Issue: December/January 2022
Thinking on inking
An intellectual tries — and fails — to find deep philosophical justifications for the modern wave of tattooing
Personal growth
Green fingers are not always innate, they can be acquired
When London really was built back better
This is an eloquent book that describes the architecture, culture, topography, and social life of a vibrant city
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
The chance introduction that led to some extraordinary evenings with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Frankie Ho: Controversialist
Frankie Ho runs into trouble in the literary world
Playing the game
The grey areas of the law: trying to lead a life on the right side of The Poaching Act
Scenting success
The wondrous whiff of sex, spice and civet
My interiors life: weaned on the small screen
My formative years and future
tastes in all things were formed by
1950s and 1960s television,
A glorious flowering of difficult ideas
Two newly translated books evoke chapters of the divided and discarded history of Germany’s capital
Strange brew
The joy of letting unexpected, accidental music in
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
Day of judgement
The judges were determined to maintain the honour of France; it almost worked
The BBC needs competition
The scandal-ridden Beeb is doomed if it is not held to higher standards
Zelda Zingari
Arty types: the fashionable poet
The dog that failed to bark
Jeremy Corbyn hoped the local
elections would be a launch pad for
his new party. Instead, Your Party
has mostly been arguing with itself
Jonathan Ross’s existentialist hell
Jonathan Ross’s “crass” new TV show is surprisingly Sartrean
Homage to Zaporizhia and Sumy
Horror continues in Ukraine — but the tide could be turning
The paté of the Land
Chinese water deer, partridges and paté
Borne back into the past … of Bolton
Oh no, not another cliche!
“Treatment” does not make child predators safe
People who abuse children must be kept away from children
Carl Schmitt in Miami
Can Marco Rubio establish a new American system in Latin America?
Keep the state out of sex
Bureaucracy should not be allowed into the bedroom