reflections Do I really need paper plates that say “Ramadan Mubarak”? by Imaan Saarah Khan Eid Mubarak! Fittingly, I read Imaan Saarah Khan’s insightful piece on the increasing commodification of Ramadan, with huge corporations subverting the minimalist message of the Muslim holy month of fasting and reflection to sell their products....

the shuffle is a bi-weekly write-up by me, Tommy H, a writer and editor at shado magazine

reflections Won’t somebody please think of the (AI) shareholders? by Zoe Rasbash This week I read Zoe’s piece about the consequences of rapid AI deployment by huge multi-national tech companies. The usual dire outcomes of mass disinformation and unregulated content are well-known, but is there a forgotten victim of our new AI era: shareholders? huh? It turns out...

reflections Why we must politicise neurodiversity by Jodie Hare This week’s piece discusses neurodiversity, the concept that all humans vary in terms of our cognitive ability, and how this movement should be more actively political. We should all be challenging the idea that there is one ‘normal’ way for our brains to function,...

reflections I no longer dream of the apocalypse by Samara Almonte This week I took a trip into the shado archives to look at this reflective piece by fellow editor Samara Almonte. It’s about how dreaming of another world can be a powerful survival tool, and more beneficial than imagining the destruction...

reflections Country is back — is conservatism next? by Ning Chang An engaging feature on the connection of country music to conservatism in the U.S, this article by Ning Chang questions why the rise of country iconography in recent months means we may have to admit that, “we’re back to a conservative-coded social currency.”...

reflections Damned by Drill: How British courts used music to convict 10 Black boys in Manchester by Molly Lipson The other day I read this eye-opening article by Molly Lipson, on the Manchester 10 case, where 10 young Black men were convicted, to varying degrees, of conspiracy to commit violence. This conviction happened...

reflections What do we mean by decolonising the British countryside? by Michaela Makusha This week I read this super-interesting piece by Michaela Makusha on enaging with rural spaces as a way for marginalised communities to reclaim them, particularly in the British context. It explained really effectively the barriers that black and brown people face...