What’s the difference between Shamima Begum and Unity Mitford?
The debate sparked by Josh Baker’s BBC podcast on Shamima Begum, and her teenage flight to join Isis, has divided…
His dark materials
Radio works its strongest magic, I always think, when you listen to it in the dark. The most reliable example…
Don’t expect a united Ireland any time soon
Don’t expect a united Ireland any time soon
There’s a growing sense that tomorrow belongs to Sinn Fein
There’s a growing sense that tomorrow belongs to Sinn Fein
Richard Needham takes a businesslike attitude to the Troubles
This memoir from Sir Richard Needham, 6th Earl of Kilmorey, businessman and former Northern Ireland minister, has a frank opening:…
The competitive cult of cosiness
Can we escape the cult of cosiness?
The chilling rise of ‘IRA TikTok’
The chilling rise of ‘IRA TikTok’
The perfect film for family viewing: Belleville Rendez-Vous revisited
The selection of a film for family viewing is a precise and delicate art, particularly with us all now confined…
Romanticising Northern Ireland’s history is a deadly mistake
For those of us who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, there is a pungent but negative sense…
The war on meat has begun – and vegans are winning comfortably
As January — the month of penitence and tax returns — grinds towards its close, it would be foolish to…
Tech gurus don’t let their kids have smartphones. Here’s why
Pupils are back in classrooms and parents can finally have a brief respite from worrying about their children’s excessive screen…
Why Britain is lucky to have Meghan Markle
The wedding of Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne, and Meghan Markle, actress and former star of…
Me! Me! #MeToo! How Hollywood hijacked feminism
This is the Time’s Up Oscars, the first one where the #MeToo movement is a major player, and no one…
The #MeToo fury has spilled over into a feminist war
The #MeToo movement began, I thought, primarily to allow women to speak out about harassment from men, which they had…
Civilised air travel? Pigs might fly
Does anyone actually enjoy flying any more? I know I don’t. I realised recently, while anxiously repacking my tiny carry-on…
Put out the fires
Few events have appalled London liberals so publicly as the surprise emergence of the ten MPs of the Democratic Unionist…
Coffee break
I gave up coffee a couple of weeks ago. I won’t pretend it was easy. The physical withdrawal began with…
A war on joy
When the pictures of the dead came in, it was hard to take, even from a distance. There was Georgina…
The Irish problem
When David Cameron called his Brexit referendum, the potential difficulty of Northern Ireland was not uppermost in his mind. Nor…
Lest we forget
I never met Martin McGuinness, but I was certainly affected by him from an early age. His decisions, and those…
Star power
The ongoing war between Donald Trump and the Hollywood A-list has entered a new and unpredictable phase. Celebrity criticism of…
Star power
The ongoing war between Donald Trump and the Hollywood A-list has entered a new and unpredictable phase. Celebrity criticism of…
Star power
The ongoing war between Donald Trump and the Hollywood A-list has entered a new and unpredictable phase. Celebrity criticism of…
Can this sweet little girl get out of Aleppo alive?
Every morning, after the children go to school, I turn on my computer to check that Bana Alabed is alive…
Can this sweet little girl get out of Aleppo alive?
Every morning, after the children go to school, I turn on my computer to check that Bana Alabed is alive…
