A L Kennedy Q&A: “Of course we’re all doomed“
The novelist talks wise politicians, time travel and Captain Haddock.
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Why Islamic State targets Britain
I dined behind the Houses of Parliament in my sexually connected foursome
My wife and I would sometimes dine out with another couple. We did not always check the significance of…
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And the winner of footballer wig of the year is…
My end-of-season awards.
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Over tea, the dominatrix told me that keeping a straight face was the hardest part of the job
"There is great power in being submissive," she explained.
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For only the third time in my life I whimper: “No more, no more”
I have only, to my recall, met two people who can outpace me, drink for drink, and they happen…
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Magna Carta was good for humans – but even better for fish
“All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and throughout the whole of England, except on the…
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The radio station where the loyal listeners are chickens
Emma Hills, the head chicken trainer at Giffords Circus, knows what gets them clucking.
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Broken and The Trial: From Sean Bean playing a priest to real life lawyers
A surprisingly involving depiction of a clergyman provides the saintly contrast to the sinner being judged by a real jury.
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The Red Turtle and My Life As a Courgette: Oscar nominated animations with very different charms
Studio Ghibli's eloquent animation and lack of dialogue contrast with a pleasureably prickly French-language animation
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From Harry Potter to Jimmy Savile: Jack Thorne on the darkness that defines his dramas
The writer who brought Harry Potter to the stage talks about a difficult childhood, his hopes for Labour, and his new production of Woyzeck.
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Peculiar Ground by Lucy Hughes-Hallett asks how we shape history and how much is beyond our control
In Wychwood, a great house in Oxfordshire, the wealthy build walls around themselves to keep out ugliness, poverty, political…
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Admission: A Life in Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh – a handbook for giving up hope joyfully
Globetrotting brain surgeon's second memoir offers a frank asessment of man and medicine.
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Beren and Lúthien: Love, war and Tolkien’s lost tales
Expanded and augmented version of tale which first appeared in Silmarillion mirrors Tolkien's own relationship with wife Edith.
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Vivek Shanbhag’s Ghachar Ghochar – Barbarism begins at home
A feminist tale told through the eyes of an unnamed male narrator.
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Guns and bullets and nothing more: the Syrian Kurds fighting Isis
They are the US-led coalition’s main ally in the fight against Isis, but as Turkey keeps bombing them, the…
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“On Crutches” and “At Thirty Three”
Two poems by Joe Dunthorne.
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Can the media focus on transgender politics reveal anything larger about identity?
Four new books offer insight into what it means to be a man or woman in a world increasingly accepting…
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The Benedict Option: a new monasticism for the 21st century
A new book by the conservative blogger Rob Dreher asks whether Christians should turn their back on society – is…
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Twilight of the postwar era
This Brexit-focused election is just one milestone in a long and complex relationship between the UK and the EU.
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Inside the minds of the Isis murderers
As pressure on the terror group that claimed responsiblity for the Manchester attack intensifies, the threat to Britain will only…
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Ariana and the Arianators: “We really are like a family”
The pop star provides her fans with a chance to express themselves joyfully – their targeting was grimly predictable.
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Why we’ll all have to stomach the hi-tech future of food
Lab-grown meat and veg may be unappetising, but our planet's survival may depend on it.
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In the name of the father: Patricia Lockwood on sex, centaurs and Catholicism
The author of the viral poem “Rape Joke” talks about growing up with her gun-toting Catholic “priestdaddy”.
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Commons Confidential: Gaffe-tastic Johnson, a missing Osborne, and a bit of May-hem
Plus rumours that Sir Keir “Call Me Mr” Starmer will throw his flat cap into the next Labour Party leadership…
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Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP’s echoes of New Labour
The fall of Blair should be a set text for anyone wishing to know what happens next to the…
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The warden had to lock the gates at Suomenlinna Prison – because people kept getting in
Finnish prisons don't operate in terror of what the Sun will say, meaning they can focus on rehabilitation.
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The Randian Republican who could rein in Trump isn’t a coward – he’s much worse
Paul Ryan's refusal to condemn Trump is not caused by terror or fear; rather, it is a cynical, self-serving tactic.
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David Hepworth’s diary: Chatting with Danny Baker, pontificating about Bob Dylan
Why does he only open at weekends? He looks both ways in the manner of Arthur Daley. “Trading Standards…
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This election has sparked a weird debate – one in which no one seems to want to talk
The noise level hasn’t risen above a low gurgle in the background.
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Expressing sympathy for terror’s victims may seem banal, but it’s better than the alternative
Angry calls for “something to be done” play into terrorists’ hands.
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Leader: Mourning in Manchester
Yet another attack shows we are going to have to get to used to the idea that our liberalism…
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Manchester will keep being Manchester – anything else would let the victims down
The city will survive even this bitter attack on the young and their freedom to have fun.
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