Sam Archer
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Kitchen Confidential: A Portrait of Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain remains a truly compelling figure. Kitchen Confidential chronicles his voyage through the tumultuous, bloody, murky, and electric waters of the culinary world—as well as human nature. It is the story of an extraordinarily storied life: culinary school, bouts… Continue reading
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Where Cows Once Wandered
Up and over, a swinging right, a meandering left, then a squiggly weave. Like a ribbon caught in the wind, repeat that thirty-four times and you have a good idea of what it feels like to drive down 300 yards… Continue reading
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The World’s Greatest Bargain?
The cinema industry is, we are so often told, in decline. For years, the industry’s soothsayers and town criers have been foretelling the demise of traditional film attendance. The rise of streaming services and widespread digital piracy had already begun… Continue reading
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Down and Out, on the South Bank and Docklands
Not long ago, I shared in a truly spontaneous and beautiful night. To celebrate a university friend’s birthday I went into London proper, to join him, his nearest, and his dearest for a night on The Town. I arrived late,… Continue reading
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Love, Lucy, and Lysergic Lakes: The Soundscapes of LSD
“What does acid feel like?” This question hangs over lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) – a substance more controversial, more maligned, and more iconic than perhaps any other psychedelic. Yet it remains an experience known to remarkably few, with recent research… Continue reading
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Forbidden Pleasures
Days, months and weeks, of anticipation. Guessing and second guessing yourself. Attempts to reverse-engineer the psychology of the game-maker. What do they know that I do not? Breathy unrest simmers. Heart races. Everything will all soon be revealed, and yet… Continue reading
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Testing the Waters: The Cultural Choreography of Small Talk
This morning was beautiful – an azure sun cracked the inky blue of dawn, splitting the fading night into tangerines and magenta. Eventually, this gave way to blue, the volume and intensity of its clarity brought up as if with… Continue reading
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Altman vs. Musk: Who is Lex Luthor?
Earlier this week, the world’s richest and most powerful unelected man, Elon Musk, tabled a $97.4 billion bid to take over the non-profit assets of OpenAI, the world’s most powerful AI organisation. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and a very… Continue reading
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Everyone You Love Will Die (Yourself Included)
Everyone I love will die, likely after cruel illness. Death awaits us all, and yet we speak of it seldom. Why is this? Too depressing? Perhaps. And yet, without exception, it is the fate that awaits us all. I have… Continue reading
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A Weave about The Meeting of Minds; and a Review of The Durham Podcast
‘Let’s start a podcast!’ is to the 2020s, it is often said, is what ‘Let’s start a band!’ was to previous decades. While there’s truth to this comparison, the key difference lies in the enjoyability for one’s friends. If many… Continue reading
