This week’s cover story explores the resurgence of a rather surprising figure: God. In the age of Trump and Vance, celebrity-led “Godcasts” and worship apps are drawing in millions. Can secular liberals offer the same energy – or the same sense of meaning? Editor-at-large Matthew d’Ancona steps in to, ahem, answer your prayers.
That said, Matthew’s position on atheism remains unchanged. He agrees with Christopher Hitchens that “human decency is not derived from religion. It precedes it.”
Also back this week is Sonia Sodha, offering a much-needed fix for Britain’s broken asylum system. With new figures showing over 50,000 Channel crossings since Labour took office, No. 10 would do well to pay attention. “One-in, one-out” isn’t enough, she argues. Labour’s new asylum scheme might be a step forward, but it still leaves thousands in limbo and does little to silence Reform’s toxic mantras. It’s essential reading.
Don’t worry, Keir Starmer, you’re not the only leader facing broken systems. In Harriet Barber’s latest, we head to Argentina, where the only thing Javier Milei’s chainsaw seems to have cut is public patience. Yes, Argentinians are largely pleased with what he’s done to tackle inflation. But everything else? Not so much.
Next, a grim but necessary question: Could Ghislaine Maxwell walk free? Convicted of aiding and abetting Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, Maxwell is due to remain behind bars until at least 2037. But with Trump and his allies openly toying with the idea of a pardon, that timeline no longer feels guaranteed. Political editor James Ball lays out the facts and makes the case that her crimes must remain unpardonable.
Elsewhere in the magazine, Alastair Campbell marvels at the recent India-England Test series and reflects on what cricket can teach us about life. Following the death of American game hunter Asher Watkins, our philosopher-at-large Nigel Warburton argues that trophy hunting offers no victories – only loss.
Patience Wheatcroft dissects the resignation of housing minister Rushanara Ali and asks how a government that once promised the moral high ground has fallen so far from it. And in her characteristically joyful Dilettante column, Marie Le Conte recounts the everyday challenges of life as a female cyclist.
