All posts tagged: Generation

Fontaines DC review, Dopamine Chamber: A masterpiece from the greatest band of their generation

Fontaines DC review, Dopamine Chamber: A masterpiece from the greatest band of their generation

Published by Daniella Wilson

There’s a reverence to Fontaines DC’s fifth album Dopamine Chamber, the Irish rock band’s masterpiece. Just as their second album, A Hero’s Death, felt like a recoiling from the hype that surrounded their Mercury Prize-shortlisted 2019 debut, Dogrel, so does this feel like a reaction, of sorts, to their 2024 triumph, Romance. That fourth album bristled and swaggered, owning their newly claimed status as arena headliners – the greatest band of their generation. Dopamine Chamber is just as ambitious, if not more so, but it is ominous too, holding up a dark mirror to our dark times. The tension that runs through the record makes sense when you learn that, years after they first played in Sicily, at a small festival outside of Palermo in 2019, frontman Grian Chatten returned – perhaps pulled by the same force that has lured artists, philosophers and poets there for centuries. Surrounded by what he described as “a sense of oldness”, he and producer James Ford built a fort from pillows and mattresses, like children. Sicily exists on this …

The generation raised on sugar rations – and what their health reveals 70 years later

The generation raised on sugar rations – and what their health reveals 70 years later

Published by Sam Flores

They were born into a Britain still recovering from the hardships of war. Though the air-raid sirens had fallen silent, many everyday foods remained rationed, including sugar. Adults were restricted to about 3 tablespoons (40g) a day to stretch between cups of tea, baking and desserts; children were limited to less than a tablespoon. Babies and very young children were expected to have little or no added sugar. Then, in 1953, the brakes came off. Separate restrictions on sweets and chocolate were lifted in February, followed by sugar in September. By the second half of 1954, average sugar consumption had almost doubled. A London shopkeeper puts up a sign announcing the new price of sugar, as announced in the budget in September 1939. The price has risen by a penny a pound. Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images The lifting of postwar sugar rationing inadvertently created a natural experiment, whose consequences scientists are only beginning to unpick. A flurry of recent studies suggests that spending the first 1,000 days of life under sugar rationing may have left …

Are You in the First Generation?

Are You in the First Generation?

Published by Sam Flores

Do you belong to a religion? Are you a member of a religious group? Those two questions are really two ways of asking the same thing. So, they make up question one. And here is question two: Why? I’m not trying to start a religious argument, but I believe that we should all examine ourselves and ask, “How did I become this person?” This can be a healthy exercise. For example, do you have strong personal convictions, or do you simply follow your family’s traditions? Our modern culture is experiencing a huge movement, and it is changing the whole world. Old family traditions are weakening and modern ideas are taking their place. Brace yourself: this is a cultural revolution. Here is one example: Have you heard of the best selling book Bad Mormon? Let me explain. I am writing as a Christian, and I disagree with the Mormons on several issues. However, I am not trying to criticize or argue with them. They provide a good example of a wider trend in modern thinking. Apparently, …

HBO just dropped its best show since Succession — and it has something for every generation

HBO just dropped its best show since Succession — and it has something for every generation

Published by Daniella Wilson

If, like me, you’ve had a Succession-sized hole in your life since the HBO series concluded in 2023, then I come bearing good news. The streamer has just released an elegant, intoxicating eight-episode drama with all the hallmarks of the award-winning show: corporate espionage, billions of dollars on the line and, of course, well-dressed rich people strutting aggressively into glass boardrooms. HBO’s War follows the high-profile, multi-million-dollar divorce between movie star Carla Duval (Sienna Miller) and tech magnate Morgan Henderson (Dominic West), and the two London-based law firms representing them, who will do just about anything to win the case. It has a stacked cast: alongside Miller and West, there’s Calendar Girls star Celia Imrie, Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed, The Brutalist actor Emma Laird and British drama stalwart Nina Sosanya. The ensemble alone will make this show an intergenerational hit beloved around the dinner table. And like Succession, it will surely get everyone talking at the water cooler during a Monday breaktime. Consider this my hard sell for making War your next binge-watch. Here’s what …

‘My generation of novelists is dying’: Rose Tremain on 70 years of writing, and late-life inspiration

‘My generation of novelists is dying’: Rose Tremain on 70 years of writing, and late-life inspiration

Published by Sam Flores

My generation of writers is dying. Of Granta’s fabled list of 20 Best of Young British Novelists, 1983, six are gone, including our most princely satirist, Martin Amis. We’re all approaching birthdays where the cake is too small for the candles. Some of us are wounded: Salman Rushdie by an attacker’s knife, Julian Barnes lives with blood cancer, others with the fatal hurt of being forgotten. But what’s the likely fate of those of us who are surviving – for now? Do readers still love us? When Barnes announced that he was signing off because of illness, was he also intuiting that the younger generations had heard enough from us old birds and geezers who were young when Sean Connery had dimples, when David Hockney first coloured his hair yellow? The answer is probably “yes”. But here’s what I believe: contrary to what publishers hope and expect, serious writers don’t think obsessively about readers, or even about sales, royalties and prizes. What we talk to each other about, what we dream of, what we can’t live without is the work itself. When I …

