Issue: May 2023
The preserve of the forelock-tuggers
Modern Buildings in Britain offers an encyclopaedia of potential future losses
This one’s a keeper
The long-lived stars of the Hunter Valley
Venice’s forgotten herald of joy
Carpaccio: Paintings and Drawings, Palazzo Ducale, Venice
Heirs to Byzantium
Unlike Putin, the British have never really understood the central importance of Constantinople to European history
Witless in Oaxaca
Good food, but terrible tinny wine and robotic service at a modish Mexican destination
Don’t believe the hype
The use of author testimonials to sell books is a performative exercise in gilding the lily
The apple of my ear
Limitless choice and a rattle of regret
Part of the Union?
The SNP’s flair for self-harm is the last bulwark against Scottish independence
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
Good enough for politics
We should be more willing to declare some political problems solved
Countryside counter-attack
A ban on trail hunting reveals a government more interested in cultural punishment than rural survival
All the single ladies
Instead of trying to persuade reluctant women into motherhood, policymakers should focus on helping enthusiastic parents have larger families
Reclaiming the rule of law
The rule of law was meant to protect liberty — not to be weaponised against democracy
Slim down the university system to save it
It has become too bloated and too expensive
The great betrayal
MAGA will always be Trump’s, but how much is an ever-shrinking coalition actually worth?
I don’t trust the British state
British institutions simply are not functioning in the interests of the people they are meant to serve
The dead-end art of conspiracy
Should art dissect conspiracy theories or immerse itself in them?
Free speech is about principle, not political convenience
One might disagree with pro-Palestine radicals but that does not mean that they should be censored
Welcome to the low-trust economy
The multi-billion pound cost of Britain’s shoplifting surge
Dignified design for the people
A book that asks all the right questions but hasn’t thought through all the answers