Arts
Very Amis, very Hampstead
Joseph Connolly treasures his friendship with his literary hero
Tom Stoppard: A private man now on parade
This biography is a testament to detailed analysis and intelligent insight, says Alexander Larman
Met with disappointment: a quiet season for postmodern New York
Manhattan’s cultural landscape faces more tough times ahead with the cancellation of the Met’s 2020/2021 season
The silence of the arts
Why have the arts not strained at the bonds laid upon them in the way earthier pursuits and pleasures have?
Waiting for – anything
Krapp’s last tape might these days be a collection of WhatsApps and stored Instagram images, muses Anne McElvoy
Is artistic nepotism an evil – or a necessity?
Nepotism in the arts is very much alive and here to stay
Commoner with the divine touch
Raphael, as dedicated a lover as he was a painter, died at 37 at the height of his powers and fame, illustrates Michael Prodger
A grim chorus of philistines
Rishi’s £1.57 Billion handout to the arts sector is the last good news it’ll ever hear, says Robert Thicknesse
How I discovered Germany
Daniel Johnson on how he found a lost love for the Germans
Is this the end of cinemagoing as we know it?
Will compulsory face-masks, social-distancing and an air of paranoia drive audiences to online streaming once and for all?
How the government’s maternity bill seeks to deny the reality of sex
The avoidance of the word “woman” in relation to pregnancy is part of a wider assault on women’s rights from transgender activists
Professionalism is a two-way street
The lobby’s mysterious lack of solidarity with Nadine White
Lie to me
The most dangerous offenders could beat a lie detector because they are often convinced what they’ve done is not abuse
The broken circle
A remarkable group of intellectuals in pre-war Vienna used philosophy to explain the scientific progess of their time — until they were halted by murder and Nazism
Memoirs of a Microaggressor
Will Collins traces the aristocratic roots of the social justice warriors’ search for purity
Carry on spending
Even the venerable and conservative Louvre is exploring various fundraising novelties, says Michael Prodger
Memories of a massacre
Rinder’s documentary is the kind of television at which the BBC excels, says Adam Lebor
Crunching the numbers
If Labour had voted against restrictions, could the Covid rebels have won?
We aren’t being served
The closure of Jenners of Edinburgh is an object lesson in how to kill the department store
The Donald and me
In July 2005 Donald Trump became my best, new friend