Features
The God of war
The rise of religiosity and mysticism among those fighting on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine
AI: is the end nigh?
Evaluating the threat to mankind from artifical intelligence
Hubris of a scientific giant
The disgrace of Didier Raoult, the scientific giant who touted a worthless Covid “cure”
A forgotten British great: Smelfungus
Now languishing in undeserved obscurity, Tobias Smollett should be remembered
Kill or be killed: the charming cut-throats of the wild frontier
Visiting the site of a long-forgotten siege in the Hindu Kush
Breaking taboos with clay
Jo Bartosch interviews ceramicist Claudia Clare, whose uncompromising work has upset the censorious art world
On the passing of the great generation
In memoriam Simon Preston CBE, ob. 13.V.2022 & James Bowman CBE, ob. 27.III.2023
The elegant extremist
Ian McEwan has always tempered his shocking stories with polished prose
Paradise dimmed
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the greatest poem in the English language, yet it seems to be fading slowly from public view. Who could write a new national epic?
Don’t hobble the house
Proposals for constitutional reform will only weaken our parliamentary democracy
Most Read
Why they hated Ann Widdecombe
Fair-minded people could agree or disagree with her opinions. Left-wing bigots hated her for not abandoning them
Amnesty irrational
Gender identity ideologues cannot get away with baseless smears any more
The case against recognising Somaliland
The Somaliland lobby is being dangerously naive about the realities of the region
The vibe shift is a myth
Far from living through an age of cultural rebellion, we are seeing the imposition of cultural conformity
The end of Peel’s police?
She invokes a vanished age of policing, but Shabana Mahmood’s reforms point towards a more continental model of policing
Questionably loyal opposition
A “rainbow coalition” between Conservatives and the Greens raises questions about the state of the Tories
Extending “work of equal value” claims is absurd
Keir Starmer’s parting gift to the economy could be catastrophic
The sad ubiquity of political dishonesty
Is it too much to expect politicians to be straight with us sometimes?
Sex, success and failure
Sarah Ditum talks with songwriter Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy
Critical briefing: EU-Taliban talks
As European governments harden their approach to migration, Brussels has taken the extraordinary step of negotiating directly with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers
Hector Savage
How to account for this sudden access of celebrity?
Like a homecoming
A haunted house
What makes an American?
What characterises a US citizen in the 21st century, beyond abiding by the country’s laws and supporting its constitution?
An unpleasant man, and a genius
The most interesting people are not necessarily the most attractive
Populism in its purest form
Nigel Farage is rallying his voters to defend his right not to be asked inconvenient questions about his money
The principles of peers
Supporters of assisted suicide are being sore losers