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A Futile and Obsolete Industry

Hey there, beloved High Five Club members and prospective members,

It's your friends at the Reykjavík Grapevine (Opens in a new window), popping back into your inbox with a hello and to bring you the latest reads from our mag and news from Iceland.

FROM THE MAG

Another new issue of the Reykjavík Grapevine hit the streets of the capital this morning and it is another very important one to pick up.

Reykjavík Grapevine, Volume 20, issue 14 (Opens in a new window)

For the cover feature, Catharine Fulton looked into the past and present of whaling in Iceland and pondered what the future holds for an industry that even the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Svandís Svavarsdóttir called “completely futile and obsolete.” Iceland’s sole whaling company, Hvalur hf, is hunting right now — they brought their first fin whale of the season into their whaling station this morning. Will their licence be renewed at the end of the year? Read the feature now (Opens in a new window).

Anti-whaling activists protest in front of Hvalur hf's whaling ships in Reykjavík harbour on September 1, 2023. Photo: Boris Niehaus for Hard To Port (Opens in a new window)

Also in our new issue, Iryna Zubenko spoke with a single mother who has turned to dumpster diving in order to put food on the table. “This is a sign of a deeper problem and we should act now,” she told Iryna. “But I can’t see any initiative from the government or the social services side.” Read the article here (Opens in a new window).

A single mother in Reykjavík dumpster dives to provide for her family. (Opens in a new window)

Other weekend reading from the Grapevine

EXTRA! EXTRA! 

LISTEN UP

Our 66 Degrees of Sound (Opens in a new window) podcast is on hiatus for a couple weeks, but we’re still keeping our eagle eye — er, or eagle ear? Do eagles have good hearing? — on the local music scene to pick out the most promising new releases. This week's New Music roundup has new sounds from Geigen, Laufey, Red Riot, Gosi, Ari Árelíus, and Battle of the Bands winners Fókus. They're all good'uns.

Read about (and listen to) the new music streaming at Grapevine HQ right here (Opens in a new window)

That's it from us this week. As always, thanks for your support.

<3 Team Grapevine

If you were a member of our High Five Club, this post would have included an exclusive early access links to read our new issue in full and view our newest YouTube video content, plus sweet discount codes for the Grapevine store and travel portal. Want all that?

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