Good morning wonderlusters!
Aside from what they tell you about the total breakdown of the global order, Spring (a more friendly face) is most certainly just around the corner! Equivocating days of rain and splendid sun seem to be locked in a passionate dance here in Barcelona. So, as the next front of rain moves in from the Mediterranean, I’m delighted to share with you my selection of 5 social tips, treats and talking points, all of which I’ve come across or re-discovered over the past two weeks. Please enjoy!
1. What I’m reading: Trump’s Hasbara: Grabbing Zelensky by the Pu**s – this is an excellent analysis of the various inconceivables and incongruities that Trump, Israel and an American and AI-First world are advancing. It’s classic Žižek, so good luck with the odd turn of phrase!
2. What’s inspiring me: Jane Fonda’s Life Achievement Award Speech – Need something stronger than coffee for your Friday morning? Look no further that this rousing speech that will make you burst into spontaneous applause regardless of whether you’re in your office or bathroom. It is, after all, an important speech with a clear challenge to those in the halls of fame and glory (not to mention the rest of us): ‘Would you have been brave enough to walk the bridge?“
3. What I’m reflecting on: Work and AI – This is occupying my thoughts on various levels. First, read this thought piece on The Painful Truth about AI & Robotics and consider pairing it with David Graeber’s 2013 essay on Bullshit Jobs (a piece I share routinely on this newsletter). These days, I wonder, running a social impact web design agency, what we will in fact be left with in 10 years. I began this year with a personal pledge to boycott generative AI over concerns with its environmental impacts and the rate of its rapid uptake with few safeguards. More to follow on how this went. I’m now back tinkering around.
4. What I’m cooking: The world’s best vegan carrot cake – This recipe isn’t from my gran, but it could be! This is literally my go to birthday/dinner/fancy-something-sweet cake recipe. It has received consistently stunning reviews, rises well, boasts moisture, nuttiness, carroty goodness and a twist of cinnamon. The quantities are large – you can get away with halving them for a standard cake, but for a show-stopper, put the lot in two sponge tins and present a mulit-tiered masterpiece!
5. What I’m getting sceptical of: Second-hand clothes – For over 5 years, I have gone without buying new clothes, feeling totally at odds with the fast fashion industry. Historically, that has meant advocating for second-hand clothes. Yet, increasingly, I’m wondering about the ethical implications of the used clothes market. Now worth $100bn a year, the likes of Depop, Vinted and Ebay have worked in parallel to the proliferation of fancy vintage shops to make used clothes popular. Many no longer go to the high street charity shop for their sustainable fashion, but instead any number of the slick and heavily-invested-in e-commerce platforms that have swept in. My concern is this: whose interests does the used clothes market really serve? Does such a prolific marketplace in fact increase the rate of new clothing purchases? Are there still ethical grounds for buying second-hand? Or how can we ensure there are still respected ways to buy low-impact clothes? To what extent might these used clothes companies be ‘green-washing’ on the basis of presumed sustainability credentials? Your thoughts would be very welcome as I reflect further on this topic.
📣 Opportunities from me and my network
🔥 Check out this new fund to support leadership in the migration section
🥦 Become a Vegan Society Member for free if you’re under 26!
📖 Don’t forget to order your copy of Remnants of War, Migration, Love by Taha Salim.
🎨 Looking for fabulous art to gift? Support my brilliant friend and artist Nadine here.
⭐️ Know someone critically-minded? I’d love to nominate them for Aspen Rising Leaders.
💻 Time for a new website? Pick us, the non-profit agency for a more sustainable and fairer world.
That’s it for this fortnight! As ever, please let me know your thoughts and feedback – and send anything you’d like me to include in upcoming editions this way.
