Time is of the essence
Christopher Priest, now 73, has been quietly turning out oddly mesmerising fiction for nearly half a century but, like the…
Crushing religion
To hear some of my co-religionists on the matter, you would think that same-sex marriage is the greatest threat to…
The passionate patriot
To anyone complaining that American politics in 2016 is uncivil, consider this: in 1804, the vice president of the United…
The prospect of defeat
The biggest recent shock for the West’s metropolitan elites, and for the pundits that help form their worldview, was the…
Special K
Our collective attention spans may not be as short as is widely cited, but they are pretty short. Take the…
When Isis comes home
The Islamic State’s pretence to nationhood was based on the holding of territory. With the battle for Mosul this week,…
Apples for our eyes
Apple Day, on 21 October, is a newish festival, created in 1990, by the venerable organisation, Common Ground. Intended to…
In the company of queens
Steven Runciman, the historian of Byzantium, is a puzzling figure. He was an outrageous snob, once remarking that he would…
Barometer
Ape escapes A gorilla got out of its enclosure at London Zoo and entered a keepers’ area, prompting an evacuation…
Shady past
David Hockney: It is a kind of joke, but I really mean it when I say Caravaggio invented Hollywood lighting.…
Business/Robbery etc
Business and Politics don’t mix? They do if you’re a professional lobbyist who is also a Liberal Party factional leader…
TV
The post TV appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
The most persecuted minority at universities
A few columns ago, I told the mortifying story of how I totally died at the Oxford Union. Today I’m…
Consider this…
The Aboriginal industry rewards its own Two former federal ministers have recently spoken on Aboriginal affairs. One has given a…
Aux bien pensants
Mr Shorten says he’s opposed to the very same gay marriage plebiscite he’d previously demanded. One reason is cost. So…
Ko wai Koe (Who Are You) 2005 from the series The Odyssey of Captain Cook by Marian Maguire
When colourful Tasmanian identity David Walsh announced his intention to build an art gallery in Hobart, open to the public…
Nobel notes
Bob Dylan won this year’s Nobel Prize, ‘for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.’ Which…
Carney must go
Oh dear. Mark Carney is irritated. His proud independence has been challenged. The Prime Minister had the temerity to admit…
High and low
‘Besides feeble writing, there is a mixture of tragic-comedy and buffoonery in it, which Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio had banished…
Ziggurat of bilge
Ella Hickson’s new play analyses our relationship with oil using the sketch format. First, there’s a candlelit soap opera set…
Psephology
The polls are in for next month’s big event in the USA and Magnus Carlsen has emerged the clear favourite…
The power of song
‘I went in at seven and came out aged 22,’ said Brian as he looked back on the day in…
Face time
As a chat-up line it was at least unusual. On 8 January 1927, a 46-year-old man approached a young woman…
