Notes on a crisis
As the UK passes 100,000 recorded Covid-19 deaths, we reflect on a moment of national mourning.
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The Lost
Notes on a crisis: Why we have not yet found a way to mourn loss on this scale
Perhaps the only thing worse than submerging yourself too deeply in other people’s sorrow is to not feel it…
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The Bad Statesmen
How the UK government’s failure to learn the lessons of history pushed the country deeper into crisis.
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Remembering The World of Yesterday
Why a book on the twilight of the Habsburg empire is being read again in a time of pandemic,…
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How Yevgeny Zamyatin shaped dystopian fiction
While Wells, Huxley and Orwell invented flawed worlds, the Soviet writer was living in one.
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How Francis Bacon shunned the traditions of British art
A new book, Francis Bacon: Revelations, shows the painter as he tried to recapture the intensity of wartime when…
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The NS Poem: Childhood
A poem by Iain Britton.
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NS Recommends: New books from Richard Flanagan, Brian Christian and Vesna Main
The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Flanagan, The Alignment Problem by Christian, The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the…
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Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts is an exercise in snark
The debut novel of a celebrated millennial critic is scornful, cold and – even worse – boring.
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Why Carole King’s Tapestry still speaks to us
In 2021, this extraordinary album still warms a room much the same way it did 50 years earlier.
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The pared-back landscapes of Anna-Eva Bergman
In her quest to reveal the divine in nature, the Norwegian painter stripped back the landscape to its essential…
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Life Skills by Rookie is a sensitive self-help podcast
This eight-episode series is aimed specifically at former readers of Rookie magazine and hosted by a variety of former…
By
Channel 4’s Back knows the provincial pub is Britain in microcosm
This comedy series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb also has deep feeling for its boozer’s denizens.
By
Quo Vadis, Aida? is a powerful drama about the Srebrenica genocide
High on the list of achievements of this Bosnian film must be its success in dramatising the hours leading…
By
Why a group of champion cricketers from poor families are emblems of the new Indian future
The success of players such as Ajinkya Rahane and Thangarasu Natarajan, shows the transformative power of the IPL.
By
The new EU-China trade deal is driven by a commercial realpolitik – and the world knows it
Abuses in Xinjiang have been overshadowed by lucrative side-deals and strategic rhetoric from France and Germany.
By
The pandemic has disrupted the “Ponzi scheme” of liberal feminism – and poorer women are the losers
Outsourcing domestic labour has helped women progress in the workforce, but Covid demands a more honest analysis of who does what…
By
Soumya Bhattacharya’s Diary: An emotional homecoming and one of India’s greatest Test wins
After 12 months of time differences and video calls, I finally set eyes on my daughter as she emerges from Dehli…
By
How supporting a Scottish referendum may be the only way Labour avoids being wiped out
If Keir Starmer backs a second vote in due course, nationalist voters might swing away from the SNP and back to…
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Matt Hancock understands, unlike the PM, that in a health crisis, there’s no “best of both worlds”
The Prime Minister’s approach has led to many more deaths than might otherwise have occurred and to unnecessary economic…
By
Editor’s note: Our national mourning and the future of newspapers
A death toll of 100,000 is a moment of mourning and of national shame. But amid all the uncertainty a consensus is…
ByEmail [email protected] if you would like to be the New Statesman‘s Subscriber of the Week.
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This England: Back-up bird
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s Richard II refers to the whole of Britain –…
By
Gardening brings a momentum that is otherwise absent from my life right now
One of the great consolations is gardening’s predictability. Plants want to grow, and so long as you give them…
By
Now that Christoph has blown through, perhaps it’s time to spice up the names we give our storms
Funny name for the Met Office to choose, no? It seems a bit… European. I’d have thought Brexit would…
By
How to grow early variety potatoes that will provide a crop until Christmas
Now is the time to be buying your seed potatoes – allow me to recommend a few.
By
Letter of the week: Up to old tricks
A selection of the best letters received from our readers this week. Email [email protected] to have your thoughts voiced…
By
Leader: An avoidable catastrophe
The UK’s tragic Covid-19 death toll of 100,000 reflects disastrous political failures.
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First Thoughts: Following the science, Covid deniers, and the launch of GB News
It’s wrong to present science as a single entity of uncontested knowledge, when sharp disagreements are normal.
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Marc Stears: “Ed Miliband’s political agenda is now globally accepted”
The former Labour Party speechwriter reflects on why “everyday life” needs to define politics.
