The Rise of the Progressive Left
By Arya Khorshidi Since 2016, we have seen the birth of the “populist” right, manifested in Brexit and the character of Donald Trump. These political shifts have fundamentally transformed British and American politics, introducing economic protectionism and controversial rhetoric on the need to combat illegal immigration. Another consequence has been the polarisation between left and…
Wonderful Wisconsin: The Beauty of Nature Over The World
By Sam Seddon Milwaukee Like many of America’s industrial towns, Milwaukee is steeped in it’s 19th Century heavy manufacturing. A large steel industry, naturally, leads to a rather jagged skyline. However, even in this industrial hub the beauty of nature can prevail. I experienced this fascinating city over summer; this is where Wisconsin turns to…
A Brief Guide of Boston
By Sam Seddon Get a hearty Boston sandwich: Assuming you are not like me, and don’t crack your phone the day before going to Boston, then that probably doesn’t make your top five. But this should. The Italian influence in Boston is rich with the strong history of Italian immigration in the late 19th Century.…
Top 5 Sainsbury’s Snacks
By Sam McDermott 5. Dark chocolate digestives These are great value for money, only costing £1.25 per pack. Customers have said that they have a “nice texture and just enough chocolate”, as well as a “great flavour”. An RGS student has called them “the perfect snack to get you through a long day”, which I…
A Brief History of Guildford Castle
By Isaac Boden Chances are you’ve seen the tall stone tower rising over the gardens in Guildford, a medieval castle often overlooked by many. However, this nearly thousand-year-old fortress has some interesting historical facts which RGS students might not know. It was built by William the Conqueror shortly after he took control of England, sometime after…
It’s Glowtime: A Recap
By Krish Lukha. This week, Apple released its latest slate of software updates, including iOS 18, one week on from the “It’s Glowtime” event, which saw the release of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4. Unsurprisingly, Apple Intelligence was overused for the entirety of the iPhone launch. Apple…
The Web Is Going to Die
By Krish Lukha. Summary: AI is slowly going to kill the World Wide Web. The omnipresent creation which has transformed the globe will not survive. In the near future, AI will abridge and explain everything. Case in point: Google Gemini. Eventually, AI will become autonomous, leaving the World Wide Web obsolete. Say your goodbyes. Google…
Silicon Showdown: Apple vs the U.S.
By Krish Lukha. Summary: Apple has been sued by the US Government Department of Justice. It has been accused of becoming a monopoly due to five reasons. It has blocked “super apps” on the App Store; limited cloud streaming services available on iOS; stigmatized Android users through their green iMessage bubbles; blocked 3rd party digital…
Oasis Reunion – a comeback like no other
By Lewis Wilson. If you asked any Oasis fan earlier this year whether they thought a reunion was on the cards, even the most optimistic would say no – the constant digs on twitter from brother to brother, and the major success of their individual solo careers suggested the band would never perform together again. …
Conclave: Can You Believe and Still Doubt?
By Marcus Perkins Like many others, after the death of the late Holy Father, Pope Francis, I watched the 2024 movie Conclave, adapted from the 2016 book of the same name, hoping to better understand the process of electing a new Pope. It proved revealing. The political intrigue that surrounds the calm but assertive protagonist,…
Is Kanye Serious? I Guess We’ll Never Know
By Marcus Perkin. Kanye West, also known as Ye, is undeniably a world-renowned icon. An American rapper and record producer, he has an impressive 24 Grammys, which tie him with Jay-Z for the most Grammy Awards won by a hip-hop artist. His influence was so large in 2020 that he even decided to run for…
Siege X: Will it fix the game?
By Marcus Perkins Rainbow 6 Siege will receive a vast update called Siege X on 10 June, promised to be ‘the biggest evolution in Siege’s history’. But will this revamp really live up to this claim? Siege X follows the model of Overwatch 2 or Counter-Strike 2—a massive overhaul of an existing title without fundamentally…
The Dream of Gerontius – Edward Elgar op. 38
By Oscar Ford. Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), David Butt Philip (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), BBC Symphony Chorus (chorus master: Neil Ferris), BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor). Barbican Hall, 13 December 2024 Originally, this concert was one of the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s routine Friday night performances in the Barbican, this time Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ. The concert…
How the AI Studio Ghibli Trend Represents the Decay of Our Humanity
By Ayaan Bhagat. ‘I strongly feel like this is an insult to life itself’ Those are the words of Studio Ghibli’s founder and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Hayao Miyasaki, when he witnessed AI generated animation for the first time in 2016. Now, less than ten years later, AI image generation has…
Top 5 Most delicious foods of Thailand (and a few drinks too)
By Zane Barodia Introduction This Easter Holiday, I travelled to Thailand and was blown away by the amazing variety of food. It was all so alien compared to the food here in England. In this article, I will just highlight some of the best food I ate on my trip. All photos are 100% authentic.…
Hershey’s Triumphs Over Feastables in Consumer Poll
By Farasat Cheema. A recent consumer taste test, the iconic Hershey’s chocolate brand emerged victorious against newcomer Feastables, solidifying its position as America’s preferred chocolate choice. The poll, which surveyed a sample of chocolate enthusiasts, revealed a clear preference for the time-honoured Hershey’s products over the up-and-coming Feastables brand. Results Breakdown The final tally showed…
Slap Fighting?
