No tracking. No cookies
Subscriptions
SubscriptionsSection: Culture
History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film – but also with an eye on the ‘culture wars’, nationalism and identity.
-
WORK OF THE WEEK: Ettercapped
(adj.) bitten by a spider They say heroes come in all shapes and sizes. If you support Brexit, for example, your current hero likely comes in the form of the glabrous Machiavelli currently working the gears of 10 Downing Street—and whose supposed reputation for political shrewdness belies the fact that he’s now engineered the government’s…
-
Found in Translation: The ‘Close Strangers’ of Europe Speak to Us All
Emma Burnell discovers many wider echoes in the dramatisation of tensions between Ukrainians and Poles.
-
The Odeon of Death Film of the Week: Humbug
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema.
-
WORD OF THE WEEK: seagull manager
seagull manager (n.) an overseer who arrives, ruins everything, then departs without fixing it Two former UK Prime Ministers stepped back into the political limelight this week. One is a level-headed, fiercely pro-European, and still highly respected statesman, who has boldly used his platform to wade into the on-going High Court battle over Boris Johnson’s…
-
The Show Ends in Mumbai: Why U2 Must Reconsider Its Gig in Modi’s India
CJ Werleman is in danger of burning his ‘Rattle and Hum’ Tour T-Shirt after the Irish band’s recent announcement that its recent tour will end in Modi’s India.
-
The Odeon of Death Film of the Week: The Bulk
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. The Bulk (2019) BULK SMASH BACKSTOP! After laugh-a-minute Doctor Alex Johnson is exposed to Gammon radiation, he transforms into the Uncredible Bulk, a violently destructive idiot with his ever-present catchphrase, “Don’t make me Ukippy… you wouldn’t like me when…
-
Uncivil War – A Social Media Conflict Without An End
Otto English laments how the culture war that began with the EU Referendum has now polarised and enveloped every aspect of our national debate online.
-
Odeon of Death: Solent Red
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Solent Red (2022) In a polluted and starving Britain of the near-future, Charlton Heston’s under-resourced policeman discovers the terrible truth about the nation’s main food supply, Get Ready-Brek… The Odeon of Death can be found on Twitter at, perhaps…
-
WORD OF THE WEEK: Scofflaw
(n.) someone who treats the law with contempt; someone who deliberately flouts rules that are difficult to enforce
-
Odeon of Death: Cecil B DeMille’s Cain & Unable (1949)
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Cecil B DeMille’s Cain & Unable (1949) And it came to pass in the land of Angels there were two brothers, one brutish with hair like unclean corn, and one a bit nicer. And lo, when Unable saw what…
-
Islam is in My Heart Not in My Clothes: Why I Removed My Hijab
Parveen Ali explains why she decided to permanently remove her headscarf following five years of negativity from those she interacted with – including harassment from the far-right.
-
History’s Rhyme: Henry VIII, Thomas Cromwell, Johnson and Cummings
As cliff-edge Britain searches around for historical analogies to a ‘No Deal’ Brexit, Arthur Snell discovers an infamous King and his ill-fated adviser are the most telling of all.
-
Brexit from Abroad: The Language of a Country Falling Apart
Chris Keulemans has spent the past three years at our sister organisation, Byline Festival, listening to a great national debate – going nowhere as truth crumbles.
-
Review of the Week by Odeon of Death: The Cummy
In Ancient Egypt, a heretical high priest named Dominhotep is brought back to life by a wicked Pharaoh (Boris Snarl-off) @OdeonofDeath’s review of the week
-
A Paradise Lost
Otto English returns from a trip to St Lucia with fresh insights on the madness of Brexit and our frustrating sense of British complacency.
-
George Clooney Scrapped Phone Hacking Movie over Hollywood’s Fear of Upsetting Rupert Murdoch
Plans for Hack Attack, based on journalist Nick Davies book on the phone hacking scandal, never got off the ground due to the tycoon’s great “passive power”.
