“calm rhythm” – a poem by Myroslav Laiuk
“a soldier of an unknown army / fell here / to the bottom of the fog”
By
May’s new Tories
Pity the Premier League – so much money can get you into all sorts of bother
You’ve got to feel sorry for our top teams. It’s hard work, maintaining their brand.
By
Yanis Varoufakis: The left never recovered from the fall of the Soviet Union — yet there is hope
A radical internationalism is needed to democratise the EU and breathe new life into the left.
By
As it turns out, the Bake Off and the Labour party have a lot in common
And I’m not just talking about the fact they’ve both been left with a old, wrinkly narcissist.
By
Welcome to Stalin World – the theme park made of old Soviet statues
Grutas Park, in Lithuania, is one of the world’s strangest tourist attractions. But it also forces us to ask:…
By
What melting sea ice means for the future of the Earth
A Farewell to Ice reveals the sad truth: one day Arctic ice, our planet’s air con, will be gone.
By
Could virtual reality solve the problem of pop-star stage fright?
The Björk Digital “exhibition” turns out to be more mundane, but at least she doesn’t need a large brandy to…
By
Theresa May and the resurgence of the state
More than any of her recent predecessors, the Prime Minister seems willing to challenge the economic and political orthodoxies…
By
Ken Clarke: Theresa May has “no idea” what to do about Brexit
According to the former Chancellor, “nobody in the government has the first idea of what they’re going to do next”.
By
The Italian bank job: modern sins at ancient Monte dei Paschi
It was the only bank this summer to fail a European stress test, requiring emergency recapitalisation. What next for…
By
At Labour conference, activists and politicians can’t avoid each other – but try their best to “unsee“
My week, from havoc in the Labour family to a sublime act of real-life trolling – via a shopping centre.
By
Sound and vision: what radio looks like in person
“The public need to see what they’re paying for,” says Huw Robinson during Radio 3’s instillation at the Southbank Centre.
By
Season of mists . . . and foraging with Ivor
Autumn is here, and I’m heading out with Ivor Cutler, forager, poet, songwriter and sage.
By
The Fall is back – and once again making me weary
Five more episodes to go, after which its “feminist” writer (his word, not mine), Allan Cubitt, should pull the plug on…
By
After Strictly, I’d love to see Ed Balls start a new political party
My week, from babbling at Michael Gove to chatting Botox with Ed Balls and a trip to Stroke City.
By
Reading Speaking Out, I found myself agreeing with Ed Balls
Balls is clear that his defeat in his constituency in 2015 was a prelude to a funeral and life…
By
Will playing a farting corpse allow Daniel Radcliffe to finally shake off his Hogwarts associations?
Radcliffe is dead good in Swiss Army Man – meaning he is both good, and dead. Plus: Deepwater Horizon.
By
I fell in love with Switzerland – what a shame I’m now back in London
Old folks dancing, a toy monkey and thirty Swiss francs a day. I never want to come home again.
By
Alone in Berlin fans will be satisfied with a newly translated Hans Fallada
Rawer and more unevenly wrought than Alone in Berlin, Nightmare is the necessary precursor to that great work.
By
With his new book, John le Carré is finally revealing his secrets
The Pigeon Tunnel turns to the two, ambigious relationships that fuel le Carré’s work: that with his family, and with…
By
“I’m a poser. I’m good“: why Bruce Springsteen is a man born to tell stories
Springsteen’s memoir, Born to Run, is the most accomplished of the recent cavalcade of rock autobiographies.
By
How global warming has frozen fiction
Amitav Ghosh’s The Great Derangement poses two, thought-provoking questions about how we write about climate change.
By
Why the author of “nudge theory“ is worried his theory has become too popular
On why Trump is the back-row kid, Tracey Emin’s granny slippers, and why policy “nudges” can’t be shoves.
By
Theresa May’s big thinker – an interview with George Freeman
The Conservative policy board chair on the meaning of Brexit, state intervention and whether “Mayism” exists.
By
Is reading idle? In my family, it was certainly suspect
My brothers were both warriors in Lycra, while what I did had no value whatsoever – and still doesn’t.
By
The Cameroons resent May – but her conservative convictions are more deeply held than theirs
It is easy to understand Cameron’s frustrations with May. But her convictions have been tested over a long period…
By
Craig Oliver, Cameron’s attack dog, finally bites
A new book reveals the spiteful after life of Downing Street’s unlikely spin doctor.
By
Why I found it hard to muster any feeling whatsoever about J M Coetzee’s new book
I confess to being baffled by Coetzee’s novel The Schooldays of Jesus.
By
Commons Confidential: Smith, selfies and pushy sons
All the best gossip from party conference, including why Dennis Skinner is now the MP for Selfie Central.
By
“I have the temperament of a harlot“: on the life of Steven Runciman
Minoo Dinshaw’s Outlandish Knight revels in the life of an untypical historian.
By
Why so many great lyrics come from the post-punk era
The lead singer of The Divine Comedy on the genius of Pulp, Squeeze, and the Human League.
By
Douglas Alexander: How the Lib Dems did coalition wrong
How different the fate of the Lib Dems could have been if they had begun the coalition with more…
By