America
The Trump nightmare isn’t over
What would happen to the Republicans after Donald Trump? That has been one of the pundits’ favourite themes in the…
‘This was a horrible pandemic – but it wasn’t the big one’: Michael Lewis interviewed
Michael Lewis on the scientists who saw Covid coming – and were ignored
The UK’s very American political realignment
The speed and scale with which voters, mainly but not exclusively in the north of England, have switched their allegiance…
The true cost of make-believe money
I like Bill Maher. He’s a rare practising left-wing comic who’s actually funny. But last week, his routine on cryptocurrency…
The China model: why is the West imitating Beijing?
From spending to lockdown, the West is copying Beijing
Portrait of the week: Covid retreats, raves resume and a £165,000 squid
Home ‘I think we have got a good chance of being able to dispense with the one-metre-plus from 21 June,’…
The curious rise of cottagecore
Cottagecore, not to be confused with cottaging, is an aspirational lifestyle trend. The word is relatively new —although you’ll find…
Britain is not America
‘If people in Wales had access to as much media coverage of decisions that affected Wales as they do of…
George Floyd was a victim of American gun culture
The triple guilty verdict on Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd was greeted with general relief across the…
What’s so great about ‘super’?
‘Wizard,’ said William. ‘Super,’ said Ginger, in William and the Moon Rocket (1954). More recently we have had Alex Salmond,…
Putin’s on manoeuvres – are we ready?
‘What follows plague?’ I asked a medieval historian at the start of the pandemic. ‘War,’ he replied. In recent days,…
The case against reparations for slavery
Last week, a bill cleared the US House Judiciary Committee that would establish a 13-person commission to consider federal reparations…
Why Sikhs are worried about the Indianapolis mass shooting
Last week, the New York Times mapped the location and number of casualties of mass shootings that have occurred on US…
Portrait of the week: Duke of Edinburgh dies, Covid retreats and questions for Cameron
Home The Duke of Edinburgh, who was married to the Queen for 73 years, died at Windsor Castle, aged 99.…
Money to burn: shoppers, not the state, will lead our recovery
Consumers, not ministers, will lead the recovery
Joe Biden’s party is over
Washington, DC The Democratic party is dying. That may be hard to believe since Democrats control both houses of…
America isn’t speaking our language
I haven’t yet read the report published by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. But, looking at the recommendations,…
Why fear a society that’s tearing itself apart?
In my teens, rubbishing the implacable edifice of the United States felt like kicking a tank in trainers. Richard Nixon’s…
How Prince Harry became celebrity frontman for a very questionable industry
Prince Harry’s very questionable new job
After London lockdown, LA is like Disneyland
When I arrived a month ago, one wouldn’t believe LA was suffering a major pandemic. The roads were still busy…
In America, politics has become a form of religion
When I finally head back to church this weekend, after a year of Covid-avoidance, it is going to feel a…
Is Britain heading for war over Taiwan?
Is Britain heading for war over Taiwan?
‘My’ truth about Meghan and Harry
Caroline Rose Giuliani, the daughter of the former mayor of New York, Rudy, has been talking to the press about…
Hollywood can’t believe Harry’s dissed Queen Oprah
Santa Monica is a soothing place to be locked down. I moved here from New York for four months in…
Here in Texas, Hell has frozen over
Austin ‘If I owned Texas and Hell,’ General Phil Sheridan famously said, ‘I would rent out Texas and live in…
