Everything Is Content

Happy Wednesday EIChatters!To voice note or not to voice note, that is the question. In a piece for the Independent from the start of the year Helen Coffey explored whether a rise in voice notes has helped kill the art of conversation. She writes that despite being an initial sceptic about voice notes and finding them awkward and less useful than a phone call, she has since come around and become a primary source of communication in her circle.A 2025 survey commissioned by Sky Mobile found that 62% of voice note recipients had experienced ‘voice note fatigue’, and 20% said they’d personally received a voice note longer than 10 minutes. More than one in ten said they received over 10 voice notes a day, and 44% said they listened at double speed to get through them quicker. There’s also apparently a geographical element to this that suggests the UK is actually lagging behind other countries in our adoption of recorded messages. A 2024 YouGov survey found that 48% of Indian respondents either preferred receiving voice notes or liked them just as much as texts, compared to just 18% of people in Great Britain. We dive in with your help!We hope you enjoy, as always please do rate, review and share us with a friend :) Kisses! O,R,B xThe inexorable rise of voice notes: ‘I’m thinking of you – I just don’t want to speak to you’VOICE-NO! Brits call time on long voice notes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Wednesday EICoveters! So a couple of weeks ago a video by TikTok user Farah Ammarah went viral, in which she describes envy in a friendship from the perspective of being the envious friend. She lists her former friend's car, job and neighbourhood as reasons she felt envious. She admitted that it made her feel bitter to see a friend doing so well.The video was seen millions of times and sparked a hot debate about whether there was something strange or toxic in her experience. Thousands of commenters lashed out- saying envy and jealousy in friendships shouldn't be possible and that anyone who feels it is dangerous to be around. Other people were kinder, reminding other viewers that it's a totally normal emotion, we all experience it (even if we pretend otherwise) and it only matters how you respond.So we asked you all what you made of the video and the response. What does envy/jealousy mean when it's directed to a friend? Is it a sign we should distance ourselves or lean into it and communicate? + we share our our jealousy/envy experiences and what they've taught us.Thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, opinions and takes! Talk soon, O, R, B xFarrah's video Merriam Webster - Jealous vs. Envious Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Wednesday EICorporeal beings. Last month, a BBC documentary posited the question, 'can AI ‘cure’ grief?', which got us wondering, should we want to cure grief?In AI confidential with Hannah Fry, Fry speaks to Justin Harrison, founder of You, Only Virtual. He ‘created the concept of the Versona after facing the dual challenges of his own near-fatal motorcycle accident and his mother's terminal cancer diagnosis. During this difficult period, he sought a way to preserve the unique bond he shared with his mother, leading to the development of YOV's Al technology. The Versona allows individuals to digitally recreate and continue conversations with their loved ones, even after they've passed, providing lasting emotional connection.’Justin Harrison is not the only person working on this emerging technology, there are others such as Project December which is is an online AI platform created by video-game designer Jason Rohrer that allows users to simulate text-based conversations with specific personalities, including deceased individuals and, HereAfter AI which promises to ‘Preserve memories with an app that interviews you about your life. Then, let loved ones hear meaningful stories by chatting with the virtual you’.Is this something that we need? Is it something we want?Thank you so much for being so generous and sharing with us your experiences on such a sensitive topic, we're always so grateful.Love you! and hope you enjoy the episode O, R, B xxxAI Confidential with Hannah FryThe Dead Have Never Been This TalkativeAlexis Ohanian thread The Year Of Magical Thinking - Joan DixonThe Obliterated Place Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ciao EIChin-waggers, This week we're asking a tough question: should we shut the f up when it comes to telling partners our friends' info? Editor and writer Hannah Ewens argued for this very thing in a Vogue piece titled 'Please, Stop Telling Your Partner My Secrets'. Thank you for listening and please do argue, agree or discourse us in the Spotify comments. We love to keep the conversations going...Love O,R,B xxx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Hump day EICrunchies! So last week an Instagram post by a child-free creator went semi-viral. The post explored the perspective of its child-free creator (Danni Duncan) and many other child-free people who have felt sad when a friendship has changed following a mate having a baby, and want spaces to express that freely. In the visuals for the post she writes: "I know your kids come first but I still believe friendship should go both ways so that makes me selfish. I understand you’re busy but I still hope to hear from you, so that makes me needy. I don’t expect the same time as before but I do hope for some effort, so that makes me unrealistic. I miss our friendship and I’ll say that out loud, so that makes me difficult. Or maybe I’m not a horrible friend. Maybe I just believe friendship should survive life changes. And that both people deserve to be seen.”And we wanted to discuss this- with your help. We ask: is it fair for CF women to express their sadness when a friend has a baby? Is it on mothers to cross the divide or should those of us without kids do the heavy lifting? Are some friendships just seasonal? And where on EARTH are the dads in all this?Thank you all SO much for your takes on this- as empathetic, thoughtful and considered as ever. We luuuuurve being in conversation with you all. O, R, B xLinks:Danni's post Danni's follow up postWaterstones - Lessons from a Default Parent by Lou BeckettPsychology Today - The Ring Theory Book recs from listeners:Ghosts by Dolly AldertonSo Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Wednesday EIConversationalists. This week we ask, should everything be content?As of early February 2026, there are at least seven major television and streaming documentaries specifically focused on the case of Lucy Letby. The latest documentary The Investigation of Lucy Letby landed on Netflix earlier this month, featuring, in their words ‘never-before-seen footage as well as interviews with case investigators, a friend of Letby, and one of the victims’ parents.’The words “digitally anonymised” popped up every time the grieving mother, or Letby’s college friend, “Maisie”, appeared on screen, because although the documentary used their real voices, and real words they used Ai generated humans to represent them.In a piece for Newsweek H. Alan Scott writes, ‘On paper, the logic is sound. In practice, it is deeply unsettling. The closer you look, the more the illusion unravels. They are talking FaceTuned images—avatars trapped in the uncanny valley, mimicking sorrow without any of the soul, Instead of honoring the victims and grappling with the incomprehensible horror of Letby's crimes, we are left debating the ethics of a visual effect.’Netflix defended the decision to Esquire, stating the technology was used "to protect the anonymity of the contributors at their request." The evening standard said it was 'a morally egregious use of AI slop'Aside from the AI issue which we go into, we can’t stop thinking about how many documentaries are popping up, seemingly constantly, about things that have just happened or are still happening.Do true crime documentaries need to have such a big place in our culture?Thank you so much for all of your opinions and takes on this topic, we love being in conversation with you all. O, R, B xxoxoThe Investigation of Lucy Letby review – this sensationalist take isn’t what this awful case needsWhy The Investigation of Lucy Letby's 'Digitally Anonymised' Documentary is Causing ControversyLucy Letby’s parents: Netflix show is an ‘invasion of privacy’Netflix’s Use of AI Deepfakes is a Betrayal of True Crime Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.