There’s nothing magic about magic mushrooms
For about six straight hours after taking magic mushrooms – psilocybin – I had visions of a vast, skeletal shark…
In defence of Elon Musk
I know a man who plans to burn an effigy of Elon Musk on his bonfire on 5 November. Musk…
Why can’t I give blood?
I read about the national shortage of blood last week with a feeling of gloomy inevitability. The brains of the…
Why are so many young women buying into polygamy?
The saddest thing I saw this week was a dating advert written by a woman – let’s call her Jane…
Kill badgers to save hedgehogs
Until last month I hadn’t seen a hedgehog for close to 30 years, though they were part of everyday life…
How kindness became big business
In those moments when I most fear that the West is on the skids, I find it helps to make…
Remembering Gore Vidal
Fourteen years ago, my then boss, Matt d’Ancona sent me off to interview Gore Vidal. I’ll always be grateful to…
The joy of volcano-chasing
Mary Wakefield on Katia and Maurice Krafft, who loved volcanoes and each other
Parents must resist Stonewall’s gospel
I think by now it’s becoming horribly apparent to parents of every political persuasion that we can’t sit out the…
If only Tom Cruise would ditch his cult
I keep reading that Tom Cruise is the Last Great Movie Star, as if he’s some noble but endangered animal.…
The nonsense world of emotional support animals
Sometimes an event or a phenomenon is so perplexing and so terrible that it’s best not to deal with it…
How did we fall for the junk science of forensics?
I grew up in the golden age of forensic science, at a time when expert witnesses were becoming celebs, each…
Our children are at breaking point – and it’s our fault
I think it’s time we stopped scaring the children. I think they’ve had enough. They’re at breaking point now, every…
The myth that Russia and Ukraine are fighting over
It seems strange now that any of us ever imagined that Putin might not invade. He thinks of Ukraine as…
Women-only train carriages insult us all
Sooner or later, somewhere in the UK, we’ll have trains with women-only coaches. It’s an idea which keeps rolling around,…
Is Britain heading for an opioid crisis?
Almost everyone here that I’ve spoken to about it assumes that the opioid crisis in the United States won’t ever…
Why must younger generations constantly ‘work on themselves’?
If I could lift one thing from younger generations, unpeel one idea from their anxious minds, it would be the…
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’s death and the problem of evil
Since I first read about the torture and murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, I’ve had what feels like an A-level…
How to spin a storm
If, in the days after Storm Arwen, the north of England began to suspect that the south didn’t much care…
Has Covid turned us into a nation of hermits?
If there’s one thing I misjudged completely, it’s how creepy and long-lasting the effects of lockdown on all of us…
The dangerous pleasure of hating men
I have Netflix, and in particular the series Maid, to thank for the startling discovery of how easy it is…
Why I left the Church of England: an interview with Michael Nazir-Ali
Michael Nazir-Ali on his decision to join the Catholic church
How would making misogyny a hate crime have helped Sabina Nessa?
I’m not sure very many of our politicians, the London Mayor or even the Met can really be said to…
Is it cruel to crush your child’s dreams?
I think it’s for the best if we ban all children’s books containing the word ‘dream’. Dream big, little dreamer,…
What’s the harm in opening the church doors?
The end of summer 2021, the end of the great British staycation. I sat on the grass outside the post…
