satire
Relationship satire can be cathartic; when love hurts too much, just laugh.
I Was a Single Mother With $12 Left — Then One Phone Call Changed Everything
I was counting coins on my kitchen table, trying to decide whether to buy milk or save the last $12 for rent. My son was asleep in the next room, unaware that eviction notices don’t care if you’re a single mother. That’s when my phone rang — and everything I believed about survival changed. Before that moment, my life felt like a constant emergency. I was twenty-nine, divorced, and raising a four-year-old on my own in a small apartment on the edge of town. The walls were thin, the heater barely worked, and the landlord had already taped a warning notice to my door twice. I worked two jobs — mornings at a diner and evenings cleaning offices — but no matter how hard I tried, the math never worked. Childcare ate half my income. Gas prices kept climbing. Every unexpected expense felt like a personal attack. That night, I skipped dinner so my son could eat. I told him I wasn’t hungry, even though my stomach burned. When he finally fell asleep clutching his toy truck, I sat alone at the table, staring at those coins, feeling like a failure. The phone buzzed again. I almost didn’t answer. Most calls were bill collectors or spam. But something told me to pick it up. “Hi, this is Amanda from the housing office,” the voice said. I froze. She explained that I had applied months earlier for a rental assistance program for single mothers — a form I barely remembered filling out during one of my lowest days. “I wanted to let you know,” she continued, “you’ve been approved.” Approved. The word didn’t feel real. I asked her to repeat it. She told me they would cover three months of rent and help me apply for a longer-term support plan. After I hung up, I sat there in silence. Then I cried. Not quiet tears — the kind that shake your chest when you’ve been holding everything in for too long. But that phone call didn’t magically fix my life. It gave me breathing room — and sometimes, breathing room is everything. With the pressure eased, I started thinking differently. I realized how much energy I had spent just surviving. I wanted more than that for my son. I wanted stability. Dignity. A future. I began waking up an hour earlier every day. Not to work — but to learn. I watched free videos online about budgeting, basic computer skills, and remote work. I borrowed books from the library because buying them wasn’t an option. Some nights I was exhausted beyond words. Other nights, fear whispered that none of this would matter. But every morning, my son’s smile reminded me why I couldn’t quit. A few months later, I landed a small remote customer support job. The pay wasn’t amazing, but it was steady — and it meant I could be home more. I could make dinner instead of reheating leftovers at midnight. I could help with bedtime instead of rushing out the door. Life didn’t suddenly become easy. There were still bills. Still stress. Still moments of doubt. But there was also hope — something I hadn’t felt in a long time. One evening, as I tucked my son into bed, he looked at me and said, “Mommy, you’re not sad anymore.” I didn’t realize how much my struggle had shown on my face until that moment. I’m still a single mother. I still worry. But I’ve learned that asking for help isn’t weakness. Filling out that application didn’t make me less capable — it made me brave. If you’re reading this while counting coins, skipping meals, or wondering how you’ll make it through another month, please know this: your story isn’t over. Sometimes, one phone call doesn’t change everything — but it can change enough to keep you going. If you’re a single parent struggling in silence, this story is for you.
By Umar Farooqabout a month ago in Humans
New Year, Really?
I don't know what you did on New Year's Eve, but I was sitting listening to my neighbour rattling my house with his bass-dominated tunes. Obviously, the guy and his Mrs have a right to party, but is it really necessary to blast my wall down like the trumpeters from Jericho? Thumping bass and the volume turned up so loud that it distorts the music. Mind you, whether you can call it music is another thing. But hey, Im biased, each to their own, I guess.
By Nicholas Bishop2 months ago in Humans
Lost and Alone in the French Alps. Top Story - December 2025.
Looking back, I can trace some of my life’s biggest adventures to a simple action from my sister. She’d introduced me to Tommy (a very long time ago), a colleague of hers, who had overshared his penchant for Italian-looking women, and I ticked that box.
By Chantal Christie Weiss2 months ago in Humans
The Attention Economy Is Quietly Rewriting Our Minds — and Most People Don’t Notice
Every time you unlock your phone, scroll a feed, or tap a notification, you are participating in something far bigger than momentary distraction. You are engaging in what experts call the attention economy — a system where human focus is the most valuable resource on Earth. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s reality. For the companies that fuel the modern internet, your attention is currency. Every second spent watching, clicking, or reacting generates data that platforms use to predict your behavior, tailor your feed, and pull you deeper into their ecosystem. And the consequences go beyond algorithms. They are reshaping how we think, feel, and decide — often without our conscious awareness.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
The Day My Phone Started Knowing Me Better Than I Did
It started with a notification I almost ignored. “Good morning, Alex. Based on your sleep patterns, we’ve adjusted your morning schedule. Coffee is ready at 7:15. You might want to leave home at 8:03 instead of 8:10.” I froze. My phone had never spoken to me like this before. Sure, it suggested playlists, predicted traffic, and reminded me of appointments. But it had never calculated me this precisely. Curiosity overcame caution. I followed its instructions. The coffee was perfect. Traffic was lighter than usual. I arrived at work feeling oddly efficient.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
Digital Shadows: How Our Online Lives Shape Who We Are
We live in a world where almost every thought, habit, and interaction leaves a digital trace. Every post we make, every story we share, every “like” or reaction contributes to a vast, invisible record of our lives. These traces—our digital shadows—are shaping more than just algorithms; they are shaping us.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
We Are Training Technology More Than It Is Training Us
Most conversations about technology focus on what machines are learning. We talk about artificial intelligence becoming smarter, algorithms improving, and systems adapting faster than ever. The common fear is that technology is watching us, analyzing us, and eventually outgrowing us. But there’s a quieter truth hiding in plain sight. Technology is learning because we are teaching it—constantly, unintentionally, and without pause.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
The Age of Invisible Technology: How Silence Became the Most Powerful Feature
Technology used to announce itself loudly. New devices arrived with dramatic launches, glowing screens, and long lists of features designed to impress. Faster processors, bigger storage, sharper displays—progress was measured by how much more we could pack into a single machine. The louder the innovation, the better it seemed.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
The World Through Different Eyes
We often believe that reality is fixed, that the world exists exactly as we perceive it. But the truth is, reality is much more flexible than we realize. It’s shaped by our thoughts, our experiences, and the lens through which we choose to view life.
By Yasir khan2 months ago in Humans
The Foundation for Order in a Collapsing Culture
This is a systems-level framework, not a polemic or a list of opinions. It lays out a sequence of foundational truths about how societies maintain order, how that order erodes, and why collapse follows when truth, accountability, and consequence are selectively suspended. Each point builds on the last, tracing a logical path from epistemology and moral agency to politics, institutions, and cultural outcomes.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast2 months ago in Humans
Iran And Israel War (When the Middle East Shook Again)
When the Middle East Shook Again On the night of 29 December, the world once again held its breath. News screens glowed in dark rooms, radios whispered urgent updates, and phones vibrated with breaking alerts. The words were heavy and frightening: Iran and Israel—conflict begins again.
By Wings of Time 2 months ago in Humans
