Could Ukrainians ever trust a Putin peace deal?
Last week at the Buxton International Festival I joined a big audience for an onstage interview with Anna Reid. She’s…
Under pressure: what might life look like on another planet?
Over the past three decades, astronomers have discovered planets orbiting Sun-like stars throughout the universe. This discovery ended 2,500 years…
Are we in for 40 days of rain?
Rain or shine Has a wet St Swithin’s Day (15 July) ever been followed by 40 wet days or a…
A major operatic rediscovery: Birmingham Opera Company’s New Year reviewed
This prophecy Merlin shall make, for I live before his time. One of the most thrilling aspects of the Tippett…
Vapid and pretentious: Visit From An Unknown Woman, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed
Visit From An Unknown Woman, adapted by Christopher Hampton from a short story by Stefan Zweig, opens like an episode…
Don’t bother calling the doctor
‘If you are calling about sinusitis, sore throat, earache in children, infected inset bite from the UK not overseas, impetigo,…
The myth of collective wisdom
After 250 years of American independence, a nation home to many of the smartest and most talented people in the…
Are you a Gail’s or a Wimpy voter?
Liberal Democrat activists were reportedly told to ‘get out the Gail’s vote’, targeting people who visit the over-priced artisanal cafés.…
The cognitive dissonance of the Democrats
Believe it or not, I planned to write the gist of this column before Saturday night. However, a caveat. Unlike…
From the front line of the battle to save Kharkiv
Kharkiv region Moonlight shines on the wings of the reconnaissance drone as it glides over the field. Within minutes, the…
A David and Goliath battle involving a billion-dollar pornography website
Laila Mickelwait appears to wage a one-woman crusade to shut down a major distributor of rape and child abuse videos
‘I’m a hypocrite and a total fraud’ – the confessions of a French Surrealist poet
My writing is mere bricolage … whatever I do, I only half do’, wails Michel Leiris in the final volume of his self-lacerating autobiography
