Texas
Lionel Shriver on mass shootings, gun control and American carnage
This is an edited transcript of a conversation between Freddy Gray and Lionel Shriver on The Spectator’s Americano podcast, which you…
The Texas school shooting won’t change a thing
Joe Biden gave one of his more eloquent speeches yesterday in response to the mass shooting at an elementary school…
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…
Is America still a democratic republic?
‘Disappointed but not surprised.’ I suppose that describes my initial feeling about the summary dismissal by the Supreme Court last…
They think they’re better than you
Nancy Pelosi’s salon visit. Bill de Blasio’s gym session. Gavin Newsom’s French Laundry soirée. Cockburn can’t even keep up with…
We’re spending lockdown defending a family of mice
Austin My first Independence Day in the US for many years. Usually I’d be in Paris avoiding Texas heat. My…
Where are the deaths?
The coronavirus doomsayers could not even wait until the fall for the apocalyptic announcements of the dreaded second wave. Because…
The full story of the ‘second wave’
Has the second wave of COVID-19 arrived? Or is it time to fully reopen the country? It depends where you…
Joyous and very, very funny: Beastie Boys Story reviewed
The music of the Beastie Boys was entirely an expression of their personalities, a chance to delightedly splurge out on…
Elon Musk slays California’s anti-business beast
After a lengthy battle with public health officials in Alameda County, California, Elon Musk has emerged victorious. Tesla — the…
What is Michael Bloomberg thinking?
There are lies, damned lies, and data in politics. Everyone presumed a man as well-resourced as Michael Bloomberg had run…
Tame family dramas: Christmas in Austin, by Benjamin Markovits, reviewed
My partner’s brother once found himself accidentally locked into his flat on Christmas Day, which meant having to spend it…
Michael Moorcock: Why banning opioids has been a disaster for me
Returning to the United States a short while ago I received a stern talking to from an immigration officer. Why…
Midwinter murders: the best Christmas thrillers
It’s difficult to keep a crime series going after 11 books but Boris Akunin manages it well in All the…
Despite everything, America is beautiful — especially at West Point
What is left to say after the church shooting in the Home of the Depraved? Those killed in Texas included…
Lessons from Houston
The numbers are awesome. In a matter of hours, Hurricane Harvey dumped nine trillion gallons of rainfall on Houston and…
The monkey-brained case for Donald Trump
A few years ago I was asked to speak at a conference in New York. ‘Where would be the best…
Am I a brave cult survivor, too?
When I was 21, I lived with a cult for a year. It was a commune really, a tight-knit group…
Murder in a black Texas Arcadia
Mystery fans and writers are always looking for new locations in which murder can take place. Attica Locke has an…
