Culture

Culture covers the stories that shape how we express ourselves and connect with one another. From film festivals and entertainment to social movements and artistic endeavour, these stories reflect the values, conversations and creativity that define our communities. Whether it's a new film project breaking ground, a performer taking their work to new audiences, or society grappling with important questions about identity and behaviour, culture encompasses the ways we live and the narratives we tell.

This topic matters because culture is often where change begins. The entertainment industry responds to shifting tastes whilst simultaneously influencing them. Artists and creators challenge conventions, spark conversations, and hold up mirrors to society. Social and cultural movements highlight the issues that resonate with people's lives and futures.

Culture also reflects broader trends in how we consume and engage with content and ideas. From streaming platforms to live performance, from traditional institutions to emerging voices online, the stories documented here chronicle the evolving landscape of how we entertain, educate and challenge ourselves.

When my husband died in a surfing accident, life as I knew it was destroyed. Ten years on, this is what I’ve learned about grief

August 23, 2026

In a personal essay, author Hannah Richell reflects on the aftermath of her husband Matt’s death in a surfing accident in Sydney a decade ago, and what she has since learned about surviving grief. She recounts the moment police arrived at her home to deliver the news, the disorienting shock of disbelief that followed, and…
Jumpy bond markets make it clear: Trump risks driving US into debt crisis | Heather Stewart

August 23, 2026

Bond markets are growing increasingly nervous about the trajectory of US government debt, with Treasury secretary Scott Bessent forced into interventions that critics say betray weakness rather than confidence. Bessent recently pledged to double the rate at which the US Treasury buys up long-dated bonds in an effort to push down yields, following an earlier…
London bus drivers to strike NEXT WEEK over ‘hot’ working conditions – after last-minute talks to clinch deal break down

August 23, 2026

More than 1,500 London bus drivers employed by Arriva North London will resume strike action next week after last-minute negotiations with the company collapsed. The Unite union’s members rejected Arriva’s latest offer in a dispute over “hot” working conditions, meaning the previously paused walkouts will restart and continue through until late October, causing significant disruption…
Haribo Kimchi review – Korean snack bar serves lessons in belonging

August 23, 2026

Jaha Koo’s one-man show Haribo Kimchi, playing at the Edinburgh festival theatre studio, sees the performer set up a Korean street-food snack bar on stage, cooking dishes for two audience volunteers while exploring themes of displacement, memory and cultural identity. Koo, who left South Korea for Europe 15 years ago, uses food as a way…
Traveller family who held entire picturesque village to ransom for £600K in a ‘land grab scam’ now apply to house their caravans on the site after their ‘blackmail’ backfired

August 23, 2026

A Traveller family who allegedly demanded £600,000 from residents of Dinton in Buckinghamshire to leave a plot of land they had bought for a fraction of that price have now formally applied to the local council for permission to station caravans there permanently. The family, led by patriarch Jimmy Doran, bought the quarter-acre greenfield site…
The ‘Irish Option’ that could tackle UK’s traveller site surge: Calls to make trespass a criminal offence in bid to stop illegal land grabs

August 23, 2026

Andy Burnham is being urged to adopt what critics call the ‘Irish Option’ – making trespass a criminal rather than civil offence – to tackle a sharp rise in unauthorised traveller encampments across England. Tory housing spokesman Sir James Cleverly wants police, not just councils, given powers to act quickly against illegal sites, arguing this…
Travel chaos across UK as CrossCountry cancels almost all trains after power cut

August 23, 2026

CrossCountry was forced to cancel almost all of its trains across Britain after a power cut knocked out the systems at its Birmingham control centre, causing widespread disruption for passengers throughout Sunday. The operator said only a “very limited” number of services resumed from around 6pm, with most facilities reinstated and a full timetable planned…
‘So many people say things about my appearance – it’s not normal’: Jorja Smith on burnout, body-shaming and finding freedom

August 23, 2026

Jorja Smith has released her third album, What Are the Odds, a dance-focused record made with producer P2J that marks a departure from the introspective soul and R&B that made her name. The 29-year-old, who found fame after being recognised by the Brits, Grammys and Drake, discusses feeling exhausted by fame, being scrutinised over her…
‘The line’s running half-empty’: Llanwern steelworks feels the heat from cheap steel imports

August 23, 2026

Tata Steel’s Llanwern factory in south Wales is running at roughly half capacity, with production lines sitting idle for parts of the day, as cheap imported steel undercuts UK producers despite new government tariffs meant to protect the domestic industry. The 50% import tariffs introduced in July were designed to shield British steelmakers, but the…
DAN HODGES: I’m one of the many journalists to be lambasted by Reform figures in recent days. Now, the freedom of the British Press faces a pincer movement from the Right AND Left… No one is safe

August 23, 2026

Daily Mail columnist Dan Hodges argues that press freedom in Britain is under attack from both the Right and Left, citing a recent surge of hostility from senior Reform UK figures towards journalists alongside earlier intimidation of reporters from the liberal Left. He warns that criticism of unfavourable coverage, once dismissed as normal political friction,…