Sex and the City first aired. But in recent years, a curious cultural shift has occurred: newer fans have started to see Carrie, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, as the most toxic thing about the horny, headline-grabbing show. An entire website, Carrie Bradshaw Is the Worst, was devoted to explaining why Carrie sucked. (The most common complaints: she cheated on nice guy Aidan; talked about herself too much.) One viral essay posited that Carrie was TV’s first female antihero. Parker, 60 and still synonymous with pop culture’s most iconic single gal, has grown to love the term.“I prefer that to any other description of her, because it allows her to be as male as the men have been. ...

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63 h. ago Glitching maps, missing bees and antique cheese – take the Thursday quiz

Questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes, every Thursday. How will you fare?One of these days, like an exciting curveball, the Thursday quiz is going to end up appearing on a Wednesday or a Friday, just to keep everybody on their toes. But not this week. It is definitely Thursday, and this is definitely an increasingly weirdly niche quiz about topical news, general knowledge, and pop culture, which is excited today to lean into genuine newsy questions about Sparks and Doctor Who. There are no prizes, sadly, as the Thursday quiz operates on the most shoestring of budgets, but we hope you have fun and will let us know how you get on in the comments.The Thursday quiz, No 213 Continue reading...

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8 d. ago 'I rewatched the Twilight movies and one character is more problematic than you remember'

When the Twilight saga hit cinemas in 2008, it divided fans in one of the biggest debates in pop culture history

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8 d. ago ‘This is not a wellness retreat’: four days on an Australian wilderness survival course

With help from Gordon Dedman, a consultant on Alone Australia, Rafqa Touma learns how to survive in the wildGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailOn our very first night in the bush, Gordon Dedman issued a warning: “Fussy people die.”Dedman, a man with an apt name for a military survival instructor, is all muscle and green khaki. Sat by the fire, he addresses his students.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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9 d. ago Tony Awards 2025: Original Broadway cast of Hamilton to perform at ceremony

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop culture titan, Hamilton!, is set for an original Broadway cast performance at this year’s Tony Awards

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9 d. ago ‘24/7 transgression? That would be exhausting!’ Cosey Fanni Tutti on radical art, gardening and Kneecap’s ‘power and strength’

The Throbbing Gristle musician and writer answers your questions on everything from squat life to societal outrage and the best music for stripteaseYour ultra-radical art projects during the COUM Transmissions era [in the 1970s] shattered every conceivable boundary – from the ethical to the bodily. Even now, viewed through the lens of history, it feels as though you broke through everything that could be broken, before crossing over into pop culture. Has society become any freer? Has art become any less commodified? Dmitry_SI think it has become more commodified. Nothing comes to my attention that would make me think that art has become anything other than a business. That’s down to people wanting a career. I can understand that in today’s economic climate, as opposed to in the 70s, where there was nothing – you could squat or get very low rent, so you just did what you wanted. You don’t have those opportunities now. But I think about art being about self-expression before thinking:...

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1 week ago Madonna and RuPaul among most influential LGBTQ+ figures shaping pop culture

As we celebrate Pride Month this June, we look back at some of the most important and inspiring LGBTQ+ icons throughout history - from Alan Turing and Freddie Mercury to Madonna and RuPaul

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1 week ago Sudden Fear: the 1952 noir that cemented Joan Crawford’s star – again

With this tale of love turned sour, Crawford forged an unprecedented Hollywood archetype: the now-prevalent actor-turned-executive producerGet our weekend culture and lifestyle email“It’s the kind of a drama we used to call a thriller,” Joan Crawford said in a radio appearance in 1952, teasing an upcoming film. “In fact, it’s so exciting that the first time I read the script some friends rang my doorbell about 9 o’clock at night and I was afraid to open the door.” Imagine, for a second, a frightened Joan Crawford home alone, stirred up by the story that would soon become her next movie: Sudden Fear.In the collective memory, Crawford is imagined with fear always in mind. Fear of being disliked or forgotten, fear of the box office, of bad lighting, even fear of wire hangers. The prevailing view of Crawford was that of the scary lady: frightening and frightened.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continu...

