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Culture
History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film - but also with an eye on the 'culture wars', nationalism and identity.

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Empire Men: ‘The Sweet, Just, Boyish Masters’
Jake Arnott reveals the repressions that drove British Empire Men such as General Gordon, Lord Kitchener, Cecil Rhodes, Robert Baden-Powell and T. E. Lawrence

England v Germany: A Short History of Losing It
As the two countries meet in the knockout stages of Euro 2020, Otto English explains why – when it comes to jingoism and disgrace – one side is always the loser

From George Orwell to Priti Patel: How Britain Brought its Colonial Policing Home
As the Metropolitan Police is judged to be institutionally corrupt, Hardeep Matharu and Peter Jukes explore how some of the biggest problems still plaguing British policing are embedded in the soil of British colonialism

Options for an English National Anthem: from Jerusalem to Blackadder
Composer Howard Goodall explores why England does not have an anthem distinct from that of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at sporting events and assesses the leading candidates

The Pursuit of Truth – Or Not: Boris Johnson, COVID and the Media
Broadcast journalists’ refusal to call-out the lies of the Prime Minister, his Cabinet members and the Government as a whole during the Coronavirus pandemic reveals the extent of the crisis engulfing the very fabric of truth in our society, observes Dorothy Byrne

The People’s Democracy of Johnsonia
Anthony Barnett had a dream about the future of Britain...

Colston Reconfigured: A Fulcrum for Future Understanding
Hannah Charlton explores what the journey of the statue of a Bristol slavetrader is revealing about the wider historical moment the country finds itself in

The Upside Down: Outrageous! Are We Hardwired for Scandal?
John Mitchinson unearths some of the juiciest incidents turning the gossip mills of times past
EXCLUSIVE The Daniel Morgan Murder and Police Corruption: The Evolution of the ‘Firm within a Firm’
From the Dirty Squad’s Soho days to Andy Coulson in the heart of government, Jake Arnott explains how bent coppers moved on from trading in porn and gold bullion, to information and kompromat
EXCLUSIVE The Social Conditions which Inspired ‘Ghost Town’ are Still With Us Today, Says The Specials’ Jerry Dammers
On the 40th anniversary of the hit song, Chris Sullivan finds its modern relevance terrifying
God Save the Queen: Still Jousting in the Junior Common Room
Otto English doesn't think the latest skirmish in the culture wars is a ‘dead cat’ but shows a generation of politicians bereft of ideas and obsessed with campus politics
The Euros Present Another Chance for Conservatives to Advance their Culture War
Shane Thomas explores how notions of race, Englishness and football could be weaponised by the Prime Minister during Euro 2020
It’s the Euros, Jeff, But Not As We Know It
Gary Gowers looks forward to a very different European football tournament starting this week