Utopia
In search of utopia: Chevengur, by Andrey Platonov, reviewed
After crossing the vast steppe, Sasha Dvanov reaches an isolated town where the communist ideal appears to have been achieved. But at what cost?
Searching for the best of all possible worlds – in London
Niall Kishtainy examines the eccentric ideas of Gerrard Winstanley, Thomas Spence, John Adolphus Etzler, Thomas More and other utopians who lived in and around the capital
A flawed utopia: The Men, by Sandra Newman, reviewed
The problem for feminism is men. Not, specifically, in the sense that men are the source of women’s problems, although…
A universal language will always be an unattainable dream
The comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, in his stage persona as the dim-witted interviewer Ali G, once asked Noam Chomsky if…
A spirited attempt to fix a show that’s never really flown: Utopia, Limited reviewed
Utopia, Limited (1893) is a rare bird, and one that every Gilbert and Sullivan completist simply has to bag. The…
The TV we feared they’d never dare make any more: The Singapore Grip reviewed
‘Art is dead,’ declared Mark Steyn recently. He was referring to the new rules — copied from the Baftas —…
Dreams of utopia before the Nazi nightmare
Today Munich is a prosperous and peaceful place — Germany’s most affluent, attractive city. Wandering its leafy avenues, lined with…
A dense, angry fable
Set partly in a future surveillance society, partly in ancient Carthage and 1970s Ethiopia, partly in contemporary Greece and London…
Norway’s noir
Valkyrien (C4, Sunday) is the hot new Scandi-noir series, which is being billed as Norway’s answer to Breaking Bad. In…
Tristram Hunt’s Diary: Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘revenge reshuffle’ has distracted attention from several Tory disasters
Whatever you do, don’t allow your six-year-old to be caught short at Crewkerne station. With the rain pouring and the…
Even Corbyn would find Thomas More’s Utopia too leftwing
Thomas More’s 1516 classic is a textbook for our troubled times, says William Cook
Eye-gouging within the first half-hour: the edgy new rules of TV drama
Where is Jessica Hyde? If those words mean nothing to you then I have some excellent news. If not, then…
