Terminal irony and the collapse of meaning
Coded messages on the bullets that killed Charlie Kirk reveal a nihilistic, always online world where cynicism, violence and politics blur together – and meaning itself collapses.
The Magazine
MAGA is now a holy war
The death of Charlie Kirk has resurrected Donald Trump’s movement as a vengeful crusade for America’s soul
Terminal irony and the collapse of meaning
Coded messages on the bullets that killed Charlie Kirk reveal a nihilistic, always online world where cynicism, violence and politics blur together – and meaning itself collapses.
Smash the populists, Keir
The prime minister needs to set out the path to a much better Britain than the one we have, before Nigel Farage does it for him
What The Hack lacks
Mr Bates vs The Post Office touched a nerve among the public with its revelation of the suffering of ordinary people who lost everything. ITV’s new drama lacks suitably likeable victims
How Tommy Robinson could become PM
Britain’s crises give the far right fertile ground – and when Reform fails too, he will take advantage
Robert Redford, last of the golden gods
Robert Redford’s death reminds us of his effortless greatness – and that the age of the Hollywood giant is itself fading into history
Arts & Culture
Robert Redford, last of the golden gods
Robert Redford’s death reminds us of his effortless greatness – and that the age of the Hollywood giant is itself fading into history
Dear young people, get a life
Slow Horses, a metaphor for post-Brexit Britain
What We Left Unsaid evokes family feuds that can’t be forgotten
Has women’s sport reached its tipping point?
Audio
Where Starmer went wrong with the Mandelson debacle
Politics is as much about relationships and an understanding of human nature as it is about policy and legislation. The PM must learn this before it’s too late
The irony of erasing Banksy
The street artist’s work leaves an indelible trace in our memories and it will last long after authorities scrub away the paint
The Traitor’s Circle: the price of standing up against evil
The Matts are joined by author and journalist Jonathan Freedland to discuss his remarkable new book, The Traitor’s Circle. It’s a forensically-researched historical story of resistance against the Nazis from inside Germany. Written in the style of a classic whodunnit, Freedland has created a thriller that not only sheds new light on the actions of […]
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the fall of Peter Mandelson
Two inevitable topics dominate the Matts discussion today – first up, the murder of US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. It’s a simply atrocious event but the reaction from many has been shameful. The Matts explain why Kirk was unusual in the MAGA organisation … and why his assassination matters so much. In the second half, […]
If Labour don’t rescind Palestine Action ban, here’s their nightmare scenario
The Matts get to grips with the turmoil of the last few days and use their meticulous political calculus to work out whether Keir Starmer is weaker or stronger than he was a week ago. Spoiler alert: they haven’t got a clue. But they certainly enjoy themselves finding that out. One thing they know – […]
Do cannibals go to heaven?
Philosophers have long debated the concept of immortality but now Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are concerned too
When I unpacked the Putin papers
Today, the west sees Putin as a bloodthirsty dictator hellbent on destroying peace democracy in Europe. 25 years ago, the picture was very different
Angela Rayner, Take 2. She should go.
On Tuesday the Matts were staunch in their defence of Angela Rayner. Then she came out and admitted she had paid too little tax on her new flat. The Matts work through the various scenarios available to her and conclude she should resign – but not for the obvious reason. Also – Nigel Farage was […]
How Trump lost the moral high ground to China
Right now, Xi Jinping is letting Trump do all the soft power heavy lifting for him
Why Authoritarians can’t silence journalists
In today’s world, media doesn’t need AI – it needs real journalists
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Puzzles
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Politics
EU insiders want Starmer to ramp up his Brexit reset
Letter of the week: Is the Tommy Robinson march receiving too much coverage?
Smash the populists, Keir
Just tax the rich
Evelyn Palla, Germany’s queen of chaos
How to escape from Hong Kong
Back to school in Trumpland
France tackles a weighty issue – obesity
Writers
Alastair Campbell
Smash the populists, Keir
Marie Le Conte
Dear young people, get a life
Matthew d’Ancona
MAGA is now a holy war
Patience Wheatcroft
Andy Burnham eyes No 10
Tanit Koch
Evelyn Palla, Germany’s queen of chaos
Paul Mason
Britain, the US and the Australian dilemma
Latest
EU insiders want Starmer to ramp up his Brexit reset
The Spectator: a Tate brothers fanzine
Reform’s anti-net-zero defector used to praise net zero
Nigel Farage fails at science
Sadiq Khan lives rent-free in Donald Trump’s head
My picks of the week: MAGA’s holy war, terminal irony and Robert Redford
Podcasts
The Two Matts
“Donald Trump is an idiot” … discuss
The Two Matts
Exploring the world of far-right misogyny – with Cynthia Miller-Idriss
The Two Matts
This week’s Two Matts Q&A: What does it mean to be British today?
The Two Matts
From Trump to Charlie Kirk to Tommy Robinson – making sense of a whirlwind
The Two Matts
The Traitor’s Circle: the price of standing up against evil
The Two Matts
This week’s Two Matts Q&A: Do we support Palestine Action?
Brexit
EU insiders want Starmer to ramp up his Brexit reset
A thaw in UK relations and fear of Trump’s America has Brussels eager to forge closer links
Can we please stop taking Blue Labour’s Glasman seriously?
The peer’s praise for “magnificent” Brexit is just another example of a discredited guru leading the government astray
Brexit is silencing British musicians
The bureaucratic demands put on artists touring the continent are so great that many acts are simply giving up. And the government is doing nothing about it
Sarah Vine’s Windsor knot
The Daily Mail commentator thinks bringing the late Queen into politics is distasteful. It’s hard to imagine a more hypocritical view
No, the Queen didn’t back Brexit
The Sun claimed the late Queen backed leaving the EU. Now, nine years later, its then editor has been forced to change his tune
The Reform voters who think Brexit has failed
Labour have failed to connect Farage with economic disaster in the minds of ordinary people. That must change
Ukraine
Inside Russia’s propaganda machine
Exceedingly wealthy and close to the Kremlin, the infamous Vladimir Solovyov has become a dominating voice on airwaves since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
The Ukrainians reclaiming Odesa’s history
Vladimir Putin claimed the city was Russian in 2023, but staking the claim doesn’t make it so
Why Trump can’t end the Ukraine war
Donald Trump says his interventions have brought Ukraine and Russia close to peace. So why does it feel further away than last week?
The warm embrace that could freeze Europe
Donald Trump has favoured Ukraine over Russia in recent weeks. But when he meets Putin in Alaska, all that could change
War in the quiet hours
Russia has intensified its aerial assault on Kyiv. One night may pass in relative calm, giving a fragile sense of normality. The next, destruction starts again
The drone and the death of compromise
The first unmanned flying weapon was launched over a century ago – the full implications of that flight are only now being understood
The big picture
How to escape from Hong Kong
Just an hour across the water is a city with a completely different history and culture. But how much longer can it last?
Inside Trump’s gulag
El Salvador has become an absolutist police state. Part prison camp, part Bitcoin Beach, it’s the perfect place for Trump to send all the people he doesn’t want in America
Great Lives
David McCallum, the enigmatic star who wouldn’t be pinned down
Jimi Hendrix, the guitarist who kissed the sky
Salvador Allende, the Chilean too much for the Nixon White House
Sérgio Mendes, the man who drove the new Brazilian sound to worldwide acclaim
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and the studio that changed music for ever
