World
North Korea is in the midst of a Covid catastrophe
As Covid spread throughout the world in 2020, North Korea slammed shut its borders. It was an approach that has…
Russia and the death of the Golden Arches theory
Ah, well, it was a lovely idea, born of the age of liberal-democratic triumphalism that was the 1990s: the ‘Golden…
Olaf Scholz is tanking
North-Rhine Westphalia is Germany’s largest state, almost as large as the Netherlands. It was a traditional SPD fiefdom during the…
In praise of smartphones
The online PE teacher Joe Wicks has announced, in a fit of self-reproach coinciding with the launch of his new…
Here’s to the Christian knuckle-draggers
At the conservative Christian schools I attended from kindergarten through the end of undergrad, I became familiar with two types…
The French right is hopelessly divided
Here we go again. Exhausted by a presidential campaign that ultimately produced the same choice as in 2017 (and the…
Cracking consciousness: how do our minds really work?
With scientists mapping our neurons in ever greater detail, and programmers creating ever more humanlike artificial intelligence, the gap between…
Why Russia needs to be humiliated in Ukraine
As Putin’s war against Ukraine drags on, Russia now faces the very real prospect of defeat. There are still difficult…
Are sanctions on Russia failing?
Sanctions are the West’s key weapon in the fight against Putin, but there are signs that Russia’s economy and financial…
Why Saudi Arabia is trying to take over the world of golf
Golf came to Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. American expats, working in the nascent oil industry, brought their clubs with…
My Sally Rooney conversion
I tried to dislike the writing of Sally Rooney. But I failed. I retain some resistance to Sally Rooney the…
The cruelty really is the point
Earlier this week, Politico ran a piece called “Inflation’s biting. Roe’s fraying. Dems are still trying to connect with voters.”…
How the Channel defined Britain’s destiny
Geography matters. Everyone knows that. It defines Britain’s current relationship with Europe and its battle over the Northern Ireland protocol…
Does Putin have blood cancer?
Suddenly, we are all diagnosticians. Clips of a puffy Putin slurring his words, his hands twitching or clutching a table…
The madness of El Salvador’s Bitcoin city
A golden city on the coast of the tropical Pacific. A metal walkway suspended above a verdant volcano. And a…
Pope Francis has betrayed Cardinal Zen
When Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 90-year-old former Bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested by Chinese authorities on Wednesday and charged…
Could Russia invade Moldova?
Chișinău, Moldova Armed soldiers patrol the checkpoints along the road into Transnistria, standing guard under a giant Soviet hammer and…
Abortion and the great American middle
Not one American in a hundred has read Roe v. Wade, and perhaps no more of us really understand how…
Hong Kong is now a police state
No one now denies that Hong Kong is a fiefdom of Beijing. Its democratic leaders have been packed off to…
Trump is still king in West Virginia
Bipartisanship is a word used too frequently, and seldom ever found in the swamps of Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, Congressman…
Has inflation peaked?
First, the good news: US inflation is down. Now the bad news: US inflation isn’t down by as much as…
Top US pollster: don’t ditch Boris
To the CPS, the think-tank home of Thatcherite free-thinking. On today’s agenda: a sermon from Frank Luntz, the onetime populist Republican…
Why are progressives scared of Elon Musk?
Billionaire edgelord Elon Musk has just given progressives another reason to dread his ongoing attempt to buy Twitter. The founder…
Does Macron dream of the Nobel Peace Prize?
Emmanuel Macron has taken it upon himself to tackle the delicate diplomatic situation of the war in Ukraine with fresh…
The perils of ‘Bidenflation’
Has inflation peaked in the United States? Today’s update from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the annual rate of…
