For the past couple of weeks, Magdalena Bay have been sharing a pair of tracks each Friday, raising speculation about the follow-up to last year’s Imaginal Disk. Today, they’re back with another one: the bouncy, tongue-in-cheek ‘Unoriginal’ and ‘Black-Eyed Susan Climb’, which features some brilliant drumming. The band commented: “Two more songs?! When will it end?? Is this the final pair? Don’t think too hard about it. Just let the good times ride.” Of all the pairs, this is definitely the most good-timey. Take a listen below.
8 Albums Out Today to Listen To: Florence + the Machine, Snocaps, Anna von Hausswolff, and More
In this segment, we showcase the most notable albums out each week. Here are the albums out on October 31, 2025:
Florence + the Machine, Everybody Scream
“Let me put out a record and not have it ruin my life,” Florence Welch sings on ‘Music by Men’, a stripped-back highlight from the album she’s putting out today. The visceral origins of these songs are hard to overstate: in 2023, complications from a miscarried ectopic pregnancy forced Welch into emergency surgery mid-tour, which saved her life and prompted an exploration of witchcraft and pagan imagery. Still seeking cathartic release, she delivers a torrential and shadowy record that’s anything but lacking in big choruses and brutal confrontation, yet contains some of her most intimate music to date. Read the full review.
Snocaps, Snocaps
Katie and Allison Crutchfield, the twin sisters and former P.S. Eliot bandmates, have formed a supergroup of sorts with MJ Lenderman and longtime Waxahatchee producer Brad Cook. It’s called Snocaps, and their surprise self-titled album is out today on ANTI-. Harking back to Allison’s band Swearin’ and Katie’s earlier work as Waxahatchee, the record – produced and almost entirely engineered by Cook – is an absolute treat before the release schedule starts to slow down.
Anna von Hausswolff, Iconoclasts
Anna von Hausswolff is back with an expansive, revelatory album called Iconoclasts, her first for Year0001. The Swedish musician and composer produced the follow-up to 2020’s All Thoughts Fly with longtime collaborator Filip Leyman. It features collaborations Ethel Cain (who also contributed to the Florence record), Abul Mogard, Iggy Pop, and Maria von Hausswolf, as well as an ensemble of musicians including saxophonist Otis Sandsjö.
Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo, In the Earth Again
In the Earth Again seems like an unlikely collaboration until it makes entirely too much sense. Fingerstyle guitarist Hayden Pedigo and noise-rockers Chat Pile connected through Oklahoma City’s DIY scene, and the early singles, including ‘Demon Time’ and ‘Radioactive Dreams’, suggested a near-perfect, apocalyptic collision of their stylistic approaches. But the collaborators aren’t afraid to veer into the extremes rather than simply meet in the middle, striking gold with the sprawlingly heavy ‘The Matador’ and ending with the hauntingly intimate ‘A Tear for Lucas’.
KeiyaA, hooke’s law
keiyaA wrote the music on her much-anticipated sophomore LP, hooke’s law, over the course of five years. Expanding her fusion of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, electronic, and experimental music, it’s “an album about the journey of self love, from an angle that isn’t all affirmations and capitalistic self-care. it’s not a linear story with a moral at the end,” she explained. “It’s more of a cycle, a spiral – it’s Hooke’s law.” keiyaA added, “With this work i aim to interrogate and embrace anger and conflict, disappointment and dissatisfaction, about not being docile and about rejecting mammyism and traditional expectations of fat black brown and dark skinned women in our communities. i speak about desire + longing, about examining maladaptive tendencies, conflict avoidance – the eternal relationship with the self.”
claire rousay, A Little Death
With A Little Death, claire rousay completes a trilogy that includes 2020’s A Heavenly Touch and 2021’s A Softer Focus. Crinkling moments of intimacy through field recordings and delicately textured piano, guitar, clarinet, viola, and electronics, the record features contributions from M. Sage and Mari Maurice (aka more eaze). The eight-minute title track, built on piano and viola, is the perfect conclusion and one of the most emotional pieces of music I’ve heard from rousay.
