Features
Why were Germany’s Covid files redacted?
There are two kinds of long Covid. One is a medical syndrome, the other manifests as a healthy obsession –…
How the Jilly Cooper Book Club turned toxic
The Jilly Cooper Book Club was set up about a decade ago by two friends who’d had enough of book…
Has the C of E got its reparations bill all wrong?
Reparations have a troubled history, and rightly. The word itself, in its familiar sense, seems to have been a euphemism…
The Xi files: how China spies
Most states spy. In principle there’s nothing to stop them. But China’s demand for intelligence on the rest of the…
Daniel Dennett’s last interview: ‘AI could signal the end of human civilisation’
Do we still need philosophers? Daniel Dennett, who died last week, believed strongly that we do. ‘Scientists have a tendency…
Hyper-history: why did politics go crazy?
On the day Theresa May signed her Brexit withdrawal agreement with Brussels, Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, resigned. She tried…
Forget Eton. This Mumbai team should play Harrow at Lord’s
The first thing I do is turn my watch upside down. India is five-and-a-half hours ahead of the UK, so…
Men, step away from the trainers
What is it with men and trainers? Or rather, men of a certain age and trainers. I’m still trying to…
Why Mummy smokes
It’s 7.02 p.m. and I’m standing outside my house by the bins smoking a fag. Upstairs, I can hear that…
My night with Youth Demand
‘Won’t you take me to… Funkytown!’ At around 10 p.m., in a bar under a railway arch in south London,…
Inside the new Arab-Israeli alliance
As Jordanian fighter jets shot down Iranian drones heading for Israel on Saturday night, there were joyful cries of Allahu…
Why does the West protect Israel but not Ukraine?
When Israel and its allies shot down hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles, they demonstrated what an effective air defence…
Confessions of a defecting Starmtrooper
Next month, Keir Starmer is expected to lead his party to victory in the local elections. The Tories are forecast…
The Lebanese always return home
Beirut You might have thought that the threat of the Gaza war spiralling into an all-out regional conflagration, along with…
The dangers of political prosecution
At the start of January, Donald Trump offered up a cheery new year message for Americans. ‘If I don’t get…
Kippers could save your life
I miss kippers. My wife won’t let me eat them at home, and they have become a rarity in restaurants.…
The truth about ‘boardroom diversity’
We all know that increasing the diversity of your boardroom increases the success of your company because politicians, business leaders…
The abortion debate returns
I don’t like talking about abortion and so rarely do. I have never written about it before. I am uncomfortable…
I want to see a doctor – not do another NHS survey
Nye Bevan did not make old bones, and perhaps that’s just as well. According to a recent British Social Attitudes…
Will Biden support Ukraine’s attacks on Russia?
This time last year, Volodymyr Zelensky was touring western capitals, calling for weapons and money to launch a decisive summer…
Macron vs Putin: this summer’s Olympic battle
Dixmont, Yonne Last summer, Emmanuel Macron lashed out at France’s constitution because it prevents him from running for a third…
Women don’t want women-only clubs
In my experience, men offer this infuriating comeback when challenged about the continuing exclusion of women from clubs such as…
Farewell, Voyager 1
Some time soon we will have to say farewell to our most distant emissary – the Voyager 1 spacecraft. After…
City folk go wild for wild garlic
For a certain type of Barbour-clad middle-aged man, the best time of year is late summer, and the arrival of…
Why I’ll never own a pair of jeans
North Korea has a problem with Alan Titchmarsh’s crotch. Last week a 2010 episode of Garden Secrets was aired on…
