We should thank religious nuts for most of the liberal rights we take for granted

Dominic Hilton spots a sniper on a balcony, has embarrassing encounters in lifts and thinks gender-neutral language would make learning Spanish a lot easier

The pride flag has ended up symbolising nothing at all

What masterpieces hide on tired and musty shelves?

Knife crime is predominantly black on black, so don’t hold the police back

This is not the first time Hatun has been assaulted at Speakers’ Corner

Brexit has been blamed for the decline of the British press, but the mainstream media was broken long before we left the European Union

The folly of public schools’ race to embrace the religion of wokeness

There’s no wonder that books are becoming more conformist when freedom of expression is being curtailed

The new Great British Railways should abolish the garish sweet shop designs of today’s trains and look to the glorious liveries of the past

The origins of a soviet leader revered as a visionary reformer in the west, but reviled as a weak American puppet in his native land

David Cameron kept a copy of Evelyn Waugh’s peerless satire on his desk, but Boris Johnson’s eventful career is entirely in the Scoop mould

The line between dishonesty and stupidity can be difficult to spot

Football may be the new religion, but it faces the same challenges as the old

The Olympics have a weird and wonderful history

If we don’t return to normal now, when can we?

You better believe the earth is flat

Is Europe losing its interesting edges as temperatures climb year by year?

Lucy Kellaway’s memoir is a must-read for anyone considering the profession

Round-up: what do these books tell us about literary culture in 2021?

It’s BBC actors and comedy stars who’ve made the corporation great over the years — not two-a-penny journalists

Robert Thicknesse on the woes of modern, British opera

In today’s pop world trauma is an asset

Out with the old, in with the new: Michael Prodger on art collection trends

The key to successful selling is to cultivate collectors

Patrick Galbraith hears a rare bird but fails with the rod

Enjoying the silky and lean Italian Fassona beef in Turin and Kensington

Garden flowers are for posies