Food is love, food is life. With the pandemic hitting us hard, I can imagine how many sourdough starter kits have been open, attempted, and then discarded in a huff. Or trying out a new baking recipe from Youtube that ends up looking like someone did it blindfolded. Either way, food is one thing that, in many cultures and areas and despite all odds, can bring people together. Six feet apart or not. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, food was a storyteller. An orator of ancestral...

  From BUST's Fall 2020 issue, our house astrologer, Emmalea Russo, gives astrological guidance to getting laid.   Virgo(Aug. 23 to Sept. 22)Happy birthday, V! September commences with a full moon in your relationship sector, spotlighting all that’s working (or isn’t) just in time for Venus to cascade into your sign on October 2, reminding you to love thyself first and foremost. Mercury retrogrades through your house of communication starting October 13 and then slides into your house of income and self-worth on October 27, urging you to rethink...

Last Thursday night, a Category 4 storm Hurricane Laura tore through the Gulf Coast. Many think this disastrous storm is the result of the numerous refineries and chemical plants present in the region. The hurricane didn’t spare the Lake Charles region of Louisiana. Alongside a chemical fire that erupted on the outskirts of the city, the fate of a Confederate monument was decided by the storm. The South's Defenders monument, which stood on the grounds of a courthouse in Lake Charles, collapsed during Hurricane Laura. The Confederate...

Los Angeles feels like a hodgepodge of disparate towns, mashed into one giant, perennially sunny, palm tree-studded city. It’s got glittering beaches and boardwalks, lush mountains, jammed freeways, and towering skyscrapers. There’s old Hollywood glamour and new Cali cool. Taco stands are ubiquitous and famouses roam wild. Writing this during quarantine, I miss it all. So here’s a little love letter to L.A., featuring recs from some of our favorite BUST-y Angelenos. This piece is also a practice in manifestation (so very L.A.): hopefully as...

HEKATE. FOR THE WITCHES among us, the very name of this ancient goddess associated with magic, mystery, and empowerment evokes a rumble deep inside. Her history is complex. In her origins around the Mediterranean, she was known as Breaker of Chains—summoning her presence was thought to release you from whatever ties were binding. She's also been known as the Keeper of the Keys; the keys that open the gates to our souls. In some of humanity’s earliest texts, she is portrayed as a great mother...

This past weekend was a tumultuous one for the Conway family, whose discordant political platforms have raised eyebrows nationally--and left us all secretly grateful we aren’t at that table for family dinners. Last Sunday evening, Senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announced that she will be resigning from her post at the end of the month. This decision marks a sudden end to Conway’s indelible journey as one of the most controversial and outspoken Trump supporters. She took up the post in 2016 after becoming the first female...

Here at BUST, election season is in full swing and we are ready to flex our political muscles at the polls! That’s why we are extra honored and excited to be featuring powerful voting-rights advocate Stacey Abrams on the cover of our fab Fall Issue, being interviewed by fellow activist Amber Tamblyn. Inside, we’ve got in-depth interviews with Joseph Gordon-Levitt about his powerful protest biopic The Trial of the Chicago Seven and Insecure’s comedy genius Natasha Rothwell. Plus, readers will find a surprising biography of...

TRYING SOMETHING NEW—a hobby, a sport, a restaurant, even hanging with a just-made friend or going on a date with a crush—can be extremely rewarding. Unless you have anxiety, a mental illness, or simply an overactive brain, in which case the spiraling “what ifs?”—What if people think I’m weird? What if I suck? What if I embarrass myself?—steamroll the fun.  I struggle with anxiety, but I’ve found an incredible tool for overcoming the waterfall of fear: reframing my “what ifs?” as curiosity, instead of judgment. This...

Move over lung disease! COVID-19 just became the third leading cause of death in the United States. Just behind heart disease and cancer, the United State’s third-biggest killer is the coronavirus, followed loosely by accidents, lung disease, and Alzheimer’s. According to CNN, the United States has averaged more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths a day for the past three weeks. Last week alone, Americans were eight times more likely than Europeans to die of COVID-19. This all comes around the time school is starting back up again. Although...

Monday night, politicians Zoomed in all over the U.S. for the Democratic National Convention; but not one of their speeches could quite hold a candle to Michelle Obama’s, whose address harbored the authentic, non-withholding dose of reality we all need right now. Michelle addressed the American people last night from her living room, a simple “VOTE” necklace donned, making it clear right away that she was not just speaking as the former first lady, but as an American citizen and a mother. “I know a lot...