Going against the grain

Anouchka Grose dissects the lasting impact of Malcolm McLaren's 1982 "Buffalo Gals" video on Top of the Pops, which introduced scratching and breakdancing to mainstream Britain while creating a bewildering collision of cultures and styles. Tracing how this three-minute performance sparked decades of creative pursuit, she explores the complex legacy of cultural appropriation, artistic disruption, and the search for authentic expression.

Stephanie Theobald takes us on a journey through California's cannabis culture, exploring how legalisation has transformed both the substance and its community. She examines a world of high-end dispensaries and consumption lounges – where former outlaws have become legitimate businesses – while questioning what's been gained and lost in the transition from underground movement to corporate commodity.

Rowan Pelling traces her lifelong attraction to rule-breaking, from childhood trespassing expeditions with her maverick father to being deemed "unsuitable" for school prefect duties. Reflecting on a life spent gravitating toward "circus types" rather than authority figures, she examines the luxury of personal freedom her generation enjoyed and questions whether such liberty can be preserved for future generations facing economic and political constraints.