World
Overnight in New Mexico
The three of us sat on folding chairs around the table where Dick had the microphone plugged into a tape…
A brief history of parties
As Enoch Powell pointed out, “all political careers end in failure.” More often than not, those failures are self-inflicted. Without…
My World Series of Poker debut
I played in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas this summer for the first time. The most common…
Reeves risks a grey backlash over winter fuel grab
A backlash has been steadily growing since Rachel Reeves announced the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance a fortnight ago.…
Should extreme misogyny be labelled terrorism?
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has reportedly ‘ordered a review’ of Britain’s counter-extremism strategy. According to the Daily Telegraph, she…
Prison overcrowding triggers emergency measures
At last, it’s happened. After months of warnings, the government has today activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding. Across…
Why do prison staff keep having sex with inmates?
As I read last week’s Steerpike exclusive on the thorny topic of ‘inappropriate relationships’ between prison officers and prisoners, my…
Where is Keir Starmer’s joy?
‘Thank you for bringing back the joy’. So effused Tim Walz to Kamala Harris whose new-found position as Democratic nominee…
In defence of breakdancer Raygun
How annoying must it be to win an Olympic title but be totally eclipsed by a competitor who failed to…
Kamala shoots the moon
So how exactly does a political candidate who fell on her face in the most dramatic way possible, whose campaign…
Everything is under (crowd) control: the evolution of riot response
Worldwide unrest is great for those in the riot-gear business. Shields and batons have historically cornered the market as the…
Now Sue Gray’s son is in the firing line
It seems that bad headlines run in Sue Gray’s family. After a week of newspaper reports suggesting that Keir Starmer’s…
Did the Prime Minister have an affair with a woman half his age?
As a connoisseur of British political scandals I have long puzzled over one of the most intriguing of all such…
How was the Stonehenge Altar Stone moved from Scotland?
I’ve had a keen interest in Stonehenge since I directed my first excavation there more than 40 years ago. A personal…
Near the Russian border, Ukrainians are delighted about the Kursk attack
The road from the Ukrainian city of Sumy to the Russian border gave just a foretaste of the fighting 20…
How neurodiversity took over the Edinburgh Fringe
At this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, the new thing, the hot ticket, is being neurodiverse. Across comedy, stand up, magic and…
Why Gen Z women are looking for a man in finance
“I’m looking for a man in finance/Trust fund/6’5”/Blue eyes.” When Megan Boni posted this ditty on her TikTok account a…
The ‘Clooney effect’ hasn’t affected my village in Provence
My eldest daughter’s husband is from Como. In the early 2000s George Clooney caused a stir in the town when…
Cycling and sleeping in wine country
Tom Kevill-Davies and I are sitting on the deck of the Hungry Cyclist Lodge chatting about food and adventures. This…
Reginald D. Hunter and the cowardice of the comedy class
The brave clown who speaks the truth and shames the devil is a showbiz tradition, from Charlie Chaplin to Lenny…
The controversial truth about China’s new gas field
The news was seemingly big but the announcement curiously low key. Earlier this month, China declared that it had discovered…
Ukraine could deliver a killer ideological blow to Putin
As I write, four brigades of the Ukrainian army are advancing into the territory of the Russian Federation, and are…
Male violence does not take place in a vacuum
There have been lots of reasons to be optimistic this summer: the glorious spectacle of the Olympics; the (relatively) good…
Minouche Shafik and the great tragicomedy of Diversity in our time
Minouche Shafik has reigned as president of Columbia University. Culture wars, like the kind involving actual armies, have casualties. Shafik…
There is a little bit of Frank Sinatra in Donald Trump
Unless you are drinking from the cistern that Bill Kristol and his herd top off daily, you will have been…
