Culture Addict: The Stack Recommends

Sharmadean - Founder and CEO

This week’s choice of entertainment

Reading: I'm still reading Lionel Barber's long and entertaining diaries chapter by chapter while in the bath but my current read is The Lonely Century by Noreena Hertz. It's all about how between 2008-2018 the rise of Neoliberalism led to more people moving to cities and becoming more individual and less community led. Youth Clubs, Churches and Community Centres on the decline mean we all feel more lonely than ever. But what can be done? I'm reading this to find out.

Listening to: I shared a stage with Akala a few years ago and while I’m yet to read his renowned book, I’ve been listening to his series on the real history of the British role in slavery on BBC Sounds. I've been doing a lot of driving lately (see below), and my favourite podcast to listen to is The Knowledge Project - long form interviews with global leaders on how they make decision and mental models but also about conscious parenting and how children learn. Start with the Jim Collins and work through the amazing guests.

Where I'm spending my weekend

As I'm writing this I've been driving cross country from the epic Founders Forum at Soho Farmhouse (see my roomie investor Pippa Lamb of Sweet Capital) then to see CEO of Depop, Maria Raga in Cotswolds, then driving to Wolverhampton to see my sisters briefly and this morning I'm heading back down the country to London to CEO of Peanut App, Michelle Kennedy's to attend the birthday party of her beautiful daughter Nuala. But whew! What a busy week! So I'll be spending the rest of the weekend winding down and catching up on work. I'll start by popping across the road after the birthday party for a glorious rainy and muddy walk on Hampstead Heath. I really wanna join the group, Black Girls Hike! Walking in the rain on a very British summer's day is probably one of my favourite things. Sunday will be spent cuddling with my son watching the new Disney series Loki. I'm amazed at how Disney can still milk out the franchises in such a high quality way.

Isobel - Editorial Assistant

This week’s choice of entertainment

Reading: Me and every other person in East London seem to have picked up the same book this week, Charlie Porter’s What Artists Wear. The book takes a deep dive into the wardrobes of contemporary artists, looking at what their clothes say about the people behind the canvas. As well as carefully curated images, it’s also filled with fascinating queer references.

Listening to: In Vogue: The 1990s podcast. I was a bit late to the party with this podcast. Episode 7 ‘Queering Culture’ was an interesting listen - outlining the ways fashion has both supported and turned its back on queer culture in the past. I was disapointed not to hear more about the wardrobes of queer women, though I love that Jil Sander was a talking point.

Where I’m spending my weekend

In the heat of last weekend it was anywhere with aircon. A highlight was the Zanele Muholi exhibition at the Tate Modern.

Something we’re looking forward to

Paula Rego’s largest UK retrospective to date opens at the Tate Britain on July 7th. I was first introduced to her work a few years ago when her feminist reinterpretations of Hogarth’s etchings were featured as part of a different exhibition. We recently published an in-depth feature ahead of the retrospective.

Rhea - Beauty Director

This week’s choice of entertainment

Until Boris puts France on the green list, I’m reminiscing by rewatching all my French favourites. Starring François Cluzet and Marion Cotillard, I first watched Les Petit Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) in the cinema back in 2010 and it’s since become obligatory annual viewing. Shot in the sleepy town of Cap Ferret, an hour's drive from Bordeaux, and not to be confused with Cap Ferrat in Cote D’Azur, you’ll be lusting after oysters and freshly made baguettes after watching.

Where I’m spending my weekend

Since moving to West London, I’m very much enjoying finding new local haunts. Dinner at Gold on Portobello Road is a must. Sexy lighting and filled with plants, the retractable roof makes it a mainstay for lunch or dinner. The modern European menu will delight both carnivores and herbivores with their sharing-style dishes so you can order a selection of treats.

Something I’m looking forward to

Festivals that involve camping are not on-brand for me but there is a new breed of day festivals that I’m really looking forward to. With Masego, Greentea Peng and Lianna La Havas, Brixton’s Cross The Tracks starts in September and I cannot wait.

Hannah - Editorial Assistant

This week’s choice of entertainment

Watching: When spending my downtime in front of the telly, I tend to stick to my favourites, the never ending series of Grey's Anatomy and my home comfort Ugly Betty, but this week I braved it and tried a new film featured on Amazon Prime Video. Shiva Baby, came out this month and follows an American college student at an awkward Jewish funeral service, at which her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend are also both present. The majority of the film is based in one house and the complicated relationships, sneaky encounters and subtle eye contact is so brilliantly gripping, I can’t recommend it enough.

Where I'm spending my weekend

As I prepare to move house, of course, my main priority is sourcing the right plants for the space. Therefore I will be spending this weekend at Columbia Road Flower Market. I love everyone's shared commitment to be out that early on a Sunday morning for a single peony wrapped in brown paper.

Something I'm looking forward to

Getting my damn hair cut! After being on the waiting list for the past 2 months I have finally secured an appointment at Unruly Curls. This lockdown I have been learning to embrace my natural Indian curly hair, so after years of popping into my local hairdressers and having them straighten my hair to cut it, I am really looking forward to trying out life on the curly side.

Emma-Louise - Contributing Editor

This week’s choice of entertainment

I turn 29 this Friday and as I look down the barrel of the final year of my twenties, I’m filled with a whirl of anticipatory anxiety and existential angst, plus a healthy dose of optimism that this is surely going to be the best year yet. In the face of this very mixed bag of emotions, I have taken enormous comfort in Nell Frizzell’s podcast The Panic Years (based on her recent book of the same name) which explores the chaotic, transformative, heady whirlwind of a period that sits between adolescence and the menopause. Nell speaks to a range of brilliantly funny guests whose stories of their ‘Panic Years’ are as reassuring as they are entertaining. Nell was, incidentally, my latest guest on The Stack’s Culture Shot book club, so I’d obviously recommend reading her book too.

Where I’m spending my weekend

Did I mention it’s my birthday this weekend? With plans for a romantic stint in Paris dashed to the ground by Covid, I will instead be hopping on a train to embrace the bountiful beauty of England’s Oxfordshire countryside. I intend to shed my 28-year-old skin while wild water swimming, marching through the lustrous greenery of Port Meadow and well, pub-lunching. Before I go I’ll be stocking up on a few bottles of delicious wine from my friend’s new wine bar, Hector’s, in East London.

Something I’m looking forward to

With theatres beginning, tentatively, to reopen their doors, I’ve begun compiling a list of all the plays I can’t wait to see. High on that list is James Graham’s new play Best of Enemies which will be on at the Young Vic in December. While Graham’s previous two plays, A Labour Of Love and Bring Down The House, explored the inner workings of Britain’s political system, my favourite playwright has now turned his attention to 1968 America and the Nixon versus Johnson election.