Microsoft made the best controller of the generation and completely forgot about it

Microsoft made the best controller of the generation and completely forgot about it

Published by Miika Tikkanen

Last year, I took a massive gamble and bought the Xbox Elite Series 2. This gamble ultimately paid off, as I think the Series 2 is currently the best PC controller that money can buy. As a PC gamer, I never really found a controller that felt like a perfect fit for the platform. From DualShocks to Xbox to third-party controllers from GameSir and 8-BitDo, I tried everything. However, none of it felt like it belonged on the PC. Whether it was the fickle nature of a Bluetooth connection or the hassle of installing multiple drivers, there’s always some quirk to getting a controller up and running on a PC. But despite how good the Xbox Elite Series 2 is, it’s surprising how little Microsoft has talked about what is easily the best controller of this generation, period. Related I made the switch to Steam OS on my ROG Ally X and haven’t looked back Being reunited with SteamOS has never felt better, especially on the ROG Ally X The Xbox Elite Series 2 offers …

Jodie Comer names two ‘greatest actors’ of her generation

Jodie Comer names two ‘greatest actors’ of her generation

Published by Daniella Wilson

Jodie Comer is often referred to as one of the greatest actors of her generation – but the star has picked the two people she would give that description to. After launching to fame in British TV shows such as My Mad Fat Diary and Doctor Foster, Comer, 33, had her big global breakthrough with the twisty assassin drama Killing Eve, for which she won an Emmy. In the 2020s, she’s starred opposite Ryan Reynolds (in Free Guy), and Hugh Jackman in the new film The Death of Robin Hood – and won an Olivier and a Tony for her lead turn in the acclaimed one-woman play Prima Facie. Jodie Comer in new film ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ (A24) While she continues to whip up acclaim with every role she stars in, Comer herself is a big fan of Jessie Buckley and Harry Melling. In a new Independent interview for the video series Life in Pictures, the actor said: “Immediately, Jessie Buckley comes into my mind. She, to me, just seems so embodied and …

AI Therapists Are Coming (for the Next Generation)

AI Therapists Are Coming (for the Next Generation)

Published by Jenni Sidey

On July 16, 2010, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom uploaded the first photograph to the app that would soon become Instagram. The picture showed a stray dog in Mexico alongside the foot of Systrom’s then-girlfriend and now-wife. Systrom applied a grainy, high-contrast filter called X-Pro II. Instagram officially launched on October 6th, 2010 and became an almost immediate success. But the filters were divisive. I was in my early twenties at the time, and many people my age found filters strange and rarely used them. The filters seemed artificial, silly, and slightly ridiculous. But you know who lived them? Kids. They happily put sparkly stars on their cheeks, dog ears on their heads, and artificial light leaks across their photographs. A filtered image did not feel fake to them in quite the same way. As that cohort has grown up, they have taken their filters with them and now you will rarely see an Instagram photograph from a 20-something without a filter. This example is relevant when we try to predict how people will relate to …

0m PROSPECT program to train next generation of critical minerals workforce

$100m PROSPECT program to train next generation of critical minerals workforce

Published by Miika Tikkanen

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) has announced a Notice of Intent for up to $100 million to strengthen America’s critical minerals workforce. The nationwide Providing Opportunities for Specialised Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) initiative will expand educational opportunities and develop the skilled workforce needed to support the domestic production, processing, recovery, and recycling of critical minerals. In the near term, PROSPECT aims to double the number of graduates with degrees related to mining, minerals, and associated supply chain technologies within two years. In the long term, PROSPECT will support the implementation of new curricula, teaching tools, financial-aid programs, and other incentives that promote continued growth in these fields. Equipping the next generation of ‘America’s industrial renaissance’ “A strong domestic mining and minerals workforce is essential to powering America’s future, strengthening our national security, and ending our dependence on foreign adversaries for the materials that underpin modern energy, manufacturing, and defense,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Through the PROSPECT initiative, the Department is investing in …

How K-pop is creating a new generation of Chilean pop stars

How K-pop is creating a new generation of Chilean pop stars

Published by Sam Flores

Members of Q_ARE, a Chilean K-pop-inspired boy band, pose for a photo in Santiago, Chile. Rony Curifuta hide caption toggle caption Rony Curifuta SANTIAGO, Chile — Throughout this long, cold winter, an air of feverish anticipation has simmered in Chile’s capital. This October, global K-pop sensation BTS will arrive in Santiago as part of their comeback world tour, marking the latest chapter in Latin America’s growing embrace of Korean culture. The group has already played sold-out dates in Mexico, while additional sell-out shows are scheduled in Colombia, Peru, Argentina and Brazil. Demand in Mexico was so high that President Claudia Sheinbaum contacted South Korean officials to explore the possibility of adding more dates. From food and television to skincare and clothing, the Korean wave has found a passionate new audience across Latin America — and in Chile, it is being reimagined by a generation of young fans. The phenomenon, known as Hallyu, or the “Korean wave,” began spreading globally in the 1990s, moving Korean music, dramas, cuisine and beauty trends from niche interests into mainstream …