It turns out the salmon are on your anti-anxiety meds.

Plus, Vestiaire Collective’s latest marketing campaign.

Happy Monday,

I hope your weekend brought with it a few well-deserved indulgences. I spent mine in Wisconsin, with a day in Madison—a city set charmingly on an isthmus between two lakes, and one that quietly reveals its character with each step.

We began at the Wisconsin State Capitol, a grand and unexpectedly opulent building adorned with over 40 varieties of colourful stone and marble from around the world. It also happens to be where Susan Crawford will soon take her seat on the bench, so a visit felt timely.

On Saturdays, the Capitol square hosts the Dane County Farmers’ Market—America’s largest producer-only market—where we dutifully joined the crowd (after a gentle reprimand for walking against the grain) and picked up a haul of microgreens, local cheeses, and the famous spicy cheese bread from Stella’s.

Lunch was a casual affair at The Old Fashioned—fish and chips paired with a tart cherry shrub—and then a meander down State Street toward the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. We made a few stops, including a browse through Fromagination, which champions the state’s artisan cheesemakers, before arriving at the leafy Memorial Union. Set right on the lake, this ivy-clad building offers craft beers, campus-made Babcock Ice Cream, and unbeatable views.

The afternoon continued with a visit to the Chazen Museum of Art, home to over 20,000 works, and currently featuring The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick, a beautifully tactile exhibition celebrating the father of American studio furniture. It’s free to visit and delightfully idiosyncratic, thoughtfully curated without being precious.

We ended the day with a visit to A Room of One’s Own, Madison’s beloved independent feminist bookshop, and dinner at a local supper club (not quite as memorable as our last, so I’m not recommending).

Still on my list for next time: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Monona Terrace, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and a cycle along the Capital City Trail. A well-rounded city, Madison rewards the curious, and I’m looking forward to returning.

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In today’s edition: Vestiaire’s latest marketing campaign, climate inequality in Australia’s outback, San Jose’s new strategy for tackling homelessness, one of Ethiopia’s oldest living traditions, Manchester’s history of social progress, the "Protect the Dolls” tee, and much more.

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• Let’s start with the hard hitter: an Oxford University building was forced to close after a seagull broke a glass roof by repeatedly dropping a stone on it. The bird must have felt quite strongly about whatever was being discussed in that Blavatnik School of Government class…

• In the outback town of Coober Pedy, South Australia, where summer temperatures now exceed 118°F, climate inequality is being laid bare. Wealthier white residents have retreated underground into “dugouts” carved from former opal mines, where the temperature hovers at a liveable 70°F. Meanwhile, many of the town’s Indigenous families, whose ancestors have lived in the region for over 50,000 years, remain in poorly insulated homes that trap the heat and amplify its dangers. With no access to the national energy grid, even a basic air conditioner is a luxury. As Australia contends with record-breaking heatwaves and climate volatility, Coober Pedy offers a sobering glimpse of what adaptation looks like—uneven, unjust, and increasingly urgent.

• SF’s Climate Week is taking place this week - are any of you attending?? There are a few interesting virtual sessions, including one on women in EVs that I may try to attend.

• A viral video allegedly depicting the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Portugal has ignited national protests and renewed scrutiny of the country’s digital and legal frameworks. Despite tens of thousands of views, authorities were only alerted when the victim sought hospital care. The suspects, aged 17 to 19, were arrested and later released, their social media accounts untouched. Demonstrators gathered outside Parliament in Lisbon, demanding stricter legislation to hold platforms accountable for the spread of non-consensual content and calling for rape to be reclassified as a public crime—a shift from the current law that requires victims to file charges themselves. The case has become a flashpoint in Portugal’s reckoning with online harm, gender violence, and the responsibilities of tech platforms in the digital age.

• Vestiaire Collective’s latest marketing campaign starkly confronts the fashion industry’s environmental crisis by depicting piles of textile waste at people’s doorsteps. Timed alongside the brand’s advocacy for France’s proposed anti-fast fashion bill, slated for a vote on June 3, the imagery is stark, if not slightly pessimistic. I’m just not sure whether these tactics work. In 2025, it's astonishing that awareness of fashion’s waste problem remains so limited. Perhaps the greater challenge isn’t visibility, but imagination: how do we inspire systemic change, not just guilt?

