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The Buzz

Yesterday

If Only If created a dog-sized version of one of the brand’s most popular styles, used in promotional images for Too Much.

A $270 ‘granny’ nightie is the surprise star of Netflix’s new hit show

Styles reminiscent of your nan have been rebranded as on-trend daywear, and Lena Dunham’s rom-com Too Much can’t get enough of them.

This Month

Carlos Alcaraz, sporting a Nike branded cardigan, salutes the crowd after his quarter-final win at Wimbledon.

How to rock a cardigan like Carlos Alcaraz

The Spanish champ was channelling Roger Federer with his choice of knitwear at Wimbledon, in a look that can easily be carried off away from the court.

Winners Alliance trading cards offer an income for more lowly paid players.

$100k boost: Bill Ackman-backed trading cards aren’t just for collecting

Winners Alliance and the Professional Tennis Players Association say the collectables are helping those further down the rankings who often struggle financially.

June

ISH Dance Collective’s Elements Of Freestyle brings street sports to the Dame Joan Sutherland Theatre for the first time.

Why street sports are taking over this fine arts stage

Breakdancers, BMX bandits and parkour runners are about to break down the door to where Joan Sutherland sang her last public note.

OceanGate co-founder and CEO Stockton Rush died in the submersible disaster.

OceanGate disaster doco lays bare company’s failures

Netflix’s documentary about the Titan catastrophe uses familiar techniques to spotlight the faulty judgment of billionaire owner Stockton Rush.

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The vest worn by Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off” could be yours.

A piece of this seminal ’80s film could be yours for $460,000

Anyone? Anyone? Taking bids now for the vest worn by Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

Tom Cruise performs a plane stunt in “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning”.

How they pulled off that wild ‘Mission: Impossible’ plane stunt

Creating Tom Cruise’s pivotal scene for “The Final Reckoning” required months of grit, G-force training and a little hypothermia.

May

In 2010, the first use of bitcoin to buy something saw 10,000 BTC traded for two pizzas. That is like spending $1.7 billion today.

What’s with all the crypto bros eating pizza?

The first use of bitcoin to buy a real-world object happened 15 years ago this week. The deal has not aged well.

The front page of the Chicago Sun Times newspaper announces the election of a home-grown pope.

‘Chicago Pope’: Leo XIV’s roots unleash spate of holy humour

The new pontiff’s home city has welcomed him with jokey tropes, from its deep dish pizzas to stained-glass windows depicting a dunking Michael Jordan.

Marty Zambotto, aka Go-Jo, will represent Australia at Eurovision 2025.

Who’s who in Eurovision 2025 – and how Australia lines up

Seven-time winner Sweden is the bookies’ favourite this year with an ode to sauna culture, while Sydney’s Go-Jo is one of several acts indulging in innuendo.

Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood in The White Lotus. HBO dropped only one episode of the third season per week.

Only one episode a week? Why ‘stinge-watching’ is back

The old, leisurely way to watch television drama is in vogue – although revenue-hungry streaming services are driving the trend as much as viewers.

April

Demonic pigs in A Minecraft Movie spend their time plotting to stamp out creativity.

Feral ‘Minecraft Movie’ fans spark irritation – and optimism

These days it is unusual to see a crowd of teenagers at the cinema.

Cryptocurrencies are gaining traction among even the most conservative art auctioneers.

Why the art market has an eye for crypto

Everyone wins: buyers avoid taxes, and auction houses make money.

March

Bobby Fox, Angelina Thomson, Annie Aitken, Cody Simpson and that giant taxi star in Guys & Dolls for the 2025 edition of Handa Opera On Sydney Harbour.

How to direct a musical on a ‘football field’

There’s a lot riding on Opera Australia’s annual outdoor production but Shaun Rennie is more worried about actors getting to their marks, and nothing getting blown into Sydney Harbour.

You can’t unsee this terrifying ‘man-suit’ android

The inventors of the Protoclone hope it can be a skin for future AI applications. In the meantime, it is hanging around looking scary.

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January

What does ‘cute winter boots’ mean on TikTok?

Since the Trump inauguration, conversation about “cute winter boots” has been trending on TikTok. What are they really talking about?

They just can’t get enough … some lawmakers keep a carton or two in the office, just to be sure.

The energy drink that powers the US government

It promises to make you great again, but with a shot of chaos. It is, in other words, a suitable pairing for Trump’s Washington.

A locker room for equestrian riders inside the Gleneagles Sporting Club.

Why upmarket gyms are taking on country-club vibes

Playing on the nostalgia for Ivy League-coded preppiness, these athletic spaces veer sharply away from the sleek aesthetic long favoured by fitness chains.

December 2024

Why is my teen talking about ‘ocean aliens’?

A rumour has been circulating online that recent US congressional hearings uncovered the existence of aliens living in our oceans. Could it be true?

August 2024

Starface pimple patches

How Starface pimple patches became a beauty obsession

The skincare company sold its billionth Hydro-Star patch and is on track to bring in $132 million of revenue this year.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/the-buzz-6fi3