America: land of the cheats
“Ball don’t lie.” This phrase, originally attributed to NBA star Rasheed Wallace, comes from American basketball culture and implies that, no matter what the referees or back-office bureaucrats do to…
Meet Ulster’s young Orangemen
There’s a party atmosphere in Carrickfergus. Thousands of spectators line the streets, and the screeches of children fight for attention over a chorus of tin whistles. The town is closed…
Blue Labour’s last chance
Calling Blue Labour a faction would be an insult to factions. Where some Labour tribes organize internally in their local parties, wield influence in the trade unions, prepare slates of…
Taylor Swift: feudal princess
Our chronically leaky national governments could learn a thing or two about from Taylor Swift’s wedding planners. Rumors swirled for weeks in the run-up. New York streets were closed off.…
Can Los Angeles be saved?
Last March, a makeshift drug factory exploded next to Los Angeles resident Juan Galicia’s craftsman-style home, built in 1910. The flames spread to his gas line, setting off a fire…
L’euthanasie de l’Occident
On raconte que Gandhi, interrogé sur ce qu’il pensait de la civilisation occidentale, aurait répondu après quelques secondes : « Ça pourrait être une bonne idée ». C’est drôle et…
Katie Price’s horror show
When I heard last year that Sky was making a documentary series about Katie Price, my first thought was that they were taking a risk: on her social media posts,…
Jonathan Haidt: Why the Right should support the social media ban
Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation must count as one of the most influential books of the decade. Within a year of its publication, countries across the Western world were moving…
The great German own goal
Can it be a coincidence? For three World Cups in a row, Germany has failed to make it to the last 16. For the 16 previous tournaments — from 1954…
Why populism fails
The rise of President Donald Trump has transformed the Republican Party, moving it in a populist direction. On the Left, we see the rise of figures like Maine senatorial candidate…