It’s a trend that started to creep up on me over January, but became algorithmically unbearable the more I heard about it, the ‘analogue bag’.

As first, this statement seems contradictory in nature. Analogue typically calls to mind old clocks and polaroid cameras, vinyl records and handheld radios. We have not yet, to my knowledge, managed to digitise the concept of carrying around daily essentials to the point where a handbag has become obsolete.

But the analogue bag actually speaks to something else.

The idea that in order to combat phone fatigue people are now carrying around jigsaws and colouring books to combat the dopamine-drives of short attention spans.

Sierra Campbell, a California-based influencer, says she created the Analogue Bag as a way to start reducing screen time:

@siececampbellBeen in @Marie Claire Magazine , @Business Insider and sooo many more for this!!! Most effective way to make the days human instead of digital pace. #analogbag #analoglife #whimsywithsiece @Polaroid @Sézane @BAGGU @Papier @Sugar Paper LA

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

In interviews about the trend she refers to the rise of AI as a ‘collective rock bottom’ and the analogue bag as a way to fight back against phone-dependency. She’s also cited giving birth as a big influence in her decision making, wanting to set a better and more connected example for her children in the process.

And she’s not the only one to feel this way, I’ve seen a lot of mothers in particular express concern about technology as their kids grow up in a world driven by the digital. I have my own, somewhat fond, memories of my mum throwing our childhood Wii console out the window in an attempt to make my siblings and I behave better.

(There was even a recent video of a mother being labelled as a ‘hero’ for throwing her daughter’s iPad out the window, if you missed it.)

But it’s not just mothers following this trend of digital disconnection.

A decline in acceptability: Screen time and Streaming Services

Though The Guardian have tied this to a wider increase in participation around “cosy hobbies” (pottery, crochet and dinner parties), there is another uptake that seems much more relevant: a return to physical media.

It’s something I alluded to in the most recent issue of Take 30 when talking about Kai Cenat’s decision to start reading. The idea that not only is brainrot quite literally rotting our brains, but that people are increasingly self-aware about the ways technology shapes everything from our routine to vocabulary.

The reason why Sierra’s analogue bag posts have received so much engagement compared to her other content is simple: we’re all tired of navigating the internet.

It’s exhausting to constantly feel as though the content you’re being served has been curated to make you most likely to buy things. That every swipe you supply is being put in a databank somewhere to try and decipher your innermost thoughts. To be regularly presented opinions meant to rile you up to increase time spent on an app. Ragebaited and placated and emotionally constipated by an endless scrolling system that only briefly rewards you with temporary dopamine.

And we can feel the ways it’s changing us.

We’re seeing the signs in Gen Alpha of what unrestricted access to technology can do to child development, and through the people posting about their ‘AI relationships’ what it can do to social skills. The same way people have found out in real time that vaping is damaging them, we’re witnessing how unfettered internet access can damage the psyche.

But most of all, it’s boring.

Being constantly overstimulated and over engaged in more topics than the average Victorian had to think about in a week, with little to none of the rewards, has left people feeling drained and disorientated.

So, in response, people are turning back to tried and true mediums with less ads and algorithms.

A BBC Futures article as far back as 2024 marked the start of a trend towards vinyl records and film, with more people spending money on physically or digitally owning music than in the last twenty years. Polaroids are back in style. Even cassette tapes (a medium I have been a lone supporter of since the mid 2010s) are making a comeback.

In part, these are definitely response to the techno fatigue, but equally the feeling that nothing online is actually owned by the users. Between streaming services having the final say on what properties are accessible, the rise of ‘ai slop’ content sold alongside authentic art and the ways platforms such as Meta can completely shift the content we see without a warning.*

The most recent iteration of this has been the movement to make 2026 the ‘Year of Analogue’, where the uptake in collecting physical media has been met by the ‘artsy elusive’ aesthetic and the idea of ‘going offline’ or moving in silence.

