First Thoughts: The British pet obsession, solving the lorry driver crisis, and yet another statue scandal
The nation’s concern for Pen Farthing’s animals might have more to do with Victorian attitudes of those who are “deserving”…
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Observations
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Observations
“Class has dropped out of the feminist picture”: Amia Srinivasan on The Right to Sex
The Oxford philosopher on porn, Plato, and how feminism turned away from the plight of the worst-off women.
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The Covid-19 lab leak hypothesis proves it matters what – and who – defines a conspiracy theory
A year ago, even raising the possibility of a lab leak seemed unacceptable. But public sentiment in the West is…
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A promised parcel has yet to arrive. It gets me thinking about what else is missing in my life
There is so much lacking. Financial security, happiness, pictures on the walls, space, love. Not to mention trousers.
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If I had my time again, I’d go to the party I snubbed – full of rich, single women
The invitation seems like a good idea until Saturday dawns, and I am neither looking nor feeling my best.
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When I first saw my face on the side of a building, I couldn’t quite believe it was real
I don’t mean like an image of the Virgin Mary in an Italian hill town, visible only to true believers.…
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In Brighton, you never know who might run into you. Or who might run you over…
One of the most delightful things about Brighton is that every bus has someone’s name on the front, resurrecting the…
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Letter of the week: When the fog descends
Email letters@newstatesman.co.uk to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine.
David Lidington: “Remainers need to move on from grieving about Brexit”
The former Conservative cabinet minister discusses how pro-European Tories can rebuild.
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As plans for our family holiday crumble, our only option is a staycation in the garden
The disappointment – even after this year of disappointments – was sharp and piercing. We are all tired of putting on…
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ASMR: my billion-dollar feeling
I often experience autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR. It starts with a tingling around the head coupled with a sensation of utter calm.
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Peter Tatchell: “It’s important the left doesn’t resort to the methods of the right”
The human rights campaigner reflects on cancel culture and life as an activist.
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A steep hill, a bellyful of Chinese and wine, and a pair of posh shoes… disaster beckons
A sprightly step and a fairly steep downhill slope, and what do you get? A fall.
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With any luck, I won’t perish in a blaze – but I fear my fire alarms might be the death of me
Even the sound of My Bloody Valentine playing live cannot compete with my alarms.
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Remembering Anthony Thwaite
The life and legacy of the poet and New Statesman literary editor, who has died at the age of 90.
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John Colapinto: “Joe Biden knows he has to talk America, and the world, off a ledge”
The Canadian New Yorker writer discusses the political power of our voices.
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I check my inbox at 11.30pm and read an email about returning to the office. Disquiet sets in…
After a year of longing for a return to “normality”, I find I don’t want it after all – at…
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It seems a bottomless pot of couscous may be a good way to test my sanity
Watching Ridley Scott’s The Martian, I feel a sudden affinity with Matt Damon eating his umpteenth meal of the same old same old.
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It’s finally getting easier to imagine returning to normal life. So why do I keep crying?
I fear the return will not be a simple reunion with my old joys, but a reckoning with all the joys…
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“Why can I not let go of the comforts of life?” Sam Byers on what personal liberation really looks like
The British novelist discusses why our fixation on “wellness” grows as the planet around us decays.
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