The liberty ledger
One of the first concepts new students of philosophy are introduced to is Isaiah Berlin’s famous distinction between “freedom to” and “freedom from”: an illustration of the fact that giving…
COMMENT
An age without rival
It wasn’t long before Hallowe’en that I noted many of the significant women in my life – including my wife and the editrix of this august publication – were devoting…
Long division
Our good friend Kalyan, a gay Indian-American, was so distraught by rising discrimination against Blacks,…
High society
In 1989, Richard Hoggart wrote in his introduction to George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan…
Where hope takes root
As headlines veer toward the apocalyptic – from collapsing ecosystems to vanishing species – it’s…
Beware Project Fear
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the googly-eyed sage Yoda lectured…
Might is not right
The date of 26 January 2024 may become a watershed moment in the history of…
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COMMENT
Question time
A little while ago, I was invited to a small private dinner at a well-known…
Time’s arrow
“Lest we forget” is carved into stone in village squares, town halls and city monuments…
Posh performance
I recently wrote a column for The National that provoked some, let’s say, passionate reactions. Two…
Perspectives
Perspectives
Too young to wrinkle
Women in their twenties are already learning to fear the first signs of ageing
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
Zahra Joya
The journalist who was airlifted from Afghanistan discusses dressing as a boy to go to school, running Rukhshana Media from her London bedroom and the women the world has forgotten
Michael Palin
The Python-turned-travel-chronicler on his new diaries, the dhow to Bombay that changed him and losing his wife Helen after 57 years
Caroline Calloway
The headline-hitting American social climber who found fame via a “faked” Cambridge application
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE - Q&As
Wynne Evans
The GoCompare opera singer on depression, becoming a Welsh druid and being sent into Stephen Hawking's black hole
Doon Mackichan
The actress, author and Smack the Pony comedian on My Lady Parts, Ricky Gervais turning up to "improve" the show and spray-painting over sexist ads
Robert Peston
The ITV political editor on his book Bust?, Trussonomics and the schools charity that's reached half a million children
Katy Brand
The comedian on Leo Grande, Dirty Dancing as her Mastermind subject and the pilgrimage that made her an atheist
Ronni Ancona
The comedian, actress and filmmaker on her mahout childhood ambition, the cat who smokes Rothmans and the wildlife agency she calls green spies
Kate Mosse
The author and Women's Prize founder on her book Warrior Queens, her great-grandmother written out of history and the woman who foresaw global warming in 1856
Rosie Boycott
The first woman to edit a UK broadsheet on Spare Rib, addiction and the ladder Thatcher refused to chuck down
Lucy Hughes-Hallett
The historian, biographer and novelist on her book The Scapegoat, her D'Annunzio biography The Pike, and why the King James Bible is the reason reggae lyrics are so gorgeous
Chris van Tulleken
The infectious diseases doctor, author and science presenter on what's really in our food, the politics of poverty, and his "anti-telepathic" twin
Chris Smith
The former Culture Secretary on being the first male MP to come out as gay, the call from Mandela and what It's a Sin revealed
Phil Hammond
The doctor, comedian and Private Eye columnist on the Bristol heart scandal, Jacob Rees-Mogg and why health is not what happens in hospitals
Andrew Roberts
The Churchill biographer on George III, the 28 charges Jefferson invented and the Hamilton villain history got wrong
Benny Higgins
The Glasgow boy who became a banker on Tesco, five marriages and Kwasi Kwarteng's brief reign of havoc
Rosie Holt
The actress and comedian behind the spoof Tory MP videos, on Partygate, Suella Braverman's "wokerati" and the Labour MP she fooled
Craig Brown
The Private Eye satirist on Haywire, Liz Truss as comedy gold and going blackberrying with John Stonehouse
Ed Vaizey
The former Culture Minister on meeting Tom Cruise at BAFTA, his cousin the American chant master and what really keeps him awake
Joanna Lumley
The actress on a Malayan childhood, Genghis Khan beating Trump and the books she wants in her coffin
