A wonder to behold
The National Gallery has been gifted Edvard Munch’s Man with Horse and its acquisition brings to mind James Mollison, the…
Aussie life
Reading the works of Confucius and other Chinese ancients recently, with their guidance for a life of introspection and honesty…
Language
In the Weekend Australian I read a review of a book about AI and its disastrous impact on undergraduate student…
My new-found love for Marsala
Western Sicily is one of the most wonderful places on Earth. From the Greek temples in the south to the…
AI killed the Easter Bunny
On the grounds of advancing age, I had decided to ignore all the chatter about artificial intelligence and devote my…
My high-speed bus chase
My youngest daughter and her husband moved to New York last October. Three days after they arrived, she tripped on…
Texas is the perfect holiday destination
Business travel isn’t quite the perk it is cracked up to be. For one thing, you have no say about…
Why the trans debacle matters
I first stuck my neck out on ‘trans’ nearly a decade ago, when a societal obsession with pretending to change…
Dear Mary: how can I tell young people to pipe down at dinner parties?
Q. I find that when I go to mixed-age dinner parties the young all seem to be shouting. How can…
Confusing but highly watchable: Slade in Flame reviewed
Slade in Flame was glam-rock band Slade’s first foray into film – and also their last. It was a flop…
What does Putin want? Whatever he can get away with
The US general Mark Clark knew a thing or two about dealing with Russians. In the aftermath of the defeat…
The art of a great pub quiz
‘What’s the capital of Albania?’ The correct answer is, of course: ‘Who cares?’ If you’re at a quiz and this…
How come the only Palestinians Louis Theroux met were non-violent sweeties?
Louis Theroux: The Settlers was never likely to be a programme with much of a narrative arc – and so…
Kingsley goes to the toilet
In 1978, I gave a poetry reading at Hull University. Philip Larkin was glumly, politely, in attendance. I was duly…
The Airbnb guest from hell
‘Is there a secret passageway behind that door?’ said the weirdly difficult Kiwi as she eyed a door marked ‘private’…
A fabulously entertaining new podcast about ancient Greece
How did a myth about the consequences of poor judgment become a parable for aspiration? The question is posed by…
Letters: the cruelty of the Supreme Court trans ruling
Cruel intentions Sir: Rod Liddle (‘Let’s strike a blow for honesty’, 26 April) seems to have fallen into the same…
