On Television
Back to the wall
Despite the fact East Germany has disappeared, it continues to live on in this outstanding trilogy
Finn noir
A Bergmanesque miasma of gloom hangs over every episode in this new Scandinavian thriller
A treasure trove of memories
T.V. show, The Repair Shop, is just what we need in these dark and fractured times, says Adam LeBor
Memories of a massacre
Rinder’s documentary is the kind of television at which the BBC excels, says Adam Lebor
The universal appeal of self-pity
Zeinab Badawi’s ‘The History of Africa’ (BBC World News)
Learning to love Big Brother
A contemporary political drama uses the double whammy of Covid and Brexit to reanimate older, primeval forces
Reviving the inner anarchist
A new series shows Britain sliding into authoritarianism. Sound familiar?
Lost dream of coexistence
Adam LeBor delves into The Bureau, the utterly absorbing French spy thriller series
A trauma that never ends
Adam LeBor commends the BBC’s latest documentary on the Iraq war
Rave that runs out of puff
Summertime and the streaming is easy, but Netflix’s White Lines leaves Adam LeBor cold
How to end the free speech crisis
The right must plan to demolish the four pillars of Britain’s stifling anti-speech laws
Are Jewish students really afraid of the Freedom of Speech Act?
Some of have raised concerns, yes, but generalisations are wrong and unhelpful
Who are the Scottish Conservatives?
The election of Russell Findlay to lead the Scottish Conservatives reveals a party that doesn’t know what it stands for
Oasis: the good boys of rock and roll
For guitar bands since punk, there’s been a tension between credibility and success
Is public religion the new heresy?
It makes no sense to argue that faith should not inform ethical decisions
Smacking harms children
Smacking didn’t harm you? Maybe this debate isn’t for you
Don’t trust the Runnymede Trust
The law is too indulgent of political charities
Why can’t there be more vampires?
Bloodsucking, in various more or less metaphorical guises, is after all opera’s happiest place
The new equality bar
Is the Bar Standards Council really fit to enforce a proposed raft of new equality rules?
The case for Badenoch
She has a chance to capitalise on Starmer’s weakness
Into the setting sun…
Next summer, head west to Pembrokeshire
