Why the world loves Margaret Thatcher
There are many rituals surrounding the placement of a new Japanese Emperor on the Chrysanthemum Throne. Perhaps the most peculiar…
Why is Suella Braverman doing so well on social media?
As phrases go, ‘Twitter analytics’ is not the most exciting, especially now we are, apparently, meant to say ‘the social…
What BLM and the Remembrance Day protests had in common
Back in June 2020, I attended a quasi-legal Black Lives Matter protest in London, and a widely reviled counter protest,…
Rishi Sunak is too late – the AI monster is at the door
He must be a busy man, Rishi Sunak. When he’s not rescuing the country from inflation, sending the Royal Navy…
AI will destroy TV news
As we all know, the last few days have been filled with terrible news out of Israel and Gaza, and…
Beware interesting politicians
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? One minute you are sitting down, with a cup of tea, ready to listen…
How I saved a baby in Laos’s jungle
I was writing a thriller in northeast Laos about fifteen years ago near a town called Phonsavan, researching a mysterious…
The deep absurdity of HS2 diversity’s agenda
When it comes to British railway history, I can say, without exaggeration, that few places are more iconically located than…
Is your pet killing the planet?
Having a pet is worse for the planet than flying
The unbearable strangeness of the Ukraine war
As a journalist, I’ve been on the periphery of quite a few wars: for example, I went to Bosnia as…
America’s fierce guilt for slavery is understandable – we mustn’t import it
I love American roadtrips. They are the ideal way to visit 96 per cent of the country, which is determinedly…
UFOs or not – something is up
As famous capital cities of world-straddling superpowers go, Washington DC is somewhat disappointing. The grandiose urbanism is surely meant to…
Why do we never talk about Islamic slavery?
The beautiful Siwa Oasis in the far western deserts of Egypt is a remarkable place, for multiple reasons. It’s probably been inhabited, continuously,…
Writers are doomed to fail in their war against AI
It’s a cliché of publishing that men over the age of 40 only read military history. In my case it’s not…
I demand reparations for my ancestors’ fall from grace
I demand reparations for my ancestors’ fall from grace
Why now is the time to visit Bangkok
In the deliciously darkened corners of the Vesper cocktail bar, in the central quartier of the Siamese capital known as Silom, the…
Hola, here’s the first Brexit Benefit
Whenever Brexit is discussed these days, you will nearly always find a splenetic or exultant Remainer asking, often in a…
AI is the death of porn
I have a friend, let’s call her Ellie, who has a diverting side hustle: she sells erotic images of herself…
The decline and fall of urban America
The death of the American city
How we forgot about Pol Pot
When I was a small boy, I had a favourite book: The Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton. Given that my…
East Asia’s mask obsession is a catastrophe the West must avoid
In the Red Square Rooftop Vodka Bar of the sleekly towering Novotel Hotel, on soi 4, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, it…
Antarctica: the best journey in the world
Nothing compares with Antarctica
