New York’s hipster wars
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Ideas
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The temptations of Christopher Hitchens
Why the crusading journalist failed to assume the mantle of George Orwell.
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How The Matrix made us
In their 1999 film, the Wachowskis glimpsed the future of our digital lives. More remarkably, they shaped them.
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The liberal platitudes of Michael Ignatieff
On Consolation promises to show how writers and artists found solace in suffering – but delivers only bland pieties.
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Theory wars: how postmodernism became weaponised
How did a philosophical movement embracing consumer culture become a target for today’s anti-woke brigade?
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How our lives depend on dirty work
We rely on some people doing unethical labour – fighting wars, killing animals, patrolling borders – and to absolve…
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What can Adam Phillips teach us?
The writer and therapist brings curiosity and delight to psychoanalysis – and, crucially, doubt.
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How fear makes us human
The late David Graeber’s history of early human societies presents civilisation as a descent from anarchy into servility. But…
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India reveres its democracy, but the room for dissent is shrinking
Democracy is a strategic asset for India, but Narendra Modi's hyper-nationalism is reconfiguring the nation's politics.
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Peter Thiel: Big Tech’s dark prophet
How the billionaire entrepreneur and libertarian grasped the fundamental truth of capitalism.
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The rise and fall of digital Corbynism
The British left has the internet tools to generate a lasting movement – if only it knew how to use…
By New York’s hipster wars
Why the city’s clash of cultures between progressive Brooklyn and transgressive Manhattan marks a new era in American politics.
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The Buffalo shooting and the rise of the lone wolf terrorist
The latest far-right atrocity is part of a growing contagion where extremism is spread through memes, gaming-inspired fantasies and…
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What the Terra crash means for the future of crypto
The stablecoin’s spectacular implosion won’t destroy the cryptocurrency market – but it could give it a political edge.
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The second coming of Nato
The alliance has been revived – but it can’t save the West.
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Philosophy’s gentle giant
Why Joseph Raz was one of the most important theorists of our age.
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After the Zeitenwende: Jürgen Habermas and Germany’s new identity crisis
The 92-year-old philosopher has warned Germans not to allow anger at Russia and admiration for Ukraine to displace their…
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The war in Ukraine will only deepen the climate crisis
The West's new geopolitical agenda – higher military budgets and hostile international relationships – will severely damage the global…
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Stalling Scottish independence would strengthen the cause
The clearing of the constitutional fog would allow us to glimpse Scotland’s political and economic reality – and an…
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Tell us who you really are, Keir Starmer
The most detailed study of the Labour leader so far charts his role in the Brexit wars and in…
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The strange allure of the strongman leader
Authoritarians and autocrats continue to flourish despite a long parade of inadequacy. Can liberal democracy strike back?
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What does Europe’s right want?
This year's National Conservatism conference was notably short of new ideas, meaningful debate and pro-Putin speakers, as attendees stuck…
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Does Ukraine need a Marshall Plan?
There is no miracle fix for rebuilding a post-conflict Ukraine: it will need the huge investment, hard grind and…
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