@rosieoko2026: The age of Analog What analog swap would you be most tempted toward, let me know in the comments This year we have slowly seen the rise of nostagia and a clear craving for community from in person look alike contests the most recent seeing hundreds of people showing up for a 5 min cigarette break, to the switch from iphone photos to the old digital cameras you used as a teen as well as the viral analogue bag and yes the irony of that doesnt escape me lol people are redefing their relationships with technology, and its clear they are yearnign for real llife comunity. Old I pod are getting more expensive, so if you want one try find your old one and save money, as the generation who grew up online are slowly relasing that we dont really own anything, instead we have countless subscriptions that, which mean with a few missed payments or a forgotten password, we can lose years of our audio visual collections. and the concept of a digital dark age suddenlt becomes alot more personal. along with social media becoming an increasingly divisive space, what was once an escape from reality and a way to find a community and friendship has become the space many of us are trying to escape. so in 2026 we are going to see people moving towards analog hobbies, like scrap booking or even crochet, to CD players instead of apps and cinema trips instead of streaming. #analog #2026trends #offline #digitaldetox

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

So where did this go wrong?

Inevitable Commodification

What started for Sierra as a small selection of activities to consider on the commute has quickly spiralled into eccentric overconsumption.

The first ever analogue bag video I saw showed a user proudly showing off their own bag, which contained amongst other things a portable DVD player, and box sets of children’s TV shows. There are countless ‘analog bag’ hauls across the platform, some even tied to branded business accounts or promotional partnerships.

The main issue with this, aside from the rampant overconsumption and the comment sections full of people responding with “u just influenced me 😭😭” and “where do i get that planner??” is that it just doesn’t feel realistic.

As someone who does carry a book around with them at all times, and only sometimes ends up reading it, this push to bring as many different items as possible feels more rooted in the idea of having things for the sake of having them (or selling other people on them), rather than any actual commitment to incorporating them in a daily routine.

In just three videos I’ve seen people promoting carrying around a two pairs of scissors (do not recommend trying this in any city centre), a printer, stamps and an entire jewellery-making kit.

While there’s nothing wrong with bringing one or two things with you on a daily basis, these hauls are often five or six items big, which leads me to think some people just like to be overburdened with choice, and risk shoulder pain in the process. It’s a well-intended idea, with poor execution. And it’s not the only analogue idea that hasn’t made it off the screen.

A creator called Yuree made a video of all the trends she felt were inaccessible due to her ADHD, pointing to the wider impracticality of actually executing ‘Analogue 2026‘:

@onedayoneglassHere are the trends I won’t be participating this 2026 🤍 When it comes to balancing ADHD management, sometimes I just gotta prioritize and give some stuff up! 🙂 What trends will you be skipping this year? Trends mentioned: 1) goal punch cards 2) hobonichi 3) analog 2026 #adhdlife #adhdhacks #deinfluencing #louisecarmen #adhdinwomen

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

So where does this end?

To me this trend is symptomatic of a wider problem. It’s clear that Gen Z, and Alpha, are tired of the ways technology takes over our lives and ruin our time management skills.

But it also seems like people are struggling to know how to step away from the dopamine machine in a way that feels reasonable and achievable in the long term.

The idea of going offline with intent has been confused with buying more products to possess. And any chance of small-scale attention span victories has lost out in the process.

If these analogue bags stick around and their owners prove me wrong, I will be more than happy to apologise. It’s definitely in everyone’s best interests to get a little less terminally online.

But as someone who gets the ick from people taking books out on the tube, I both dread the day I see someone take out multiple DVDs, and doubt it will ever be reality.

Overall the best response to the trend I’ve seen has been from TikTok social commentator and personality Kay Poyer:

@ladymisskay_ANALOG BAG. this is all in jest, but I do have an essay coming out discussing this topic soon.

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

(Rave recommendation optional.)

* While not the point of this article, I think it is worth noting that the push to decentralise streaming sites such as Spotify and Disney Plus is partially due to their political ties and investments, as much as the content oversaturation.

While pondering this question stuck in my childhood bedroom, one thing stood out to me: the idea of needing to ‘have’ something going on. To do something in order to demonstrate my continued commitment to the career path I had chosen.

I had already pre-recorded a podcast throughout my degree, which just needed editing and publishing, but I knew I wanted that to be a limited series. So, I wanted to start something new, that would be relatively easy to keep up with but that would also keep me in motion.

I landed on a newsletter, more specifically Take 30.

