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Culture

Culture encompasses books, movies, television, music, video games, internet memes, and thousands of branches of art. And sure, culture includes the latest entertainment news too. At The Verge, we construct entry points both into the mainstream and the niche, the tentpoles and the hidden gems, to help make the most notable and discussed parts of the cultural conversation understandable and accessible to everyone.

Dan Seifert
Dan Seifert
The internet is for complaining about corporations doing shenanigans.

Perhaps you’ve seen that Dunkin’ (née Dunkin’ Donuts) has changed its loyalty program for the worse. It’s been hard to miss for the past couple of weeks since it launched, thanks to many people complaining about it on social media.

Wired rounds up a few of those complaints today and asks what might be the outcome? The cynic in me says nothing, “my free” coffee is going to cost me twice as much going forward.

A column about Dunkin’ AND complaining on the internet? Be still my beating heart.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
There’s no mention of beads in this chess cheating report.

After an investigation, Chess.com has put together a 72-page report (PDF) backing world chess champion Magnus Carlsen’s explosive allegation of cheating by 19-year-old grandmaster Hans Niemann.

Niemann publicly admitted to cheating on a couple of occasions years ago, but the report claims he’s cheated over 100 times, more recently than he admitted, and in tournaments with money on the line.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Street shark... or lake fish.

When we started our reporting this morning, I said we’d update you on that viral video of a shark in a flooded street, and here’s the explanation.

Unlike the usual “shark in a highway” pic that goes around every time there are flooded streets — this video was real and taken yesterday morning in Florida as Hurricane Ian approached.

However, as Storyful’s Rob McDonagh explains, it wasn’t in a street, and it’s hard to tell if it truly shows a shark.

Two GameStop documentaries miss the forest for the memes

The whole thing smacks of ‘content’

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
Spain’s Transports Urbans de Sabadell has La Bussí.

Once again, the US has fallen behind in transportation — call it the Bussí gap. A hole in our infrastructure, if you will.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
The 2010s were about lifestyle brands. What’s next?

Loved this meaty essay about trends in consumerism, what we mean by “culture,” and how DTC brands led to a new understanding of community and identity. “In the 2010s, supply chain innovation opened up lifestyle brands. In the 2020s, financial mechanism innovation is opening up the space for incentivized ideologies, networked publics, and co-owned faiths,” writes Toby Shorin. “The authenticity-driven culture of ironic detachment, so present in the early 2000s, has given way to a moment where people are genuinely open to being influenced, open to sincerely participating, even if it’s cringe.”

Life After Lifestyle

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Mitchell Clark
Mitchell Clark
How far would you go for a song?

Death Cab for Cutie made fans visit one of the around 800 locations the band had played if they wanted to listen to a single early. The game’s thematically appropriate — “Rand McNally” is about life on the road.

According to Wired, the band used a defunct fan site and the Wayback Machine to figure out all the places it had played. The Internet Archive truly is wonderful.

How to add Instagram close friendsHow to add Instagram close friends
Monica Chin
Lego’s original spaceship, the Galaxy Explorer, is back and better than ever

The 1979 classic returns with retractable landing gear

Sean Hollister
How fandom built the internet as we know it, with Kaitlyn Tiffany

Her new book on the long history of fangirls, from the Beatles to One Direction

Nilay Patel
NFTs, explainedNFTs, explained
Mitchell Clark
Sheryl Sandberg on leaving Meta

‘It is a job that’s been an honor and a privilege, but it’s not a job that leaves a lot of time to do much else’

Alex Heath
Crypto is winning and Bitcoin diehards are furious about it

As cryptocurrency thrives, Bitcoiners seethe

Elizabeth Lopatto