Evening all!

It’s Imogen here, bringing you the latest Tuesday edition with treats including our columnist Cory Doctorow on the tech elite’s desire to dispense with inconvenient humans, the acclaimed Hamnet author Maggie O’Farrell answering the Nerve Q&A and our latest culture hotlist.

Speaking of culture, in a digital age where we’re continually urged to spend more time online, what does it mean to own cultural products as physical objects? Partly inspired by my endless struggle to make room at home for all the books I want to keep, partly by our film critic Ellen mentioning that DVD purchases were on the rise, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to own books, DVDs, albums and such - things we enjoy made by creatives we respect and want to support - in an era where we have been forced to believe that renting access to these products through subscriptions, or storing them digitally, is the done thing. 

Have we been sold a dream of convenience when actually our tech overlords can at any time withdraw our access to these beloved cultural creations or endlessly raise the subscription price to get them? I’m fascinated by the impulse and psychology behind the increased desire to buy tangible cultural products despite the overwhelming marketing pressure to do the opposite. It’s a subject we will return to - do write in if you have thoughts.

Naturally then I was intrigued to see that the Nerve’s cultural agony aunt and psychotherapist Philippa Perry had herself been pondering the psychology of purchasing stuff these past few days, though her curiosity had been piqued by a very specific news story and a very different sort of desire to acquire things. “I have spent some of the weekend,” she says in an excellent column today, “poring over the Murrell Collection – the list of objects the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party purchased with funds embezzled from the party. My fantasy is that this is not a shopping list of someone seeking pleasure but more like an inventory of a lost soul attempting to construct a self.”

Understandably, much of the coverage of Peter Murrell’s court case, in which he has pleaded guilty to using false invoices and fraudulent expenses claims to cover up purchases of around £400,000 made with party funds over a 12-year period, has focused on his estranged wife Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she had no knowledge or suspicion of his purchases, or on the wide-ranging (and at times bizarre) list of items he bought which includes a £124,550 motorhome and a robotic lawnmower. But today Philippa takes a step back and looks at the list - especially the repeat purchases of the same luxury items such as watches, Montblanc pens and coffee machines - and explores what it all means on an emotional level…

The links to today’s stories are below - and if you’re enjoying our emails please consider forwarding this email to anyone you think might be interested, it helps us grow!

Today we are publishing the second in a new monthly column from the Enshittification author and cyber-activist in which he looks at the tech bros who are pouring billions into AI as a way of dispensing with humans. Now, writes Cory, governments are considering the issue of migrants that their economies need. “If migrants can be replaced with AI, then you can satisfy the racist sadism of your most ardent voters without shutting down the country for lack of workers.” Read Cory’s column here.

Our cultural agony aunt has been pouring over the list of items bought with embezzled funds by the former chief executive of the Scottish National Party Peter Murrell and trying to make sense of it. She writes: “If I feel ordinary, perhaps the luxury car can make me feel exceptional. If I feel invisible, perhaps the visible symbols of success will make me feel more substantial.” Read Philippa’s take here.

Earlier this year the film based on Maggie O’Farrell’s bestseller Hamnet was at the heart of the Oscars buzz - now the Edinburgh-based author is back with a new novel Land inspired by the story of her great-great-grandfather, a 19th century map-maker. She talks to Lisa O’Kelly about growing up Irish in Britain, the ‘eye-opening’ awards juggernaut and what brings her joy. Here is the interview.

It’s the film everyone is talking about: the horror Backrooms, made by 20 year old YouTuber Kane Parsons and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, has broken box office records since opening on Friday. Believe the hype, says Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones who recommends it in today’s hotlist. Also creating a buzz is this week’s sixth annual London Gallery Weekend (5-7 June) in which over 120 galleries will throw open their doors with shows, exhibitions and events, including Christo’s charmingly playful installation, Air, at Gagosian gallery. There are also two plays, an album, a beautiful novel “about love lost and found” and more in this week’s hotlist. Read it in full here.

Thanks for reading! It would be brilliant if you could also click on the ad below as it helps generate a little extra revenue to fund out journalism. See you on Friday.

Imogen, co-founder

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