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2 w. ago The Guide #192: How reality TV and streaming has shaped 21st

In this week’s newsletter: In the second of our new miniseries looking back at the last quarter-century of pop culture, we chart the transformation of television since 2000To try to get our heads round the fact that we’re somehow a quarter of the way into the 21st century, the Guide is running a miniseries of newsletters looking at how pop culture has changed over the past 25 years. We tackled music last month and we’ll be looking at the state of film next month, before sharing our favourite culture of the century so far, and asking for yours too, in July.Today, we’re taking the temperature of TV. Like the music industry, television has seen its entire business model upended by the streaming revolution this century. That has meant what was once a universal activity – an entire nation sat around the glow of the old cathode ray tube – has been replaced by people watching a galaxy of different shows, or watching the same show but at completely different times. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago '2000s pop culture thrived on turning millennial women against themselves'

Feminist author Sophie Gilbert explores the complicated relationship between pop culture and modern women in her book Girl on Girl - and details how the culture turned a generation of women to misogyny

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2 w. ago A man walked into a bar – and every Cheers episode, George Wendt’s Norm made it funny

The actor, who has died aged 76, was best known for the perpetually sweaty character to whom the bar gave a huge cheer each episode – ‘NOOOORM!’Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailFrom the first episode of Cheers to the very last, a decade later, George Wendt’s teddy bear barfly Norm Peterson was a fully formed sitcom dream. Like Howard Borden before him and Cosmo Kramer after him, his entrance alone was a highlight in every episode – and Wendt, who has died aged 76, appeared in all 275 episodes of Cheers, a feat matched by only Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman.Every single time he opened the door, perpetually sweaty and tie always askew, the bar gave a huge cheer – “NOOOORM!” – as he trudged to his favourite stool for that first beer. Every weary walk to his seat came with a zinger. (The very first: “Norm! Whattya know?” “Not enough.”)Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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2 w. ago From ‘convict stain’ to badge of honour: Tasmania’s early criminals inspire celebrated musical

In Vandemonian Lags, Mick Thomas, Tim Rogers and a cast of musicians bring Lutruwita/Tasmania’s past to life with songs and ‘ripping yarns’Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIn 1802 Martha Hayes was transported from England to what was then called Van Diemen’s Land, accompanying her convict mother. The teenager was the first white female to set foot in the new colony and, having become pregnant on the voyage, she gave birth to the first white child – a baby girl – on the island we now call Lutruwita/Tasmania.While that child had a convict grandmother, her father was Lt John Bowen, a colonial administrator who led the first white settlement at Risdon Cove.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Papal beginnings, crowded islands and a rescued baby squirrel – take the Thursday quiz

Questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes, every Thursday. How will you fare?The Thursday quiz has thoroughly overdosed on Eurovision preparations this week, but never fear, it still just about found time to put together the usual mix of 15 topical general knowledge and pop culture questions for your amusement. There are no prizes, but you can let us know how you got on in the comments.The Thursday quiz, No 210 Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Connection, storytelling and laughter: if book clubs aren’t your thing, I urge you to join a PodClub | Nicole McKenzie

Books have been discussed at book clubs for years. It’s time we gave podcasts the same platformGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWe meet at a pub every six weeks to discuss a podcast, reflect on life and share stories – it’s like a book club, only for podcasts.Formed eight years ago by a couple of podcast-loving colleagues, PodClub quickly grew into a beautiful entanglement of friends of friends connected by shared values and a mutual love of podcasts. I joined the club a year ago, and it’s become a highlight of my social calendar.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Celebs who starred on Love Island from Man Utd ace to sex tape nurse and 90s Britpop fave

With Love Island turning 20 tomorrow, we took a trip down memory lane to see where the original cast members of the pop culture-dominating show ended up from lads mags to Hollywood

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3 w. ago Real or flake? Experts weigh in on whether TikTok’s viral ‘caveman method’ skin care routine actually works | Natasha May

The skincare fad followed by TikTok creator Tia Zakher involves no skincare at all and dermatologists are scepticalGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailThe latest viral skincare routine involves no skincare at all. Dubbed the “caveman method”, it involves shunning any kind of skincare products, as well as water, and letting the skin barrier “heal”.TikTok creator Tia Zakher has become a viral sensation for her adherence to the trend. The 22-year-old sparked debate about the method after posting videos of herself with visibly flaky skin, apparently a result of the trend. “What you’re seeing is dead skin, that’s going to flake off eventually while new healthy skin forms underneath,” she told millions of viewers.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

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4 w. ago Ocean with David Attenborough, Forever and PinkPantheress: the week in rave reviews

As he turns 99, the natural historian makes a passionate case for the planet’s oceans and the TikTok star returns with more pithy pop music. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews Continue reading...

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