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SubscriptionsSection: Culture
History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film – but also with an eye on the ‘culture wars’, nationalism and identity.
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Patriotism & Pluralism: the Power of the English Language Comes from Its Migrant Past
Insular definitions of the national past overlook the very things we should take pride in
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The Upside Down: The War We Never Mention
In his monthly column, John Mitchinson explores how a country house party in Oxfordshire helped invent democracy
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Putin’s Constant Long-Running, Long-Range Escalations in Ukraine
As tensions mount over long range missile attacks on Russia, Chris York explains the daily routine for Ukrainians living in the capital Kyiv
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Assisted Dying: ‘There Can Be No Human Hierarchy for Whose Life Is Valuable or Not’
Any law to help people die is the beginning of a slippery slope for disabled people whose lives are already devalued, writes Penny Pepper in her monthly column
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The Upside Down: The Surprisingly Racy History of Lettuce
In his monthly column, John Mitchinson reflects on why the old lettuce leaf is not so dull (Liz Truss aside)
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Indifference for the Disabled: A Traumatising Night Affecting My Every Day
In her monthly column, Penny Pepper describes the aftermath of a terrifying break-in, which she fears may have been a disability hate crime
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Elon Musk: A Dangerous ‘Evolution’
Has the world’s richest man simply lost his marbles or been ‘radicalised’ by his own platform? David Troy traces his beliefs and behaviour to paint an altogether more concerning picture of the X owner’s political and cultural journey
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‘Unsurprising Seasonal Anxieties for the Disabled and Elderly’
In her monthly column, Penny Pepper wonders what new threats disabled and elderly people will face as the season turns
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The Upside Down: Confessions of a Pig-Keeper
John Mitchinson explores why he chooses to raise and then consume man’s second best friend
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The Upside Down: Bee the Change
In his monthly column, John Mitchinson explores why we should be listening to the honey bees
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‘The Tories Are Out But We’re Still Fighting for Our Disabled Community’s Rights’
Disabled people may have been cheering the end of Tory rule – but their trust has not been won by Labour, writes Penny Pepper
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The Upside Down: Jeremy Bentham – Auto-Icon for the People
In his monthly column, John Mitchinson remembers the original social justice warrior
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Disability Pride Month: Would You Dare Ask Any Other Marginalised Group What That Is?
Every change that improves the lives of disabled people has been predominantly led by disabled people themselves, whose stories are overlooked or misappropriated, writes Penny Pepper
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The Upside Down: ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’
John Mitchinson explores how a 600-year-old poem by an unknown poet can reset our moral compass
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‘Disabled People Must Have the Capacity and Freedom to Vote’
There are 14 million disabled people in the UK – are politicians even considering them in this election campaign?
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The Spectacle of Impunity: Phone-Hacking Cover-Up Claims Cross the Atlantic
With news that senior Murdoch executives now face a civil trial, Peter Jukes looks back on a decade of deceit
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The Upside Down: The Song of the Nightingale Carries A Deeper Message
To sit and listen to a nightingale is to be transported to somewhere that is both quintessentially English but also impossibly rich and exotic, writes John Mitchinson
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‘Assisted Suicide: Always Personal and Always Political’
For Penny Pepper, debates about changing the law on assisted suicide are a way in for a dangerous, niggling, idea of how we should value disabled people’s lives
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‘We Need to Have New Conversations About the Colonial Realities of Our Rural Past’
‘Our Island Stories: Country Walks Through Colonial Britain’ reveals fascinating connections between colonial history and British rural life – but it isn’t expected to go down well with everyone
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The Upside Down: That’s The Way to Do It!