The Belair Lip Bombs, Again
After reissuing the Belair Lip Bombs’ 2023 debut, Lush Life, Third Man Records has now released the Melbourne power-pop band’s riveting new album Again. Dubbing their sound “yearn-core,” the band produced the LP with Nao Anzai (The Teskey Brothers) and Joe White (Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever). “It was really good having someone else there who was just as invested in what we were playing as we were,” drummer Daniel “Dev” Devlin commented. “Sometimes when you’re recording you’re in your own little world… He made all of us feel really confident in what we were doing.” Maisie adds, “We really didn’t know what to expect going into it. But it was really beneficial having someone on the outside looking in at the songs and can pick up on things that we don’t necessarily see.”
Alexa Rose, Atmosphere
Alexa Rose has followed up 2021’s Headwaters with a stunning new album, Atmosphere, has arrived via First City Artists. Recorded at Sylvan Esso’s North Carolina studio Betty’s, the 10-track LP was produced by Ryan Gustafson of The Dead Tongues and mixed by Matt Ross Spang. It features pedal steel from Mat Davidson, percussion from Dom Billet, bass from Jeff Ratner, cello from Hilary James, banjo from Helena Rose, and harmonies from Josh Oliver. “This album is all about tenderness,” Rose reflected. “It’s about going out on a limb to feel the full swirl of what life throws at you.”
Other albums out today:
Daniel Avery, Tremor; Hilary Woods, Night CRIÚ; Guided By Voices, Thick Rich And Delicious; Zach Hill & Lucas Abela, Bag of Max Bag of Cass; Saintseneca, Highwalllow & Supermoon Songs; Eleni Drake, Chuck; Camp Trash, Two Hundred Thousand Dollars; Shlohmo, Repulsor; Ship Sket, InitiatriX; Big L, Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King; Ship Sket, InitiatriX; DJ Premier & Ransom, The Reinvention; Mohinder Kaur Bhamra, Punjabi Disco; Ohm, The Architects; Maneka, bathes and listens; Holy Sons, Puritan Themes; Alister Spence, Within Without; Mark Harwood, Two Actors; Chloe Kim, Ratsnake; Lydia Luce, Mammoth; Massa Nera, The Emptiness of All Things.
Album Review: Florence + the Machine, ‘Everybody Scream’
“Let me put out a record and not have it ruin my life,” Florence Welch sings on ‘Music by Men’, a relatively unassuming song from her latest album that cuts to its very core. From the outside, Welch is just about the least chaotic frontperson of her generation, having not just crossed over into but deeply influenced mainstream pop and its embrace of extravagance. It’s not fame that comes close to destroying her life, Everybody Scream suggests, but the very human drive to push through the body’s limits, to satisfy her compulsion to perform. Welch may indulge in magical realism here and there, but the visceral origins of these songs are hard to overstate: in 2023, complications from a miscarried ectopic pregnancy forced her into emergency surgery mid-tour, which saved her life and prompted an exploration of witchcraft and pagan imagery. Still seeking cathartic release, she delivers a torrential and shadowy record that’s anything but lacking in big choruses and brutal confrontation. But underlying them is some of her most intimate music, granting herself permission for peace outside the spotlight even as she’s preternaturally drawn to it.
1. Everybody Scream
A couple years back, Welch released a cover of No Doubt’s ‘Just a Girl’ for the second season of Yellowjackets, where a couple of her Dance Fever songs are also featured. The show’s fourth season is slated to begin production next year, and they should already start teasing it with ‘Everybody Scream’ – the rapturous, spell-binding opening track that finds Welch commanding a group of women capable of possessing whoever they meet. Introducing Welch’s fascination with the history of witchcraft and its intersection with medicine – “The spells and the injections/ The harvest, the needle, protect me from evil” – it also boils with the tension of compromising personal health for the pleasure of an audience, a theme surely relatable to Mitski, who co-wrote and plays acoustic piano on the song. With IDLES’ Mark Bowen, James Ford, and Aaron Dessner on production, plus Kenneth Blume on drum programming and a deep throat choir in the background, the energy is off the rails: not just communal, but inescapable.