A new ‘sport’ has skyrocketed in popularity, with millions of viewers regularly tuning in to watch across social media, but is its admiration dangerous? ‘Slap fighting’ is as simple as it sounds. You face your opponent and have to land a strike on their face. You can’t flinch or wear headgear. You can only stand…
iPhone 16 Pro: Beautifully Lacklustre
By Arya Khorshidi. Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event, which has already been extensively covered here, saw the introduction of the highly anticipated iPhone 16 lineup, and reviews have been incredibly mixed, ranging from ridiculously unsatisfying to revolutionary new inventions. Having upgraded to a 16 Pro Max from my iPhone XS on launch day, as well as…
Mayan City Discovered by Accident
By Zane Barodia. In the canopy of a Mexican jungle, a Mayan city has been discovered, possibly centuries after it disappeared. The shocking thing is that it was an accident. Luke Auld-Thomas, a PhD student at Tulane University, was browsing on Google on ‘something like page 16’ when he found a laser survey used by…
An Unbiased Review From a Kanye West Fan: Why Taylor Swift is Bad.
By Ollie Warnock. If you’ve been paying attention to the music scene, you’ve undoubtedly noticed Taylor Swift’s ubiquity. But as a die-hard Kanye West fan (or Ye, as he now chooses to go by), I can’t help but feel that despite her massive success, Taylor’s discography is seriously lacking in substance. So, let’s break down…
A Year to Remember in Modern Musical History: 2024
By Ollie Warnock. Regardless of what music your into, its been a year of nonstop releases from some of the biggest artists. Today were here to look at what’s already dropped and what’s still to come. Rapper and producer duo Future and Metro Boomin treated fans with two knew collaborative albums this year, titled We…
Unethical Agriculture
By Saad Ahmad. Fundamentally, agriculture is about producing crops and livestock to feed people. Although this may seem simple enough, there is a wide range of ethical issues surrounding agriculture – from frequently debated topics like whether animals are kept in ethical conditions – to more subtle problems and general farm management. Since cattle were…
The Best Director and Composer Collaborations
By Hugo Stelfox. Many big Hollywood directors have a distinct style, and the same goes for composers. This leads to perfect pairings of directors and composers whose styles complement each other so much you would think it is a match made in heaven. Arguably the most famous gothic director today is Tim Burton, who manages…
Like All Before You – The Voidz
By Ayaan Bhagat. TLDR: save your time and listen to the New Abnormal, Virtue or even Tyranny instead, because this isn’t it. I would like to preface this review by saying that The Strokes are my favorite band, and I am a die-hard fan of Julian Casablancas’ songwriting. Though The Voidz’ first album Tyranny was…
The Decline of Network TV
By Hugo Stelfox. The UK media landscape is undergoing a major sea change, with its traditional TV viewership declining and the popularity of TV viewers increasing. According to the latest Ofcom data, traditional TV viewing has seen the biggest drop. The percentage of weekly tuning decreased from 83% in 2021 to 79% in 2022—a drop…
‘Alien: Romulus’ – An Homage to a Classic or a Cheap Knock-off?
By Ayan Chowdhury. In 1979, ‘Alien,’ directed by Ridley Scott, released in cinemas and revolutionized the sci-fi horror genre in film forever. Described as a “slasher in space”, it is quiet, tense atmosphere and shocking, gory imagery enthralled audiences into something unlike anything they’d seen before. The film was praised by audiences and critics alike,…
The Myth of Free Will
By Daniel Hughes. Since the dawn of mankind, humanity has been plagued by a singular evil, freedom. For centuries this false belief has been necessary to accept as part of our identity, indeed freedom was something so overwhelmingly obvious and immediate that few sought to question it. Freedom became the rock upon which society was…
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour
By Hugo Stelfox. Coldplay’s latest tour, the Music of the Spheres World Tour, is still going strong after 2 years, 177 shows, 9.3 million people attended and over $1 billion in the box office which has secured it’s title as the highest grossing tour of all time. After the success of their A Head Full…
The next LEGO film: Piece By Piece
By Oliver Warnock Piece by Piece is an upcoming LEGO-inspired animated biopic, set to release on October 11, 2024. This film offers a take on the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams, creatively told through LEGO animation. Directed by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville, known for 20 Feet from Stardom and Won’t You Be My…
Lego: Plastic to Gold?
By Thomas Dowson For a long time, owning or having a share in gold has been the most secure option for investing in for a long term. However now the times are changing, a new option is entering the market. We are seeing the rise of Lego investments coming. Yes what you just read is…
The 1509 