When it comes to the Salt Path scandal, who is to blame?

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Hello! Another scorcher of a weekend, another culture newsletter from The Independent. What else is new?

If you're looking for ways to stay cool this weekend, you could do a lot worse than hiding out in the air-conditioned auditorium of a cinema – so it's a good job that Superman seems to be well worth seeing. That's according to Clarisse Loughrey, at least, who said that James Gunn's new reboot will make you believe in comic book movies again. Tom Fordy, meanwhile, dove into the story of 2006's Superman Returns, the black sheep of the Superman canon.

There's a lot of music on this week. Several members of the culture desk are currently abroad at various music festivals, while I'm off to Hyde Park for some  oldies at BST – yesterday it was Neil Young, Cat Stevens, and the ever-unpredictable Van Morrison, while this evening it's Stevie Wonder. Check out our music page for reviews, as well as our verdict on Drake's return to the UK. 

But there's more! John Cameron Mitchell, the wonderfully irreverent creator-star of Hedwig and the Angry inch, flew in for gigs at the Adelphi and Pride earlier this week: he made for a fascinating and provocative interview. Annabel Nugent reviewed Billie Eilish, who offered an "introvert's approach to pop spectacle". And Justin Bieber dropped a surprise album, which Adam White describes as a "god fearing, hyper-sexual slog". Crumbs. 

I also need to mention last Sunday's interview with Public Enemy's Chuck D, written by Sarfraz Manzoor, and this week's State of the Arts, written by Adam White on the fascinating scandal enveloping the author of The Salt Path. More great stuff below, including a Saturday Interview with Michael Shannon.

Keep cool and have a lovely weekend,

Written by Louis Chilton

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