Taboo on the Bus

Whatzaraloves
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Sit down with Zara McIntosh to chat taboo topics from the front seat of the bus. Taking an unfiltered stance on pop-culture, society, culture, and queer issues, she candidly shares her opinion as passengers around her go about their every-day life, overhearing snippets of these unspoken taboos. The viral TikTok series has launched on Spotify after demand for lengthier episodes, so you can tune in to taboos on your next bus journey.

  1. 3d ago

    “Divas hate data centres “- on racial gentrification, Brick Lane, and the harm of big tech infrastructure

    Sit down with me today to dissect the harms of AI data centres on a micro and macro level, looking at their local, racial, environmental, and social impacts. From Sophia and Cinzia promoting Google Gemini for AI pasta recipes, to Open AI taking influencers on a ChatGPT nature retreat, to the Save Brick Lane coalition, let’s unpack the current AI landscape and the powerhouses behind this force. Email: charlie@84world.com Instagram: whatzaraloves TikTok: whatzaraloves6 Podcast: Taboo on the Bus Links: What is a Data Centre?: https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-data-center Save Brick Lane: https://www.savebricklane.net/press/press-cuttings Oxford University Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKa1Z-Z6xOQ&t=2s  Capital B News: https://capitalbnews.org/musk-xai-memphis-black-neighborhood-pollution/ https://capitalbnews.org/data-centers-black-communities-south/ References: https://www.datacenterwatch.org/report https://theconversation.com/how-brick-lane-became-the-latest-neighbourhood-to-battle-against-a-data-centre-290200 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/06/scotland-lanarkshire-village-ai-datacentre https://www.regen.co.uk/insights/the-data-centre-boom-has-a-justice-problem https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/14/new-york-moratorium-ai-datacenters https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/09/slough-famous-the-office-datacentres-locals-hub-europe https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/technology/article/what-is-a-data-center/&ved=2ahUKEwi50aGfja-WAxWPRkEAHcJqIlsQFnoECCEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw369MGsyZUy8KdDhAtwXqx-

    “Divas hate data centres “- on racial gentrification, Brick Lane, and the harm of big tech infrastructure

  2. 3d ago

    AI Data Centres really are that bad - on racial gentrification, ChatGPT brand trips, and the harm of big tech infrastructure

    [Mini Bus version. Long episode is also live] Sit down with me today to dissect the harms of AI data centres on a micro and macro level, looking at their local, racial, environmental, and social impacts. From Sophia and Cinzia promoting Google Gemini for AI pasta recipes, to Open AI taking influencers on a ChatGPT nature retreat, to the Save Brick Lane coalition, let’s unpack the current AI landscape and the powerhouses behind this force. Email: charlie@84world.com Instagram: whatzaraloves TikTok: whatzaraloves6 Podcast: Taboo on the Bus Links: What is a Data Centre?: https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/ai-data-center Save Brick Lane: https://www.savebricklane.net/press/press-cuttings Oxford University Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKa1Z-Z6xOQ&t=2s  Capital B News: https://capitalbnews.org/musk-xai-memphis-black-neighborhood-pollution/ https://capitalbnews.org/data-centers-black-communities-south/ References: https://www.datacenterwatch.org/report https://theconversation.com/how-brick-lane-became-the-latest-neighbourhood-to-battle-against-a-data-centre-290200 https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/06/scotland-lanarkshire-village-ai-datacentre https://www.regen.co.uk/insights/the-data-centre-boom-has-a-justice-problem https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/14/new-york-moratorium-ai-datacenters https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/09/slough-famous-the-office-datacentres-locals-hub-europe https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/technology/article/what-is-a-data-center/&ved=2ahUKEwi50aGfja-WAxWPRkEAHcJqIlsQFnoECCEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw369MGsyZUy8KdDhAtwXqx-