Mike Figgis
The composer and Leaving Las Vegas director on Timecode written as a string quartet, refusing the Hollywood club and missing his friend Julian Sands
Lucy Easthope
The disaster planner and recover expert on her book When the Dust Settles, the Welsh word hiraeth for aching loss and a friend's correct snack ratio for the bunker
Jeremy Paxman
The Newsnight inquisitor on lying bastards, the Enigma machine he was sent and his dog Derek
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE – Q&As
Sally Phillips
The Smack the Pony comedian on Veep, faith, disability advocacy and the son who's changed how she sees what matters
Mike Figgis
The composer and Leaving Las Vegas director on Timecode written as a string quartet, refusing the Hollywood club and missing his friend Julian Sands
Jeremy Bowen
The BBC International Editor on testifying against Karadžić at The Hague, a brush with bowel cancer and Cardiff bars he'd close during play
Ed Balls
The former Shadow Chancellor on his book Appetite, the Granita dinner with no polenta, and a midlife crisis going really well
Andrew Roberts
The Churchill biographer on George III, the 28 charges Jefferson invented and the Hamilton villain history got wrong
Rosie Holt
The actress and comedian behind the spoof Tory MP videos, on Partygate, Suella Braverman's "wokerati" and the Labour MP she fooled
Doon Mackichan
The actress, author and Smack the Pony comedian on My Lady Parts, Ricky Gervais turning up to "improve" the show and spray-painting over sexist ads
Ronni Ancona
The comedian, actress and filmmaker on her mahout childhood ambition, the cat who smokes Rothmans and the wildlife agency she calls green spies
Lord David Owen
The former Foreign Secretary and co-founder of the SDP on two centuries of British-Russian relations, Brexit and being Steel's pocket puppet
Ed Vaizey
The former Culture Minister on meeting Tom Cruise at BAFTA, his cousin the American chant master and what really keeps him awake
DBC Pierre
The Booker winner on Big Snake Little Snake the rabid dog he lied about and what Mexico taught him
Joanna Lumley
The actress on a Malayan childhood, Genghis Khan beating Trump and the books she wants in her coffin
Dan Snow
The historian on the eighteenth century, a picnic with Hilary Mantel, and covering Britain in windmills
Katy Brand
The comedian on Leo Grande, Dirty Dancing as her Mastermind subject and the pilgrimage that made her an atheist
Benny Higgins
The Glasgow boy who became a banker on Tesco, five marriages and Kwasi Kwarteng's brief reign of havoc
Wynne Evans
The GoCompare opera singer on depression, becoming a Welsh druid and being sent into Stephen Hawking's black hole
Lucy Easthope
The disaster planner and recover expert on her book When the Dust Settles, the Welsh word hiraeth for aching loss and a friend's correct snack ratio for the bunker
Chris Smith
The former Culture Secretary on being the first male MP to come out as gay, the call from Mandela and what It's a Sin revealed
CULTURE
FEATURES
Acts of sedition
Shakespeare’s Richard II was pure treason, so how did he get away with it? asks the author
The politics of colour
Tina Gharavi’s full response to the controversy surrounding Queen Cleopatra, a Netflix series about the identity of the legendary last pharaoh
CULTURE
“It is a religion that asks women to have many children and really sacrifice their bodies”
Hanna Pylväinen
Novelist Sarah Hall on her Goldsmiths Prize-shortlisted Helm, why it took over twenty years to write a biography of Britain's only named wind, climate collapse, "radical optimism," and the power of imaginative storytelling to transform how we think about environmental crisis
The Persephone Books publisher discusses forgotten gems written by women and the imprint’s 150th book
The food writer, journalist, author and charity campaigner for TastEd discusses festive family rituals, celebrating Christmas as a newly single parent and her first recipe book
FEATURES
Gothic delights
Exploring the history of a genre that first bewitched Elizabeth as a teenage Joy Division fan
POETRY
Book Reviews
LIFE
Free spirit
How a gap year full of travel and adventure became a “gap life” boundaried only by possibility and curiosity
LIFE
LETTERS FROM ELSEWHERE
LETTERS FROM ELSEWHERE
MIND OVER MATTER
Neurological-based
advice
FROM DR ASH RANPURA
MIND OVER MATTER
Neurological-based
advice
FROM DR ASH RANPURA