If you work for a major tech company and your Hinge date asks for your computer password next week, maybe stop, think, check…
I realised after Halloweekend this year that I had missed my likely only opportunity to dress up as Sabrina Carpenter in a fabulous blue sweater singing Sugar Talking at Coachella 2026, and I can’t lie - I have some regrets about that. But fear not, pop-culture fanatics among us, Coachella 2027 is on the horizon.
Coachella is the biggest music festival in the US, taking place over 3 days in April in California, and it’s basically the Olympics for influencers and annoying pop music fans, like me. The 2027 headliners were announced this week and include Dua Lipa, Fremantle’s own Tame Impala and SZA. If you want to get a taste of what’s to come on the YouTube livestream (because that’s as close as most of us are going to get), here’s a playlist of the lineup for your weekend enjoyment.
PLAYING
The Squiz Quiz
Reckon you know which former bestie Taylor Swift was spotted with this week? Test your news knowledge with the Squiz Quiz.
NEWS
This week’s top stories
If you have a phone that connects to the internet, you’ve likely heard that Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang admitted to his staff that he had an affair - with a reported Chinese spy. Nvidia is a US company that makes the most powerful computer chips in the world, which are key to building AI models. The US banned Nvidia from exporting its top-tier chips to China because of the AI race, so the whole thing is a major deal from a security perspective. A further 2 affairs are being reported (these with Nvidia employees), and he’s now stepped down as CEO and left the board. And the company’s share price has taken quite the beating…
On Tuesday, Qantas said it would cut 850 local jobs and send them to professional services firm Accenture. These job cuts will be phased in, with the first changes expected to be in place by mid-2027. The airline said back-office functions will mostly be shifted to India. CEO Vanessa Hudson said the changes will mean Qantas can start to use AI sooner, which would have “lasting benefits across the business”. Both the union and the government have criticised the move, and the union said that it was important to make sure these AI announcements were not a “Trojan horse for widespread offshoring”.
Aussie cricket’s 2018 sandpapergate cheating scandal is back from the dead this week after retired batter Usman Khawaja said in his new autobiography that the whole team knew about the plot to scuff the ball with sandpaper in a Test match against South Africa. At the time, only 3 players copped suspensions over it. Current Test captain Pat Cummins did an hour-long presser on Friday morning where he denied knowing about the plan and called some of the claims “complete and utter nonsense”. Cricket Australia says it won’t reopen the investigation, but the drama is playing out in a big way…
SQUIZ RECOMMENDS
For your weekend
/ Movie - You Can See Everything, the latest documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, which follows Elizabeth Holmes in the lead-up to her prison sentence.
What’s it about? If you’re not familiar, Elizabeth Holmes was the person behind the blood-testing startup Theranos, which made big promises that were found to be completely false. In 2023, she was jailed for defrauding investors, and in the lead-up, she and her partner Billy Evans invited Fielder into their San Diego home. Our Senior Producer Ryan Pemberton saw it when it hit cinemas in Oz this week and said that, even with all the hype, it exceeded expectations.
Why do we like it? Ryan recommended going in as cold as possible, so try to avoid reviews with spoilers if you can. Ryan said that everyone he saw it with had a very different read on Holmes and that it raised some interesting ideas about how we see and understand each other (BRB booking my tickets).
/ Board game - Azul, a 2017 strategy game where players select tiles from a communal pile to try and make the most beautiful-looking mosaic, based on Portuguese palace walls.
What’s it like? It’s a lovely-looking, tactile game that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. Each round, a player will select a number of tiles and put them on their board. You’re looking to score the most points by arranging the tiles in particular patterns - while stopping your opponents from doing the same.
Why do we like it? As a board game fan, our News Director Andrew Williams knows how challenging it can be to explain their rules. Luckily, Azul is simple to learn but much harder to get good at - and it’s the sort of game where kids and parents can play together. Plus, there are variants where you can make stained-glass windows, summer pavilions, and boxes of chocolate…
/ Album - It might be a year old now, but while we’re talking about future Coachella headliner Mr Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, his 2025 album Deadbeat is really one to check out.
What’s it like? It’s more electronic than the indie-rock sound of his older albums and has hits like Dracula on it. Some songs are much more mellow than others, but it still feels cohesive. Parker actually said that the song Loser is the one he’s most proud of in his whole catalogue, which is pretty major coming from the man who wrote The Less I Know the Better…
Why do we like it? I was recently blown away by Tame Impala’s live show, so I am still basking in the post-concert glow of all his music, but Deadbeat is catchy while still being really interesting and unique-sounding. Some highlights (in my humble opinion) are Afterthought and End of Summer.
THE THREE MINUTE SQUIZ
Vanessa McCausland
We’ve brought back a favourite segment where we spend a few minutes with a Squizer who’ll share what’s keeping them busy, what’s on their mind and what they’ve been reading, watching, and listening to lately…
Vanessa is the author of 6 novels, including The Last Illusion of Paige White… Coming-of-age stores are a strong theme in her work - here’s the advice she’d give her younger self:
“Travel. Maybe I’m romanticising backpacking in the early 2000s, but I wish I’d taken off for a few years instead of a few months.”
To find out about her new novel, what’s been in her social feeds and what she’s been reading, check out this week’s…
One less stress before you travel
Between end-of-year admin and a packed social calendar, there’s enough to do before a summer getaway without playing suitcase Tetris. Simplify Living can take some of the stress out of packing, with Compression Packing Cubes and anti-theft bags. Its early Black Friday sale is on now, and here’s what’s on offer.
EAT
In the Kitchen
We’re not going to call this a super quick and easy weeknight meal, but Alison Roman’s roasted eggplant pasta with parmesan breadcrumbs is worth the effort. We highly recommend making extra breadcrumbs for your eggs in the morning.
SCROLL
Double-Tapping
Well, it’s certainly going to be an interesting 2 years in US politics. We’ll be keeping an eye out (potentially with a bag of popcorn) for the new Congress starting 3 January…
