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Is it society’s job to stop people singing racist jokes?
Where would you rather come from, Pakistan or Liverpool? Assuming you were somehow given a retrospective choice in the matter.…
On Nobel Prize winners and Mastermind losers
I once worked my way through two whole books of IQ tests devised by Hans Eysenck and by the time…
The BBC’s quest to make Watership Down woke
For a while, as a 13-year-old, I was obsessed with rabbits — the consequence of having read Watership Down by…
Dear Santa: My 14 requests for the new year
It is always a pleasure to watch Paris burning. On the surface a civilised country, but scrape a little deeper…
![The Little Drummer Girl [Photo: BBC]](https://www.spectator.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/16729426_low_res_the_little_drummer_girl_1.jpg?w=410&h=275&crop=1)
John le Carré is like Shakespeare – his plots are improbable beyond comprehension
Thank the blessed Lord it’s over. Not Brexit, or Theresa May’s flailing and spastic governance. I’m talking about John le…
Sex in church is fine – just keep the Christians out
Nic Roeg’s art-house thriller from 1973 Don’t Look Now was most famous, or infamous, for its lengthy and explicit sex…
The only thing you’re allowed to hate is hate itself
If we are to ban states of mind, my vote would be for self-righteousness first, followed by sententiousness, with maybe…
How smoking saved my life
I almost got killed this week. I went for a very early morning walk in a New Hampshire forest, in…
Hell hath no fury like an irate teenage girl
Something troubling is happening to our girls. I noticed it again most recently at this year’s Battle of Ideas —…
Rod Liddle: In defence of marriage
I took part in a debate organised by the Times this week about reform of our divorce laws. Well, I…
Men and women are born equal but different. Deal with it
I was delighted to see Claire Foy win an Emmy award for her portrayal of the Queen in the fine…
There are too many women on Radio 4 and they’re always moaning
We had a long drive back from the north-east last weekend. Six hours or so, including a stop halfway, just…
