Surveillance
Laughing at Putin is a powerful form of protest
A constant round of fines, surveillance and detention is alleviated by jokes, mischief and a joyous love affair for Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina
There was no escaping the Nazis – even in sleep
Soon after Hitler came to power, a Jewish journalist, deprived of regular employment, began secretly recording her nightmares – and, as the terror increased, those of her fellow citizens
Is nothing private anymore?
We all need a place away from public view – but we should also remind ourselves why our privacy has been so invaded
The psychological toll of being constantly tracked and harassed
With smartphones providing hitherto undreamt of opportunities for spying, human rights workers and investigative journalists are left struggling for breath
Learning difficulties: The University of Bliss, by Julian Stannard, reviewed
The bureaucrats have taken over, treating both academics and students as administrative nuisances in a searing satire on university life
Nordic dream or nightmare?: The Mark, by Frida Isberg, reviewed
A test has been developed in Iceland to assess a citizen’s sensitivity and potential for anti-social behaviour. Will the looming referendum make it compulsory?
The authoritarianism of British Transport Police
When our freedoms are being taken away we are like the proverbial frog boiled alive in water where the temperature…
Where life is evil now
The idea of ‘pre-crime’ was popularised by Philip K. Dick’s story ‘The Minority Report’ and the 2002 Steven Spielberg film…
The strange new liberal attraction to the feds
In a political era defined by abnormalities, few developments are as bizarre as the newfound liberal admiration for federal law…
TikTok is the world’s fastest-growing – and goofiest – digital platform, but should we fear it?
In November last year, an internet video made by a 17-year-old American went viral. The video was less than a…
How to catch a thief
My tech guy Andy appeared on the doorstep in a puff of smoke. I had just texted him to ask…
How capitalism killed sleep
What can you make a joke about these days? All the old butts of humour are off limits. No wonder…
In China’s new surveillance state, everyone will be watched, reviewed and rated
The bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai is the fastest in the world. It takes just over four hours to…
Sins of omission
My last review for The Spectator was of Julian Barnes’s biographical novel about Shostakovitch. A Girl in Exile also depicts…
Life in a glass house
‘First and last I was, and always would be, an American,’ Jeremy O’Keefe, the professor narrator of Patrick Flanery’s new…
The heavens are falling
The dystopian novel in which a Ballardian deluge or viral illness transforms planet Earth has become something of a sub-genre,…
Spy if you must, but don’t give the game away
The Snoopers’ Charter. I ought to care about this. I’m a sort of libertarian. I believe in personal freedom. I’m…
By the book – The perils of snooping
The continuing drip-feed of stories about governments and friendly-seeming internet giants sifting through our data has left some citizens feeling…
Snowden is no leftie
So why are British conservatives determined to ignore his revelations?
Dear Mary
Q. I have a problem with what might be called location blindness. I live in Balham, but when I arrange…
