Welcome to Brat Summer - how Charlie XCX created a moment

Before her most recent album was released, the word 'brat' was reserved for unruly children and twentysomething actors from the 1980s.

Lauren Murphy on Sister Act 2 and when nostalgia strikes

Of all the things that have unexpectedly brought a lump to my throat on a humdrum Thursday morning, Sister Act 2 is probably the most …

Dublin Portal RIP? Lauren Murphy asks: what were they thinking?

'If there was a naughty step available, both sides would be on it.'

When Beyonce went country - Lauren Murphy on artists mixing it up

Wicker Man to Hagstone: Lauren Murphy on the lure of island tales

Stories set on islands have always fascinated me...

Lauren Murphy on why we need fantasy novels now more than ever

One of my favourite things about being knee-deep in a really good book is that sense of escapism.

Notes on AI in music: 'I'm not quite sure how to feel about it'

The Beatles are back, with a little help from AI...

Boo! Lauren Murphy on the horror movie that haunted her dreams

I love horror films. Spooky horror films. Gruesome horror films. Paranormal horrors. Horrors with aliens, horrors with demons, horrors with axe-wielding serial killers. That wasn't …

And Just Like That, and the perverse pleasures of the hate-watch

I'm about five episodes into the second season of And Just Like That... I hate it. It's awful.

In defence of 'nepo babies' - a short cut to success?

Lately, I've been thinking a bit about 'nepo babies' - or more specifically, the idea of creative and artistic dynasties.

Fantastic! Lauren Murphy on the genius of George Michael & Wham!

Wham! were a little before my time. I was born in the 1980s, but by the time George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley had called it …

Future folk - Lauren Murphy on the magic of Lankum

I first interviewed Ian Lynch back in 2015. In the Library Bar of Dublin's Central Hotel - the much-missed bastion of journalists in search of …

Lauren Murphy: How TV travel shows were my passport to the world

I blame Michael Palin.