Biden’s Cuba policy has been a disaster for the Democrats
Ten years ago this week, Barack Obama announced the historic US rapprochement with Cuba. Alongside Obama during years of secret…
In defence of Starmer’s junk food advert ban
Keir Starmer’s government has just made itself even more unpopular. This week, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, author of One Boy, Two…
The flawed genius of Rafael Nadal
When Rafael Nadal triumphed in the 2005 French Open, he was still just a teenager. The Spaniard won 21 more…
Can Republicans be trusted with the US economy?
When it comes to the economy, Americans typically trust the Republicans. They’re the party traditionally aligned with big capital; and…
How postal votes could deliver Donald Trump the White House
Watch or attend one of Donald Trump’s rallies, and you may well see something surprising: an electronic billboard encouraging people…
Biden’s legacy is in Harris’s hands
Joe Biden did the honourable thing. It took dire polls and home truths from donors and allies, but the President…
The Democrats should remove Joe Biden from office
In a sense, Democrats ought to be relieved. After his calamitous presidential debate, Joe Biden delivered one of his most…
Biden’s health is a worry for Republicans and Democrats in tonight’s debate
Tonight, Donald Trump and Joe Biden face each other in the first of two presidential debates. With about ten per…
Don’t dismiss America getting into cricket
US cricket is rising. After beating Pakistan and pushing India, the Americans have reached the last eight of the T20…
Trump is forcing Biden to the right
Joe Biden is a pragmatist. With just five months to go until his rematch against Donald Trump, the veteran Democrat…
NeverTrumpers have found a way to hit Donald where it hurts
With Donald Trump confirmed as the Republican nominee, a group of NeverTrump conservatives have tried to hit the former president…
New light on the New Testament
Candida Moss reveals that many New Testament texts, including St Mark’s Gospel, were penned by enslaved scribes who became influential interpreters of Christian scripture
What Hugo Chávez failed to understand about Karl Marx
It’s 25 years this week since Hugo Chávez – an inspiration for leftwingers like Ken Livingstone and Jeremy Corbyn –…
Next year’s US election promises a crisis
There’s only a year to go until the most complex and consequential US presidential election ever. Ukraine, the Middle East,…
The horror of Halloween
Temperate weather, perfect apples, and leaves turning yellow, red, and purple – ‘Fall’ ought to be the most charming time…
The outrageous felling of the Sycamore Gap tree
One August afternoon, my dad, my uncle, and I were walking along Hadrian’s Wall. It was pouring. Our shoes were…
Radio 4’s In Our Time is still the best thing on the BBC
For 25 years, Melvyn Bragg and his guests on Radio 4’s In Our Time have discussed most things from antimatter…
Book banning has come back to bite US conservatives
If you thought American book-banning couldn’t get any more ridiculous, think again. A school district in Utah, one of the…
Test cricket is being sabotaged
Test cricket should be in its prime. England is the most aggressive team in history, India and Australia are uncommonly…
The best of liberal thought
Shocked by the authoritarianism of Cuba and the USSR, the Peruvian writer turned his back on communism in the 1960s, influenced by seven liberal European thinkers
A bitter sectarian divide: Young Mungo, by Douglas Stuart, reviewed
Douglas Stuart has a rare gift. The Scottish writer, whose debut novel Shuggie Bain deservedly won the 2020 Booker Prize,…
Emperor for three years: the doomed reign of Maximilian I of Mexico
On 8 April 1864 an Austrian archduke with a penchant for daydreaming agreed to be emperor of Mexico. As Edward…
Why England lost the Ashes
England’s wretched performance in the Ashes – which saw the side lose three tests and so the series to Australia…
What was the point of the war in Afghanistan?
On 7 October 2001 President George W. Bush launched Operation Enduring Freedom – the invasion of Afghanistan. The operation sought…
A death foretold: the last days of Gabriel García Márquez
In March 2014 Gabriel García Márquez went down with a cold. The man who wrote beautifully about ageing was approaching…
