Tom Flanagan

Catawiki • 1st March 2021

Dearly beloved: the renaissance of love letters

The art of putting down your feelings on paper dates back centuries. And while the 21st century has given more attention to email than the hand-written word, the onset of a global pandemic has seen a revival in the writing of personal notes.

I amsterdam Magazine • 5th June 2025

Fantastic forts and where to find them

The Dutch Defence Line – a 135-kilometre ring of 46 forts surrounding Amsterdam – once protected the city from attack. Nowadays, it’s been transformed into something else.

I amsterdam Magazine • 4th June 2025

Where the wild flowers are

The Netherlands might be known for the tulip, but come the summer, fields around Amsterdam bloom with oft-forgotten flora.

4th June 2025

Beautiful bodies: the irresistible allure of homoerotic art

With collectors increasingly searching out these erotic artworks, this once-obscured genre is starting to take on mainstream appeal.

VICE • 26th September 2023

My Life as a Male Model on OnlyFans

Juggling both professions might not be intuitive for some, but he’s far from the only one turning to sex as a career. Since the arrival of OnlyFans in 2016 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are taking up sex work—a trend that has only been compounded by the cost of living crisis.

XCity. • 18th June 2023

Reporting from the Arctic

As the climate crisis reshapes the world, the Arctic is under increased scrutiny. But what does it take to report from the region? Tom Flanagan speaks to five journalists about working in one of the world’s most inhospitable climates.

I amsterdam Magazine • 1st March 2025

Welcome to the Elm Tree Capital of the World

Amsterdam has more elm trees than any other city. And every spring, something magical happens.

VICE • 15th September 2023

Sex Parties Actually Bring Me Closer to My Partner

Sophie takes a deep breath before heading down the concrete steps into what looks like an underground cellar, its dark entrance concealing the feverish passions within. (Her name, and all names in this story, have been changed to protect privacy.) She takes a step forward and relaxes. She knows this passage well. What might seem like an unassuming hole-in-the-wall to many is a gateway into a world of fantasy – a party where (almost) anything goes. She grabs her partner’s hand and walks ahead.

Iamsterdam Magazine • 1st March 2025

Derek Mitchell - letsDoubleDutch - Interview

Adored for his keenly observed sketches of Dutch culture, he's won over Amsterdam locals and internationals alike. Now he's got his sights set on everyone else.

Catawiki • 2nd October 2024

Beetlejuice 2 proves gothic style is here to stay

Tim Burton’s 2024 sequel captures the original’s daring fashion while also nodding to how younger generations are embracing darker, more dramatic styles.

XCity. • 31st March 2023

Searching for Clive

Clive Myrie, BBC's chief foreign correspondent, is everywhere. Do we know him any better for it?

I amsterdam Magazine • 1st March 2024

Envy Peru Profile

Drag Race Holland Winner and international star Envy Peru has made it. She always knew she would.

XCity. • 10th July 2023

The Lonely Mediterranean

Every year, the world descends on Greece, a country known for its warmth and hospitality. But for the residents, a crisis of loneliness threatens to tear a culture of family apart. Tom Flanagan investigates the lessons an increasingly lonely Europe can learn from the Mediterranean nation.

Catawiki • 10th July 2023

Remembering the queer authors who changed fiction forever

Children's books are often one of the most important parts of growing up – they inform literacy, emotions and creativity. And so many important children’s and illustrated books were written by queer authors, who have always existed in the space, even if the public never realised it. While many of these writers chose not to make their identity the central tenet of their output, their lived experiences informed so much of the writing they published.

The Daily Life Magazine • 30th May 2023

Every day, bread

I roll out of bed. Bleary-eyed and subdued, I stumble towards the kettle. Tea or coffee – depending on how heavily caffeinated I need to be – is the first point of call. Bitterness in cups, sweetness in relief, intoxicating in the ritual. Then, once the brew has made its way to my stomach, food calls, as much driven by a pang of hunger as a cry for relief from the caffeine.

Tom Flanagan • 19th December 2022

Why is Amsterdam telling tourists to 'Stay Away'?

Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. But much of that has been driven by tourists looking to indulge in the Dutch capital’s red light district and coffee shop culture. Consequently, the city claims it's attracting the “wrong” type of tourists. So in 2023, it’s launching the ‘Stay Away’ campaign to change this. But what is it?

Song: Swept by Kiasmos

Catawiki • 6th July 2022

How the Orient Express became the world’s most famous train

Few trains are as well-known as the Orient Express. A snaking train ride that took passengers on a journey across continental Europe from Paris to Istanbul, the Orient Express was a symbol of old-world glamour and escapism; attracting illustrious figures from all corners of the world and inspiring numerous works of literature. Yet its lavish reputation also drew in a wealth of intrigue, scandal, and even criminality in its lifespan.

The Daily Life Magazine • 7th November 2022

Such is the Power of Sides

10 pm in Madrid. It’s a searing hot July day even at this time, when constellations of crowds disperse into smaller clusters, trickling into restaurants for food and respite. From inside this Galician restaurant, the noise swells from a gentle clicking of cutlery to an ambient buzz. Royal blue-studded ceramic plates play off against the teak wood of the table and chairs, and exposed bulb pendants bask the brick walls in a spectral glow.

Catawiki • 27th September 2022

Space scandal: The letters that were never meant to reach the moon

Back in July 1971, the astronauts of Apollo 15 carried approximately 400 unauthorised postal covers – envelopes with stamps and addresses on them – into space in a bid to make profit and support their families at home, with what would be coveted collector’s items. What followed was years of public fallout; with NASA, the astronauts, the US government and a mysterious German seller all involved. Expert in Stamps Jean-Eudes Schoppmann recounts one of the more scandalous chapters in stamps history.

Potluck Zine • 25th August 2022

Small Hands

I slipped my hand into the jar—a glass-blown oblong shaped like a pig—to reach for the stacks of biscuits my grandmother had put there. Penguin bars, Wagon Wheels, tiny packets of crisps that fit perfectly into equally tiny lunchboxes, and the most prized find as far as my sister and I were concerned: Flakes.

XCity. • 16th June 2023

XCITY (2023) - by City, University of London's Journalism Department

I worked as Editor-in-chief for City University's annual alumni magazine, overseeing editorial (features and news), art direction, production and social.

Catawiki • 28th June 2022

Pictures of power: queerness in ancient and classical art

In the past century, depictions of homosexuality and queerness were seen as taboo and even censored from art forms, like film. Yet hundreds of years prior, same-sex relationships were prevalent and commonly illustrated in art. Homosexuality was more normalised—if expressions of it at the time would make modern society uneasy—and was depicted as a way of showcasing both power and beauty.

Catawiki • 28th June 2022

The forgotten history of men and high heels

Heels have long been a symbol of status, style and femininity but once upon a time they were synonymous with masculinity too. Dating back to ancient Egypt, walking in raised shoes was at first a practical choice for working men that was quickly adopted by the men and women of upper classes as a sign of nobility and status. Since then, high heels have continued to feature in men's fashion throughout the ages from King Louis XIV to the late David Bowie.

Catawiki • 28th June 2022

Navigating the unspoken: the importance of taboo art

Back in 1934 in Washington D.C, something unusual happened. A painting titled The Fleet’s In! by Paul Cadmus was unceremoniously removed from The Corcoran Gallery of Art. The removal was ordered by the U.S. Navy, when retired Admiral Hugh Rodman saw an exhibition preview and—outraged by the painting’s contents—wrote furiously in an open letter to various papers condemning the artwork and its depiction of navy officers. He described it as “a most disgraceful, sordid, disreputable, drunken brawl”