A new history of childhood reading is a treasure

Demands for the channel to be silenced amount to snobbery and opportunism

The controversial author’s work is filled not just with anger but with autumnal regret

In praise of Douglas Adams, a comedy legend

Cancel culture is often midges biting giants

How politics kills humour

A backstage look at stand-up comedy

Against the sterility of safetyism

It is an art in itself

His pessimism about Britain proved untrue — and its own kind of comforting fantasy