How to make a hit: what Brahms, Donald Trump and Raymond Loewy knew
In Hit Makers, Derek Thompson reveals the secrets of success in the arts, politics and beyond
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The May Doctrine
Ed Smith: Why you should give up your smartphone
Silicon Valley has us hooked on digital dope. A “dumb phone” is one way to break that addiction.
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I thought my headmaster was a nice man. Then the police raided his home
Our weekly Telling Tales column.
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Unlucky Franz: Ian Thomson on Kafka’s life of unholy tedium
The strange creatures of Kafka’s posthumous collection The Burrow.
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Twilight zone: Fiona Sampson on John Burnside’s double life
John Burnside as a poet and novelist.
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Off the Record: how old books help us deal with new – and frightening – times
The best course of action in these times? Read old books for all the answers.
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Theresa May: quickfire questions on Jane Austen, late nights and Original Sin
In our quickfire round, the Prime Minister explains the appeal of Vivienne Westwood – and who she’d have her last…
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People who accuse others of “virtue signalling“ are trying to stigmatise empathy
The phrase is devious political propaganda.
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The Returning Officer: Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford, a Conservative, was elected as the MP for Hammersmith North in London in 1931, having fought Farnworth,…
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The maid slaves: how wealthy visitors to Britain trap servants in their homes
Each year 17,000 domestic workers accompany wealthy families to the UK – helped by a special visa regime that…
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Milo Yiannopoulos: the chameleon who enthralled the alt right
How a former tech blogger broke America – and became a hero to angry young white men.
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Why thriller writers love to imagine Britain being invaded by Nazis
Len Deighton’s SS-GB and the lure of alternate histories.
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“No, you sit there, I’ll just pace around”: meeting Matthew McConaughey
The Oscar-winning actor on keeping secrets, Donald Trump, and the character traits that turn him on.
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Shipwrecked: looking for God in The Ancient Mariner
Malcolm Guite’s religious portrait of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
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Scenes from a marriage: Ryan Gilbey on Denzel Washington’s Fences
Ryan Gilbey wishes Denzel Washington’s big-screen remake of Fences had a bit more room to breathe.
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First Thoughts: Why old people won’t downsize
… and the folly of the anti-Trump elite.
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Leader: Mrs May is coming for Labour
May’s new conservatism presents a challenge to Labour, whose voters are divided between liberal cities and traditionally working-class areas…
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Metal guru: Simon Winchester on Julian Glover’s Man of Iron
Simon Winchester on Julian Glover’s Man of Iron – a biography of the great engineer Thomas Telford.
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The May Doctrine
The Prime Minister on Brexit, Trump, the return of the state and enticing Labour supporters to vote Tory.
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Commons confidential: The Brexit chill
Furtive whisperings among Tory MPs and late nights for the PM.
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Julie Burchill: female desire from maenads to One Direction fans
Desire makes us feel fully alive, when even love can’t reach those unsafe spaces that make life worth living.
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Down and Out: I feel the weight of the Batchelor in the Cup a Soup
Feeling peaky but virtuous, I decide that I’m not going to drink this evening.
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Why Trump and the right-wing Leninists have Davos Man by the throat
It is easy to guffaw at the idea of a billionaire Bolshevik in the White House, but it seems…
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The Fan: in defence of Arsène Wenger
Those who want Arsène Wenger sacked will regret being so horrid to him.
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Greece’s frozen children: what will happen to young refugees?
The increasing desperation here will turn into a boon for smugglers.
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Goddess of the underworld: Michelle Tea’s Black Wave
Sarah Ditum enjoys Michelle Tea’s latest anarchic autofiction, Black Wave.
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Why Ella’s detox diet isn’t so delicious
Let’s stop going overboard with the fashion for finicky food fetishes.
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When it comes to Brexit, is the City a help or a hindrance?
We should ask what kind of financial sector we really want.
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Seán Hewitt: Evening poem
First the clatter-iron blackbird, its fanatical shuddering in the magnolia: dusk; and the garden is re-assembling, calling its sparrows…
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Seasick off the coast of Oman, I foolishly asked for the radio to be switched off
“But it’s beautiful music, Antonia! Tsk! Tsk!”
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Trump’s troll: why ITV should worry about Piers Morgan
Good Morning Britain has become one of the most mortally embarrassing shows on television. Plus: The Moorside .
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Fake news is a problem for the left, too
Social media has become a battleground of polarised politics, but we can’t be afraid to expose the chinks in our own…
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