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  1. Long reads
25 December 2023

The best New Statesman long reads of 2023

Including how Saudi Arabia is buying the world and why universities are making us stupider.

By New Statesman

King Charles III’s secret kingdom

By Will Lloyd

What does Charles’ infatuation with the anti-modern realm of Transylvania tell us about the kind of king he will be?

Escaping Eden

By Pippa Bailey

For those who leave the Exclusive Brethren sect, separation comes at great personal cost.

How Saudi Arabia is buying the world

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By Quinn Slobodian

As the kingdom’s model of capitalism without democracy thrives, the prospect of a Saudi century has consequences for us all.

Sam Bankman-Fried and the effective altruism delusion

By Sophie McBain

Will the idealist philosophy survive the conviction of its crypto king?

Inside the assassination bureau

By Tanya Gold

The 1922 Committee is adept at removing prime ministers. How long before its head prefect pays Rishi Sunak a visit?

Is AI a danger to humanity or our salvation?

By Harry Lambert

Why the godfathers of AI are at war over its future.

Universities are making us stupid

By Adrian Pabst

A managerial war is remaking and destroying our once-noble centres of higher education.

Haiti’s descent into hell

By Pooja Bhatia

Once a symbol of black liberation, Haiti has collapsed into anarchy. Now many see foreign intervention as their only hope.

The Tory crack-up

By Will Lloyd

Inside the dark new factions intent on taking over the Conservative Party.

The parent trap: how Britain became a very, very expensive place to raise a child

By Sophie McBain

Money alone won’t fix the childcare crisis. Rethinking work and motherhood might.

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