Notebooks

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Essaying a genre

The classical essay - with all its ease, polished prose, and trivial subjects - is a medium we would do well to re-capture.

Gerald Warner September 3, 2020

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That was once upon a time in Iraq

In the BBC's documentary Once Upon a Time in Iraq, we are invited to not avert our eyes from the long catastrophe of Iraq and to leave grand judgments about the rights and wrongs o..

Alastair Benn July 30, 2020

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Milton vs the echo chamber

Thought centuries apart, John Milton and George Orwell offer complementary arguments for free speech and a free society.

Francesca Peacock July 20, 2020

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The Ettrick Shepherd stands watch

The pioneers of Enlightenment believed a new spirit of human sympathy could provide a lasting basis for political association - the Ettrick Shepherd, James Hogg, satirized that eth..

Alastair Benn July 9, 2020

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First orders please

The great British pub has finally re-opened in England

Francesca Peacock July 6, 2020

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Crowded out

In an era of social distancing, the city is stripped of its landscape of adventure and danger, its quality of ‘sheer life’.

Alastair Benn July 2, 2020

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Any old way you use it

What is odd is how many politicians are seemingly unable to grasp the meanings of the songs they choose in their campaigns.

Francesca Peacock June 30, 2020

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Did America lose the right stuff?

The American spirit of optimism has largely disappeared. But could it be making a comeback in the shape of a new space race?

Iain Martin June 25, 2020

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From Neolithic shafts to skyscrapers

Grand Neolithic shafts uncovered near Stonehenge remind us of the fleeting nature of even the most impressive human projects.

Francesca Peacock June 23, 2020