2. One of the Greats
If ‘Everybody Scream’ is the ritual summoning Welch back from the dead, ‘One of the Greats’ is the raw, cheeky, ludicrous outpouring that follows: “Do you regret bringing me back to life?” she taunts. She’s still standing up there on the stage – this isn’t some behind-the-curtains confessional for the heads, it’s a full-on single that stretches out to nearly seven minutes – and she makes sure not everyone watching is totally comfortable with it. “Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan, you’re my second favourite front man/ And you could have me if you weren’t so afraid of me/ It’s funny how men don’t find power very sexy,” she sings. Bowen and Dessner’s production instincts seem to clash a little here – the strings vying for space over that muscular bass – but it’s lyrically and vocally marvelous, with barely-audible backing vocals from none other than Ethel Cain.
3. Witch Hunt
The song begins ravenous with the kind of desire Welch lyrically describes as “beyond reason/ A ruinous thing.” But it’s also one of the most instantly dynamic songs in her catalog, flexing the emotional and actual range of her singing when she declares “I have many, many miles yet to cross” as much as it’s grounded in a purely guttural performance. Glistened by some additional production from Danny L Harle, who contributes an array of synths, the song illuminates the earthly, enormous depths of what’s deemed monstrous: beyond reason, maybe, but thrumming for purpose.
4. Sympathy Magic
The weakest of the album’s advance singles, ‘Sympathy Magic’ seeks consolation from “the vague humiliations of fame” but ends up feeling vaguely distant – the synthetic instrumentation doesn’t do much justice to Welch in all her howling prowess. It’s got a chorus that sticks, but its verses don’t reel you in like other songs on the album.
5. Perfume and Milk
Returning to the bare-bones candor of ‘One of the Greats’, the song burrows inward while reveling in the cycles of the natural world. With just Dessner co-producing alongside Welch, it earns its strange sense of smallness, of trying to read Revelations of Divine Love on a smart device but failing to fall into a satisfying rhythm. “Well, healing is slow/ It comes and it goes,” she concedes, noticing the seasons change and reminding herself there’s hope in the going, too.
6. Buckle
Another Mitski co-write, this one is backed by mostly acoustic instrumentation, rendering the artists’ converging feelings on fame all the more palpable. “I wanna call you on the telephone/ I made a thousand people love me/ Now I’m all alone,” it begins, “And my resolve is sinking like a stone.” There’s no poetic pretense here, no references to witchcraft – the language is simple and human with some clever turns of phrase, which has a way of demystifying the songwriters’ mythically elevated stature. I wonder if Mitski declined to sing on this one – at least some of the backing vocals feel like they should belong to her.
7. Kraken
Reuniting Welch with her Dance Fever collaborator Dave Bayley (of Glass Animals), the song fires the album’s momentum back up, delivering a wordless refrain as euphoric as ‘Everybody Scream’ while invoking Sylvia Plath’s ‘Lady Lazarus’: “As I fix you in the gaze of my one unblinking eye/ Well, do I terrify?” The stare is captured in the song’s unyielding chord, but the arrangement comes alive to announce the narrator’s transformation.
8. The Old Religion
Even in the depths of her exhaustion, Welch can’t help being a little tongue-in-cheek: “It’s your troubled hero/ Back for season six/ When it’s at its darkest, it’s my favourite bit.” If the darkness of Dance Fever felt theatrical, on Everybody Scream it comes straight from the gut, casting faith not as part of some conceptual framework so much as a deeper spiritual hunger. This is not quite the moment of release; Dessner and Welch’s production holds back, leaving you intentionally wanting more.
9. Drink Deep
The song may be leaning more overtly into folk-horror tropes, but it’s one that feels unsettlingly personal. While Welch admits to feeling powerless on the previous song, here it’s all shown: the potion she’s compelled to drink causes her body to deteriorate, only for her to realize it is made from her. In the absence of cathartic release, she indulges in destructive patterns mirrored in the song’s cascading vocals. She promptly resists the urge to reach her higher register, succumbing to the deep hum even as the instrumentation crescendos.
10. Music By Men
‘One of the Greats’ is what most listeners would expect ‘Music By Men’ to be; rather than letting resentment unspool, the song anticipates and negotiates with it in sincere, complicated fashion. Over little more than strummed acoustic guitar, you have to take her lyrics at face value; it’s not about her status as a woman in music so much as how little her fame matters inside, while still affecting, the reality of her domestic life – her ability to maintain relationships, a semblance of home. The physical hardships she’s endured are almost an afterthought – breaking her foot onstage, completing the gig, and getting a 4/5 review for it – when the emotional work is so hefty. “Let there be love,” she sighs ultimately, “Let there be light.” And quietly, as if to clarify: not the kind that hurts.
