Geoffrey Chaucer imagined a woman who even now feels progressive. She had a job, married several times, chose her own partners, inherited their money when they died, went on holiday without her husband, enjoyed having sex and also loved talking …
SVB and the case for chaos
Vladimir Lenin was wrong about many things, but his maxim about the Soviet Union’s bureaucratic state apparatus — “better fewer, but better” — was undoubtedly right. Perhaps more than anything, the USSR demonstrated the flaws of rigid central planning. And …
Paris Hilton teaches Prince Harry a lesson
If you’re a female celebrity memoirist — and especially if you happen to be white, hot, blonde, and possessed of a net worth in the tens of millions — you are expected to make a privilege disclaimer: to marinate in …
How America can win the Chip Wars
Semiconductors are for the 21st century what oil was for the 20th — the material resource that fuels the entire modern economy. And, much like oil in the Seventies, our leaders are waking up to the fact that microchip manufacturing …
Who are the strikers fooling?
The tide of industrial action rolls steadily on. Even physiotherapists are threatening to bring the country to its knees, rather than performing their usual task of setting it on its feet. Next, surely, it will be vicars, who will abandon …
Black gold fuelled the Iraq War
Even before the conspicuous absence of weapons of mass destruction shattered the pretext for the Iraq War, it was haunted by black gold. Whether oil motivated George W. Bush and his advisers’ decision to invade was part of the bitter …
Black gold fuelled the Iraq War
Even before the conspicuous absence of weapons of mass destruction shattered the pretext for the Iraq War, it was haunted by black gold. Whether oil motivated George W. Bush and his advisers’ decision to invade was part of the bitter …
How football outgrew the BBC
The embarrassment was clear even from the continuity announcer. “Now on BBC One, we’re sorry that we’re unable to show our normal Match of the Day,” he intoned gravely. There was no theme tune, no presenters, no commentary, no post-match …
Will we ever solve the mystery of MH370?
On March 8, 2014, at around 1:20am, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished from radar screens just off the coast of Malaysia, never to be seen again. Nine years later, the Boeing 777’s disappearance remains the most astonishing, and terrifying, mystery …
Ten terrible years of Pope Francis
Ten years ago today, on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 13, 2013, the 115 cardinal-electors of the Catholic Church walked up one after the other to a table in the Sistine Chapel to deposit folded ballot papers, only an inch …
The real Covid conspiracy
The departing director of the world’s second biggest philanthropic donor and one of the most influential funders of scientific research was doing his best to sound noble. In an interview marking his departure from the Wellcome Trust, Sir Jeremy Farrar …
Why philosophers are so weird
Not for the first time, an academic philosopher has been causing mirth on Twitter. No, not Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University — this time it’s the turn of Professor Agnes Callard of the University …
Steven Spielberg’s childish fantasy
The Fabelmans (man of stories), which is nominated for seven Academy Awards, is not the first film Steven Spielberg made about himself. All his films have elements of memoir: the lonely child, the punished mother, the lost father. Even Schindler’s …
Did Trudeau ignore China’s meddling?
Justin Trudeau has had his share of scandals. However, the latest one to hit Canada’s leader has all the makings of a career-killer. Leaks from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) allege that Trudeau ignored its warnings of foreign interference …
The Lesbian Project has begun
It is great being a lesbian. Without getting into the thorny debate about whether or not sexuality is innate, I consider being a lesbian a great gift and a privilege. Yes, same-sex attracted females do have to learn to live …