Issue: October 2024
When the music stopped
A reflection on the inexorable decline of arts education and the rise of knee-jerk politics and managerialism
A captivating northern star
If Lise Davidsen sneezes, the opera world shuts down
Some picture-perfect restorations
What we were seeing looked as good as it would have at its premiere
Don’t bet on green energy
Groupthink has blinded us into backing solar and wind. Will a big short make us see sense?
The right-on, left-wing oppressors
A flaw in the design of academic studies makes the Left appear less authoritarian than the Right
Post-truth medicine
Gender clinics offer a charade that relies on the symbols of evidence-based medicine
Tom Stoppard’s Hampstead drama
Best not try to memorise this deceptive Connect Four of relationships — just get into the flow
We need more have-yachts
The tragedy of the Bayesian highlights a wider issue about our lack of ambition
Public sector pay
Bumper pay rises for doctors and teachers are bound to result in higher inflation
A real plan for growth
A series of simple economic blunders has led to self-defeating policies that strangle any chance of prosperity for all
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
This apology for a political comedy
Amusing as a war crimes trial, and seems to last twice as long
Legal curiosities
The pursuit of justice in small or atypical jurisdictions has sometimes led to some unusual legal quandaries
Murders for May
From the spa resort of Buddington to the streets of Tokyo
The Muslim modernisers
Muslim reformers do not innovate; they renew by seeking to mend what is broken
Going for Broke
It’s that time of year to publicly humiliate oneself with Cheltenham tips
What is anger for?
If young women are going to be radical, they need to make it worth it
A memo crying in the wilderness
Why does the Church of England now sound like an HR department?
Exile and exaltation
Bohuslav Martinu: The Symphonies (Deutsche Grammophon)
The forlorn hope of growth
Voters are struggling economically but wrongly believe the country to be rich
One year later
Despite the Supreme Court ruling, the gender argument is not going anywhere
Trump: the imprudent king
The President has so far achieved the opposite of what he promised