-
We Should Bury the Likes of Lord Bell Not Praise Them
Iain Overton on the death of advertising tycoon Lord Timothy Bell, an advisor to Margaret Thatcher and co-founder of the controversial firm Bell Pottinger.
-
What Can We Create with ‘All That’s Left’?
Caroline Davidson explores the philosophical underpinnings of an installation by Peter Fluck and Tony Myatt showcasing a beloved tree that was cut down.
-
Byline Times at Byline Festival
Our sister organisation Byline Festival will be kicking off tomorrow, with four days of thought-provoking talks, workshops and performances.
-
SPITTING BACK: Today’s Politicians? ‘It’s Difficult to Make a Puppet of a Puppet’
Peter Fluck made his name as the co-creator of Spitting Image. Now an artist, he says the current crop of politicians do a good job of satirising themselves.
-
Review of the Week by Odeon of Death: The Trouble with Jeffrey
A body is found in a sleepy New England town, but nobody knows whodunnit, in Hitchcock’s classic black comedy
-
High-End Elitism: How Sustainable Fashion is Out of Reach for Most Consumers
With the average shopper unable to afford sustainable options from designer brands, what is the solution?
-
Lives Left in Stone: Cologne’s Eternal Cathedral
Will Cologne’s cathedral, which was centuries in the making, ever be considered to be truly ‘finished’? Maybe nothing we build ever is.
-
Film Review of the Week: Mississippi Gurning
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema.
-
Pessimism is for Lightweights: Episode 10 – No Room for Fear
Poet Salena Godden reflects on the life and passing of the inspirational Toni Morrison.
-
Life on the Street: 24 Hours in Manchester – NIGHT & MORNING
Byline Times’ regular cartoonist, who has worked with homeless people and experienced periods of homelessness himself, continues his picture essay on Manchester from street level.
-
Art and Disaster: ‘The Delft Thunderclap’
Mike Stuchbery on how terrible moments of devastation can be overcome with creativity and vision.
-
MOOD-BASED TRAVEL: The Pleasures of Porto
In the latest in his series exploring how to experience travelling as an antidote to your mood, Kyle Taylor recounts the pleasures of Porto.
-
Odeon of Death Review of the Week: The Long Good Friday Agreement
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema.
-
The Art of Dying – A Medieval Blockbuster for Terrible Times
Mike Stuchbery on reading one of the first printed bestsellers – a book on how to die properly – from his hospital bed.
-
The Second Summer of Love – North v South?
DJ and writer Chris Sullivan on the debate about where Rave culture first took hold in Britain.
-
‘The Great Hack’: The Fightback Begins in the Brexit-Trump Culture Wars
Sheridan Flynn on the new Netflix documentary following Carole Cadwalladr’s ongoing mission for the truth about how our data is being weaponised to change the world.
-
Odeon of Death Review of the Week: Doctor Who – The Out of Time Lord
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema.
-
Odeon of Death Special Review: The Oh, Man
The Odeon of Death with a special look the day’s events through the medium of cinema.
-
Life on the Street: 24 Hours in Manchester – ‘EVENING’
Byline Times’ regular cartoonist Slymoon, who has worked with homeless people and experienced periods of homelessness himself, starts his picture essay on Manchester from street level.
-
THE UPSIDE DOWN: Not The Normal Norfolk – The Original Opioid Crisis
John Mitchinson on the warm haze of opioid bliss – for good and for ill – experienced by the Victorians. If there ever was a golden age for hard drug use, it was the Victorian era. The widespread use of laudanum (opium dissolved in alcohol) had first been encouraged by the greatest English doctor of…
-
Odeon of Death Review of the Week: Fat Cats (2019)
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema. Fat Cats 2019 Big screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical starring Jacob Rees-Moggy, Nadhim Meowey, and Mr Piffle-Paffle, pictured here performing his showtune “I’ve done you up like a kipper (and now I’m going to eat you).”…
-
Odeon of Death Review of the Week: Terminator 8
The Odeon of Death takes a look at the week’s events through the medium of cinema.
