Issue: December/January 2022
Awful states
Two political thrillers reveal the intimate cruelties of life under dictatorship
The myth of infallibility
Dispiriting as it may be, great authors are capable of writing bad books
An Enlightenment king vindicated
Andrew Roberts dispels the myths and sticks to the facts about George III
Remotely wishing you a Merry Christmas
Woefully out of touch and with falling congregations, the Church of England faces a crisis of leadership and theology
Thinly-veiled but enjoyable nonsense
Donald Trump should write a novel to at least give him the chance to deliver a bit of payback for this release by Hillary Clinton
Dilyn the Dog plays charades
Bozzo is getting to know his MPs
December/January: Letters to the Editor
There needs to be a more balanced assessment of the Israel-Palestine conflict
Sparks, glitterballs and masterworks
The greatest works of fiction published this year
Otherworldly talents
Long live the golden age of British television, when great actors imbued classic roles with risky, multifaceted complexity
I’m a Classic FM convert
Ignore the snobs, trip the light (music) fantastic and bask in the shameless joy of Classic FM
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 last true Kapellmeister
Chaotic in all things except music, where he demanded precision and gave his all
The Mexican baby business
In UK courts, parental orders for children born overseas outnumber those born to surrogates here
Is this the end of art?
Cultural renewal cannot simply chase demand
Beauty from the ruins of war
Painting gave artists and their viewers a temporary way out of the grim wartime reality
Green eggs and flam
A fine way to make herbes omelette
IPSO has to go
A regulator built to uphold standards has become a partisan censor — the right must walk away before it is too late
The dead-end art of conspiracy
Should art dissect conspiracy theories or immerse itself in them?
Pricing out the young
Britain’s labour market is faltering, and subsidies cannot mask the policies pricing young workers out.
This apology for a political comedy
Amusing as a war crimes trial, and seems to last twice as long
It is time to cut pensions
The economic burden on younger people is unsustainable
Chopping The Onion
It is neither brave nor clever to portray dissenting women as insane