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Commons Confidential: The cabinet’s Veruca Salt
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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It’s not just you: Why the current lockdown is having an extreme effect on mental health
Britons are reportedly struggling more than at any other point in the pandemic. Why now? And what can be…
By
Notes on a crisis: With Covid and the climate crisis, we are failing the next generation
We are backing away from the job of resourcing young people to respond with intelligence, imagination and honesty.
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Notes on a crisis: One lockdown was an interruption. A year on, it feels like a transformation
I hate to think what it’s like to be young, to have a talent and a purpose, and not…
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Notes on a crisis: As the numbers rise, how do we counteract the risk of numbness and apathy?
Paradoxically, amid so much suffering and hurt, grief has become less visible than ever.
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Notes on a crisis: Why we must not allow death on this scale to be neutralised or normalised
As the death toll has risen inexorably, I have become increasingly disturbed by the caveats – age, and “underlying health conditions”…
By First Thoughts: Following the science, Covid deniers, and the launch of GB News
It’s wrong to present science as a single entity of uncontested knowledge, when sharp disagreements are normal.
By Marc Stears: “Ed Miliband’s political agenda is now globally accepted”
The former Labour Party speechwriter reflects on why “everyday life” needs to define politics.
By The NS Poem: Childhood
A poem by Iain Britton.
By Commons Confidential: The cabinet’s Veruca Salt
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
By Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts is an exercise in snark
The debut novel of a celebrated millennial critic is scornful, cold and – even worse – boring.
By Why a group of champion cricketers from poor families are emblems of the new Indian future
The success of players such as Ajinkya Rahane and Thangarasu Natarajan, shows the transformative power of the IPL.
By The new EU-China trade deal is driven by a commercial realpolitik – and the world knows it
Abuses in Xinjiang have been overshadowed by lucrative side-deals and strategic rhetoric from France and Germany.
By The pandemic has disrupted the “Ponzi scheme” of liberal feminism – and poorer women are the losers
Outsourcing domestic labour has helped women progress in the workforce, but Covid demands a more honest analysis of who does what…
By NS Recommends: New books from Richard Flanagan, Brian Christian and Vesna Main
The Living Sea of Waking Dreams by Flanagan, The Alignment Problem by Christian, The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the…
By How supporting a Scottish referendum may be the only way Labour avoids being wiped out
If Keir Starmer backs a second vote in due course, nationalist voters might swing away from the SNP and back to…
By Soumya Bhattacharya’s Diary: An emotional homecoming and one of India’s greatest Test wins
After 12 months of time differences and video calls, I finally set eyes on my daughter as she emerges from Dehli…
By Quo Vadis, Aida? is a powerful drama about the Srebrenica genocide
High on the list of achievements of this Bosnian film must be its success in dramatising the hours leading…
By Matt Hancock understands, unlike the PM, that in a health crisis, there’s no “best of both worlds”
The Prime Minister’s approach has led to many more deaths than might otherwise have occurred and to unnecessary economic…
By Channel 4’s Back knows the provincial pub is Britain in microcosm
This comedy series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb also has deep feeling for its boozer’s denizens.
By Editor’s note: Our national mourning and the future of newspapers
A death toll of 100,000 is a moment of mourning and of national shame. But amid all the uncertainty a consensus is…
By Life Skills by Rookie is a sensitive self-help podcast
This eight-episode series is aimed specifically at former readers of Rookie magazine and hosted by a variety of former…
By How to grow early variety potatoes that will provide a crop until Christmas
Now is the time to be buying your seed potatoes – allow me to recommend a few.
By Now that Christoph has blown through, perhaps it’s time to spice up the names we give our storms
Funny name for the Met Office to choose, no? It seems a bit… European. I’d have thought Brexit would…
By Gardening brings a momentum that is otherwise absent from my life right now
One of the great consolations is gardening’s predictability. Plants want to grow, and so long as you give them…
By This England: Back-up bird
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s Richard II refers to the whole of Britain –…
By Letter of the week: Up to old tricks
A selection of the best letters received from our readers this week. Email [email protected] to have your thoughts voiced…
ByEmail [email protected] if you would like to be the New Statesman‘s Subscriber of the Week.
By Leader: An avoidable catastrophe
The UK’s tragic Covid-19 death toll of 100,000 reflects disastrous political failures.
By It’s not just you: Why the current lockdown is having an extreme effect on mental health
Britons are reportedly struggling more than at any other point in the pandemic. Why now? And what can be…
By