Why the world is obsessed with white women
Until a couple of weeks ago, the clothing company American Eagle was mainly known as a kind of low-rent Levi’s.…
The Online Safety Act is plumbing new depths of stupidity
As anyone who has endured a pointless argument on the internet probably knows, there’s a decidedly useful rule for such…
The 2020s are too far-fetched for fiction
I write thrillers for a living. All kinds of thrillers. At one point I was in the business of penning…
The greatest photography exhibition of all time
I am sitting on a neat little park bench in a tiny medieval town in rural Luxembourg, and I am…
Is AI eating your brain?
Do you remember long division? I do, vaguely – I certainly remember mastering it at school: that weird little maths…
A lament for the lads’ mags
Do you remember the lads’ mags? I do because I worked on them for years. FHM, Maxim, all those gloriously…
I tried the world’s worst drink
I am standing in a sunny courtyard in the little town of Gijduvan, waiting for a drink. Just in case…
The lost art of getting lost
One of the quietly profound pleasures of travel is renting cars in ‘unusual’ locations. I’ve done it in Azerbaijan, Colombia,…
The optimism of younger countries
There’s a strange, near-psychedelic effect that hits you when you travel from an aging country to a young one. It’s…
David Lammy and the trouble with foreign taxis
After decades on the road, I’ve collected a few rules that have served me well. Rule one: always go inside…
My battle to avoid boredom
Four days ago I was so bored that I considered starting a terrorist groupuscule. I had no demands, no ideology,…
What’s wrong with eating horse?
There’s not much to do in Almaty, Kazakhstan. You can take a peek at the pretty wooden Orthodox cathedral, which…
Taking the fast train back to imperialism
I’m on a high-speed train. Forty years ago, such a statement would have been notable and specific: essentially, it meant…
Has Donald Trump saved the world?
Like the definition of an old man in a hurry, since his inauguration Donald Trump has been pumping out orders…
Is Ukraine heading towards a Korean-style demilitarised zone?
It is the strangest place, the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates South Korea from North Korea. It is simultaneously a…
How debauchery turns to tragedy in places like Vang Vieng
I still remember the first time I saw Vang Vieng, in Laos. It was many years ago, before the Chinese…
My glimpse into a childless world
If you are looking for a pointer for the future of the world, the free-diving fisherwomen on the matriarchal, shamanistic…
Has AI just killed the podcast bro?
It’s a well-known psychological phenomenon: that time seems to slow down if you experience lots of new and unusual events.…
Why Cambodia returns to joy in October
In Cambodia, everybody is looking forward to Bon Om Touk. If your Khmer is a bit rusty, this means the…
Keir Starmer and the evil of banality
First, a little story. About three years ago I was given an eccentric but fun assignment between Covid lockdowns –…
It’s time to get rid of your pet
Around the tolerant British dining table, there are few opinions which will see you shunned, instantly. ‘Bring back the birch’…
Keep Michelin men out of our hotels!
It’s probably escaped most people’s attention, what with the football, the election, the Ukraine war, the horrors of Gaza, the…
My day in Le Pen land
At first glance, for the visitor driving by, Guingamp in northwest Brittany looks idyllic. It is a typically lovely stone-built…
The day I met a sun priest
Palomino, Colombia I’m in a truly wonderful place: the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It’s got more bird species than most…
AI will change everything – so why is the election ignoring it?
Imagine if you somehow knew a war was coming in the next few years. Imagine if you knew this war would…