11. You Can Have It All
This is the much-anticipated release, an imposing vision of abundance adorned with lustrous strings. The scream is planted and weaponized not just as a musical tool but a natural force: “Am I a woman now?” she asks, sounding ten times bigger than the voices belting out the chorus.
12. And Love
Sadness is not the only thing that can be misread upon arrival; the singer was also wrong about love, which, she admits, “crept up on me despite myself.” Tom Moth’s harp, invoking classic Florence + the Machine, is given a moment to shine, casting love not as something to run toward but simply surrender to. And simple as a conclusion to the album as it may seem, it gains weight in its resistance to restlessness. After all, it’s far from a fairytale ending: “More like an animal crawling deep into a cave/ Than a romance novel heroine being swept away.” Everybody Scream creeps up on you much the same way, as surprisingly tender as it is enchanting.
Florence Road Cover Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Georgia’ for ‘Like a Version’
Florence Road performed a heart-wrenching cover of Phoebe Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps highlight ‘Georgia’ for the Australian radio network triple j’s Like a Version series. Watch it happen below.
“It was tough to pick a song because there’s so many great songs out there, but [drummer] Hannah [Kelly] had gone to see Phoebe Bridgers in Ireland and she played ‘Georgia,’ which she doesn’t normally do,” vocalist Lily Aron explained, “and I think that kind of stuck in Hannah’s brain and she was like ‘What if we did ‘Georgia’?’ We normally rock out so it was kind of nice to do something a little more stripped-back.”
Earlier this year, Florence Road released their debut EP, Fall Back.
Why Premium Sneakers Are Winning Women’s Wardrobes
Premium sneakers have transcended from an off-duty staple to a daily default across the fashion tiers. The shift aligns with the general rise of athleisure, as well as a lean toward comfort that doesn’t compromise polish. Market trackers predict steady growth in global demand for luxury footwear. The high-end athleisure segment is projected to continue leading the way in performance, outpacing broader casual categories overall.
The appetite remains strong for elevated casual shoes that serve multiple venues consistently today. Consider recent examples, such as hand-woven textures and lacklustre colourways in circulation. The addition of sophisticated silhouettes to luxury sneakers for women is immediately evident to observers today.
A sandal worn as a regular shoe is elevated to the status of a herald of sophistication. The look pairs easily with tailoring and denim, which explains why editors often style sneakers with soft suiting, slip skirts, and structured outerwear. Seasonal colour stories feature warm neutrals and cream-on-cream, reinforcing neutral agility without distractions.
Comfort Meets Design in the Premium Tier
At the premium end, it’s the intersection of ergonomic design and high-end materials. Projections indicate that the top end of athleisure will be the fastest-growing market segment worldwide in terms of revenue through 2030. Growth is driven by cushioning investments, supportive outsoles, and thoughtful last design.
The principle of “comfort with credibility” explains the recent weekday shift in dressing. Species-baring ivy-cut versions of shirt and pants in streamlined court wear are now worn with steady regularity. The pattern mirrors sculptural step platform sandals favoured throughout the weekend leisure.
Dress Codes Have Relaxed, and Sneakers Have Benefited
The style of work has been evolving, and clean sneakers are now part of many business-casual norms. Reporting and etiquette guides alike strongly emphasise the importance of tidy, pared-down trainers. They should complement when the overall outfit is crisp.
In Europe, the “versneakering” shift, the decline of traditional leather shoes in favour of trainers, reshapes office norms. That’s proof culture and policy have evolved, not just fashion alone.
Craft, Character, and the Styles Women Compare
At the luxury level, decisions often weigh recognisable silhouettes and artisanal touches carefully. It features distressing, layered leathers and suede panels, with hand-applied finishes. Within women’s assortments, running-inspired soles meet retro court cues and minimalist low-tops, forming versatile, effortlessly dress-up-or-down mixes.
House retrieval archetypes and dynasty-like running-soled models also appear in painted-hand and ’80s basketball-inspired designs. This prioritises car culture and historical record over micro-trend minutiae.