The aim with Take 30 was to make a short form newsletter covering media from the last month that I found particularly engaging.

The idea of something text-based, with monthly contributions suited me, because it felt less labour intensive than an audio or video-based product. I was relatively new to the idea of Substack, but having used Medium and Wordpress in the past, it seemed like the best platform to actually cultivate some sort of audience engagement.

Since then, I’ve managed to keep Take 30 going for a full year, and learned a lot in the process.

A newsletter will not solve the UK’s unemployment problem.

As I was quickly corrected by a senior person within the industry, it’s all well and good to have a newsletter, podcast, or journalism-based side hustle, but it’s not exactly special.

Every person who wants to get into journalism eventually comes to the same realisation, deciding to spin as many plates as they can for their CV, but that doesn’t mean you should stop trying entirely.

You just have to be in it for love of the game.

I landed on Take 30 covering a range of mediums and types of media to prevent me from getting too bored with the subject matter.

I’ve always been one of the more ‘terminally online’ people in my friend group, so it usually falls ot me me to explain the latest celebrity drama and trending topics. I wanted to capture that idea of sharing light hearted trending topics, without just turning into a hub of gossip and blind items.

So instead, I decided to focus across media as a whole.

Be it binge-watching tv shows or new music listening parties, Take 30 has turned from an occasional chore into a reason to engage with new and interesting art (albeit on a monthly basis).

It has to be something you make for sheer enjoyment of making it, which leads me to my next point..

Building a following takes time

If a newsletter won’t give you a job, it also won’t give you a following.

I expected this on some level, based on the newsletters I was subscribed to (Which is another good point- don’t start a newsletter without at least reading some others in the process!) But it’s still hard when starting something out to not have big dreams for the final product.

Every week I receive at least 30 newsletters. Of those I read about 5. The rest get skimmed, or automatically archived and ignored.

A reasonable response to that might be that I’m subscribed to too many things, which is true, but it also gives you a reader’s perspective. If your newsletter finds someone amongst their work emails, shopping orders and event reminders, it’s easy to ignore.

And while some people will say that focusing on the time of day you publish, or cross-promoting on other social media platforms could slightly improve your chances of engagement, it’s never going to work miracles.

So even if you have an idea of what you want the final product to look like, you have to be happy with your newsletter going out to nobody for a long time beforehand.

But if you stick to it, you might just feel fulfilled.

To be brutally honest, I was willing to write this off by the one year mark if I absolutely hated it.

Instead, I’m currently in the process of planning December’s edition.

And while I’ve been a bit negative here in describing the harsh realities of starting a regular newsletter, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been upsides to the process.

It’s made me a lot more confident in my writing style and tone, pushed me to engage with different media outside of my personal comfort zone more often in the name of research, and given me a space to experiment with different formats and features. All without being too tied down to any one idea of a ‘correct’ layout.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Take 30, but I’m grateful for its past, and excited for the present.

Most of all I’m thankful for the people who have joined this journey along the way, subscribed and stuck around.

So if you got this far, thank you.

Share

Pitched as a new, shiny TikTok page to engage female sports fans, Halo initially sounded like a genius move from the Sky Sports social media team. After all women’s sports have been rising in popularity dramatically over the past few years from the Lionesses to the Red Roses.

But what was hailed as a way to “bring together a community of women” with “fun, trend-led and relatable content” quickly devolved into a patronising pandemonium.

Sports fans who found the new channel in their FYP (For You Page) were immediately greeted by an incessant use of pink and, instead of actual sports scores or relatability, “hot girl walks” being pitched as the pinnacle of female experience.

Instead of centering content around actual sportswomen, the main focus of the self proclaimed ‘Sky Sports’ lil sis✨' was discussing coffee, crushing on f1 drivers and New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

While there does seem to have been at least one post about women’s football, such content was few and far between. And due to Sky wiping the channel I can’t confidently say if it was any more engaging or entertaining.

As you might expect, the internet took to Sky Sports Halo with the same level of vitriol that usually gets reserved for cancelled influencers and politicians.

But despite some speculation, nobody has been able to answer the most important question of this short-lived fiasco, why?

Where did Halo go wrong?

As I mentioned, the initial concept of Halo was not a bad one.

