Issue: April 2026
Metamorphoses at the Rijksmuseum
Metamorphoses at the
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Truth and consequences for ministers
Former Ministers should be hauled back before MPs to justify their poor decisions
The Symphony’s Indian summer
Imagine hearing a symphony for the first time
Farewell to an intellectual giant
Patrick Nash pays tribute to the late
David Abulafia, fastidious champion of
Oxbridge’s academic standards
Peston’s Inbox
Kemi doesn’t give her kids Easter eggs
On a wind and a prayer
Beggaring ourselves will not cool the rest of the planet’s weather
Fence-sitting in a time of peril
Daniel Johnson condemns the Prime
Minister’s impotent handwringing when
America called for help in the Iran war
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
It is time to cut pensions
The economic burden on younger people is unsustainable
Saved from the flames
We should feel fortunate indeed to have the Aeneid
Embers to tend
The brilliance of Sappho has been obscured by rumour and neglect
The trains have to run
Populists have had success in persuading people that they can govern — but can they actually govern?
Fond portrait of an odd couple
Two irascible, elderly artists and two beautiful younger women in unusual relationships
Reform’s reality gap
Behind the rhetoric of mass deportations, Reform UK’s numbers and logistics don’t yet add up
What makes an American?
What characterises a US citizen in the 21st century, beyond abiding by the country’s laws and supporting its constitution?
How procedure is enabling petty criminals
We should support workers who confront criminals
The futility of right-wing cancel culture
Trying to get left-wing comedians fired for edgy jokes is stupid as well as wrong
Drill, baby, drill
We need Cornish lithium and tin just as much as North Sea oil — whatever the nimbys say
The promises of politicians
We are surrounded by lies, euphemisms and deceit