Sneakers, Elevated and Everywhere
Premium sneakers deliver excellence in closets, solving comfort, reliability, and multi-occasion mileage needs within a single purchase for buyers. Within the sportswear hall, fashionable uprisings share space with neutrals today. Quiet colour codes appear alongside updates, and it’s shaping how “sports affairs” are recreated. The rising trend guides focus toward thoughtful, non-sporty pairs instead.
The net result is a shoe built for an entire week. It suits travel, desk hours, dinner outings, and relaxed downtime without fuss throughout the week. It also supports a cultural shift from casual to a sharper dress code.
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne Announce Separation
Arcade Fire co-founders Win Butler And Régine Chassagne are separating after more than 20 years of marriage. “They continue to love, admire and support each other as they co-parent their son,” a statement on their social media reads. “Their work in Haiti with KANPE continues and their bond as creative soulmates will endure, as will Arcade Fire. The band send their love and look forward to seeing you all on tour soon.”
Soon after the release of Arcade Fire’s 2022 album WE, multiple women accused Butler of sexual misconduct. Butler said he “had consensual relationships outside of my marriage,” and Chassagne showed support in a statement, writing, “I know what is in his heart, and I know he has never, and would never, touch a woman without her consent and I am certain he never did. He has lost his way and he has found his way back. I love him and love the life we have created together.”
Arcade Fire returned earlier this year with their first album since the allegations against Butler, Pink Elephant.
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Dying Light: The Beast Reveals PUBG Mobile Collab in Patch 1.3
Dying Light: The Beast has just launched a new update to round out the month of October. Patch 1.3 is still part of developer Techland’s continued improvement of the game. It highlights its commitment even after receiving solid reviews upon release. Specifically, the latest version adds the much-awaited PUBG Mobile partnership. At the same time, it brings new gameplay features, community challenges, and performance enhancements.
Dying Light: The Beast and PUBG Mobile Collaboration
According to Techland, a key part of the new update is the crossover event with PUBG Mobile. Players can activate it through the Dying Light Outpost. In particular, this grants the Airdrop Finder car skin and unlocks the skillset quest. However, it is only doable after completing the Power Gambit mission.
This time-limited quest offers PUBG-themed rewards. Some of the bonuses include the Killing Pan and Battle Royale Bat. Likewise, players can find the Marked Man outfit and gear items. Doing so boosts damage output. They will also be able to use the Battleground Keychain charm. It increases the chance of destroying enemy limbs.
Notable Additions in Patch 1.3
Based on the official announcement, this patch introduces changes to human enemies’ behavior. In detail, melee-weapon enemies will know now when players are aiming at them. So, they can decide to give up or die fighting. The system completely depends on player actions.
On the other hand, the update also adds nine new weapon executions. These will take effect across various melee weapons. Specifically, the fresh finishers deliver more cinematic flair to combat.
Here is a clearer look:
- One for knives
- One for knuckledusters
- One for two-handed bladed weapons
- One for two-handed blunt weapons
- Two for long-bladed weapons
- Two for long blunt weapons
Similarly, version 1.3 brings week 3 of the Call of the Beast community challenge. It tasks players with landing accurate shots to unlock rewards. Successful participants this week have the chance to claim the Marksman Car Skin and the Bullseye rifle.
Fixes and Improvements
The latest update strengthens the gameplay experience. It addresses many issues, including quest progression blocks, glitches, and inconsistencies. Players can look forward to performance improvements, visual fixes, balance adjustments, and audio and UI enhancements.
Availability
Dying Light: The Beast Patch 1.3 is now live for all players across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. More specifically, the Call of the Beast Week 3 began on October 30 and will run until November 6 at 4 PM. Meanwhile, the Beast and PUBG Mobile crossover event drops on October 31 and ends on November 21.
What’s Next
The latest update is already a big win for players. However, Techland is not stopping anytime soon. Earlier this October, the developer said that it would complete an 11-week roadmap before January 7, 2026. The upcoming DLCs add features like a New Game+, Legend Levels, Nightmare Difficulty, and more.
Online gambling Black market set to witness growth in the UK?
