With one push of a button, political interviews have become interesting again
Alex Brooker’s Channel 4 encounter with Nick Clegg was a model of how to talk normally to a politician – and make them talk normally back
Unwanted consequences: will cheap oil lead to a Labour election victory?
Plus: Speak up, Stefano Pessina; and a bouquet for Ocado
Rise of the new young puritans
I hoped that the British sense of the ridiculous, our relish in piss-taking, would keep us safe. Now I’m not so sure
The new PC from A to Z
From appropriation to zero tolerance, everything you need to keep an eye on while checking your privilege
Jail break
When I started visiting Wormwood Scrubs, it was pinched but peaceful. Now our prisons are pits of despair
The Tooting poisoner
In my London neighbourhood, an argument about wildlife is turning very nasty indeed
Faith in freedom
Martin Luther wasn’t trying to create a more liberal political order. It’s time to talk about what really happened
Dangerous characters
Nasa’s missing hyphen; the extra ‘s’ that could cost £8.8 million; and recipes for disaster
Venice
The islands of Burano and Murano, famous for lace and glass, are the best bet for a quiet lunch and cappuccino
Bad boys of fashion
A review of Gods and Kings by Dana Thomas suggests that John Galliano and Alexander McQueen were largely irrelevant to the couture houses they headed
Muck and brass
A review of Forging Capitalism by Ian Klaus covers 200 years of theft and fraud in the City
Divinely decorative
A review of Roman Splendour, English Arcadia by Simon Swynfen Jervis and Dudley Dodd celebrates one of the great achievements of Renaissance craftsmanship
One dark summer’s day
A review of Went the Day Well? by David Crane singles it out as the best book so far to mark the bicentenary of Waterloo
Daring to think the unthinkable
A review of Tony Judt’s collection of essays, When the Facts Change, reveals a historian of rare subtlety and foresight
Crime and cover-up — a very Russian tale
A review of Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No. 1 Enemy describes Bill Browder’s thorough disenchantment with Russia’s president
The fine art of bluffing
A review of Art in History by Martin Kemp finds this 200-page potted outline absurdly sketchy
Worshipping la dolce vita
A review of The Italians by John Hooper warns that unless the birthrate in Italy rises the country is doomed
Gordon Bennett, what a disaster!
A review of In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides describes the gruesome story of the USS Jeanette in 1879
Churchill’s charm offensive
A review of Sleep in Peace Tonight by James MacManus describes how Winston Churchill charmed the Americans into joining the second world war
Approaching America
Our pilot on the Delaware offers to show you his laptop. These are the buoys, he says; I know exactly…
Pop icon
Stephen Bayley celebrates the 100th birthday of the Coca-Cola 'contour' bottle - the most successful manufactured artefact ever
Blunt weapon
Why you wouldn’t wish pop stardom on your worst enemy, whether he went to a good school or not
Farewell, ENO
Wave goodbye to the ENO, redistribute its millions, and you will see an encumbered art form bloom
