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Reading and Leeds festival review – post-GCSE blowout shows how dominant dance music now is

Bramham Park, LeedsCharli xcx and Fontaines DC are spellbinding and there’s an awesome array of genres, but the biggest turnouts are for tech house names like Kettama and Josh Baker• Charli xcx, Reading festival review – Pretentious? Just a bit. But Nietzsche would have loved itReading and Leeds festival will probably always be a post-GCSE rite of passage: a gleefully riotous taste of freedom before having to make actual life decisions. But the sibling events have been struggling for a sense of identity beyond this, particularly post-Covid. In 2025, the festival decided to theme days based on genre, which felt out of touch – but, this year, organisers have decided to tackle gen Z’s borderless approach head on. There are new stages, such as the chandelier-adorned Ballroom, and overall the lineup is wonderfully mazy.On the festival’s second stage, you can catch everything from UK underground rap selector DJ EJ, warbly US rockers Geese, and raw, live-drummed jungle from 4am Kru. “I dedicate this one to all the bad bitches from small places. Let’s make a song about the bad bitches from Leeds,” Slovakian pop star Adéla gleefully giggles during her own set here, before launching into neon-streaked megahit Ain’t in LA. In a ping-ponging journey across styles, other highlights include London singer Dexter in the Newsagent’s blue-skied bedroom pop, Australian artist Mall Grab’s Game Boy grime beats and Bar Italia’s insouciant rock, which is significantly more fun and dance-y than their recent lukewarm album reviews might suggest. Continue reading...

Rise of Chicken Shop Date highlights how YouTube turned the tables on TV

Amelia Dimoldenberg says publicists ignored her interview show for years but she can now be picky over A-list guestsJust a decade ago, Amelia Dimoldenberg found it impossible to drum up any mainstream celebrities to come on her mock date YouTube show, in which she chats awkwardly with guests over chicken and chips.Even persuading a local actor connected with her London youth club to come on took years of prodding. Managers of A-listers with movies or albums to push instead battled to claim a spot on the hallowed cushions of the primetime TV chatshow sofa. Continue reading...

A Fun Night at the Movies

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The Podcast Boom and Its Discontents

Jack and Emma take a wry, self-aware look at the podcasting industry itself, dissecting why this once-niche medium has exploded into a cultural juggernaut, and whether its unfiltered, conversational charm is now at risk of curdling into oversaturation.

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Movie Night at Home

Jack and Emma talk about watching movies at home. They talk about their favorite movies and snacks. This is a fun and easy episode for beginners.

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The Unlikely Renaissance of Board Games

Jack and Emma unpack the surprising resurgence of tabletop gaming in a digital age, exploring why board games have shed their dusty, family-closet reputation to become a thriving hobbyist subculture with its own celebrities, economics, and design philosophy.