Image via Vestiaire

• In San Jose, frustration over growing homeless encampments—some spilling into creeks and city parks—has prompted Mayor Matt Mahan to propose arresting those who refuse shelter after three offers. The plan, rare for a liberal Bay Area city, reflects a shift where quality-of-life concerns have taken center stage. Mahan, a moderate Democrat and former tech entrepreneur, has vowed to double shelter capacity by 2025 and pair new temporary housing, often in converted motels, with a ban on camping near shelters. While critics argue this approach criminalizes poverty and skirts the root causes of homelessness, such as soaring rents, supporters see it as a necessary correction to restore public spaces and push for mental health interventions. The city’s more suburban character, combined with rising public impatience, has made residents more receptive to what was once politically unpalatable. One thing that is often overlooked is that individuals have to give up things when they move into a shelter, such as belongings, community, and complete control over their movements.

  • Meanwhile, DOGE has placed the entire U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness staff on leave. These individuals were tasked with aligning federal housing efforts across states and cities and play a crucial role in coordinating national homelessness strategies. There absolutely needs to be a coordinating council.

• As an AmeriCorps alum, I’m heartbroken (but not surprised) to see it on the chopping block. I would like to think they are going to rebuild something better, but I highly doubt it.

• Manchester is one of my favourite cities—not just for its striking red brick charm or its music scene, but for its pivotal role in the history of social progress. In 1819, in what became known as the Peterloo Massacre, British cavalry charged into a peaceful rally for political representation, killing at least 18 people and injuring hundreds. That tragic moment lit a slow-burning fuse that would eventually spark the world’s first workers’ movements, trade unions, and a radical notion of equality that has since echoed through every corner of global labour politics. As the world’s first modern industrial city, Manchester bore witness to the rise of an urban working class living in squalid, often inhumane conditions—circumstances that would profoundly influence German philosophers Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, who wrote some of their most important works while observing the city’s struggles up close. The cotton trade, fuelled by the trans-Atlantic slave economy, brought both fortune and profound inequality. As wealth accumulated for the few, workers were denied even the right to vote, sparking demands for rights that gained momentum throughout the 19th century. It’s a city that doesn’t just tell history—it shaped it.

• In a quiet workshop on the edge of Addis Ababa, a group of scribes and artists is safeguarding one of Ethiopia’s oldest living traditions: the crafting of illuminated manuscripts on goat skin. Using bamboo pens, homemade ink, and the sacred language of Ge’ez, they transcribe ancient texts by hand, while painters draw saints and angels—some inspired, endearingly, by Google Images. At the Hamere Berhan Institute, centuries-old methods meet subtle modern adaptations in a process that can take years and demands near-monastic dedication. Bound in red leather and destined for churches and monasteries across the country, these manuscripts—rooted in Axumite heritage and guided by quiet religious conviction—remain central to Ethiopia’s spiritual and cultural life. That such a delicate and deeply intellectual art form persists amid modern pressures and regional conflict is not only remarkable—it is essential. In a world increasingly shaped by speed, screen, and impermanence, the patience and precision of these craftspeople offer a humbling counterpoint.

Women prepare finished manuscripts to be dispatched. Image via The Guardian

• Wednesday marks 20 years since YouTube made its debut with a modest 19-second video titled "Me at the zoo," featuring co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of elephants. What began as a grainy, offhand clip would go on to spark a seismic shift in media, turning YouTube into a global platform that has since reshaped everything from pop culture to politics and redefined how we watch, learn, and create. Out of all of the social media platforms, I think I am most thankful for YouTube. There’s a certain charm in spending an evening lost down a rabbit hole of videos, discovering unexpected gems and niche content. What is your favourite niche content to watch on there?

• It turns out the salmon are on your anti-anxiety meds. Trace levels of pharmaceuticals like clobazam—commonly prescribed for anxiety—are making their way into waterways and accumulating in aquatic life. While the ecological implications are far from ideal, one recent study found that Atlantic salmon exposed to clobazam were better able to navigate obstacles and reach the sea.

• Spanish photographer Pia Riverola has a gift for turning everyday moments into luminous compositions. Her second book, Días, is a tender visual diary drawn from her travels. With a sensitivity to light, texture, and mood, Riverola captures the poetry in the overlooked, inviting us to slow down and discover the beauty hidden in the details of daily life. Her IG feed is one of the best.

• On the eve of his February runway show, designer Conner Ives crafted a shirt bearing the simple yet powerful phrase "Protect the Dolls," a reference to trans women. What started as a last-minute addition to his collection has quickly turned into a sensation, with over 2,500 orders pouring in since its debut. The £75 ($99) T-shirt, with most of the proceeds directed to Trans Lifeline, has been embraced by celebrities including Troye Sivan, Pedro Pascal, and Haider Ackermann. It’s a very good tee.

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Thank you for reading! Please share with an interesting and interested person in your life. Talk soon.

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