London
An incomplete history of the Swinging Sixties
Any history of the 1960s that neglects mass culture is not to be taken entirely seriously
Soho, Soho, it’s off to walk we go…
Is pedestrianisation the way to reopen Soho?
Non-nose job
In a free reworking of “Cyrano”, it takes pizzazz to rewrite French alexandrines in the manner of Eminem
A good read but variable as history
A Short History of London is good on architecture but a more sophisticated analysis is needed
The theatre of inconvenience
The Old Vic’s abolition of women’s toilets is an outrage
Who’d want to be a critic?
Criticism has died at London’s newspaper
Discomfort Zone
I recommend The Zone of Interest with the greatest caution: it’s not an easy watch
What are our cathedrals for?
Changes to the management of cathedrals have obscured the very point of their existence
The arts are under threat in Scotland
New legislation endangers freedom, but the arts have been enabling its suppression for some time
Time for realpolitik in Israel
Britain’s foreign policy in the Middle East should put British interests first
Introducing Critical Mash
Our new arts podcast, broadcasting from the frontline of the (high) culture war
We must escape Subtopia
As Ian Nairn warned, British town planning has had a grim levelling effect on our urban and rural spaces
Google has a history problem
As much as we might wish that history had been different, virtue cannot grow from the soil of falsehood
Dial S for screen time
These middle-class tweens being forbidden phones have had iPads since they were six
How trans activists captured the hate crime agenda
The “hate crime” agenda is based on bad policing and worse politics
Who’s ready for the Equality Levy?
Birmingham’s bankruptcy is a portrait of Britain’s future
Singers have a voice, too
Study of the Western canon is often reduced to a politicised debate: power and patronage versus individual genius. The truth is far more complex
