The Wiki Man
What the media is doing to our politics
An American academic told me that during the 2016 presidential election nobody in academia believed there was the faintest chance…
The allure of ‘delight qualities’
If you were to ask which single business concept deserves to be more widely known, I would be hard-pressed to…
The case for ‘premium economy’ train carriages
A few years ago I wrote here about the unexpected symbiosis between economy passengers and business travellers on commercial flights.…
The genius of bottomless brunch
I’m rather fond of the many service stations on the M4, since I am convinced they are all named after…
The hidden benefits of smart motorways
In 2015, Holborn Underground station was suffering from serious overcrowding at peak hours, with a bottleneck forming in the space…
Why we pick the wrong holiday destinations
Having returned from a fortnight’s break, I wonder if we get holidays all wrong. In northern Europe, the custom is…
The Conservative case for remote working
Some years ago, an Australian neurologist was in the habit of walking barefoot across his lawn. This being Australia, the…
What Bob Dylan can teach us about economics
The problem with attempts to make everything in life more scientific is that reality hates generalisation. You can try to…
The case for theft-tanks
The Conservative party leadership contest is a milestone for diversity and inclusion. This time, we get to choose between someone…
The hidden benefit of an electric car
Hello, and welcome to episode one of What’s in My Frunk?, the first in an occasional Spectator series of news…
The unhappy truth about holidays
In the 1980s, the great advertising writer John Webster described the following paradox. As he saw it, the dream of…
Buying a brand-new car is the ultimate good deed
The Department for Transport recently ended a £1,500 subsidy towards the price of new, lower-priced electric cars one year earlier…
Working from home could have been the reset we needed
‘It is vital that we see a return to face-to-face meetings to foster the dynamic collaboration that creates breakthrough ideas.’…
Why sat navs are a conversation killer
When my daughters learned to drive, I suggested they take their tests in automatics as driving manual cars would soon…
My solution to unfair traffic fines
My driveway now lies in the middle of an ‘Average Speed Check Zone’. It’s a wonderful arrangement – for me…
My plan to cut congestions on our roads
Much of the current antipathy towards the car derives from the excessive influence Londoners exert over national debates. London is…
How to watch YouTube on your TV – and why you should
According to Pliny the Elder, Scipio Aemilianus was the first man to shave daily. The origin of the name Boeing…
Should the young pay less tax than the old?
In evolutionary terms, it is obvious why we get more conservative with age. Two strong forces, acting in the same…
The link between motorway service stations and shortages of PPE
I spend quite a lot of time attacking what I call ‘motorway service station’ path design. More attentive readers of…
How to post a parcel without leaving your house
Here’s a useful tip. Go to the Royal Mail websiteand you can ask your postman to collect letters or parcels…
Why restaurant food at home beats eating out
‘The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be…
The myth of the typical Brexit voter
In Jake’s Thing, Kingsley Amis gave it a name: he called it ‘the inverted pyramid of piss’: ‘One of [Geoffrey…
Is it really such a shock that some people drink at work?
Thirteen years ago we shared an office building with a large international bank. A common lift connected both businesses to…
Things you didn’t know you needed
The explosion in remote and flexible working accelerated by the pandemic slightly supports my assertion that the most important limits…
Everyone should be sick in the street once
I learned a great deal at university, about half of it from a man called Raymond Foulk. Ray was not…
