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History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film – but also with an eye on the ‘culture wars’, nationalism and identity.
As the famous tournament kicks off this weekend in Qatar, Adrian Goldberg explores why this year’s event is attracting a more muted excitement
Composer Howard Goodall unpicks Art Council England’s announcement that it will be redistributing £50 million of funding for the English National Opera outside of London and the south-east
Novelist and photographer Lola Akinmade Åkerström talks to Sian Norris about the rise of Sweden’s far-right, and the experiences of women of colour in the Nordic country
John Mitchinson explores the diversity within the fruit of knowledge
Why is it still not widely understood that disabled people have the right to decent toilet facilities just like anyone else? asks Penny Pepper
The mourning of the Queen’s death has been, largely unconsciously, a nation in a state of ‘appearing’, writes Joe Haward
Florence Scott reflects on why it is time to discuss the underpinnings of the British monarchy – Christianity, wealth, class, imperialism
Sian Norris considers Martha Gellhorn’s classic 1966 examination of propaganda, Real War And War Of Words, and updates it for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Penny Pepper reflects on her relationship with fashion – and how punk took her into disability activism and feminism
Warbling, tweeting, courting, teaching – John Mitchinson explores the ever-deepening mystery of birdsong
Britain has hidden a key part of our story from ourselves. With the Queen’s death marking a decisive shift, it’s time for us all to start building a better picture of our country and its past, writes Hardeep Matharu
Graham Williamson reflects on how the late French film director wove together arts and politics, transforming cinema forever
Chris York samples the mood of Ukrainians in the Black Sea city after 200 days of war, and finds conflicting feelings of fear, suspicion, hope, sadness and defiance
Anthony Barnett reflects on the passing of the ‘New Elizabethan Age’ and how sovereignty and monarchy have moved apart
Otto English reflects on the passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch
Otto English has got his hands on Boris Johnson’s successor’s inaugural speech as PM
Julian Petley explores how the outgoing Prime Minister embodies the triumph of the Conservative political-media nexus
Anthony Barnett remembers the political and social circumstances around the response to Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’
Last summer, 4,000 people seeking asylum arrived in Lithuania and were placed in immigration detention. While the future is uncertain, many are using art to process fear and trauma
Rishi Sunak is in the running to be Britain’s first prime minister of colour – but the debate around whether this will be a good thing for ethnic minorities has laid bare conflicting ideas about the ‘individual’ and the ‘collective’, writes Hardeep Matharu
John Mitchinson lifts the lid on why the Luddites weren’t really ‘Luddite’
Penny Pepper explains why class continues to be so oppressive for working-class disabled people
Ahead of ballots going out in the Tory leadership race, Otto English has been leaked a draft of Rishi Sunak’s pitch to Conservative members Dear Fellow Normal Conservative Human Beings! Or as I like to put it “Hi Guys!” Wow. Well, here I am – just an average, ordinary billionaire standing before you, asking you…
Katie Dancey-Downs, assistant editor at Index on Censorship, reflects on a decision by the Ukrainian Parliament to ban music created by Russian citizens
John Mitchinson explores a surprisingly modern role model from the backstreets of Jacobean London
Penny Pepper reflects on how the Government dodges responsibility for the lack of resources available for our health service
Composer and writer Howard Goodall explains how the Deputy Prime Minister’s patronising comments about Angela Rayner undermine the Government’s own stated principles about the role of music in education and empowerment
Richard Heller and Peter Oborne explore how money, centralisation and a lack of accountability around the England and Wales Cricket Board is taking the essence of the sport further away from fans
Duncan Stone reveals how the governing body of English cricket – like the country as a whole – can no longer promote a selective view of its history
As another Russian dictator uses Ukrainian grain as a weapon of war, this 2020 historical thriller is worth a watch, writes Ellin Stein
John Mitchinson explores why we are hardwired to remember the past, with memories that are made in the moment
Patrick Howse shares the story of three generations of his family – a tale of loss, discovery, conflict and plural identities
Sam Bright considers the metrics that undermine the right’s new ideological gambit
As fiction, Tom Cruise’s sequel to his 80s blockbuster longs for the days of the single warrior in combat, when air-launched explosive violence is all about ground attacks often with civilian casualties
Nathan O’Hagan explores what the 17-year-old Blackpool player’s bravery in coming out publicly as gay will mean for other footballers and the game itself
John Mitchinson reflects on his latest trip to the ‘Big Easy’
The Russian President’s Victory Day Speech and his Foreign Minister’s comments suggest of a fully-fledged antisemitic ideology is rearing its head in Russia
Society and politicians need to wake-up to the fact that disability is a normal part of the human condition that can impact us all, says Penny Pepper