  3. Jul 24

    Meta glasses, surveillance fashion, and performing life for an audience

    [Epsiode starts at: 11:18] Meta have immersed themselves into the fashion realm with a line of trendy smart glasses and line-up of ‘IT-girls’ to promote the launch. Surveillance meets fashion in this collab, and we’re going to start seeing every-day recording and documentation become ‘normal’ in our society, or will we even notice?   Sit down with me today to discuss how these glasses pose threat particularly to women, children, and minority groups, and how smart yet harmful it is of Meta to target women with this launch. I’ll also give my thoughts on how I think the normalisation of these glasses in public will alter everyone’s behaviour from a lense of ‘performing for an audience’. Think of the way in which people don’t dance in the club anymore because of the fear of being recorded, now apply that to stepping outside.  Let me know what your thoughts are on Meta glasses going mainstream? Find me online: Instagram – Whatzaraloves TikTok – Whatzaraloves Podcast – Taboo on the Bus Email: charlie@84world.com   Reading list of articles mentioned: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/21/meta-smartglasses-child-filmed-ai-risk-technology https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy87wqz0q9o https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/02/ai-chatbot-training-human-toll-content-moderator-meta-openai  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q33nvj0qpo

    Meta glasses, surveillance fashion, and performing life for an audience

  4. Jul 24

    Meta glasses bus taboo

    [Mini Bus Version - Full podcast episode also live] Meta have immersed themselves into the fashion realm with a line of trendy smart glasses and line-up of ‘IT-girls’ to promote the launch. Surveillance meets fashion in this collab, and we’re going to start seeing every-day recording and documentation become ‘normal’ in our society, or will we even notice?   Sit down with me today to discuss how these glasses pose threat particularly to women, children, and minority groups, and how smart yet harmful it is of Meta to target women with this launch. I’ll also give my thoughts on how I think the normalisation of these glasses in public will alter everyone’s behaviour from a lense of ‘performing for an audience’. Think of the way in which people don’t dance in the club anymore because of the fear of being recorded, now apply that to stepping outside.  Let me know what your thoughts are on Meta glasses going mainstream? Find me online: Instagram – Whatzaraloves TikTok – Whatzaraloves Podcast – Taboo on the Bus Email: charlie@84world.com   Reading list of articles mentioned: ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/21/meta-smartglasses-child-filmed-ai-risk-technology⁠ ⁠https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy87wqz0q9o⁠ ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/aug/02/ai-chatbot-training-human-toll-content-moderator-meta-openai⁠  ⁠https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q33nvj0qpo⁠

  5. Jun 21

    What the ‘dot cake’ trend says about gen-z and luxury goods – are viral foods the new status good in our economic climate?

    Sit down with me OFF the bus to dissect our consumption habits when it comes to viral food trends and ‘little treats’. In a backdrop of economic insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis, generation Z are not purchasing as many luxury material goods. In turn, we are watching the status of foods like the ‘dot cake’ take the place of ‘luxury’ as for many, it is the highest point of access, desire, and justification. Let’s dissect it together and take a look at what this means for gen-z.   Instagram: Whatzaraloves Tiktok: whatzaraloves6 Email: charlie@84world.com award vote (at the bottom): https://www.bcreator.co.uk/awards/vote/   Reading list / references:   https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2024/07/17/designer-fashion-houses-are-struggling-in-the-first-half-of-2024-heres-why/   https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/toleho/article/1610640   https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2024/04/25/why-fashion-retailers-are-opening-branded-cafs-and-restaurants/   https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2026   https://www.bbc.co.uk/worklife/article/20250603-housing-affordability-crisis-kyla-scanlon-katty-kay-interview   https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmselect/cmyouth/cost-living-crisis-young-people/report.html   https://www.vogue.com/article/how-should-brands-navigate-gen-z-economic-nihilism   https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michalis-Skordoulis/publication/381656145_Perceptions_of_environmental_sustainability_and_luxury_influences_on_organic_food_buying_behavior_among_Millennials_and_Generation_Z_in_Greece/links/66795fcc1dec0c3c6f9fbb94/Perceptions-of-environmental-sustainability-and-luxury-influences-on-organic-food-buying-behavior-among-Millennials-and-Generation-Z-in-Greece.pdf

    What the ‘dot cake’ trend says about gen-z and luxury goods – are viral foods the new status good in our economic climate?

