Letter of the week: Our carbon dependency
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Subscriber of the week: John Margerison
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France’s forces of law and disorder
French police have declared themselves “at war” with rioters. How did the state’s protectors become a threat to its future?
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This England: Getting it in the neck
This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain –…
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Broke Britannia
Britain is trapped in a cycle of inflation and economic pain. What will it take to break it?
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The rotten heart of the French republic
The crisis in France only benefits the hard right, who will exploit it to reshape French politics.
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From Leïla Slimani to Laura Cumming: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Penance by Eliza Clark and White Hot by Matt Roller and Tim Wigmore.
By The illusion of prosperity is over
Politicians can no longer count on low inflation to mask the structural flaws of the British economy.
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The left must embrace law and order
In France and elsewhere, everyday insecurity hurts the poor much more than the rich.
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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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