review

Reviews of relationship guides and the ever-changing love landscape.

The Color Line Within the Color Line
Colorism is often described as a preference for lighter skin within communities of color. Yet this definition, while accurate, is incomplete. Colorism is not merely an aesthetic bias or cultural quirk. It is a social technology one that developed within colonial and racial hierarchies to maintain systems of white supremacy without constant direct enforcement. At its core, colorism is a structure that rewards proximity to whiteness and punishes distance from it. It operates through psychological conditioning, social incentives, and internalized hierarchies. Over time, it becomes self-sustaining: communities begin to reproduce the same divisions that were originally imposed upon them.
By Cadmaabout an hour ago in Humans
Gen Z Is No Longer Getting their Driver’s License
For decades, learning how to drive was a rite of passage. Turning 16 meant freedom, independence, and your first taste of adulthood behind the wheel. But something has shifted. A growing number of young people — especially Gen Z — are delaying getting their driver’s licenses or skipping it entirely. Instead, they’re tapping a screen, booking an Uber, and letting someone else handle the road.
By Anthony Bahamondeabout 5 hours ago in Humans
THE LEATHERMAN
In the mid-1800s, residents of rural New York and Connecticut began to notice something strange... not all at once, and not dramatically.
By Veil of Shadowsabout 8 hours ago in Humans
Who Is Sanae Takaichi?
Sanae Takaichi is the first female Prime Minister of Japan, having taken office on October 21, 2025, and subsequently securing a landslide victory in a snap election on February 8, 2026. As a high-ranking member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), she is recognized as a staunch conservative and a security hawk, often referred to as a protege of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
By Omasanjuwa Ogharandukunabout 12 hours ago in Humans
Beyond Epstein
The night I stopped thinking about Epstein as a person and started thinking about him as a mirror, I couldn’t sleep. Not because of fear.
By John Smithabout 12 hours ago in Humans
Beyond Epstein
I didn’t know how to stop watching the news. It started as a quick scroll—just a check-in, like I was being responsible. Then it became a kind of hunger. A need to see the latest twist, the latest headline, the latest detail that made my stomach twist into knots.
By John Smith2 days ago in Humans
Prayers That Go Deeper Than Politics
Prayers for safety, prayers for peace, Prayers that violence would finally cease. Prayers for realization, hearts made aware,
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast2 days ago in Humans
Celebrity Deaths of 2026 And Why the World Is Paying Attention, Remembering, and Reflecting
Some news stops you mid-scroll. Not because it’s shocking—but because it feels personal. In 2026, an ongoing list of celebrity deaths has continued to trend across Google searches, news platforms, and social media timelines worldwide. Each announcement ripples through the internet like a sudden hush in a crowded room. Fans pause. Tributes appear. Old interviews resurface. Songs, films, and performances are replayed as if memory itself is pressing rewind.
By Omasanjuwa Ogharandukun3 days ago in Humans
After the End
What living inside the Book of Revelation for seven years revealed about empire, endurance, and Christian complicity I didn’t begin a PhD in the UK because I wanted to be reshaped. I began it because I wanted to master something that was already causing me spiritual and existential discomfort.
By SUEDE the poet4 days ago in Humans
DEFUND ICE
🌟 THE STORY: “NOT ANOTHER FAMILY LIVING IN FEAR” They always say you remember the sound more than anything else — the sound of a moment that changes everything. For some people, it’s the slam of a door. For others, it’s the tone of a phone call. For me, it was the frantic pounding on my neighbor’s window at 3 a.m., the kind of pounding that carries fear inside it, the kind that tells you something is wrong long before you understand what it is.
By Organic Products 5 days ago in Humans
A Dying Voice
I could be writing this differently. In fact, I contemplated structuring it as a letter to myself when I first joined Vocal, filling it with warnings and a list of all the ways I’d come to regret publishing here. Then, I considered the tone of such an address and saw it bursting with sarcasm and bite. I don’t want to write that.
By Mackenzie Davis5 days ago in Humans
Brokedown Shakedown . Content Warning.
The American system is broken, badly. Our checks and balances have been hijacked by a madman serial rapist pedophile. Let that part sink in. Then look at his business records. It’s damn near impossible to bankrupt a casino, but he’s done it more than once. Trump Steaks (🤮), Trump Vodka (😵‍💫), and Trump University (🪦) were all blistering successes, amiright?
By Harper Lewis5 days ago in Humans