Messages
1/9/2025
4 : 24
Review: “A Very Nice Box”
Laura Blackett and Eve Gleichman pull off a neat trick with “A Very Nice Box”. They manage to write an entire debut novel hitting every rom-com beat necessary and then flip it by turning the love
1/6/2025
1 : 4
Let’s change things up
Yes, it's a brand new year. It's time to change things up. To mix things around. To try new things. Uncomfortable things. Unknown things Let's wind down the regimented publish-a-new-short-
1/5/2025
8 : 14
“YOU SHOT THE WRONG PRESIDENT” (SHORT STORY)
Thomas faces the consequences of his failed assassination attempt. He sits with a mysterious figure who speaks of presidents and politics, of sin and salvation. A robed figure with the perfect manicure
1/3/2025
0 : 4
Worth a thousand words
The photograph says it all. Snapped on a phone the moment a Tesla Cybertruck explodes into flames outside the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Taken from inside the smooth and
1/1/2025
4 : 24
Let’s riot
You need a few things to kick-start a riot. A political ideology isn't really necessary. Nor is a great deal of planning. What you will need is rabid misinformation, longing for camaraderie and
12/29/2024
11 : 24
“AMAZIUM” (SHORT STORY)
In a gleaming high-rise, where designers craft empty words for tech giants, he knows the truth about brands. He walks into a boardroom uninvited, facing down Amazon executives who think they understand
12/24/2024
4 : 14
Review: “The Invisible Doctrine”
George Monbiot and Peter Hutchinson call out neoliberalism for what it is. The biggest scam and economic failure of the past forty years. A mockery of economics that reduces every element of society to
12/22/2024
11 : 34
“THE JESUS LOOK” (SHORT STORY)
One morning at the coffeehouse, a stranger sees something in Jake no one else can. Something holy. Something divine. Something lucrative. By the time Jake realises he's in over his head, it might
12/19/2024
8 : 14
Review: “James”
Percival Everett sharpens his pen in this radical retelling of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Everett's writing cuts like a knife. He takes the bones of Mark Twain's classic American
12/19/2024
7 : 14
“OMNIPUBLIC” (SHORT STORY)
Two advertising giants eye each other across the shimmering canyons of New York. One giant will swallow the other whole, and a hundred thousand souls hang in the balance. “Omnipublic” is an advertising
12/19/2024
7 : 4
Scenes from the city: Icarus statue
It's an odd sight at the always hectic airport. Outside the international departures terminal and in the middle of the hurly-burly of frantic passengers rushing to make their flights stands a giant
12/10/2024
5 : 54
Scenes from the coast: New electric scooters
The future is coming. There's no stopping it. There never is. Increasingly it's coming sooner than expected, a lot sooner and a lot faster. It seems to be accelerating. But isn't that the
12/10/2024
5 : 4
“GREY NOMADS” (SHORT STORY)
A man stands alone on an empty outback road as a sunset bleeds across the sky. His motorcycle lies twisted in a ditch. There is no blood. There are no wounds. He cannot remember the crash. The road
12/1/2024
12 : 24
“MCPRESIDENT” (SHORT STORY)
Five powerful men sit around a mahogany table on a private jet, pretending to enjoy a make-believe meal. It's a photoshoot meant to show loyalty and camaraderie to the President-elect. Steve Bannon
11/27/2024
4 : 44
Review: “Monica”
Daniel Clowes doesn't mess about. The opening two-page spread of his heart-wrenching fictional biography jump cuts from amoeba to cavemen to Jesus on the cross to the industrial revolution to the
11/24/2024
9 : 14
“THE ROAD TO FIEFDOM” (SHORT STORY)
Friedrich Hayek sits at his desk, pen in hand, writing the kind of letter that cuts deeper than an apology. His sharp certainty worn blunt by watching his economic theories collide with reality. Free
11/19/2024
4 : 44
Scenes from the city: Homeless musician
There's a faint drizzle falling on a grey day. Opposite the art gallery is a park. Verdant grass, proud trees, clumps of flowers in well-cared-for beds. There are deep basalt steps leading to a
11/17/2024
10 : 14
“PERFECT RED LIPSTICK” (SHORT STORY)
She paints her lips carefully, precisely, watching the colour bloom. There are dozens of lipsticks in her collection, each containing its own shade of promise. “Perfect Red Lipstick” is a meditative
11/11/2024
4 : 44
David Milch writes “NYPD Blue”
David knows that being alone with his demons in a room with a laptop is not going to produce compelling television drama. In fact, he knows it's going to end in tears. David's just come back
11/10/2024
10 : 14
“DELIRIUM” (SHORT STORY)
President Donald Trump floats naked above the gilded carpet. The air grows thick. Time bends. Reality shifts. Walls breathe and somewhere beyond the concrete and the security cordon, history unravels.