  6. Jun 21

    Let's talk about the 'dot cake' – are viral foods the new status good in our economic climate? [Mini bus version]

    Full deep-dive episode OFF the bus is also live! Sit with me on the bus to dissect our consumption habits when it comes to viral food trends and ‘little treats’. In a backdrop of economic insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis, generation Z are not purchasing as many luxury material goods. In turn, we are watching the status of foods like the ‘dot cake’ take the place of ‘luxury’ as for many, it is the highest point of access, desire, and justification. Let’s dissect it together and take a look at what this means for gen-z.   Instagram: Whatzaraloves Tiktok: whatzaraloves6 Email: charlie@84world.com   Reading list / references:   https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2024/07/17/designer-fashion-houses-are-struggling-in-the-first-half-of-2024-heres-why/   https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/toleho/article/1610640   https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2024/04/25/why-fashion-retailers-are-opening-branded-cafs-and-restaurants/   https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2026   https://www.bbc.co.uk/worklife/article/20250603-housing-affordability-crisis-kyla-scanlon-katty-kay-interview   https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5804/cmselect/cmyouth/cost-living-crisis-young-people/report.html   https://www.vogue.com/article/how-should-brands-navigate-gen-z-economic-nihilism   https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michalis-Skordoulis/publication/381656145_Perceptions_of_environmental_sustainability_and_luxury_influences_on_organic_food_buying_behavior_among_Millennials_and_Generation_Z_in_Greece/links/66795fcc1dec0c3c6f9fbb94/Perceptions-of-environmental-sustainability-and-luxury-influences-on-organic-food-buying-behavior-among-Millennials-and-Generation-Z-in-Greece.pdf

    Let's talk about the 'dot cake' – are viral foods the new status good in our economic climate? [Mini bus version]

  7. Apr 27

    Social media is a breeding ground for classism [mini bus version]

    [full deep-dive long episode is live] Social media is a breeding ground for poor-shaming working-class mockery, and I’ve been collecting evidence for the past 4 months to prove that. What we are seeing is the re-invention of the harmful working-class stereotypes present in early 2000s/10s media regurgitated in our algorithms right now. We can look at how deeply intertwined identity and consumption habits to begin understanding why social media creates a hierarchy of lifestyles that shames those as the bottom and analyse the key theme of ‘distinction’ driving a lot of the hate and ‘humour’.    I’ve pulled examples from my ongoing to prove just how social media fuels and reinvents the mockery of the working class.   Email: charlie@84world.com Insta – whatzaraloves TikTok – whatzaraloves6 YouTube: Whatzaraloves Podcast: Taboo on the Bus     Kyey references:   Books: Chavs by Owen Jones   Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966 https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889     Articles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/ https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/ https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/

  8. Apr 26

    Social Media is Classist - why people favour the wealthy and shame the poor online

    Social media is a breeding ground for poor-shaming working-class mockery, and I’ve been collecting evidence for the past 4 months to prove that. What we are seeing is the re-invention of the harmful working-class stereotypes present in early 2000s/10s media regurgitated in our algorithms right now. We can look at how deeply intertwined identity and consumption habits to begin understanding why social media creates a hierarchy of lifestyles that shames those as the bottom and analyse the key theme of ‘distinction’ driving a lot of the hate and ‘humour’.    I’ve pulled examples from my ongoing to prove just how social media fuels and reinvents the mockery of the working class.   Email: charlie@84world.com Insta – whatzaraloves TikTok – whatzaraloves6 YouTube: Whatzaraloves Podcast: Taboo on the Bus     Kyey references:   Books: Chavs by Owen Jones   Journals: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.5153/sro.1814 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01634437231185966 https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3176889     Articles: https://www.vice.com/en/article/chav-caricature-comeback-tiktok-2020/ https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2021/09/02/how-the-medias-selective-idealisation-of-the-working-class-perpetuates-inequality/ https://consequence.net/2025/12/ricky-gervais-working-classes-mock-mortality/

    Social Media is Classist - why people favour the wealthy and shame the poor online
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Sit down with Zara McIntosh to chat taboo topics from the front seat of the bus. Taking an unfiltered stance on pop-culture, society, culture, and queer issues, she candidly shares her opinion as passengers around her go about their every-day life, overhearing snippets of these unspoken taboos. The viral TikTok series has launched on Spotify after demand for lengthier episodes, so you can tune in to taboos on your next bus journey.

Information

  • Creator
    Whatzaraloves
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Whatzaraloves
  • Show Website
    Taboo on the Bus

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