Some would say that female fans, and women’s sports deserve to be on the main Sky Sports platform, which I would agree with, but it would be a disservice say that sports aren’t an incredibly male-dominated. As someone surrounded by sports since the age of six weeks old, I would be lying to say it always felt like a space for me.

Perhaps that’s why this level of sexism hurt so many so immediately. It’s only in the past few years that I’ve had the opportunity to see little girls go to games wearing England jerseys with names like Chloe Kelly and Lucy Bronze.

Because for the longest time it seemed to me that sport was like Yorkie bars, one of those thing that had seemingly nonsensically been categorised as ‘not for girls’. And no amount of PE class or extra-curricular karate could make the idea of one day playing in a stadium feel any more plausible.

It’s only in recently that I have allowed myself to see sports as an option to engage in, and still I struggle to find the confidence to participate regularly.

To many women being demeaned in this area specifically felt like a slap in the face to progress. A way of saying ‘you may have made some accomplishments, but don’t take yourself too seriously’. It felt like the social media strategy of an out-of-touch man who hadn’t had to take a women’s game seriously before and saw this new, relatively untapped demographic as a free way to increase ratings and get a nice pat on the back at the end of the quarter.

I should make it clear, this is how it felt, I am not claiming to know what actually happened.

I find it hard to imagine that across a whole team within Sky, a company who pride themselves on a supportive workplace culture and inclusive output, there was not one women involved in the programming.

I’ve only been able to find male employees discussing the integration of Halo into the Sky Socials family, but there are female-presenting hosts in the teasers.

On the subject of gender equity Sky say:

We’re working to ensure that women have a fair chance to succeed and progress at Sky. It’s better for Sky, and better for society. Our aim is for half our leaders to be women, and today, we’re at 37%. We’re also committed to increasing representation in areas like technology, where both at Sky and in the wider world, women are under-represented…At Sky, women represent 26% of our tech business and we’re aiming to reach 30% by 2025.

But there is an alternative explanation for what went wrong here that isn’t reliant on sexism and instead based in something less simple, the algorithm.

Matcha of the Day

If there’s one thing that puts pressure on social media managers like nothing else, it’s trend-chasing. The speed at which sounds, dances, filters and ideas come in and out of style on social media has increased rapidly over the past decade, and when it comes to trends, TikTok is by far the most fast-paced.

My experience within the marketing field has taught me that to an outsider, or even anyone older than millennial, these trends can seem disoriententating. For anyone slightly less than terminally online it’s easy to lose their tone and intention. Which brings us back to the Dubai Chocolate Matcha Labubu.

On their own, none of these words hold any weight, but when paired together they merge to take on an entirely different meaning: over-consumption core, brainrot, or advertising fatigue.

While the overuse of pink text and ‘cutesy’ aesthetics remind me of the work of Diana (citiesbydiana). A satirical truck driving simulator creator whose ‘DYSTOPIAN BRAINROT 🫠🗽’ series embraces topics such as pollution, social media overstimulation and the repackaging of consumerist culture in cutesty colour schemes.

@citiesbydianaI LOVE OFFSHORE DRILLING 🥰💅🏻✨🇺🇲 #americacore🚘🏈🍔🇺🇸 #brainrot #brainrotcore #texas #offshoredrilling #mulch #mulchcore #capcutedit #saturnion THE VOICES ARE AI GENERATED BUT THE CONTENT WAS EDITED AND WRITTEN BY ME!

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

The difference between these trends, and what Halo was trying to do, lies in intent.

All of these trends play heavily into the idea of being sold a product that nobody really wants or needs, polluting the environment, oversaturating our screens and playing the part of the mindless consumer. By trying to engage with them on an inauthentic surface level, Halo becomes part of the problem that TikTokers are poking fun at in the first place.

The most telling post to me for this theory, was the one about Zohran Mamdani.

Zohran Mamdani has nothing to do with the Premier League, he’s not a sportsman or notable advocate for women’s sports, nor is he the first politician to express support for a football team.

He was, however, trending.

It’s possible that the people behind Halo genuinely thought that this was what young girls wanted to see, and tried to play into their supposed interests through keyword optimisation for engagement.

The issue being this strategy only works when you understand what you’re talking about.

