In my new novel, A Book of Days, a husband is dying slowly. While I was writing it, my own husband died suddenly, with no warning. He died in his sleep, I was told. His children and I hope that …
The betrayal behind America’s border battle
The Rio Grande is shallow, but wields a powerful current where it slices sharply between the small windy Texan city of Eagle Pass on its northern bank and the larger Mexican city of Piedras Negras — Black Stones, after its …
The amateur sleuths taking on the CCP
“Stop touching her! Don’t touch her!” The screams rang out across the concourse of London’s St Pancras station. “Please. Do not touch her! Please. You are not the same age. Please do not touch her. Don’t touch her. Please don’t …
Why did three journals reject my puberty-blocker study?
What happens during puberty? And what happens if we try to stop it? It’s one of the most fraught questions of our time. Given its significance and the vulnerability of the people it involves, you might be surprised to learn …
How Polish farmers ignited a European revolution
Donald Tusk probably thought the worst was behind him. Just last month, Polish truckers suspended the months-long blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border they had staged with the help of Polish farmers since November. The chaos, it seemed, was over — …
Taylor Swift, America’s national hero
A record number of Americans are likely to watch this Sunday’s Super Bowl, probably only half of whom will be following the actual game. The other half will be scanning the luxury boxes for tantalising glimpses of Taylor Swift, the …
How Biden can still beat Trump
After Donald Trump’s succession of early primary victories, and Nikki Haley’s stinging loss in Nevada on Tuesday, a Biden-Trump rematch seems all but inevitable come November. The outcome of that contest, however, is far from certain.
According to most accounts, …
Biohack feminism won’t save women
A well-worn and tear-soaked origin story, vaguely reminiscent of biblical incarnation, tends to accompany press reporting on new fertility ventures. Once upon a time there was an ordinary Californian woman with great LinkedIn connections who was trying for some particular …
The delusions of the climate power bloc
We live in an age of climate doomerism, and culture has responded in kind. One of its best avatars is Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 film Snowpiercer, set on a Snowball Earth created when scientists released aerosols into the sky in a …
The delusions of the climate power bloc
We live in an age of climate doomerism, and culture has responded in kind. One of its best avatars is Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 film Snowpiercer, set on a Snowball Earth created when scientists released aerosols into the sky in a …
Ivory Coast is back from the dead
At the apex of the flyover somewhere to the north of Abidjan, crowds lined the roads, dancing, singing, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas. A shirtless man painted in the orange, white and green of the Ivorian flag tottered into the middle …
How I became a target in the gender-critical civil war
A few nights ago, I attended a gathering at which friends and acquaintances were encouraged to mingle and chat. At one point I found myself discussing the films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz with a gentleman in advanced middle-age. I pointed …
Caught up in the gender-critical civil war
A few nights ago, I attended a gathering at which friends and acquaintances were encouraged to mingle and chat. At one point I found myself discussing the films of Joseph L. Mankiewicz with a gentleman in advanced middle-age. I pointed …
China is winning the battle for the Red Sea
Hardly for the first time, remote Arab tribesmen are reshaping the world. Piratical attacks on international shipping by Yemen-based Houthi rebels have created a significant security crisis in the Red Sea. The world’s largest shipping lines have been forced to …
In defence of grumpy old men
In every culture, in every era, you will find the archetype of the cantankerous old man. He’s ubiquitous in cinema — the aged, scowling hero of Gran Torino; the feuding codgers of Grumpy Old Men; the dementia-stricken patriarch of The …