John Mitchinson explores why are we so fascinated by the odious, uncancellable, Mr Punch
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Liz Truss Unexpurgated: 40 Days to Save the West
Despite the best efforts of the woke deep state, censored sections of the former prime minister’s diary have been leaked to Otto English
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Newspapers Knew New Team GB Kit Was Not a ‘Flag Redesign’ Project
A Team GB spokesperson told Nathan Jones-Sparkes that the British Olympic Association was very clear with the press that its new kit design would always feature the Union Jack
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The Upside Down: Seeing Is Predicting
John Mitchinson explores why perception is as much about what we know as what we see
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The Frida Effect: In Praise of Disabled Women
On International Women’s Day, Penny Pepper celebrates how other disabled women came to be her pillars of strength, wisdom and joy
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‘There is Something Deeply Soviet About Withholding Alexey Navalny’s Body’
The suspicious death of the Russian opposition activist and behaviour over his remains shows little has changed in the Kremlin
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The Upside Down: History Is More than Its Set Pieces
John Mitchinson explores how the lessons of the Crimean War still resonate today
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‘Fighting the Five Giants: It’s Time to Renew Our Social Contract’
Every one of us will experience illness, damage, impairment, disability and, inevitably, old age, writes Penny Pepper
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The Overton Window: ‘Flip it and Sell it’ – The Threat to Shepherd’s Bush Market
As a community book seller loses her unique shop in Shepherd’s Bush Market, Iain Overton looks at the broader struggles facing London’s historic markets, facing the juggernaut of modern development.
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Music in Schools: A Plea
In the wake of Lord Melvyn Bragg’s House of Lords debate on the vital importance of the arts to the UK’s society and economy, composer Howard Goodall makes an urgent call for the Government to rethink its proposed further reduction of resources for musical education
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Sober Times: What’s Behind Gen Z’s Lack of Interest in Booze?
Nathan O’Hagan explores the notable shift away from a culture of excess drinking among today’s younger generations
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‘As Soon As Comedy Feels Controlled, It Loses Its Power’: The Comedians Afraid of Lawyers
The myriad threats comedians face is explored in the new edition of ‘Index on Censorship’, writes its Editor-in-Chief Jemimah Steinfeld
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The Upside Down: A Tree for Life
John Mitchinson explores why the dark and mysterious yew tree is a symbol of both life and death
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The Awesome Rise of AI… You Must be Choking
In her monthly column, Penny Pepper explores her love-hate relationship with artificial intelligence
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Cultural Famine: Austerity in the UK’s Heritage Sector Cuts Deep
Museums across the country are being forced to close as the reality of austerity-struck Brexit Britain hits home
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Camila Batmanghelidjh was Loudly Vilified – and then Silently Vindicated
Dr Mine Conkbayir reflects on her time working with the founder of Kids Company and the fight for justice that continues after the campaigner’s death
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‘Culture Thrives On Dialogue and Difference’: Seasons Greetings From Byline Times
An end of year reflection from Peter Jukes, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Byline Times
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‘A Disunited Kingdom? For Younger Minorities, Britishness is an Identity We Can Work With – A Quest for Englishness Must Confront This’
Developing a stronger sense of Englishness cannot merely be looked at through a political lens – our identities are personal and multiple, conflicting and shifting, writes Hardeep Matharu
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‘A Disunited Kingdom? Britain is Built on Forgetting Our Imperial History’
Maintaining the illusory story of what Britain was is integral to the illusion of what Britain is – and the maintenance of political and economic hegemony, writes MP Clive Lewis
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‘A Disunited Kingdom? Reclaiming an Englishness Hijacked by the Right’
At the heart of our political crisis is how England, in particular, has struggled to find its way in the modern world, writes MP Caroline Lucas
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‘A Disunited Kingdom? It Is Time to Tell an Inclusive English Story’
Anthony Barnett explores why a recent conference in Edinburgh aimed to initiate a conversation about an ‘England’ distinct from ‘Britain’
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The Upside Down: Why We Should Raise a Glass to the Real Father Christmas
John Mitchinson explores the attributes of the character that long pre-dates ‘Santa Claus’
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Hallucinating AIs and What The Words Of The Year Lists Reveal About our Modern World
AI is not just disrupting our lives but our very language too, writes Dan Clayton
