pop culture
Epic love stories and relationships as depicted in pop culture, though it rarely turns out like that in real life.
When “Find Your Passion” Goes Wrong
“Find your passion” is everywhere — in graduation speeches, self‑help books, career workshops, and inspirational Instagram posts. It’s presented as the key to a meaningful life: once you discover the thing you were meant to do, everything else will fall into place.
By Tracy Stine18 days ago in Humans
Asylum Seeker Guilty of Raping 18-Year-Old Woman in Public Park. AI-Generated.
The conviction of an asylum seeker for the rape of an 18-year-old woman in a public park has sent shockwaves through the community and reignited a wider debate on public safety, criminal accountability, and the management of asylum systems in host countries. The case, which concluded after a lengthy investigation and trial, highlights both the trauma faced by victims of sexual violence and the complex social and political questions that arise when serious crimes intersect with immigration issues.
By Ayesha Lashari18 days ago in Humans
Ukrainians Are Sharing Hacks Online on How to Survive Winter Power Cuts. AI-Generated.
When winter arrives in Ukraine, it no longer brings just cold winds and snow-covered streets. For millions of Ukrainians, it also means long and unpredictable power cuts. As energy infrastructure continues to be targeted, electricity outages have become part of daily life—sometimes lasting for hours, sometimes for days. Yet in the middle of these harsh conditions, Ukrainians are doing what they have always done best: adapting, helping one another, and finding creative ways to survive.
By Aqib Hussain18 days ago in Humans
Let's Celebrate a Beheading
I am confused. The entire world spends billions on a holiday, that should not even be such. Not one person, can tell me why they do, or why it is celebrated to begin with. I am taking about Valentine’s day. One of the biggest money makers for commercialism in the world. So, why do we take this one day a year to express love to our dearly devoted.
By Alexandra Grant19 days ago in Humans
Essence, Embodiment, and Relational Reality
The Failure of Reduction and the Need for Synthesis There is a persistent failure in many modern attempts to explain what a human being is. Some frameworks reduce the person entirely to matter, insisting that identity, consciousness, morality, and meaning are nothing more than emergent properties of physical processes. Other frameworks move in the opposite direction, detaching spirit from reason and grounding belief in intuition alone, often at the cost of coherence or accountability. Both approaches fail because both misunderstand essence. One denies that essence exists at all. The other treats it as something vague and undefinable.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast19 days ago in Humans
From War to Triumph: Ukrainian Refugee Marks ‘Incredibly Special’ Graduation in the UK. AI-Generated.
In a moment that speaks to human strength and the power of perseverance, 23‑year‑old Ukrainian refugee Sofia Demkiv recently celebrated a university graduation that she described as “incredibly special” — not just for the academic milestone it represents, but for the journey that led her to that day. �
By Ayesha Lashari19 days ago in Humans
Resistance Is Not the Enemy
Iron sharpens iron. Brakes save lives. Friction preserves form. Modern culture treats resistance as failure. Anything that slows momentum is framed as obstruction, anything that introduces friction is assumed to be opposition, and anything that interrupts progress is labeled a setback. But this instinct misunderstands how both physical systems and human growth actually work. Resistance is not inherently hostile. In many cases, it is the only thing preventing collapse.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast19 days ago in Humans
The Refiner’s Fire Is Not the Whetstone
There is a difference between being sharpened and being transformed, and confusing the two leads to frustration when growth does not feel productive. Sharpening implies refinement of existing form. Fire implies change in composition. Both processes are uncomfortable, but they operate on different levels and for different purposes. When people expect sharpening and receive fire instead, they often assume something has gone wrong, when in reality something deeper is taking place.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast19 days ago in Humans
You See From Where You Stand
"The room remains full whether you can see it or not." One of the most persistent misunderstandings about perception is the assumption that seeing is the same as knowing. People often believe that if something feels clear, it must be complete, and if something feels obscure, it must be absent. But awareness does not work that way. What you perceive at any moment is not a measure of what exists. It is a measure of what your current position allows to pass through.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast19 days ago in Humans
(17) The Shape of the Work
This essay exists to make the structure of the series visible after the fact. It does not introduce new arguments or advance new claims. Its purpose is architectural. It explains how the work is organized, why the sequence matters, and what each movement is responsible for accomplishing. Without this reference, readers may grasp individual insights while missing the coherence of the whole. With it, the series can be understood as a single, intentional construction rather than a collection of adjacent essays.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast19 days ago in Humans