Trying to tap into “hot girl trends” without an understanding of the audience, digital environment or even associations you’re utilising is misinformed at best, and sloppy at worst.

Post-game Analysis

Despite initial pushback, the creators of Halo quickly realised that the tide had fully turned against them and apologised, wiping the account.

Whether this saga was the result of misogyny, baseless trend tracking or just a genuine tonal mishap, I doubt we’ll ever know for sure.

There’s a saying that all press is good press, and while this saga was certainly not good press for Sky, hopefully it will make people think twice before being lazy in the ways they interact with women’s sports going forward.

Because at the end of the day, we do still need to see more people engaging with and women’s sports. Just in future with, ahem, slightly less matcha.

Skinny Jeans. Diet Culture. Slurs (somehow).

Many trends of the early 2000s have threatened to make a return this year, but one industry seems to have really held down the fort for comeback kings and queens - the gig scene. What seems to be driving this trend, and, more importantly, why do we want to hear it?

A note to subscribers: Hello! If you’re slightly confused why this is in your inbox - this is The Extended Cut, Take 30’s lesser known and often neglected sister segment. Too long for you? Feel free to skip, no worries! Have a little more time to kill today? Feel free to keep reading :)

If you live in the UK and have access to the internet, it has been practically impossible to avoid the news of the big Oasis reunion over the last year.

Plastered on every big billboard, with fans fighting for their lives in extortionate Ticketmaster queues, there’s no wonder it’s been a recurring topic across entertainment news outlets.

But it’s not just the Gallagher brothers making a return to the stage. Over the past year we’ve seen the likes of Rizzle Kicks reunite, Black Sabbath take over Birmingham and Destiny’s Child perform at Tottenham Hotspur for the Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Tour.

Looking forward a Blur tour has also been announced for the end of the year. Radiohead are also set to tour the UK and EU, while - potentially the most bafflingly - ‘Busted vs McFly’ starts their own tour takeover in Cardiff this September.

Most recently Fifth Harmony have jumped onto the trend, reuniting as special guests at a Jonas Brother show (minus Camilla Cabello - but it seems no bad blood there.) While 5 Seconds of Summer have reformed for a TikTok together - which fans are speculating may be soft-launching their own imminent return.

But while the reasoning behind some bands returning has been clear - Black Sabbath giving frontman Ozzy Osbourne a final send-off while raising money for various charities; Rizzle Kicks returning after starting their own families and dealing with personal issues - not every band has come back with a clear cut explanation. Radiohead claiming their reunion was “for the hell of it”.

That’s one thing, but why are we listening?

It feels unfair to speculate that all these comeback tours and sudden reunions could be a shameless cash grab - at the end of the day we’re still buying the eye-wateringly expensive tickets.

Of course, there are the obvious reasons. Nostalgia-driven throwbacks; wanting to see artists you missed out on first time round. But it this could also point to a wider trend in listening.

There’s been an overall push to pop-based noughties nostalgia in particular, which many are referring to as ‘recession pop’ or a ‘recession indicator’. This term arising from the idea that listeners gravitate towards more upbeat music in times of uncertainty.

At the same time, the main charts have become dominated with ‘TikTok music’. Tracks typically three minutes long with a catchy hook or chorus that are otherwise lackluster. Songs like these prioritise the algorithm over cohesion and creativity (to some artist’s dismay), and often still end up losing in popularity to obscure throwbacks from the 60s and 70s.

For many of the artists currently set to go on tour, their fame was found through more mainstream pathways: radio playouts and media appearances such as MTV or Top of the Pops.

In a world where every artist feels pressured to create their own hype by announcing to TikTok that they’ve made the ‘song of the summer’, maybe we find it easier as listeners to return to the tried and true tunes.

It’s too soon to say if the rise of the reunion tour speaks to a bigger problem of stagnation in the music industry, the economy or even wider culture.

But what we can say in the meantime, is that £1,423 for Oasis tickets is extortionate.

Zines, short for ‘self-published magazines’, have been around for decades, some even claim centuries. But only in the last few years have they really begun to be a factor of mainstream culture. Zines can be both collaborative or personal creations, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

My first introduction to the world of zines happened during secondary school. Around the age of 13, a classmate gave a presentation on the Riot Grrrl movement, including its impact on feminism and DIY culture.

