Dreams for their Children
The rise of Kenya's middle class offers the country, and the whole continent, hope for the future
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
A Strange Rush for the Exit
In a world where life appears to be getting better, why are we in the grip of a suicide epidemic?
Annie v. Elvis
When celebrities get involved in politics, they should look to Elvis rather than Annie Lennox In January, Annie Lennox released a statement on the Gaza conflict, saying that as a mother and
Desperation’s Noticeboard
Classified: The Secret History of the Personal Column by H.G. Cocks
Nothing Left But the Credits
Philip French, who has died aged 82, was the doyen of British film criticism. In 2009, in the run-up to the Oscars, he discusses the demise of cinema as an art form
Prague: Diary
‘The post-1989 temptation in Prague has been two-fold. The first has been to legislate the totalitarian past out of existence, the second has been to copy the liberal West blindly at a
Back to the Feelgood Sitcom
The comedy of self-recognition invites us to laugh gently at ourselves, rather than despise others
A Novel Way to Treat a Writer
I have been inundated with emails from GCSE and A-level students who want me to spoonfeed answers on their set texts
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
You want it, you deserve it! That's the misleading message of a thousand self-help guides to instant bliss
Our Reading’s Bad – But Not That Bad
Literacy teaching has undergone massive changes, but more are needed in the modern world
From Baubles to Babel
The year the contemporary art juggernaut ground to a halt
Box of Tricks
100 Essential Things You Didn't Know You Didn't Know by John D. Barrow