The Tories are dead and nobody cares
Today’s ballot will be a defining moment in British politics. Should Andy Burnham triumph in Makerfield, he’ll likely be our next prime minister. If Reform upset the odds, then Nigel…
How cars fuel the forever war
With the Iran war spluttering to a close, mavens of American decline will be sharpening their pens. We can already guess what they’ll say. Everyone now understands that the United…
Chinese livestreamers are hypnotizing the West
In a square in Chongqing, China, a phalanx of besuited men with floppy hair and thick, white foundation marches forwards and backwards. At the front is a couple dressed in…
A tombstone for Obamaism
The early reviews of the Barack Obama Presidential Center are in, and they’re deservedly brutal. The ex-president’s monument, opening on Chicago’s Southside this Juneteenth, has been compared to the Death…
Makerfield: crucible of resentment
“I don’t understand how politics work,” says the girl. “Nobody used to talk about politics here until two weeks ago”. She gets her information from YouTube, she will not vote,…
Barack Obama’s monstrous carbuncle
Five years ago, the messiah came to Chicago. He was dressed in a dark suit and crisp white shirt. No tie, of course. The messiah is a laidback kind of…
Why England can’t win the World Cup
England won both of their final pre-World Cup warm-ups in Florida. A 1-0 win over New Zealand was designed as a leg-stretcher, 22 players each playing a half; then Costa…
Makerfield: crucible of resentment
“I don’t understand how politics work,” says the girl. “Nobody used to talk about politics here until two weeks ago”. She gets her information from YouTube, she will not vote,…
How America lost the art of association
“In democratic countries the science of association is the mother science; the progress of all the others depends on the progress of that one,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville after touring…
Meet London’s boat people
In a city like London, whether we know it or not, people agree to a strange kind of psychic bargain. There’s opportunity in the city — or at least proximity…