A Voice of Pure Gold Kathleen Ferrier's wonderful career was cut short by her death at 41 in 1953. Thankfully plenty of the contralto's songs were committed to vinyl March 26, 2012 Culture & Anarchy·Music
Paths to Democracy, Catholic and Secular Setting the tone of Catholic political thought for three centuries, it is in France where one uncovers the roots of the separation of Church and State February 21, 2012 Critique·History·Politics
Native Tongue-tied Learning a foreign tongue opens up an entirely new spectrum of cultural rewards, yet state schools are failing to emphasise their importance February 21, 2012 Culture & Anarchy·Education·Language
Chance Really Is A Fine Thing Without random events the laws of physics could not operate February 21, 2012 Cosmos·Science
Rook of Gibraltar In a sport over-populated with men, 17-year-old Chinese wunderkind Hou Yifan's sheer focus establishes her as a contender to be reckoned with February 21, 2012 Chess
Kosher Craze ‘Their grandparents fled the Nazis, their parents boycotted all things German, but their children are flocking to Berlin’ February 21, 2012 European Eye·Germany·Judaism
Lax on Tax 'Germans are obsessed with paying taxes - they are affronted by any state with little or not taxation - such as the British Virgin Islands' December 20, 2011 European Eye·Taxation
The Tartar Terminator The unheralded Kazakh Rashid Nezhmetdinov was universally admired by his peers for his astonishing attacking ferocity December 20, 2011 Chess
Essential Merit 'Lady Hale argues persuasively that diversity in its widest sense should be regarded as essential for appointments to the Supreme Court' November 22, 2011 Jurisprudence
Best of Enemies 'The message is clear. The world can stop Iran getting nuclear weapons until the spring. After that, Israel might' November 22, 2011 Israel·Points East & West
Oh, What a Lovely War Nostalgia for the war runs deep in our cultural memory; Matthew Sweet's new book shows why November 22, 2011 Culture & Anarchy·History
The Killer Instinct The chess player's mind is not necessarily a criminal one - but two consummate players did turn out to be murderers November 22, 2011 Chess