Speccie scoop: Snowden files in full
Stolen intelligence files reveal a bewildering history of clandestine Australian high-tech surveillance operations
Our colourful stories
That’s girt by sea, as in the national anthem. As a title, it fits the overall tone of the book,…
A connoisseur’s eye
Alec Cobbe is a designer, painter, musician, picture restorer and collector, and has recently donated drawings, photographs and other archives…
Unpacking in Bangkok
And then a dozen Muddy miraculous hares Sprang out of the suitcase, Bounding round and round The hotel suite, Drumming…
Unpacking in Bangkok
And then a dozen Muddy miraculous hares Sprang out of the suitcase, Bounding round and round The hotel suite, Drumming…
The great white Burgundy disaster
We agreed that it was the gravest crisis facing mankind. It has led to dashed hopes, widespread grief and a…
Luddites in the kitchen
I enjoy reading reviews of kitchen gadgetry. Clever new kitchen products are often under-appreciated. Many rituals around food preparation are…
A connoisseur’s eye
Alec Cobbe is a designer, painter, musician, picture restorer and collector, and has recently donated drawings, photographs and other archives…
Why isn’t eating meat as bad as bestiality?
So what I’ve found myself wondering over the festive period, again and again, is whether it would ever be OK…
Those bitcoin weirdos might just be right
Here’s a thought to kindle a lovely warm glow of smugness and schadenfreude as we enter a new year: you…
Australian Notes
Advice to new graduates from an old Chief Justice of Australia, Murray Gleeson: ‘To think against the spirit of the…
Diary
I'm sitting with field marshals, historians and former defence secretaries - and what we're planning isn't what you think
Barometer
Whose year is it anyway? Some things which 2014 has been declared to be the year of: — Year of…
While shepherds watched…
If you want to understand the worlds of Homer and the Bible, you must start with farming
Letters
A net gain Sir: Jamie Bartlett tries to balance plus and minus, and ends with zero (‘Little Brothers are watching…
Letters from Christmas Past
Cruelty to turkeys in 1880, winter strawberries in 1913, artificial Christmas trees in 1995
The Spectator’s Notes
Plus: What Thatcher really thought about Mandela, and the incredible growing Christmas holiday
If no one makes the case for the Union, how can we win?
The big parties have no answer either to the SNP or to Ukip. The consequences could be dramatic
The strange disappearance of Gordon Brown
The old bruiser has left only a warning: our politicians must now at least pretend to be human
If you love gold, shouldn’t you love the euro too?
Funny how Euroscepticism and a faith in hard money go together
Eat, drink, snort and be merry
If you can handle your drink, why should your self-control desert you with other drugs?
