Beware interesting politicians
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? One minute you are sitting down, with a cup of tea, ready to listen…
How I saved a baby in Laos’s jungle
I was writing a thriller in northeast Laos about fifteen years ago near a town called Phonsavan, researching a mysterious…
The deep absurdity of HS2 diversity’s agenda
When it comes to British railway history, I can say, without exaggeration, that few places are more iconically located than…
Is your pet killing the planet?
Having a pet is worse for the planet than flying
The unbearable strangeness of the Ukraine war
As a journalist, I’ve been on the periphery of quite a few wars: for example, I went to Bosnia as…
America’s fierce guilt for slavery is understandable – we mustn’t import it
I love American roadtrips. They are the ideal way to visit 96 per cent of the country, which is determinedly…
UFOs or not – something is up
As famous capital cities of world-straddling superpowers go, Washington DC is somewhat disappointing. The grandiose urbanism is surely meant to…
Why do we never talk about Islamic slavery?
The beautiful Siwa Oasis in the far western deserts of Egypt is a remarkable place, for multiple reasons. It’s probably been inhabited, continuously,…
Writers are doomed to fail in their war against AI
It’s a cliché of publishing that men over the age of 40 only read military history. In my case it’s not…
I demand reparations for my ancestors’ fall from grace
I demand reparations for my ancestors’ fall from grace
Why now is the time to visit Bangkok
In the deliciously darkened corners of the Vesper cocktail bar, in the central quartier of the Siamese capital known as Silom, the…
Hola, here’s the first Brexit Benefit
Whenever Brexit is discussed these days, you will nearly always find a splenetic or exultant Remainer asking, often in a…
AI is the death of porn
I have a friend, let’s call her Ellie, who has a diverting side hustle: she sells erotic images of herself…
The decline and fall of urban America
The death of the American city
How we forgot about Pol Pot
When I was a small boy, I had a favourite book: The Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton. Given that my…
East Asia’s mask obsession is a catastrophe the West must avoid
In the Red Square Rooftop Vodka Bar of the sleekly towering Novotel Hotel, on soi 4, Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok, it…
Antarctica: the best journey in the world
Nothing compares with Antarctica
How Australian rock art warns us about 2023
If you had to choose an obvious place to look for clues about what will happen in the coming year,…
Why is The New York Times so obsessed with loathing Britain?
They’ve done it again in the grey building on 826 Eighth Avenue, New York City, NY, USA. They – the…
An existential war: even wealthy émigrés are prepared to fight for Russia
Even wealthy émigrés are prepared to fight for Russia
How Boris Johnson changed my life
Over the coming weeks we will be regaled with dozens of personal recollections, from around the world, of the man…
Is there a British version of America’s attachment to guns?
Now that the horror of the Uvalde school shooting in Texas has begun to ebb away, as it always does,…
Is an unknown, extraordinarily ancient civilisation buried under eastern Turkey?
I am staring at about a dozen, stiff, eight-foot high, orange-red penises, carved from living bedrock, and semi-enclosed in an…
Can you tell which of these artworks was created by a computer?
Will AI change painting — or destroy it?
