How black slaves were routinely sold as ‘specimens’ to ambitious white doctors
The history of human experimentation is as old as the practice of medicine and in the modern era has always targeted disadvantaged, marginalised, institutionalised,…
People
A prison called Gaza: new book offers a startling insight into everyday life in the territory
“A place of spacious dimensions, and large population, with fine bazaars. It contains numerous mosques, and there is no wall around it.” To the…
The rise of veganism in politics
Manès Weisskircher, Open Democracy In November 1944, a woodwork teacher called Donald Watson founded The Vegan Society in the English city of Leicester, thereby coining ‘veganism’ as…
An Exclusive Interview with Cubicolor
Ariaan and Peter – as founding members of Cubicolor – where did your musical journeys begin? When did you start producing? We both started…
An interview with Oscar winner Director, Orlando von Einsiedel
Words by Alex Durham The film Virunga easily finds its place as one of the most powerful recent documentaries and pieces of activism. It…
“Before they pass away” Q&A: fading cultures in photography by Jimmy Nelson
Words by Alex Durham Jimmy Nelson, in his documentary photography volume Before they Pass Away, offers us a series of gorgeous portraits of the…
Refugee Trails: A European Odyssey – a deeper perspective on the refugee situation
Since 2015, we have been witnessing one of the worst global humanitarian crises of our time – the Syrian Civil war. Millions of innocent…
Food security: how drought and rising prices led to conflict in Syria
Aled Jones, Anglia Ruskin University In 2015 the Welsh singer and activist Charlotte Church was widely ridiculed in the right-wing press and on social…
Bearcubs: Live Review & Exclusive Interview
Bearcubs’ rise to success over the last two years has been fairly consistent. The steady flow of originals, collaborations and remixes of household names…
An Interview with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) has carved a hole for himself in left-field dance music. Sitting somewhere between glistening pop and quirky house, Totally Enormous Extinct…
Welcome to City Plaza, Athens: a new approach to housing refugees
There are now around 55,000 people stranded in Greece as a result of Europe’s failed response to the so-called migration crisis – and many…
Guernica: Where the wall speaks
The bombing of Guernica (26 April 1937) was an aerial attack on the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It was…
Tom Misch | Village Underground | Live Review
Early into his set, Tom Misch admitted this was the gig he was most looking forward to out of his whole European tour. Given…
An Exclusive Interview with Monster Raving Loony candidate Howling Laud Hope
British political history is about to made in the suburbs of south-west London. Placards are a-waving as activists fight to make their candidate the…
Exclusive Interview: Amine Edge & DANCE
Amine Edge & DANCE are a French duo that have spent recent years shaking up the dance music scene. As champions of ‘Gangsta house’, their own-crafted…
BARBU: a surreal, erotic circus at London’s Southbank Centre
We visited the Southbank Centre on a warm summer evening to watch a show which sent us into a state of delirium. Approaching a circus tent…
Blood and Bone: Funeral Rituals in Tana Toraja, Indonesia
My days in Tana Toraja embodied the Indonesian flag: Red and white —which to some, symbolise dara and tulang. Blood and bone. It was a fascinating cultural and emotional experience….
The Paroxysm of Human Absurdity: Reflections on Islamophobia
The current ongoing Islamophobic rhetoric in popular media has probably not gone unnoticed by the Bizarre Culture reader. It certainly got two colleagues at…
A Few Inspired Ideas About American Social Politics Before the California Primary
“We need to understand that as human beings we are not full human beings when we’re only concerned about ourselves; that we are stronger…
Trekking Myanmar with Momo
I leaned against a wooden shack on a dusty road with two Dutch girls I’d only just met. The feeling of guilt was mutual….