Ralph Steadman: The gonzo marksman
For six decades, the Welsh artist's savage cartoons have thrilled, angered and shocked readers. He is not done yet.
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Christmas and New Year special 2016
The last days of Robert Mugabe
Zimbabwe is engulfed, and not only by a political crisis. While its leaders fight, its economy is in meltdown.
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What two new books on trees taught me about politics
How we think about the natural world matters – which is why the rich metaphors in The Hidden Life of Trees …
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In a New York winter, it takes a nonagenarian piano player to shut out politics
A strange, embattled year it’s been, but here we still are.
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Martin Scorsese’s new passion project, Silence, shows the danger of confusing faith with folly
This labour of love from the legendary director is no more a movie than a pile of ingredients is…
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A date for your diary: Jeremy Irons reads T S Eliot on Radio 4
I can think of no better way to hear out a grim year than listening to Eliot's poetry. It's…
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Different class: how a Palestinian teacher won $1m
Hanan al-Hroub was a poorly paid teacher on the West Bank. Then she won the $1m Global Teacher Prize.
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Why the story of Alice Bacon still matters for today’s politicians
Rachel Reeves was the second woman to represent Leeds in parliament. Now, she's written a book about the first.
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The best television of 2016
Stuck on what to watch over Christmas? Our critic rounds up her picks of the year.
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How do I know that my father loved me? One night at the ballet was all the proof I needed
"Nutcracker", he said, looking back over his shoulder and winking at me.
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What does a good 21st-century immigration policy look like?
Immigration presents us with a moral and political quandary. Can two books help us decide what to do?
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The NS Poem: Gravity
A new poem by Simon Armitage.
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The NS Poem: Cane
A new poem by Daljit Nagra.
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Poem: Apostle
"I hurd the storie & I tolde it back, / god-gifted, to spyce up the craic"
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The best podcasts of 2016
From relationship horror stories to the solving of a decades-old cold case, it’s been a great year for listening.
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“Not a Christmas story“: A short story by Ali Smith
"I’d forgotten that Bowie had ever recorded that song, and with Bing Crosby of all people."
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In 2016, I’m ending the year by retreating into the past
Linda the landlady has gone, and even a stack of New Scientist magazines doesn't cheer me up. There's nothing for it…
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In the woods, a brush with hope
Hope and terror on a winter walk.
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Guardians of the galaxy: the unlikely politics of Star Trek
How Star Trek could have averted the global financial crash, eradicated racism and kept Britain out of the Iraq…
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The best films of 2016
Don't know what to watch this Christmas? Our film critic rounds up his picks of the year.
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We all eat mince pies at Christmas – but does anyone actually like them?
The average Briton puts away 27 mince pies in the run up to Christmas. So why are my friends…
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How two psychologists found the perfect balance between confidence and doubt
The central irrationality inside sport is the dread of looking conspicuously wrong, which is even more powerful than wanting…
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Dreaming of a white Christmas? Why we’re so in love with snow
Marcus Sedgwick's Snow doesn't just tell us the science of the white stuff – it explores its place in our…
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Syria has been at war for years – yet, in Damascus, life goes on
On a visit to the conflict-riven country I get a glimpse of its hidden treasures and a wide view of the…
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Is Sebastian Barry suffering from mid-career doubt?
An exciting new guard of Irish writers have set the literary world ablaze. But where does that leave the…
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Polymath at large: revisiting the travels of Andrew Solomon
Solomon’s gifts are so wide-ranging it can be hard not to believe he comes from an earlier century.
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Opening the cracks: revisiting the 17th century woman writer Margaret Cavendish
Like the historical fiction of Hillary Mantel and Ali Smith, Danielle Dutton's Margaret the First investigates, more than anything, what…
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The best albums of 2016: from David Bowie to Solange
As the end of the year approaches, Kate Mossman rounds up the best new releases.
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Take a butcher’s at this: a new history of slang
Vulgar Tongues: an Alternative History of English Slang gathers material from a mind-boggling range of sources – but still…
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