LATEST HEADLINES
LATEST HEADLINES
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the peace dividend which began when the Cold War ended is ‘gone’. A weaker performance on the battlefield is making Russia “more reckless and dangerous”,…
COMMENT
The pitfalls of assisted dying
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…
Correcting our Grammar mistake
During the Blair years, when recalcitrant Conservatives longed for a pledge to open new grammar schools, no class warrior threw himself into the battle against selective education with such ferocity…
Rent in two
In this class-themed issue I want to touch on an important social distinction in the…
Letter from the editor
It often feels there are only three topics worth discussing: sex, death and freedom. And…
Where hope takes root
As headlines veer toward the apocalyptic – from collapsing ecosystems to vanishing species – it’s…
The rewilding Republican
Some years ago, I saw the legendary radical environmentalist Dave Foreman give his famous “howl…
GET THE PERSPECTIVE NEWSLETTER
For some of the world’s best independent writing on the stories and ideas shaping our world
COMMENT
New protest laws would be extreme
Having been bored into a stupor by a supposedly Conservative…
Time’s arrow
“Lest we forget” is carved into stone in village squares, town halls and city monuments…
Question time
A little while ago, I was invited to a small private dinner at a well-known…
You’re on camera
There’s a quotation by American historian Timothy Snyder currently circulating on social media. It comes…
Perspectives
Too low for zero
We need to talk about testosterone deficiency, a debilitating syndrome that affects millions of men
Perspectives
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
Charles Spencer
The writer, historian, podcaster and 9th Earl Spencer talks about boarding school trauma, class aspirations and the importance of speaking out
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
Pasquale Paoli
The Corsican guerilla commander who inspired the modern quest for charismatic political leaders
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE - Q&As
Wasfi Kani, CBE
The opera founder on Pimlico, the Merkel arts package shaming Britain and the racist messages that still arrive
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
Craig Brown
The Private Eye satirist on Haywire, Liz Truss as comedy gold and going blackberrying with John Stonehouse
Ed Balls
The former Shadow Chancellor on his book Appetite, the Granita dinner with no polenta, and a midlife crisis going really well
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
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
John Lloyd
The Spitting Image and Blackadder producer on twenty-one series of QI, why he left satire at 36, and Radio Barking, the comedy station that never aired
Rosie Boycott
The first woman to edit a UK broadsheet on Spare Rib, addiction and the ladder Thatcher refused to chuck down
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
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
Katy Brand
The comedian on Leo Grande, Dirty Dancing as her Mastermind subject and the pilgrimage that made her an atheist
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
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
Wynne Evans
The GoCompare opera singer on depression, becoming a Welsh druid and being sent into Stephen Hawking's black hole
Vince Cable
The former Lib Dem leader on Strictly, the Murdoch hidden mic and a Quaker chocolate childhood in York
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
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE – Q&As
Joanna Lumley
The actress on a Malayan childhood, Genghis Khan beating Trump and the books she wants in her coffin
Rosie Boycott
The first woman to edit a UK broadsheet on Spare Rib, addiction and the ladder Thatcher refused to chuck down
Michael Holding
The West Indies fast bowler on Why We Kneel, race in cricket and his over against Boycott
Benny Higgins
The Glasgow boy who became a banker on Tesco, five marriages and Kwasi Kwarteng's brief reign of havoc
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
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
Craig Brown
The Private Eye satirist on Haywire, Liz Truss as comedy gold and going blackberrying with John Stonehouse
Daniel Howell
The YouTube comedian on his mental health book, overwatering a bonsai to death and Mr Blobby
Ed Vaizey
The former Culture Minister on meeting Tom Cruise at BAFTA, his cousin the American chant master and what really keeps him awake
Wynne Evans
The GoCompare opera singer on depression, becoming a Welsh druid and being sent into Stephen Hawking's black hole
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
Katy Brand
The comedian on Leo Grande, Dirty Dancing as her Mastermind subject and the pilgrimage that made her an atheist
Sally Phillips
The Smack the Pony comedian on Veep, faith, disability advocacy and the son who's changed how she sees what matters
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
Andrew Roberts
The Churchill biographer on George III, the 28 charges Jefferson invented and the Hamilton villain history got wrong
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
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
DBC Pierre
The Booker winner on Big Snake Little Snake the rabid dog he lied about and what Mexico taught him
CULTURE
FEATURES
Acts of sedition
Shakespeare’s Richard II was pure treason, so how did he get away with it? asks the author
CULTURE
This is a book that faces the awful possibility of a wind’s death amid climate collapse
Sarah Hall
The critically acclaimed novelist discusses her 1950s-set novella The Party, why female writers dread sex scenes and male writers don't, and starting her career at 46
Channel 4’s first female news anchor discusses trailblazing women, internet trolls, sexual assault and her book The Ladder
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
LIFE
Free spirit
How a gap year full of travel and adventure became a “gap life” boundaried only by possibility and curiosity
LIFE
Hungry Ghosts
Clearing the flat of her late, estranged father, Patricia finds the recipe for forgiveness
LETTERS FROM ELSEWHERE

MIND OVER MATTER
Neurological-based
advice
FROM DR ASH RANPURA

MIND OVER MATTER
Neurological-based
advice
FROM DR ASH RANPURA





















































































