Looking Sideways: 10 Things
Spotify's ghost artists, a Shipping Forecast celebration, and Palermo's community dogs.
1. Happy New Year! I had a fun time in the French Alps and Brighton: lots of friends, snow, (too much) booze and food; a few waves, a powder run that made my year, and a couple of hangovers. Let’s see what 2025 brings then….
2. We watched a lot of films over Christmas, but this biopic of Donald Trump’s early years is probably the one I enjoyed the most; not least for the incredible performances of Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.
3. Liz Pelly in Harpers on Spotify's 'ghost artists' is fascinating, and I am looking forward to reading her book on the topic.
4. Anne Marie Duff on the term ‘toxic masculinity’. A few people sent me this after I posted about Gisele Pelicot on Instagram. I don’t particularly agree tbh, but it’s good to look at the topic from different perspectives.
5. I absolutely (and predictably) loved this sensitive radio documentary about Palermo’s ‘community dogs’.
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6. My Creative Exchange chat with Lucas Beaufort was one of my favourite conversations of 2024, so I really enjoyed this latest instalment of his Heart video series.
7. Radio 4 marked the New Year with a day-long celebration of the Shipping Forecast, all of which is collected here.
8. Blake Paul and friends 😍
Use my Stance discount code LOOKINGSIDEWAYS for a whopping 15% on any purchase.
9. How will Trump’s much vaunted tariffs impact the US outdoor industry? This Gear Junkie piece investigates.
10. Elon Musk versus the MAGA-sphere: how an argument about visas reveals grave (and, let’s face it: entertaining) splits in Trump’s coalition.
Enjoyed the first 10 Things of 2025? Anything you’ve seen the Looking Sideways community should know about?
Photographing dogs in Palermo added to my 2025 to do list.
Blitz! is so good!