At Balliol, Boris Johnson’s old Oxford college, there was a society, now dormant, called the Hysteron Proteron Club. Members were required to live an entire day backwards at least once a term, and discharged the duty conscientiously. The 12-hour ordeal …
Why we can’t let Britpop die
It has been more than 30 years since Suede’s first single, The Drowners — slightly longer than the gap between that and the Beatles’ debut — but Britpop is having yet another moment. Blur have just announced two dates at …
The battle for Taiwan’s constitution
At the Taipei headquarters of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), a wall of shame has been erected in dishonour of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) patsies. Towards the bottom of the TSP shit-list sits Elon Musk, whose recent “solution” to the …
Sam Bankman-Fried’s elitist altruism
Elizabeth Holmes dressed in the same style every day: black turtleneck sweater, black slacks, and black low-slung shoes. This “uniform” underlined her deified status as a busy billionaire dedicated to changing the world, setting her apart from mere mortals with …
Nicaragua’s inconvenient Covid victory
In Nicaragua, Latin America’s third poorest country, people who don’t work don’t eat. Three-quarters of jobs are in small businesses or the informal economy. So when its first Covid case was diagnosed on 18 March 2020, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega …
The workers were never ignorant
Sixteen years before the Beveridge Report was published, the working people of Britain showed that, whatever problems might afflict them, ignorance wasn’t one of them. The General Strike of 1926 broke out when the mine owners tried to impose lower …
Who cancelled English folklore?
Sleeping Beauty. Cinderella. Puss-in-Boots. All names with which most of us are familiar. But in Britain, when it comes to our own folk tales, myths and legends, most are long forgotten. Few of us know the names of Woden, Herne …
Is America angry enough for Trump?
Elizabeth Warren will never be president. The senior senator from Massachusetts is in many ways hugely qualified for the job. She has a list of legislative achievements to her name, and on subjects like cryptocurrency reform she is still on …
Macron’s grand European delusion
“The impression of narrow-mindedness… prompted a great part of public opinion to turn to a spectre. This spectre was born in Geneva, and against the sterility of the French political landscape, it bore resemblance to hope. Its name was Europe.” …
Stop pretending to be authentic
In one of my first acting classes at college, we performed a Stanislavski exercise. “You’ll come up to the front of the class and perform an activity,” the professor said. “Something mundane. Something you do every day.” One classmate brushed …
Why Russia retreated from Kherson
The withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson back across the great river Dnieper was not inevitable — it was entirely voluntary. Yes, they were performing poorly under Ukraine’s accurate artillery fire, but they could have been ordered to hold on …
Why is America provoking China?
After meeting Xi Jinping last week, Joe Biden did his best to paint a rosy image of US-China relations. “As the leaders of our two nations,” he said, “we share a responsibility to show that China and the United States …
How Rishi could trap Labour
Only the most optimistic Conservative could believe the party will win the next election. It has been a year since the Tories slipped underwater in the polls and showed any signs of resurfacing. Truss drove the party to electoral wipe-out, …
The architecture of autocracy
For a building project marketed like a Hollywood blockbuster, the latest footage from the deserts of northwestern Saudi Arabia is a little underwhelming. A column of trucks is moving sand, a row of diggers poking at the barren landscape like …
Ukraine has silenced Ireland’s ‘Tankies’
The 52 Irish politicians who found themselves banned from Russia last week responded with varying degrees of surprise and sarcasm. Traditionally seen as politically “soft” on Russian aggression, Ireland has been increasingly vocal in its support for Ukraine — and …