Want to find out more? We’d also recommend the “You’re Wrong About”  podcast series, which has rereleased its episode on the Stonewall Uprising. In the episode, the podcast explores how one of the turning points in the gay rights movement became an immediate controversy, a lasting inspiration and a never-ending debate. Make sure you check out the podcast’s back catalogue for episodes debunking everything from Exorcism, to whether Yoko Ono really broke up The Beatles, to the ice-skater Tonya Harding.

We’ve been reading Raven Smith’s memoir, Trivial Pursuits. In it, he writes about his single-parent upbringing, his struggles as a lonely teenager and his personal experience of coming out. But also, Ikea meatballs, minibreaks and how many slices of bread are in a bagel. We definitely recommend.

Music and podcasts have been doing a lot to help get us through lock down and have helped us think about a more positive future. One podcast that expertly brings this together is Dissect. Dissect is a serialised music podcast that examines a single album per season, one album per episode. You can expect lyrical analysis, a break down of the album’s production, expert opinion and social commentary. We’ve been listening to the season about The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but with seasons on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly”, Beyonce’s “Lemonade” and Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange” amongst the back catalogue, there’s a lot to get stuck into. Listen here.

As part of Bomb Magazine’s Theory + Practice Series, American essayist and academic Saidiya Hartman has revisited W.E.B. Du Bois’ short story from 1920 “The Comet”.  In “The Comet”, Du Bois imagines a world after the pandemic of 1918, when only two people in New York have survived, a black man and a white woman. Hartman explores the themes, context and lessons from the story, here.

Earlier this week, hip-hop artist, author and educator, Akala hosted an Instagram live about police and protests. In it, he answered questions from the audience and shared insights and knowledge from his books, research and own experience. Our review? Coherent, nuanced, necessary. The full Live is now available on his Instagram page, here.

Last year, the V&A’s “Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up” exhibition sold out, it sold out a lot. If, like us, you missed it but want to find out more about one of Mexico’s most famous artists, you can here. 33 museums and cultural collections from around the world have collaborated to bring their collections online. You can browse self-portraits, drawings and some of Frida Kahlo’s personal possessions to learn more about her work and legacy.

Gal Dem Magazine has compiled tips, tricks and inspiration to show us all that making our own sustainable wardrobe is possible, with a little bit effort. Find out how to ditch fast fashion here.

The Paris Review has gathered together the great and good of the literary world to take us through what they’re finally making time to read through lockdown. Read the full list from writers including Jennifer Schafer and Eddie Grace here.

We want to know what your reading / writing / watching / listening to during lock down. Email your tips to member@hosb.org.uk.

Are you cooking the same few dishes on rotation? Us too. The charity Migrateful usually run in-person cookery classes led by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who are struggling to integrate and access employment. Right now, they’re running classes online. You can add Ethiopian, Trinidadian, Ukrainian or Lebanese to your cooking repertoire and help support people to learn English and build confidence. Loads more info and how to sign-up, here.

Check out some of the superstar DJs who’ve played at the House in days gone by over on our Spotify Channel. With mixes from Craig Charles, Gilles Peterson, Toddla T and Norman Jay, they’re the perfect soundtrack to a sunny Bank Holiday. Listen here.

What’s keeping you entertained in lock down? Let us know: member@hosb.org.uk 

Stath Lets Flats is the BAFTA award winning comedy that follows hapless Stath as he tries to let flats (you probably worked that out from the title, didn’t you?) In an online short released by the show’s creator Jamie Demetriou this week, we catch up with Michael & Eagle Lettings Agency as they meet on Zoom to figure out how they can keep doing flat viewings during lock down. Spoiler: they can’t. Watch here. Both seasons of the full-length episodes are available on All4.

Want to know how this pandemic will end? Us to. This article from the New York Times features analysis from medical historians about how other pandemics have ended. Read the article here.

We’re loving this visual round-up of how cinemas around the world are responding to social distancing, from Lonely Planet. Cinemas in cities from Berlin to Cork are finding innovative ways to provide socially-distanced cinema, see how here. In the UK, the Luna Cinema is soon-to-launch a drive-through experience, sign-up for more details here.

What’s keeping you entertained during lock down? Let us know, email member@hosb.org.uk

Looking for some inspiration for the audio round on the Zoom quiz you’re hosting? Popbitch have you covered, find almost 40 different ten-track rounds here.

We’ve been reminiscing about Employment Academy kitchen takeovers and have dug out one of our favourite plat du jour recipes to share. Check out Nisha’s recipe for Gujarati Fresh Vegetable Curry here, and read a little bit about why this dish is important to her.

What’s keeping you entertained and sane during lockdown? Send your #inspo tips to member@hosb.org.uk 

It’s clear now that we’re living through an unprecedented time (and that our vocabularies need expanding past the word unprecedented). But, we’re not the first to experience a pandemic and before the internet, public health messages were communicated VERY differently. To see how, check out this round up of pandemic posters through the years from The Atlantic.

Our friends over at Art Surgery London are sharing tutorials on how to use art to help ease anxiety, how to make art using things you’ll probably already have at home and how to step away from the scroll and get creative. All the tutorials can be found on the Art Surgery Instagram page (just put the phone down after you’ve watched them!)

What’s keeping you entertained and sane during lockdown? Send your #inspo tips to member@hosb.org.uk 

Last year’s joint Booker Prize winner, author of “Girl, Woman, Other” Bernardine Evaristo, has penned a new short story, you can read it online here.

NHS Million has worked with loads of contemporary artists from around the UK to create posters for to print and colour at home. We love Dom & Ink’s. Use these to keep the kids occupied or give yourself a mindful few minutes. Download here.

Long-standing member and friend of the House Sam Conniff is writing about ways to find optimism.

House-regulars, One Track Minds, are streaming their live storytelling events exploring the transformative power of music and you can catch previous shows on their YouTube channel.

Our in-House wordsmith and Employment Academy graduate John Smallshaw, penned an ode to Soho and its resilience this week, listen to John perform the poem here.

And finally, if this newsletter is about all the reading you can handle right now, but you’re desperate to get your head into a book, Penguin have some pointers.