Features
We thought New Zealand was safe from extremism. We were wrong
In a blink, everything has changed and yet nothing has changed. Life goes on. The long, hot days of a…
Why do we love The Archers, when all the characters are loathsome?
OK, Archers fans out there. All five million of you. Ask yourselves a straightforward question. Why on earth do you…
A viral hit: how the Christchurch killer weaponised internet culture
‘Remember, lads: Subscribe to PewDiePie.’ With these words, the killer began broadcasting his slaughter of 50 worshippers at two mosques…
The triumphant return of the British beaver
I know a magical West Country woodland where a sunlit stream meanders through the great oaks, with a series of…
Meltdown: three years on and we are no closer to a Brexit resolution
Almost three years have passed since Britain voted to leave the European Union, and yet we are still no closer…
How likely is an imminent general election?
When a British government loses control over parliament, the natural remedy is to hold a general election. Why prolong everyone’s…
The way to change anti-vaccine campaigners’ minds
What a baffling group of people anti-vaxxers are. They rail against one of the miracles of modern medicine, peddling scare…
The case for prosecuting Bloody Sunday ‘Soldier F’
It is more than 15 years since the Bloody Sunday soldiers last appeared in public. For months I sat in…
Never Mind The Bollocks: a punk’s view of Brexit
One of the great things about touring with a band is that it gets me away from my little west…
Who could have predicted tarot cards would be back in vogue?
I first met a tarot reader in a hotel lobby in central London on my birthday four years ago. I…
What happened when an innocent Christian preacher was accused of Islamophobia?
Being a street preacher can be a thankless business. Since moving to Britain from Nigeria nine years ago, 64-year-old Oluwole…
The unique, bittersweet beauty of Irish ruins
The Celtic Tiger has come and gone. Over the past 30 years, billions of pounds poured into Irish houses and…
The woke corporation: how campus madness entered the workplace
New employees at the British headquarters of Accenture, a global management consultancy, were slightly taken aback during a recent induction…
Would any publisher dare to print Lolita now?
The other day Will Self unburdened himself on the state of fiction with crushing hauteur. ‘What’s now regarded as serious…
Would your son marry me? Inside Shanghai’s marriage market
Shanghai ‘How old are you, young lady?’ A small, curious crowd starts to surround me. ‘How tall are you? What…
I watched Jadon Sancho grow up. That’s why I know he’s Britain’s next footballing megastar
How much is Jadon Sancho worth? Fifty million? A hundred million? As the speculation mounts, the numbers keep growing. Jadon…
Justin Trudeau has fallen from grace – and he has no one to blame but himself
An Italian friend who lives in Rome texted me to ask about the current political crisis in Canada that is…
Delhi notebook: Nuclear war is not around the corner
India is not preparing for war, but picking up the newspapers in Delhi you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.…
It may seem incredible, but I’d trust an Italian over a Frenchman any day
For a few years before coming to Italy, I lived in Paris and I cannot tell you the life-enhancing difference…
Breaking point: can either Labour or the Tories survive Brexit?
The only certainty in the Brexit process is that there is no certainty. Brexiteers had long sought solace in the…
Lying with science: a guide to myth debunking
‘The whole aim of practical politics,’ wrote H.L. Mencken, ‘is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be…
My evening with Jacob Rees-Mogg — live at the London Palladium
A woman dressed as a nun is standing outside the London Palladium with a placard, warning about ‘an evening with…
The art, beauty and joy of videogames
By day, I’m a mild-mannered book-world hanger-on; by night, I roar through the streets of Gotham in my heavily armed…
No deal? No problem
Britain, we’re led to be believe, is heading for the worst catastrophe in its history. Officialdom is warning that a…
My husband was a citizen of nowhere. Where can he rest in peace?
It is cold, dank and muddy and I’m contemplating a barely defined path from the paved road into an ever-darkening…
