Hanif Kureishi’s interrupted life
In 2022 an accident left the novelist paralysed. His blackly comic memoir, Shattered, is a devastating portrait of an imprisoned…
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The myths of Blitz spirit
Steve McQueen’s new film suggests the Second World War was not simply a time of uncomplicated national unity.
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Waitrose is a big part of my life
Here I am, writing about my shopping again: eat your heart out, Adrian Chiles.
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Labour’s rhetorical black hole
Language is unravelling across the party.
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The Tallis Scholars at Saffron Hall: sublime and moving
“Mysteries and Miracles” explores several centuries of sacred music.
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Labour’s economic tightrope
Having raised taxes and spending, Labour must now deliver improved services.
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Generation Z is a tedious abomination
How did this series, in which dastardly pensioner zombies feast on teenagers, get made?
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Colin Ward’s school without walls
The New Statesman columnist and anarchist was a proponent of radical social change that put the most vulnerable first.
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Ali Smith’s data dystopia
Her mind-expanding new novel Gliff draws battle lines between art, language and Big Tech.
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From Miriam Gold to Bendor Grosvenor: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark and Recognising the Stranger by Isabella Hammad.
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Subscriber of the week: Anthony English
Contact zuzanna.lachendro@newstatesman.co.uk if you would like to be featured.
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This England: A late Romantic
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain –…
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To the young, everything is fresh and new
And I must admit: I envy them for it.
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For assisted dying to work, GPs need to know their patients
Ending a life must be a choice made between alternatives; not one taken because of a failure to provide proper…
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There is no hierarchy to good wine
It is difference, not excellence, that is the most enjoyable aspect of the grape.
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How Kraftwerk’s Autobahn remade pop
Half a century ago, the art-rock band introduced the world to the vocoder. Their sound – and pop music –…
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Diplomacy in a time of disorder
After the ruin of war, Britain helped build Europe’s institutions. In an unstable world, they are once again vital for…
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The spectre of American fascism
Kamala Harris’s bid for power is part of a long struggle against the politics of racism.
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Andrew Roberts Q&A: “I did enjoy watching the moon landings”
The historian and author on the inaccuracy of the latest Napoleon film, gout pills, and the joy of writing.
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Why the Tortoise sale may be good for the Observer
Also this week: reminiscing about print’s heyday and leaving technology at the theatre door.
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