Fresh Take

Nostalgia has long influenced pop cultural trends, birthing an economy of its own, with brands that make a comeback, stars that turn Gen Z favourites, or TV show franchises that find a second wind.

We invite a machine into the private corners of our minds, expecting and wanting responses that mirror our feelings back to us

One Battle After Another wins 4 Golden Globe Awards: As Leonardo DiCaprio plays a disenchanted rebel, the film's depiction of anti-immigrant action and paramilitary resistance mirrors the present-day US, a country on the edge.

The viral memeification of Nicolas Maduro’s arrest begs a question: Are we using humour to cope with geopolitical uncertainties, or have we lost our ability to distinguish between spectacle and substance?

What is a coffee rave? An attempt to reclaim the morning or another iteration of performance culture?

If you followed Literary Twitter in its hey days, you'd know of Duchess Goldblatt and the 'kidney gate'. Cris writes about the quiet demise of the literary movement on the micro-blogging site.

As the world chases longer lifespans with anti‑ageing experiments and longevity products, it raises the question: what are we living longer for?

From digital snans to LinkedIn trauma dumps to the Coldplay-gate, Jatin Varma, founder of Comic Con India, jots down a list of things that give him second-hand embarrassment in 2025.

With viral desserts or Instagram-y décor, cafés across Mumbai vie for customer attention in December. But the appeal is not purely performative. Long queues outside season favourites are proof.

Nothing says Christmas quite like the 1990s children’s comedy Home Alone. Is it time we saw a reboot?

Music has the power to move, unite, and transcend borders — if we let it.

The memes expose a shared fatigue with the done-to-death “enemy” plot and the persistent feeling of being instructed, time and again, to feel a certain way.

A fresh cohort of post-post-Britney female artists, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae and Addison Rae, signaled a subtle generational shift in pop’s mainstream.

Naming alone doesn't determine a scheme's impact, but language shapes consciousness, and the language we use in governance matters.

Parasocial connection pulls people in. Rage bait keeps them emotionally activated. Slop ensures there’s always more to consume. And the loop resets.

With gory scenes interwoven with crowd-pleasing elements such as Akshay Khanna’s viral Balochi 'chaap' dance and heroic entry scenes, Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar wants you to be angry, but also entertained.

Algorithms ensure seamless viewing experience, apps promise faster deliveries and AI offers one-click solutions. We have been trained out of patience.

The digital ecosystem is built to make us feel like we are falling behind. There’s endless content and endless chatter about that content. The speed-watching culture, then, is a survival tactic.

When one partner earns less than the other, it may impact the dynamics of the relationship. How does one move forward?

We have grown up in a visual-first, text-first culture with WhatsApp, Instagram DMs, Discord channels, and voice notes. Messaging is our mother tongue.

Memes are making me more politically aware. Humour is my coping mechanism. But is there also a risk of desensitisation?

The question isn't whether Smriti Mandhana has earned privacy through her achievements, but what kind of audience we want to be.

From a Nike-wearing three-legged shark to a ballerina with a cappuccino drink for its head, Italian brainrot thrives on shared context.

I have been actively trying to unlearn the need to "perform". To go somewhere and not take a picture. To read without announcing it. It’s harder than I thought.

Actor Gouri G Kishan’s response to an inappropriate question from a YouTube vlogger highlights a dual reality: women continue to face sexist, intrusive queries, but they are also pushing back with increasing clarity and confidence.