Weekly Culture Round-Up: The Very Best Of This Week at PolicyMic

Culture

Somehow it’s almost June! Packed full of Daft Punk tunes, The Great Gatsby shaming, and Punk couture taking over the MET, May has been a full-to-the-brim month in the culture world. I’m thrilled by all that PolicyMic's culture writing community has done to take on May and am oh-so-excited to see what June will bring.

Looking ahead, the new writers in our Summer Culture Skillshare are all working hard on their debut pieces which will be featured on the site next week. Twelve new writers have joined the skillshare so look out for their work and welcome them by commenting on their articles.  

In other housekeeping news, PolicyMic is hiring a Deputy Culture Editor. For more information on the position see here and don’t hesitate to e-mail with any questions.

Shout Outs of the Week:

Congratulations to Pundit Katie Kirnan whose piece “10 Life Lessons From Calvin & Hobbes” went totally viral and was PolicyMic’s most shared story of the week. Her piece racked up 28,193 shares. Not too shabby.

 

What have you been up to? In the weekly newsletter I’ll be sharing our illustrious Pundits fantastic writing achievements as well as highlighting news about what we’re all doing offline. If you have anything you’d like me to include, about yourself or a fellow PolicyMic-er, please send it my way! 

Culture Section Must Reads of the Week:

Disney Can Do Princesses, But When They Take On 'Star Wars,' Will the Force Be With Them? (Jef Cliber, @JefCliber) – Disney wields magic frequently, but what about lightsabers? Here's my advice to Disney on how NOT to ruin Star Wars.

5 Things No One Tells You About Life After College (Heather Price-Wright, @heatherwpw– Post-graduate life can be an exciting and liberating time, but parts of it are tougher than you expect. No one told me just how hard it might be, so here are five things to look out for.

No, ‘Iyanla’ Will Not Fix Your Life (Rafat Sanni, @raesanni) – Iyanla Vanzant’s pursuit of higher TV show ratings has rendered the “fixing” she promises to do on "Iyanla, Fix My Life" a secondary concern, if a concern at all.

The Inside Scoop on NYC Citi Bike Share, Revealed By a Test Driver (Whitney Sher) – Citi Bike Share is launching this weekend! Thanks to a PolicyMic press pass, I took one out for a test ride on Friday in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and got the full run-down.

6 Of Daft Punk’s Most Overt Rip-Offs (Sam Brounstein, @samthebearjew) – Daft Punk is not doing anything out of this world with their music, as these samples prove.

Why Breaking a Few Laws Every Now and Then Is Healthy For Civilization (Adam Hogue, @Hoguie– Breaking the rules is totally necessary sometimes. Above law, there is a trust that everyone is capable of doing the right thing at the right time. That's what society is really about.[15 Mics, 17 Comments, 71 Shares]

How To Celebrate Your Sad Mid-20s Birthday (Andy Holdeman, @andyholdeman) – Happy birthday, millenial. Stop being so sad and enjoy your twenty-something anniversary of the day you gained independence from the womb. Also, thank your lucky stars you're not Mesopotamian.[13 Mics, 13 Comments, 14 Shares]

20 Simple Ways to Live Happily in Your 20s (Catherine Skroch, @cskroch– Twenty ways that we can simplify life to its happiest and prioritize what really matters.

Please send your feedback! Elena@policymic.com