Bruce Springsteen and the spectre of stardom
In 1981, the singer sensed his future fame – and retreated. Nebraska, his darkest and most personal album, was the…
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Sibling rivalry at backgammon has only one winner: not me
Up to London for the first day of the Ashes Test, and all I get is a hangover, Australian ascendancy…
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You won’t ever forget Channel 4’s Afghanistan documentary Evacuation
Give this revelatory series your time. Let it rip open your heart.
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Mat Osman Q&A: “The arts are turning into a desert”
The Suede bassist and novelist on Sherlock Holmes, the music of Kate Bush and life on the road.
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How sport explains Thatcher’s Britain
The commerce, scandal and violence of sport in the 1980s was a reflection of a ruthlessly individualist society.
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Yayoi Kusama’s “You, Me and the Balloons” is the epitome of art made for selfies
The 94-year-old artist’s new exhibition is vibrant and accessible, but her work’s ubiquity has made it trite.
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Making a murderer
Mark O’Connell’s portrait of a notorious Irish killer becomes a study of the desire to turn reality into fiction.
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Polly Toynbee and the price of privilege
The left-wing journalist’s memoir is an irresistible, Evelyn Waugh-like tale of aristocratic anarchy and class guilt.
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Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen: “I wouldn’t wish Mark Zuckerberg’s life on anyone”
In 2021 she shone a light on misinformation and online harm. Now she’s “extremely worried” about Big Tech’s impact on…
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Return to Seoul: a film made with more genius than cash
In this fantastic, low-budget film, a French-Korean woman adopted at a young age returns to the place of her birth.
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Why Glastonbury could do with a touch of snark
From festival coverage to nature documentaries, TV is so relentlessly cheerful that it brings out my inner curmudgeon.
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“I’m feeling gently told off”: Wes Streeting and Dr Phil Whitaker in conversation
As the NHS faces its worst crisis, the shadow health secretary joined the GP for a day at his Somerset…
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Mugshots of a nation
After a three-year facelift, the bandages are now off the National Portrait Gallery.
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Dear England and the English Question
In his new play about Gareth Southgate, James Graham uses football to explore a contested national identity.
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Why Question Time has had its time
The conditions that made the political panel show a good idea in 1979 no longer exist.
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Is Robert Kennedy Jr a genuine threat to Joe Biden?
Support for JFK’s nephew as a presidential candidate reveals the demand among Democrats for an alternative.
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Letter of the week: I am Waterstones Dad
Write to letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
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Who are the 31 male MPs on Westminster’s list of shame?
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
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The abuse of the Bay City Rollers
Even if I hadn’t read the tabloid stories about the band’s struggles, they’d be top of my list in the…
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A history of the world in circles
Radio 4’s In the Loop explores the secrets of things that are round – from particle accelerators to the 5,000-year-old…
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