Arts & Culture writer, Graduate of MA Magazine Journalism At City University London 2015/16. From Dublin, Ireland.
Up until a few weeks ago, Stephanie, an aspiring screenwriter, thought her career in the entertainment industry was over. As a black woman, she's part of a demographic that has long been underserved by Hollywood, and she couldn't find a feasible way in.
As the story goes, everyone involved with Fleetwood Mac was expecting the band to follow up its multi-platinum-selling record Rumours with another collection of near-perfect soft-rock bangers like 'Dreams' and 'Go Your Own Way'. Their record label gave them a million dollars to produce the follow-up - they were undoubtedly the biggest band in the world at this point - reasonably expecting another number one.
Spoiler alert: do not read on unless you have watched the reunion episode of Love Is Blind Throughout the 10-episode run of Love Is Blind - Netflix's wildly popular dating show in which singletons commit to marry one another without even meeting face to face - hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey reminded us that this was not simply a reality series, but an experiment in human behaviour.
The series two finale of Derry Girls - which centred around the 1995 visit of US President Bill Clinton to the Northern Irish city - ended on a surprisingly hopeful note, with wee English fella James (Dylan Llewellyn) reunited with his pals after u-turning on his decision to leave Derry for good.
On a sticky-hot day in June of this year, dozens of New Yorkers - journalists, fashion bros and their disciples - gathered at a small outpost in Brooklyn for Jonah Hill Day 2018, the second annual day-long party and unofficial celebration of the Wolf of Wall Street star.
The singer redefining music for Muslims is a must-see on your travels | Singer, Yuna, Mipster, Hijabster, November Culture, In the late 2000s, Yuna - born Yunalis Mat Zara'ai - was a shy law student strumming folksy pop songs on Kuala Lumpur's indie scene.
Imagine starring in a major cult film at the age of 13 and not instantly becoming, at the very least, the biggest star in your family. Sean Astin would have been happy with third place. But, even after landing the role of Mike in The Goonies in 1984, he had some catching up to do.
In Netflix's Queer Eye, there is no place for cynicism. The reality show, which became the feel-good hit of the year when it dropped back in February, brims with positivity. It thrives upon the belief that, with a little work and a lot of love, each and every one of us could be as free, happy and as stylish as its immaculately-presented hosts.
At one point in the latter stages of Netflix's fantastic women's wrestling series GLOW, Ruth Wilder (played by Mad Men's Alison Brie) goose-steps into the ring wearing an ushanka. She is carrying a boombox, which is playing a Russian tune, but the noise is drowned out by thunderous boos from the audience.
Every now and then, a truly thoughtful horror movie comes along to challenge the notion that the genre is unimaginative, borderline pornographic and produces teenage psychopaths. This year that film is Jordan Peele's - a refreshing critique of racism in America. The villains are well-meaning middle-class white people and the film blends innovative satire with horror tropes.
A dystopian playlist for a Tulum jungle escape, curated by superstar Dj Damian Lazarus Day Zero, a dystopian dance-music festival masterminded by DJ Damian Lazarus, was born out of a trip to a shaman. 'He suggested that I stand beneath the moon with my arms outstretched,' says Lazarus.
If you're more turned on by hop origin than oom-pah-pah, beat a path to London's best craft-beer bars and taprooms this Oktoberfest Forget lederhosen, bratwurst and volksmusik. Somewhere along the way, 200 years of Bavarian tradition has been distilled into a frothy amber liquid.
Music
The silhouette behind sensual hipsters Rhye, Mike Milosh, has found his own answer to the woes of the current record industry climate; doing absolutely everything for himself. "I even drive the tour bus. I kind of do everything. It's the only way to sustain it, I discovered", he says.
A playlist for an LA road trip, from West Coast hip hop to beach pop