Empires and their aftermath
Heavy-hitters tackling big subjects of direct relevance to Britain today — now that is good news
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
A battle that concerns us all
Ed Husain argues in his new book "The House of Islam" that the key struggle of our time is within Islam itself
The boy in the ice-cream shop
Was Hans Asperger a benevolent and humane doctor? Or was he deeply implicated in Nazi psychiatry and its darkest episode, euthanasia?
Novel approach
The five Ancient Greek romances that have made it down to us in their entirety are an enigma
An Exhibition of and for the nation
The Royal Academy’s summer bunfight has long ceased to be the place for new waves to emerge
The heroes who came up with zero
‘Arabic’ numerals came to Europe from India — but ancient Sumerians invented them
Eugène Delacroix
There is, or should be, no question about his being great. But there are also so many things about Delacroix’s art that today seem off-putting, even repulsive.
Basically wrong
The arguments for a basic income are as idealistic as they are simplistic. Its proponents are pursuing misguided ideals.
Tory home truth
The decline in the proportion of owner-occupiers means a decline in the number of Conservative voters
Take Tucker’s tip
Disasters happen when the last man who can remember what happened last time has retired. Now is the time for new thinking
All go for lingo
There's an entrenched myth that learning a second language as a grown-up is a Herculean — or even Sisyphean — task. It isn’t
Is South Africa about to fall apart?
"It feels as if the country is beginning to unravel, that it is slipping towards ungovernability. Perhaps it can still be pulled back together but nothing is certain"