Hawfinches are legendarily mysterious, secretive and difficult to find, writes the author of H Is for Hawk.
What can happen inside a church building? Is it sacred space and if so, what are the limits?
International Men’s Day could and should be just like Christmas: a celebration of shared humanity.
There has been a 20 per cent drop in choir membership in the valleys in the past ten years.
Theresa May has perhaps become the auntie who is invited for the turkey feast but not the party.
The next general election will be won on the battlefield of ideas – and our party is more than ready.
This year, at the age of 83, the Tory peer became one of the oldest rebels in history.
2017 was a difficult year – but there was also cause for hope.
The writer talks Brexit, finding plot holes in the Bible, and staying positive in a depressing world.
They have gone from being obsessed with the personal lives of politicians to, basically, not giving a damn.
Your weekly dose of gossip from around Westminster.
The Award For Casual Bragging? There could only be one winner.
I looked at my feet and walked past the man who had no idea that I was his son.
In sport, a critical mass of right-handers are required to make left-handers look good.
Labour is no longer a party of centre-left social democracy.
Brexit presents a host of potential problems that Ireland never asked for and could really do without.
A new short story by Rose Tremain.
Slovenia is a small country on the sunny side of the Alps, once part of communist Yugoslavia. The streets are clean, crime is low and education good. But birth rates are falling and people are not as cheerful as one might expect.
We are on the cusp of a new era of computing, with Google, IBM and other tech companies using a theory launched by Einstein to build machines capable of solving seemingly impossible tasks.
A snap general election, you say – what could possibly go wrong? Helen Lewis, Anoosh Chakelian, Stephen Bush and Julia Rampen report.
His work can help us negotiate a path between the extremes of radical right and revolutionary left.
The former Ukip leader is often described as the most successful politician of his generation – even by those who despise him. As Brexiteers speak of betrayal, will he settle for life as an alt-right shock jock, or return as the head of a new English nationalist movement?
The former Labour leader on tech, the Middle East and the choice facing Labour – carry on with a hard Brexit, or ditch it and accomplish a radical programme.
A new poem by Matt Howard.
The former Archbishop reviews The Political Samaritan: How Power Hijacked a Parable by Nick Spencer.
From the Long Players series: writers on their most cherished albums.
This is a story of how some adversities get conquered, and how others still require conquering.
Ali Smith, Jonathan Coe, Sarah Perry, George Saunders and others pick their all-time favourites.
Angus McLaren explores a seedy tale from 1930s London.
Norman Davies explainas how the places in which human beings fashion their identities are shaped by migration and the vagaries of power.
The reinvention of an R&B star.
Featuring histories and tasting guides, booze-soaked memoirs, and a global tour of natural wineries.
Marion Rankine writes that, in death, the brolly “is good for very little else”.
Rhys Ifans gives a Scrooge that is wonderfully funny, seductive and interactive with the audience.
Dennis Glover, an Australian political speechwriter, has written a fictional homage to the moral crusader.
A new poem by Ben Okri, on Brexit and our times.
When women’s stories are respected as much as men’s, it results in diverse, exciting work.
James Franco’s film tells the bewildering story of The Room, generally considered the world’s worst movie.
Plus, the small screen highlights of 2017 that you may have missed.
This BBC Radio 4 adaptation zig-zags between feeling tones in a woozy, chameleonic way.
At the time, I heard plenty about the unhappiness of civil servants and ministers. But the scale of the discontent described here still took my breath away.
My children, in correspondence with me, have noted that I have taken surprisingly well to rural life.
I came away from my 25 December shift feeling I hadn’t made a jot of real difference to anyone.
This is set to be the easiest year yet for plant munchers and those catering for them.
Featuring a zinger from Ken Dodd, showing that at 90 he still has a finger on the local tickling pulse.
In 1976, when I was 14, I “got GORGEOUS pressies – hairdryer, earrings, perfume. Really GREAT day.”
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