Shadow
A new poem by Terry Jones.
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The revolution that fuelled radical Islam
Alan Trotter’s Muscle turns the noir crime novel on its head
Trotter’s darkly comic writing comes so hard-boiled you need a knuckleduster to crack it.
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How an online knitting forum taught me how suffering can be exploited on the internet
The bigger the trauma, the greater the harvest of “vibes”: cancer was a banker, a job loss would do OK, your cat…
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From Bismarck to Hitler, how German rulers rewrote history
Christopher Clark’s new book explores how Germany’s leaders learnt to bend the past to suit the present. Today’s politics…
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How Chinese novelists are reimagining science fiction
The dystopias of Chinese science fiction are resonating in a world facing existential threats.
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Why we should fear populists like Orbán and Erdogan who want women to be baby machines
“Hungarian people think differently. We do not need numbers. We need Hungarian children.”
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Michael Burleigh’s Diary: Rees-Mogg at the Palladium, China’s exiled novelists – and why I’ll never vote Tory again
Weep as British politics drifts into light entertainment, and that John Osborne is no longer alive to scorn this.
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Kát’a Kabanova at the Royal Opera House reminds us of what it is to be human
This production reminds one that opera can be the supremely expressive performing art.
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Who will be the next controller of BBC Radio 4?
Whoever it they must know what “quality programming” really means.
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Greta Thunberg: the teenage climate warrior leading a new global movement
The Swedish 16-year-old has inspired a wave of school walkouts in protest at inaction over the climate crisis.
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“There’s a fuck of a lot of people here!”: Tears for Fears at the O2 arena
“This is the biggest venue we’ve ever played in the UK!”
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David Bowie remembered by the women who loved him
A new Bowie documentary brings a new perspective to his life. Plus: The Great British Sewing Bee.
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Netflix’s Russian Doll is funny, moving, and sometimes existentially terrifying
It could be described as a kind of video game, or choose-your-own-adventure story, or puzzling, claustrophobic escape room.
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Rosamund Pike gives a force-of-nature performance in A Private War
Pike’s tenacity, swagger and depth are astonishing.
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Whatever the Brexit outcome, the UK desperately needs a green new deal
Co-ordinated state action is necessary to address climate change without harming the economy or inflicting the costs on the…
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There’s no place for nationalistic superiority in wine. It leads to a monochromatic palate
Prejudice never made a better person – nor, when it comes to wine, a better-watered one
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One man writes the music for Brexit – feat. deep fried trumpet and the sound of Chequers
“Halfway through, my record was a complete mess because the government was a complete mess.”
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Commons Confidential: The Labour plotters’ table
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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Refused a whisky on the train, I was shown the brutal unfairness of disaster capitalism
“I can’t sell you any whisky.” “But I’ve just seen a trolley full of the stuff.” “That,” she says, “is for…
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Samuel’s grief seemed to be almost pathological. Then, my colleague recognised “Cat Man”
He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t talk about anything else. He was repelling everyone around him.
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The two faces of the gilets jaunes
There is a growing gulf between the grass-roots gilets, the militant mob involved in violent destruction, and the political wing seeking to…
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Gambling has always been a part of sport – but today, football seems a mere branch of the betting industry
Almost one in five adverts during last year’s World Cup were for betting firms. Nearly 60 per cent of…
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Jo Swinson Q&A: “We seem to have lost the art of disagreeing well“
The Lib Dem MP talks Paddy Ashdown, Game of Thrones, and Charles Handy’s The Second Curve.
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Why, for Corbyn or May, breaking the Brexit deadlock would also mean splitting their parties
If Labour lets the Prime Minister’s deal through, it would provide the perfect pretext for “the Six” to set…
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Leader: The burning world
Should governments continue to prevaricate over the climate crisis, future generations will not forgive them.
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First Thoughts: Chris Grayling’s only victory, Corbyn’s hinterland and how to run a People’s Vote
In the 17th century, eggs were commonly roasted on spits, but they were apt to explode, creating the most fearful mess – as Grayling…
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