It was through this lens that I received my first zine (created as part of the project), and to an impressionable teenage mind already obsessed with alternative subcultures, it was love at first sight. The idea of taking a piece of paper and transforming it into a statement had me hooked immediately.

Around ten years later I still feel the same way, though I have learnt a lot more about the depth and breadth of zine culture since then - and even made several of my own. But while zines have only been in my life for the past decade or so, their history spans almost a century.

The term ‘self-published magazine’ allows for a lot of leeway on what can actually be considered a zine to begin with, and while this is a benefit to creators (giving scope to make anything and everything your heart desires), it can be difficult for historians.

Some scholars argue that the first things to be considered zines could be the pamphlets distributed during the 1920s Black Renaissance in Harlem, New York. Others argue that the leaflets distributed by the founding fathers in the 1700s during the American Battle for independence could be equally plausible entry points into zine culture.

Both are difficult to fully determine, though definitely contain elements of what we have come to call zines, and are equally America-centric.

To most, the ‘official’ start of zines comes from the fanzines of the 1930s.

Fanzines and the 30s

Fanzines, or fan-made zines, typically revolve around a shared hobby or interest held by the contributors and consumers.

In the 1930s this often meant that they acted as a proto-internet discussion board or forum space. Fans would meet up at conventions for science-fiction to share copies and discuss their opinions and ideas.

It wasn’t until the 60s that this format began to branch into wider areas of the culture, but the fanzine has remained a staple zine format. These days they can often be found online, as collaborations across the internet for fans of niche tv shows, bands, celebrities and anime.

Despite being a staple of zine culture, fanzines have often been contentious in the mainstream due to the way they interact with Intellectual Property (IP) ownership. Described by one person I spoke to as “the legal equivalent to gay chicken” fanworks sold for profit often operate in a legal grey area that requires their work to be sufficiently transformative enough to not infringe on company copyright.

Many early internet fanzines have become lost media, but there are archival projects to make them accessible.

Political Zines

The second most well-known, and well-documented type of zine are those in the political genre. Political zines have always been ‘edgier’ than fanzines, as authors only needed access to a photocopier in order to share their thoughts.

The late 80s and early 90s brought about two things: an abundance of accessible printers, and the Riot Grrrl movement. While some say zines can be found within multiple political organisations prior to this era*, this was the time period where they truly began to become a staple of alternative and anti-establishment communities.

Riot Grrrl zines in particular advocated for punk, anti-capitalism perspectives that prioritised DIY-driven culture over conventionality, patriarchy and heteronormativity. Ideology-wise these zines covered everything from sexism and racism to body image, overcoming abuse and vegetarianism.

The specific movements that may have made political zines more mainstream might be over, but zines are still being used by many, as they are an easy way to convey a manifesto or concept without the costs of an academic education.

Equally this anti-establishment mentality has become associated with wider zine culture. The fact that zines have always been “self-published” has made them a safe space for more marginalised individuals who would otherwise not have access to traditional publishing. As a result industry or brand-based zines are categorised as somewhat contentious.

* According to Sam Levi “Civil rights movements, the feminist movement, the early gay liberation movement, all used zines.”

Additional Zine Alternatives

When giving this talk in person, I broke down this category further into predominantly ‘text-based’ zines and illustrative zines. But to be honest, even those categories felt reductive. Aside from the fans and revolutionaries, the third group to take to zines with gusto are the artists.

Whether this be authors, amateur essaysists or diarists (PerZines, also known as personal zines typically follow someone’s personal thoughts and feelings closely in a more informal style.) Zines have always been a place for words to flow freely with little care for editorial style or structure. And while this can often overlap with the other previous categories, it can also be as simple as a stream of consciousness discussion or poetry - though it is worth noting these do differ from a typical anthology.

In comparison, zines with a graphic focus can range from comic strips to collages, or photography collections revolving around a certain theme. Much like when it comes to political theory, the affordability and accessibility of zines can make art more affordable by providing a private exhibition that fits in your pocket.

Final Remarks

At the end of the day there is no ‘correct’ way to zine, and while most zine makers from amateurs to regulars do tend to share the same belief in the importance of accessibility through the medium, there is no official rulebook to be bound by.

