Europe Why the West failed to contain Covid-19 As transmission rates soared in the US and Europe, East Asian countries suppressed the virus without national lockdowns. Why didn’t others follow their lead? By Robert Skidelsky and Massimiliano Bolondi
North America Donald Trump is once more walking away from failure at a profit The US president and so-called King of Debt is treating his supposed coup like a self-serving corporate bankruptcy. By Quinn Slobodian
Devolution Why the English left should be wary of devolution The creation of the Scottish parliament precipitated the collapse of more radical forms of territorial dissent, while failing to address the problems driving them. By Rory Scothorne
Podcasts I’ve never regularly kept a diary, but I envy those who have Diary, She Wrote, a podcast by Liz Beardsell, has encouraged me to write in my diary every day during lockdown. Will it last? By Ellen Peirson-Hagger
UK “Avoiding debate is not good for democracy”: David Dimbleby on Boris Johnson After 25 years of Question Time and anchoring ten general elections, the broadcaster discusses the government’s “dereliction of duty”, lockdown podcasting, and life after the BBC. By Anoosh Chakelian
Health Boris Johnson is in a mess of his own making over coronavirus There is no good reason for the Prime Minister to have shrouded his decision-making in darkness. By Stephen Bush
Politics What Trump wants now How misguided fears of a presidential coup exposed the hysterical thinking of the liberal Resistance. By Thomas Meaney
The Biden transition has begun, but the delay could prove costly for US democracy Donald Trump's refusal to publicly concede, and his continued efforts to overturn the election results, is jeopardising national security, the pandemic response and democracy. By Emily Tamkin
Coronavirus How Dolly Parton helped fund a Covid-19 vaccine – and unify a nation The country singer and all-American icon donated $1m to coronavirus vaccine research, but it's only the latest initiative in a lifetime of philanthropy. By Sophie McBain
Books What islands teach us A doctor's odyssey is a reminder of the trials and wonders of solitude. By Erica Wagner
UK For lockdown-sceptic Tory MPs, victory feels like defeat The promising news on vaccines has largely been ignored in the Commons, where questions about ending lockdowns and adapting to the virus persist. By Stephen Bush
The Staggers Rishi Sunak's aid budget cut has split the Tory party A vote on the measure in January could see the government defeated. By Ailbhe Rea
Economy Is Rishi Sunak’s luck about to run out? The question isn't if the Chancellor will impose spending cuts and tax rises to regain control over the deficit, but when. By Philip Collins
UK Should you go home for Christmas? For the final hurdle of its coronavirus response, the government is leaving people to consider their own ethical position. By Ailbhe Rea
UK How a new Hate Crime Bill reveals the SNP’s unmoored approach to governance Beyond recklessness with civil liberties and aggressively protecting its own privacy, what exactly is the party’s philosophy of the state? By Chris Deerin
Art & Design How Edward McKnight Kauffer turned advertising into art Kauffer eventually gave up on being a great modern artist and followed the money into advertising. But if he was going to design posters, at least he’d ensure they were art. By Michael Prodger
TV & Radio The Crown has been accused of inaccuracy – not least by those who were there Amid numerous complaints about the royal drama, Jeffrey Archer has described the portrayal of Margaret Thatcher's relationship with the Queen as "farcical". By Eleanor Peake
Books How Irmgard Keun’s fiction captured a generation of bold young women Keun fled Nazi Germany, returning after false reports of her suicide to write about the lives of women in the 1930s and 1940s. By John Self
TV & Radio Why I’m completely addicted to BBC Two’s Industry Three episodes in and I’m obsessed with Industry, a drama in which pretty much every character is completely horrible. By Rachel Cooke
Books What islands teach us A doctor's odyssey is a reminder of the trials and wonders of solitude. By Erica Wagner
Coronavirus To defeat Covid-19 the UK needs to remember the three Cs Japan presciently identified closed spaces, crowded places and conversations as breeding grounds for the virus. By Stuart Ritchie
Social Media Can the right thrive on Parler? Right-wing personalities are moving away from liberal social media “echo chambers”, but risk building a useless one of their own. By Sarah Manavis
Coronavirus How to tackle Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy The director of the Vaccine Confidence Project on why the number of anti-vaxxers has risen and how to respond. By Sophie McBain
Coronavirus How Dolly Parton helped fund a Covid-19 vaccine – and unify a nation The country singer and all-American icon donated $1m to coronavirus vaccine research, but it's only the latest initiative in a lifetime of philanthropy. By Sophie McBain
TV & Radio Inside the Brain of Jeff Bezos is a blandly positive portrait Meaningless corporate myths of the “self-made man” are merrily regurgitated in this BBC Radio 4 doc. By Anna Leszkiewicz
Asia What will a cashless China mean for the world? A new Chinese digital currency could help the country forge an alternative to the US-led global financial system. By Nicu Calcea
Europe Has Europe improved its response to outbreaks of Covid-19? Hospitalisations and death figures suggest the second wave has peaked in several countries. By Michael Goodier and Ido Vock
North America Why a plague of Thanksgiving past still haunts our present When influenza hit in 1918, US public health experts weren't clear and political leaders didn't know better. Ours should. By Emily Tamkin
Politics Ending extreme poverty Covid-19 could be the catalyst that forces us to construct governments that will lift hundreds of millions of people out of destitution. By Jeevun Sandher
Economy Digital warfare will erode the distinction between the state and civil society As Boris Johnson announced an extra £16bn for the Ministry of Defence, the potential costs of modern combat to our democracy have never been higher. By Paul Mason
The Biden transition has begun, but the delay could prove costly for US democracy Donald Trump's refusal to publicly concede, and his continued efforts to overturn the election results, is jeopardising national security, the pandemic response and democracy. By Emily Tamkin
The fight for Jerusalem 1 December 1917: How British troops would come to take the Holy City from the Ottoman Empire. By Anonymous
The right to no 13 January 1995: New York accountant Enrique Oppenheimer refused to attend his department’s sexual harassment course. He may be a modern hero. By Nat Hentoff
The great birth control debate 12 December 1959: How to solve world population growth. By Paul Johnson
