Smile turns trauma into something that follows you. Smile 2 puts that trauma onstage. From Skye Riley’s public unraveling to the way we consume famous women in crisis, this essay looks at what changed when the curse gained an audience, and where the franchise should go next.

Why do toxic characters become irresistible in fiction, and what happens when the same fascination follows us into real life? From Edward Cullen and Villanelle to Ted Bundy, Wade Wilson and Pamela Rogers Turner, this essay looks at beauty, charisma and the stories we build around dangerous people.

Netflix’s Monster increasingly blurs the boundary between dramatisation and true crime fanfiction. But when real names, victims and unresolved histories are involved, how much creative freedom should writers actually have?

Sydney Sweeney’s Novig campaign has sparked backlash from female athletes, but the bigger question is what happens when controversy itself becomes the marketing strategy. If outrage drives reach, shares and headlines, are we criticising the advert — or helping to distribute it?

We’ve never had more ways to reach one another, yet surprisingly little of what we say feels worth keeping. Perhaps the inefficiency of writing a letter was never really a flaw at all.

Taylor Swift promised us a glimpse behind the curtain. But for an album supposedly about the woman beneath the spectacle, The Life of a Showgirl often leaves the performance more visible than the person performing it.