Issue: April 2023
When nationalism was woke
After the events of 1848, Europe was never the same again
Casting light in dark corners
No other historian can provide a better introduction to a big subject
Multiple moans from the get-go
The americanisation of the BBC
Traffic hazards
Driving in the uncanncy valley, Dartmoor’s cagoule warriors and the wizarding weirdness of the Rowling fandom
Moray berth
A northern light shows the way
A levelling down agenda
An attempt to boost school diversity has lowered standards
The quietest guest of all
The clavichord makes up for a lack of grandeur with extraordinary expressiveness
Pyramids for piggies and Gothic privies
Mixed in with the whimsical, the eccentric and the downright weird, there are masterpieces
The poor relation of the art world
All over Europe traditional figurative art, particularly from the nineteenth century, is being shunted to the corners of museums — and eventually removed from view
Don’t chuck money at foreign companies
It is wrong to hand public money to overseas firms to expand their UK operations
Most Read
American strategy in Iran is wiser than it seems
President Trump’s intervention will leave the world safer than it was
Saint Nicola
Nicola Sturgeon wants sympathy for her husband’s crimes—but after years spent avoiding awkward questions, her latest reinvention may be the hardest sell yet.
The lonely death of Henry Nowak
We must draw lessons from a horrendous and disgraceful case
Rewatching the English
English identity has become too surreal and discomfiting to define
A failed war on fags
The black market has taken over the tobacco trade Down Under
The false filibuster framing
There was nothing undemocratic about resistance to the Assisted Dying Bill
How to reverse Britain’s nuclear decline
Regulatory reform alone is not enough — we need better governance
How the “Burnham bind” will rewrite British politics
If Andy Burnham wins in Makerfield, Labour has a bigger opportunity than people think
The right-wing case for social media
X and other platforms can be vital sources of unfashionable information and dissenting opinions
Averting irrational egalitarianism
How to stop ideological anti-racism damaging our institutions and our country
When imitation is more then just flattery
An informative and entertaining history of plagiarism in its many forms
It’s what you Makerfield of it
Andy Burnham may yet stop Reform, but victory would raise almost as many questions for Labour as defeat.
Anti-gambling campaigners need a reality check
Affordability checks on punters are counter-productive
Britain in 1776
What does it mean to be living through history?
Why we should explore space
Space exploration lifts the human spirit: rather than asking “Why?”, we should ask “Why not?”
Britain needs a moral core
The UK’s greatest vulnerability isn’t its weakened military but its lack of spiritual depth