Matthew d’Ancona
01 October 2025
The sick age of conspirituality
Egged on by Trump and RFK Jr, a deadly blend of conspiracy theory and wellness woo-woo is going mainstream
Read the full article27 September 2025
Why One Battle After Another must win Best Picture
Sensational and deeply cerebral, Paul Thomas Anderson’s 10th feature film is a stone-cold masterpiece
Read the full article22 September 2025
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
Read the full article20 September 2025
Slow Horses, a metaphor for post-Brexit Britain
Mick Herron’s spy thriller series and Will Smith’s magnificent adaptation have become pitch-perfect accompaniments to the shabbiness and disillusionment of Britain today
Read the full article17 September 2025
Ian McEwan’s sinking feeling
In What We Can Know, our greatest living novelist sees the UK slip beneath the waves – and looks for light in a drowned world
Read the full article13 September 2025
David Bowie, the Great Curator
Major Tom may be gone, but the new David Bowie Centre at V&A East displays the extraordinary treasures he left behind
Read the full article11 September 2025
The civil legacy of Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk's politics were not my own. But the least he and America deserve, on this blood-stained morning, is a moment of civility
Read the full article10 September 2025
Dear liberals, don’t forget what free speech means
Too many progressives have forgotten the importance of free speech. It’s time to speak up
Read the full article06 September 2025
Tom Cox, one of our best authors
Every new book by Tom Cox is a treat and his third novel, Everything Will Swallow You, is no exception
Read the full article03 September 2025
Tommy Robinson’s long shadow
Easily dismissed as a diminutive thug, the unfortunate reality is that he understands perfectly the role he has to play in propagating hateful racist nationalism in a country increasingly receptive to his message
Read the full article30 August 2025
Caught Stealing, Darren Aronofsky's love letter to New York
Aronofsky can miss the mark when he over-conceptualises. But this very entertaining gangland caper is infectious
Read the full article13 August 2025
God is back… and He’s trending
In the age of Trump and Vance, celebrity-led ‘Godcasts’ and prayer apps are pulling in millions, and liberal ‘New Atheism’ can’t match their energy – or offer of meaning
Read the full article02 August 2025
Late Shift, a hospital drama worthy of the hype
Petra Volpe’s extraordinary movie powerfully dramatises the human consequences of the crises facing nursing today
Read the full article28 July 2025
The quiet road to an ugly Britain
Farage is winning by whipping up anger and then claiming to be the only one who can quell it. It’s time Starmer ‘hugs the cactus’ by confronting the Reform leader’s claims – and his supporters
Read the full article27 July 2025
Oasis have returned when we need them most
At Wembley Stadium, Liam and Noel Gallagher served up pure sonic energy, proving that the best things in life can live forever
Read the full article26 July 2025
The Fantastic Four and a summer of cinematic fun
The best Marvel offering since Avengers: Endgame (2019), the film works by embracing the technicolour Americana of the comic strip original
Read the full article21 July 2025
What a big scandal says about small Britain
The Afghan leak cover-up is symptomatic of a crumbling, outmoded state where self-preservation trumps honour
Read the full article19 July 2025
Inter Alia is a remarkable production
Rosamund Pike delivers a quite astonishing performance as a Crown Court Judge wrestling with the legal system's shoddy handling of sexual assault cases
Read the full article16 July 2025
Trump’s private army
He promised to end America’s wars abroad. Instead, he is starting one at home
Read the full article12 July 2025
Too Much is one of the best streaming series you will watch all year
Lena Dunham’s first major television project since Girls is so much more than the romcom it's billed as
Read the full article09 July 2025
Peter Thiel and the Antichrist
A very influential, rich American says the Antichrist has returned. The worst thing is how many people might actually believe him
Read the full article05 July 2025
Grace Pervades proves theatre can be everything
Directed by Jeremy Herrin, David Hare's compelling new play is not only admirably cerebral but profoundly moving
Read the full article01 July 2025
One-year Keir: the man without a why
On the PM’s first anniversary, Britain is still waiting to be told a narrative in which he turns our crises into a shared endeavour, a patriotic adventure
Read the full article28 June 2025
F1 will have you on the edge of your seat
Joseph Kosinski’s F1 is a throwback to the age of the summer blockbuster in which (literally, in this case) the film was a vehicle for a true star
Read the full article23 June 2025
Trump is risking a forever war
An impulsive reign has taken a deadly turn in Iran that could end in years of conflict in the Middle East - and an authoritarian power grab at home
Read the full article21 June 2025
The savage yet mystical 28 Years Later
Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland triumphantly reanimate their dormant franchise
Read the full article18 June 2025
American democracy is on thin ice
The Los Angeles riots highlight how Trump has changed America in so many ways. But one thing he has certainly not done is make it great again
Read the full article14 June 2025
Tornado is exactly the film we've been waiting for
John Maclean's spaghetti western samurai film set in late 18th-century Britain is another example of how the director's eclecticism defies categorisation
Read the full article13 June 2025
Israel strikes as the sheriff leaves town
Trump doesn’t care about the bombing of Iran, or global security. Now Europe must fill the volatile vacuum he has left behind
Read the full article10 June 2025
William F Buckley, the man who put prime time into politics
Before Trump, there was William F Buckley Jr – the reactionary showman who shaped our modern culture wars
Read the full article07 June 2025
Ana de Armas’s new licence to kill
Ballerina is a smart and stylish John Wick universe detour that weaponises grace
Read the full article04 June 2025
Trump’s war against the law
It’s high noon for American democracy. Can the Supreme Court hold the line against MAGA’s madness?
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