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Culture

‘The Ace of Spades’ - the city betting on heavy metal to spark regeneration
A statue to remember Lemmy of Motorhead, born in Burslem, is just the start of Stoke-on-Trent’s rock heritage plans
 • Helen Dalley and The Lead
The Lead Untangles: Our BBC - what does the future hold?
The broadcaster and British institution has been at the centre of a worldwide story this week but behind the headlines there is a battle for the soul of…
 • Ella Glover
The BBC is under attack. Democracy could very well be next
The nation's broadcaster is facing a coordinated assault that threatens public accountability.
 • Zoe Grunewald and The Lead
Exclusive: How we made incels
In this exclusive extract from her new book, journalist and mental health worker Katherine Denkinson examines how inceldom emerged from loneliness, lost…
 • Zoe Grunewald and Katherine Denkinson
The Lead Digest: The Caerphilly by-election and the myth of the 'woke' right
Our round-up by The Lead's team of what we've been reading, listening to, scrolling and watching each week
 • The Lead
The Lead Digest: The fracturing of Your Party and re-asserting anti-racist norms
Our round-up by The Lead's team of what we've been reading, listening to, scrolling and watching each week
 • The Lead
Becoming our own spies: The rise and rise of surveillance culture
Gen Z loves tracking each other's location, but are they inadvertently creating a surveillance nightmare?
 • Ella Glover and The Lead
From Brighton to Leicester: Where do people go for a good night out these days?
With venue closures soaring and purse strings tightening, UK nightlife is in crisis. Fred Garratt-Stanley samples two nightlife cities to see if the…
 • Fred Garratt-Stanley and The Lead
Live facial recognition has no place at Notting Hill Carnival
The Met Police is pushing ahead with plans to use divisive LFR at Notting Hill – it's another terrifying slide towards state surveillance. Plus: Zoë…
 • Natalie Morris and The Lead
Arts Council grant shutdown leaves creatives in limbo – and stunts UK innovation
A grant-giving system is offline for seven weeks, Fergal Kinney reports on the body-blow to creatives, and the precarity of the arts industry.
 • The Lead
Inside live music’s summer of boom and bust
The likes of Oasis and Beyonce have defined a summer of big gigs. But does this mask a splintering of music tastes and the crash of smaller music…
 • The Lead
Exclusive: Watch the powerful new film tackling the trauma of stop-and-search
The Lead is proud to launch the documentary short from Olivier Award nominated director Lanre Malaolu. Watch it first here.
 • Natalie Morris and The Lead
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