For a long time, the online gambling waters in the UK have been relatively calm. As one of the pioneers in the industry, the UK has often been the first to approach and tackle many of the challenges that have been presented by the rise of this form of online entertainment.
The objective of significantly reducing gambling addiction amongst the playing population has remained at the top of the UK Gambling Commission’s (UKGC) agenda once the Gambling Act in 2005 permitted online gambling.
However, one problem that has constantly plagued the industry in the UK and indeed in other markets worldwide is the presence of illegal, illegal market online gambling operators. Unlicensed online casinos and online bookmakers have been a constant nuisance to the industry for many reasons.
The lack of regulation allows unlicensed providers to operate outside the frameworks and regulations set up in individual markets and in the UK, the UKGC has continually worked to identify and eliminate illegal gambling activity. And with the Autumn Budget set to alter the landscape of the gambling industry in the UK, the illegal industry problem could be set to be become even greater.
Why do online gamblers seek illegal providers?
There are a variety of reasons why underground online gambling websites are sought after. Players might seek a non-UK casino for example because they are disgruntled with the raft of restrictions placed on online casino play at operators licensed under the UKGC.
Players that are underage can unfortunately access and interact with these websites that offer little in the way of verification of player protection. And probably most worrying for the UKGC, the illegal market allows self-excluders to get around the GAMSTOP and GamCare blockers that are put in place to protect their wellbeing.
Autumn Budget Anguish
Wednesday 26th November could represent a significant moment for the gambling industry in the UK. When Rachel Reeves announces her Budget in a few weeks’ time, the consequences could be dire for licensed gambling companies and could even be seen as a win for the illegal market. If, as expected, taxes on gambling companies are increased, the primary concern for legal operators is the increase in costs that could potentially drive customers away and in the worst-case scenario, towards illegal market providers.
Alarmingly for the UK government and UKGC, the illegal market currently represents 9% of the total online gambling market, which equated to £379 million worth of lost revenue in the first half of 2025. With a potential increase on taxes on gambling operators on the horizon, the issue for the UKGC is how to police and monitor a potential wave of traffic towards illegal websites.
Tense wait for the UK gambling industry
9% is already a considerable number of players playing on underground economy operators, and there is the strong potential for that figure to reach double figures, at least in the short term, if the expected tax increases are announced. In a digital environment that is already difficult to control, especially with the effectiveness of VPNs nowadays, the challenge for the UKGC could get even harder. In a country that has such a long history with gambling, the landscape could be about to significantly change.
Key facts around the 2020 credit card ban for gambling in the UK
In the United Kingdom currently, there is plenty of conversation surrounding the gambling industry. The Autumn Budget announcement next month will potentially have catastrophic consequences for gambling operators but in the more recent past, restrictions on online slots wagering and greater intervention by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) in the form of financial affordability checks have put gambling in the UK under the spotlight.
The truth is, the UKGC have been trying to solve issues that have arisen from the rapid rise of online casinos and online bookmakers for many years since the Gambling Act was revised to include online gambling in 2005. One of the first initiatives to be inflicted onto the gambling industry occurred in 2020, when the UKGC decided to ban the use of credit cards on any form of gambling. This included land-based casinos as well as online operators. From 14th April 2020, the UK witnessed the first ripples of the gambling landscape changing.
Why were credit cards banned?
With online activity ramping up in the last two decades including online shopping and of course, new forms of online entertainment such as online gambling, the UKGC made it their immediate mission to try and affect all forms of potential harm from online spending on casino classics such as blackjack, roulette, and slots in a positive way. Most of us have owned a credit card and understand the concept of accumulating debt to then pay it off by a pre-designated deadline.
In March 2018, the UKGC concluded that this concept of accumulating debt was extremely harmful to gamblers who would often spend more than they could afford. In the present day, there are around 1.4 million Brits who admit to having a gambling problem, but that figure would arguably be higher if it were not for the credit card ban.
Effects of the ban
The ban on credit card usage for gambling purposes certainly did prevent a lot of harm, but that work has been somewhat nullified by the rise of credit card casinos that still offer this payment method. Usually operating out of the clutches of the UKGC, online casinos not licensed by the UKGC started to appear on people’s radars, especially with the increased effectiveness of VPNs.
