America
Even those who reviled Thatcher will be moved, appalled and astonished: Dead Sheep at the Park reviewed
Dead Sheep is a curious dramatic half-breed that examines Geoffrey Howe’s troubled relationship with Margaret Thatcher. Structurally it’s a Mexican…
Woman in Gold review: even Helen Mirren is weighed down by the script’s banalities
Woman in Gold feels rather like a Jewish version of Philomena as this too is about an older woman seeking…
Where Alcibiades once walked, amateur tax spies are trying to entrap poor pistachio-sellers
Athens I am walking on a wide pedestrian road beneath the Acropolis within 200 meters of the remaining Themistoclean wall…
Oh joy! Sean Penn has tried to crack a joke
What a pleasure it is to see the Hollywood actor Sean Penn neck deep in PC ordure. The rodentine thespian…
Muswell Hill reviewed: a guide on how to sock it to London trendies
Torben Betts is much admired by his near-namesake Quentin Letts for socking it to London trendies. Letts is one of…
The pleasures and perils of podcast listening
No phrase is better calculated to tense the neck muscles of a regular podcast listener than ‘We have something special…
Better Call Saul review: the box set equivalent of a (very) well-made play
I lost count long ago of the number of dinner parties and pub conversations where I’ve had to utter the…
The art of Coke
The Coca-Cola ‘contour’ bottle is 100 years old. Stephen Bayley salutes a design classic
Selma review: rich, nuanced, heartbreaking
Selma, the civil rights film that stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, undoubtedly contains the best and most powerful…
Arabian Motorcycle Adventures review: enthralling and constantly surprising
There were great numbers of young men who had never been in a war and were consequently far from unwilling…
Foxcatcher: piercing, shattering, spellbinding
Foxcatcher is a crime drama (of sorts) that has already been dubbed ‘Oscarcatcher!’ as it barely puts a foot wrong.…
How America’s right wing is becoming a lot more like Britain’s
America’s right wing is becoming a lot more like Britain’s
Hooray for Homeland - Carrie’s back blasting America’s enemies to pieces with drones
One of the more welcome and surprising things about television at the moment is that Homeland (Channel 4, Sunday) is…
Julian Assange is a narcissist and a nut — and if America comes for him we should take his side
Poor Julian Assange. Call me a contrarian but I’m genuinely starting to feel sorry for the guy. He’s just made…
From jailbird to social butterfly – the return of Conrad Black
The former proprietor of this magazine, Conrad Black, is in London at the moment with his gorgeous wife Barbara, and…
Elliot Rodger and the Hollywood ending
I’ve found myself strangely drawn to the videos made by the 22-year-old assassin Elliot Rodger just before he went on…
Why I no longer want to live in America
A few years ago I would have quite liked to live in America. I’m not sure now. For one thing,…
How to shop for the apocalypse
America’s doomsday preparedness industry is booming
Clinton vs Bush — again
American politics looks increasingly like an oligarchy
Lost Kerouac that should have stayed lost
In 1944, when he was 22, Jack Kerouac lost a manuscript — in a taxi, as he thought, but probably…
Europe's 'new world order' is letting Vladimir Putin run riot
Putin has now broken the post-Cold War consensus for good. But Russia may not enjoy the results
American Smoke, by Iain Sinclair - review
If you have read Iain Sinclair’s books you will know that he is a stylist with a love of language.…
Celia Walden's diary: Have I finally caught my husband in an affair?
For a minute I just stood there with my back against the wall, staring at the credit card receipt. Then…
The painter of poetry
The famous court case in which Ruskin accused Whistler of ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’ continues…
Signifying Rappers, by David Foster Wallace - review
Since his suicide, David Foster Wallace has made the transition from major writer to major industry. Hence this UK issue…