For me, collage is the most rewarding zine medium, my pieces tend to shift towards the personal, and I find it therapeutic to make something meaningful from my feelings.

If you’re interested in making your own, definitely give it a try, and don’t be afraid to do something badly to begin with.

The most prominent places to find zines online are Etsy, X and Instagram. I’ve personally found the Instagram community to be welcoming.

If you’re feeling a bit bolder and want to step outside, then try local bookshops, community spaces, zine fairs and craft markets.

But is a current affairs show really the most suited to a live audience?

When The News Agents announced their first live show, it was this question, along with my own curiosity as a long standing listener, that motivated me to attend.

Hosted by journalists Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall of former BBC fame, The News Agents covers political current affairs from the UK, USA and more on a Monday-Friday basis. Each episode is typically split into covering two or three stories, usually including clips from interviews with relevant public figures and the hosts’ post-interview analysis.

Since starting in 2022 the Podcast has become award-winning, and accrued quite a dedicated fanbase. So while I should have expected the number of audience members in attendance - the Albert Hall show sold out within what seemed like hours - I was still struck by the sheer size of the crowds in attendance.

Podcasts, as a general rule, are a solitary medium.

Studies have shown that over 90% of the time, people listen to podcasts alone, typically when working or commuting. Yet despite being a typically solitary listening experience, there is still something intimate about the medium itself. Being accessible at any time of day on demand, and particularly with a daily upload schedules, means listeners end up sharing the everyday mundane aspects of their lives with the hosts almost parasocially. Incorporating the opinions of their favourite hosts into an embedded daily routine.

For this reason the sight of so many people, likely also daily listeners, in the flesh was odd.

The idea that so many people were spending roughly two and a half hours a week ingesting the same information while going about their day, entirely voluntarily, generated an odd sense of comradery. I had the urge to turn to the people sitting next to me and ask them about where they had first heard of the show, and what kept them listening enough to want to attend.

In a way it was touching to share something in common with such a range of people, though at points the feeling bordered too closely on smug for my liking.

So when it comes down to the show, does a current affairs podcast work in a liveshow context?

The short answer: No.

The longer answer: Sort of.

While the event itself was enjoyable, the inherent nature of a current affairs podcast makes it difficult to cross from studio to stage.

The reason The News Agents worked so well in a live studio format was because the event was a one off. The format was much more lighthearted than a usual episode, covering the best bits from the past year, answering audience questions and even including a trivia quiz and competition for ‘News Agents Person of the Year’. By focusing on a montage of ‘best bits’ the event was able to maintain a lighthearted tone, even when covering more serious subjects, that played into the audience’s pre-existing investment.

In comparison, regular current affairs coverage still lends itself to a more sombre setting. As Jon Sopel said about the experience on the subsequent podcast episode:

“It’s something that I never thought would happen in my journalistic career. Being in front of a camera, fine. Being in a studio, fine. Pair of headphones on, fine.

Five and a half thousand people in front of you in one of Britain’s most iconic venues, never thought would happen. It was great…that so many people came from across Britain to be there. ”

This use of studios, cameras, and headphones is, essentially, impersonal.

News, despite being about connecting with and informing the everyday person, is typically conducted from a sterile studio environment. This separation is often necessary for the objectivity of impartial coverage. An expectant live audience, particularly in a large-scale setting, demands to be entertained, creating a new more dynamic relationship between audience and entertainer that plays more on ‘vibes’ than verity.

At no point was this made clearer to me than in the aforementioned ‘person of the year’ segment, where even the hosts were somewhat bewildered by surreality as audiences cheered for Liz Truss, Elon Musk and Kari Lake in a battle for the most comedic supervillain of the show’s coverage.

It was moments like these, combined with the intersection of such a solitary yet intimate medium and what was essentially a public forum, that made the whole thing feel uncanny. The difference in playing for a crowd and informing an (mostly) anonymous public became incredibly apparent.

So while as a one-off event it was successful, and for fans of the show I fully recommend their February tour dates for an enjoyable experience, I think we’re a long way off current affairs podcasts breaking through the occasional tours to become a regular live occurrence.