‘Ballet is antiquated, and it works’: Royal Ballet principal Matthew Ball interviewed
The history of the male ballet dancer is a chequered one. In the early 19th century, he was the star…
How the teenage Carole King struck gold
Aged 18, she wrote ‘Will You (Still) Love Me Tomorrow’ which reached No 1 in the US – and the hits kept coming
Cook books for a colourful Christmas
Crab with Calabrian chilli butter, pink-white marbled beetroot labne and carrot, orange and pomegranate salads are among the many good things on offer this year
The new power players running the world
An Italian former political adviser warns of the tech bros and autocrats upending the international order while our elected leaders appease and procrastinate
A Faustian pact: The School of Night, by Karl Ove Knausgaard, reviewed
In Knausgaard’s latest psychological thriller, Kristian Hadeland, an arrogant Norwegian photography student, is implicated in a crime for which there will be harsh consequences
A philosophical quest: A Fictional Inquiry, by Daniele del Giudice, reviewed
The pacing and tone are noirish in this metaphysical detective story, set in Trieste, about the space between writing and life
The pedant’s progress through history
The pompous know-it-all despised by classical philosophers became a stock comic character of 16th-century theatre – and finally a bore to be pitied
Is ‘wind drought’ the latest climate catastrophe?
In an enjoyable guide to wind-related topics, Simon Winchester reports that terrestrial wind speeds are mysteriously declining and we are now in the grip of ‘the Great Stilling’
Zelensky risks coup or civil war
Kyiv When is the price of peace ever fair? War does not determine who is right, only who is left,…
Make education classical again
The National Curriculum Review, published earlier this month, was a rare opportunity to ask some fundamental questions about the purpose…
Reform’s Russia problem
Nigel Farage has had better afternoons. Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, has just been sentenced…
Volodymyr Zelensky is facing the ultimate test
Standing outside his presidential office in Kyiv tonight, on the same spot as on the second day of Ukraine’s full-scale…
Second MP quits Your Party
Another one bites the dust. Iqbal Mohamed has become the second Independent MP to quit the left-wing Your Party amid…
Why so many young people don’t have a job
Why are so many young adults not in education, employment or training? The latest statistics show that almost one million…
Will Mamdani and Trump turn the volume up?
Donald Trump is famous for being willing to meet anyone – Russia’s Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Syria’s al-Jolani –…
Ex-Reform Wales leader given jail time over bribery
News just in: the former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been handed a prison sentence of 10 and…
Ukrainians think Trump is putting the screws on Zelensky
Kyiv, Ukraine The rumour reverberating around Kyiv is that the FBI has been leaning on Ukrainian anti-corruption police to investigate…
England’s remarkable Ashes fightback
It was a madhouse in Perth, in the latest instalment of sport’s oldest international skirmish. England, who opted to bat…
In praise of learning German
The University of Nottingham, one of the most prestigious Russell Group universities, is preparing to close its languages department, as…
The monumental self-delusion of Rachel Reeves
Rachel Reeves has been speaking to the newspapers trying to sell her Budget, which given her communication abilities is a…
Food inflation is a ticking time bomb for Rachel Reeves
As the Budget approaches, Westminster is full of chatter about Rachel Reeves’s decision to take the ‘smorgasbord’ approach to fiscal…