However, for players in the UK, the overall effect of the ban was well received. As we saw with the number of people with a gambling addiction in the UK, the ban did not serve as a silver bullet for those issues. With other payment methods such as debit card, e-wallets, and prepaid cards available to the playing public, there were many other ways to finance online gambling. But the ban on the easiest way to spend money at least raised awareness of overspending.
Spend within your means!
The objective of the ban was to eradicate the idea of playing with borrowed money. The UKGC was successful on the whole in achieving that. Since then, other measures have been introduced to help control spending, including deposit limits, wagering limits, and reality checks. The notion of “spending within one’s means” has always been high on the UKGC’s agenda to ensure safe and responsible gambling in the UK. The credit card ban was the first significant step to achieving this and one many individuals will surely be grateful for.
Our Culture’s Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2025 (Part 2)
There were too many wonderful books coming out this fall to cover in one list, so we broke it into two this year. Perfect for gifts, yourself, or to cram in to achieve your Goodreads goal, we have story collections, out-of-print revivals, and necessary nonfiction for your needs.
Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore, Char Adams (Nov 4)
NBC News reporter CharAdams’ first book traces the history of the Black bookstore, a vehicle for community building as well as a way to sell underrepresented books and uplift authors. As new stores made headlines in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in the vein of these first stores, the well-researched and needed Black-Owned tracks the changes of this tradition.
Lightbreakers, Aja Gabel (Nov 4)
Maya is an artist obsessed with the natural world; Noah is a quantum physicist determined to demystify the observable galaxy’s rhythms. But beneath their happiness lies Eileen, the lost child from Noah’s previous marriage. When the couple uproots their life and move to the desert, undergoing a new technology that may allow them to time-travel, the intrusion of Noah’s past life might be too much for Maya to bear.
Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First Century Life, Ana Garriga & Carmen Urbita (Nov 4)
From the hosts of Las hijas de Felipe, one of the most popular podcasts in the Spanish-speaking world, Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita — scholars and best friends — turn to the wisdom of nuns in order to solve our modern problems, whether it comes to FOMO, body image, or doomscrolling. Turns out they aren’t as stuck in the past as one might think.
Give Me Danger, Tea Hacic-Vlahovic (Nov 4)
From the cult classic Croatian-American author, Give Me Danger centers Val, a bereft novelist whose first book took off. Her life changes when she meets Leonardo, a publishing legend who agrees to work on her second novel, but dies in the middle of editing it (much like Hannah Horvath’s plight in Girls). Val makes sense of her ambitions, hope, but might succumb to the desperation of searching after literary prestige.
Flat Earth, Anika Jade Levy (Nov 4)
Co-founder of Forever Magazine Anika Jade Levy’s first novel follows Avery, a New York City grad student trying to write through the distraction of adderall and Frances, her talented friend whose documentary about right-wing Americana, for fans of Patricia Lockwood or Jenny Offill.
Front Street: Resistance and Rebirth in the Tent Cities of Techlandia, Brian Barth (Nov 11)
Searching for ‘The Fix’ to homelessness, Brian Barth lives with and learns from the homeless people in encampments ironically slotted next to California’s richest tech companies in Front Street, his deeply empathetic, meticulous and urgent first book. Barth never looks away, even when implicating himself; every city-dweller should read this book, but every politician should be required to.
The Ha-Ha, Jennifer Dawson (Nov 11)
In this reissued classic novel from 1961, a young student named Josephine suffers a nervous breakdown and is institutionalized in a mental hospital in the English countryside, only to find out she enjoys its belonging and rigor. Perfect for fans of The Bell Jar, the darkly funny The Ha-Ha is loosely based on Dawson’s own experiences.
The White Hot, Quiara Alegría Hudes (Nov 11)
From Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful) comes her debut novel, a letter from mother to daughter about her ‘white hot,’ a burning feeling inside her that leads her to abandon her daughter and takes her on an impossible and almost fatal journey.
Sofa, Sam Munson (Nov 11)
Billed as a “Kafkaesque slow-burn domestic horror from a master of the uncanny,” Mr. Montessori and his family return to their apartment after a trip to find out their sofa is different. Fittingly, they call the police, but the mystery deepens as Montessori hears sounds in the night, hallucinates, and fears his house is being broken into.
