World
A tribute to my friend James Lovelock
The scientist James Lovelock died this week at the age of 103. He was best known for his Gaia theory,…
TikTok can’t escape its China problem
In 2020, then-president Donald Trump attempted to ban the wildly popular social media app TikTok. Its Gen Z influencers were…
Did Rishi Sunak's interview gamble pay off?
Rishi Sunak took a major risk tonight, agreeing to a one-on-one interview with Andrew Neil on Channel 4 News. As…
Andrew Neil's interview with Rishi Sunak – as it happened
Rishi Sunak was interviewed by Andrew Neil on Channel 4 tonight. He was quizzed on inflation, the NHS backlog and more. Liz Truss,…
Is the eurozone in crisis?
Is the eurozone heading for another 2010-style sovereign debt crisis? Today comes the news that inflation in the eurozone hit…
Scots are being sacrificed to a failed drug policy
The Scottish government’s attempts to spin the latest drugs deaths statistics are a grim response to a total failure of…
Rebekah Vardy's spectacular own goal
Jamie Vardy is one of English football’s most prolific strikers. But thanks to his wife, his surname will be forever…
Giorgia Meloni has beaten Silvio Berlusconi at his own game
Now it’s official: if the right-wing coalition wins Italy’s election, Giorgia Meloni will almost definitely be prime minister. Earlier this…
Prince Harry mocked by Supreme Court judge
‘Privacy’ was the reason given for Harry and Meghan upping sticks and leaving Britain in early 2020. The dilettante duke…
Struggling Brits need help, not free theatre tickets
Lurking in the background of the Tory leadership contest, the cost of living crisis rumbles on. With Autumn round the…
On the frontline at Drag Queen Story Hour
Henleaze, a suburb in the north of Bristol, is an unlikely place for a protest. This is a well-to-do area…
Walking Hanoi
I let the roosters wake me at 4:30 a.m., since it’s already 88 degrees out, will be 100 by noon…
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is about politics not diplomacy
The Biden administration is increasingly concerned about a trip to Taiwan next month by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And they…
Is the US in recession?
There’s an almighty debate ongoing in the US about what exactly a ‘recession’ is. Regardless of semantics, the numbers are…
Asking a rabbi about abortion
When the Roe news broke, my thoughts — myopically — turned not to the millions of Americans who were rejoicing,…
Why the Tavistock clinic had to be shut down
There are many reasons why what is sometimes crudely called ‘the trans issue’ is important. One is the political failure…
Could Boris return?
Asked recently whether Boris Johnson, Britain’s soon-to-be-ex-Prime Minister, would ever return to the highest elected office in the land, super-loyalist…
Scotland's drug deaths scandal is a problem no one seems able to solve
Scotland has a high amount of drugs deaths. But it’s not just that. It’s that Scotland suffers drugs deaths at levels…
Prince Harry presiding over ‘toxic boys’ club,’ former employees claim
Steerpike is fond of a periodical check-in with modern Renaissance men. And they don’t come much more multi-talented than Prince…
Biden's word play can't save the United States from a recession
Some denials are more worrying than their absence. A company insisting that its director will be vindicated by the forensic…
Admit it: monkeypox is kind of funny
When monkeypox crept onto the scene last month, with a handful of confirmed cases in the US, it seemed too…
Truss gambit outflanks Sunak on China
Talk about a tale of two campaigns. China has been one of the dominant themes this week in the Tory…
Angela Rayner ally sacked by Starmer
Sam Tarry, who joined today’s picket line at Euston and gave various interviews from there, has been sacked from the…
Has the lab leak theory really been disproved?
The BBC carried a story this week with the headline ‘Covid origin studies say evidence points to Wuhan market’. Bizarrely…
Labour MPs cheer 'drag story hour'
Summer recess is here and MPs are competing for the Tory leadership or jetting off on their hols. For some,…