In polite company, it is now well known that the Australian’s claim to be the best newspaper in Australia is…

I hope the proposals from the one- man committee of inquiry to make the ABC and SBS ‘more commercial’ are…

When bombed in England bluff Bob Menzies Gave way to paranoiac frenzies; And other news like this to gladden The…

Many readers would be aware of the recent passing of Ray Evans. Ray’s funeral service was held last Friday at…

When the critics gave Menzies the kiss of death, it amounted to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

With the release of the ALP’s 2013 election review, it’s safe for the nation’s educators to set the record straight

On the list of trusted Australians, ‘Rolfie’ would be several thousand rungs below Ned Kelly

Our future disunited kingdom could be more of a mess than anyone has really grasped

Scottish independence will indeed be a disaster. But only north of the border

A geek religion that aims to exalt machines instead diminishes humanity

The Bradford headmaster was dismissed. He should have been applauded

The battle went to Wellington. But for once, it was the losers who wrote the history

Notes from uneasy Baghdad

The closer you look at the campaign to legalise assisted dying, the less reassuring it all becomes

Blue-and-white china tells a fascinating story – even the modern fake stuff

Theresa May's Modern Slavery Bill was the one bright spot in the Queen's Speech. But as events in Cardiff have shown, it isn't enough

Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, rang Jean-Claude Juncker to congratulate him on being nominated by EU heads of government…

Plus: Feeling naked in a room full of gongs, and historians’ first world war service

Plus: The rising take of National Insurance, and the nastiest mobile-phone bills

In this negotiation, the EU holds all the cards

Beyond the law Sir: In your leading article of 28 June you make the point that the hacking trial demonstrates…

Plus: The BBC acknowledges its rural failings; the march of the badgers; and the remarkable John Casey

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s planned caliphate should ensure a bit of discipline is imposed on Spain and Portugal

Every day more and more objects in the western world find their voice, and invariably that voice is female

There are now more western aid workers in Africa than there were colonial administrators

Plus: What the ‘E’ in OBE should stand for; and the next property hot spot

A review of The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book, by Peter Finn and Petra Couvée. Boris Pasternak really did defeat the Soviet censors (and not just because he was Stalin's pen-pal). But no one was allowed to do the same again

A review of How to Build a Girl, by Caitlin Moran. Even before she came across a pleasing reference to herself, Julie Burchill loved this hyperactive novel

A review of Lillian Hellman: An Imperious Life, by Dorothy Gallagher. This disloyal Stalinist has not been blessed with a biographer who likes her

A review of Eleanor Marx, by Rachel Holmes. Forget her shit of a husband and her father Karl and marvel at Eleanor’s own contributions

A review of The Emperor Waltz, by Philip Hensher. An intriguing misstep aside, this is a rich and captivating book

A review of Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir, by Roz Chast. Nothing is sacred in this graphic memoir of the author’s parents

A review of The Girl with the Widow’s Peak, by Lady Ursula d’Abo, with a foreword by John Julius Norwich. A very English tale of 20th-century upper-class comings and goings

A review of China’s Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa, by Howard French. A revealing and colourful set of first-hand essays that seek to understand the Chinese takeover

Democracy in ancient Athens was often criticised by the aristocracy for not showing significant respect for them and their superior…

The acclaimed illustrator on his long career, his latest project – and his Spectator covers

Plus: An extraordinary selection of pastels at Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, and the neglected Philip King

The controller and Proms director has pulled something special out of the bag for his swansong

Plus: The Colby Sisters of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is worth the slog

No one gets this exactly right first time. But Richard Farnes gets breathtakingly close

It is as good as it used to be. Even if I have to be a bit more responsible now

I could have liked it if he'd really vanished – and let me go home. But no, he's in every frame

This is High-Class Television, dramatic pauses and all. But it picks up, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is amazing

Danish speech radio, too!

The joys of 'Bridge' at Museum of London Docklands

Plus: What Paul Johnson (maybe) said to Simon Jenkins

He told me he followed the way of the shaman. He'd been on one-week courses in Brighton and elsewhere

But don't, whatever you do, try to order a sandwich

What they've gained in wealth, they've lost in credibility. And they've gained a lot of wealth

Our Golden Oldies have brought home the Gold! Many congratulations to the England players who have won the Seniors Teams…

Petrosian Move by Move is a new book published by Everyman Chess written by the Swedish international master Thomas Engqvist.…

White to play. This position is from Petrosian–Rossetto, Portoroz 1958. What is White’s most efficient continuation? Answers to me at…

In Competition No. 2854 you were invited to invent a title for a new cookery book, with a fresh angle,…

Six items of one kind, reading clockwise, form the perimeter, whilst four unclued lights are of another kind. All ten…

Somewhere next to GUYANA (34) and BRAZIL (12), DUTCH (33) is SPOKEN (25), the highest mountain is JULIANA TOP (1D),…

The Times headline on Tuesday was rather cruel: ‘Stars turn down No. 10 invitation.’ This was a reference to the…

Learning to resist my male vices

Plus: the rules on turning down an invitation you’ve accepted, and etiquette for WhatsApp

Glorious food and glorious memories

Ancient spelling and modern illiteracy