There Is No Antimemetics Division, qntm (Nov 11)
The first story I read by qntm, “Lena,” blew me away — it was a confined work of fiction within an eerily accurate Wikipedia article about a trapped bot, toiling around for all eternity to help humans. For his new novel, There Is No Antimemetics Division, Sam Hughes merges technology, horror, and science fiction in more intricate and unsettling ways than before.
Now More Than Ever, Greta Schledorn (Nov 11)
The debut novel from “one of the only writers right now who is scary” (Manuel Marrero, editor-in-chief of Expat Press), Now More Than Ever goes deep into looksmaxxing, mogging, locking in, and cutting deep to the bone.
The Merge, Grace Walker (Nov 11)
It’s the near future, and Earth’s resources have all but evaporated. To save space, energy, and materials, a controversial new procedure that allows two human consciousnesses to merge with each other gains popularity. For Amelia, who just can’t see her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother fade away, it might be an opportunity to restore her mother to her former self.
Man Hating Psycho, Iphgenia Baal (Nov 18)
The second ever title from Hagfish, a publisher championing out-of-print books, is a darkly funny short story collection that mixes the unsettling online to the hazardous offline. Provocative and biting, it makes the way for a new UK talent.
49 Venezuelan Novels, Sebastian Castillo (Nov 18)
Asterism Books is republishing the author of Fresh, Green Life’s first short story collection, a quippy, surreal collection of funny microfiction. Castillo’s stories are bizarre, brilliant, and always imaginative.
My Little Donkey and Other Essays, Martha Cooley (Nov 18)
Try not to get too jealous when you hear the origin story of Martha Cooley’s My Little Donkey: she left her teaching job in New York City in 2021 and uprooted her life to Castiglione del Terziere, a small village in Tuscany. Donkey’s essays follow the ripples of this decision, investigating family, identity, inheritance, and history.
Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult, Ellen Huet (Nov 18)
Investigative journalist Ellen Huet’s first book, Empire of Orgasm, blends tech and humanity as she tracks the story of OneTaste, a company that promised transcendence through orgasmic meditation, or OM. Initially breaking the story in Bloomberg, Huet has a firsthand account of how the cult transitioned into something more sinister, great for fans of stories about company corruption and true crime like Bad Blood.
Alligator, David Ryan (November 30)
David Ryan’s deeply human and often startlingly intimate new short story collection, Alligator, is up for everything and takes no prisoners with its keen, astute writing. Life hums below these marvelous stories; they tap into something pretty exciting.
Casanova 20: Or, Hot World, Davey Davis (Dec 2)
From the author of X, Davey Davis’ Casanova 20 follows Adrian, a bisexual man who awakes one day to find he is no longer beautiful. He goes to his famous painter friend Mark, who is suffering from his own dastardly affliction: the disease that is about to take his own mother and sister. Grappling with art, power, and platonic romance, Casanova 20 slams mortality against our deepest desires.
Television, Lauren Rothery (Dec 2)
Joan Didion meets Bojack Horseman in this stylish debut novel where an aging movie star gives away his entire salary while his lifelong friend looks on. And foreign to them both, a filmmaker writes a script about best friends, art, and the financial struggles it takes to maintain and create both.
House of Day, House of Night, Olga Tokarczuk (Dec 2)
In the latest novel to be translated into English by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk, a woman arrives with her husband in a remote Polish village where she knows no one, but soon learns the cast of characters that inhabit the land. Another of Tokarczuk’s “constellation novels,” House of Day, House of Night braids together mystery, mythology, and community.
Galápagos, Fátima Vélez (Dec 2)
In this striking novel from PhD candidate Fátima Vélez, a group of artists dying of AIDS goes on one final journey to the Galápagos islands, sharing beds, stories, and humor despite their bodies deteriorating and withering. In spite of its ever-present morality, Galápagos is quite the funny ride.
Cape Fever, Nadia Davids (Dec 9)
The newest novel from the South African author is a 1920s gothic psychological thriller set in a small city in an unnamed colonial empire where Soraya accepts a job as a maid. But when the lady of the house offers to help Soraya stay in touch with her fiancée, they start a ritual where Soraya dictates and Mrs. Hattingh writes, binding the two women in strange and unforgettable ways.
