New York
Shock and Awe in Shanghai
‘After the elections in France and Greece the idea of Ed Miliband as prime minister is moving from late-night fear to probability’
More Than ABCs in NYC
‘In New York schools where they teach a core knowledge curriculum, some of the poorest children are discussing Shakespeare at four years old’
Transatlantic Tour
‘Backward-leaning leftist populism is on the rise. All the old slogans of the 1980s — “Tory scum” and so on — are making a return’
Political Classes
‘American academia is being swamped by the backwaters of identity politics’
Helluva Town!
“New York, New York, it’s a helluva town! The Bronx is up and the Battery down…”
Ooops. “Helluva” was not deemed acceptable and Bernstein ended up writing that tune to the word “Wonderful” instead. Having just been back to the Big Apple after an absence of seven years, I’m pretty sure “Helluva” is the right word. It is wonderful, up to a point; but also noisy, to a degree that makes life under the flight path seem extraordinarily peaceful; crazy, to the point that even most of the cats are ‘barking’; energising to the spirit, emptying to the bank account (seduction by tourist discount in Macy’s and hidden taxes in restaurants), and so full-on that a long weekend felt like a fortnight. As for the bagels…! That’s not “Wonderful.” That’s “Helluva”.
New York: A Cousin in the White House
US Election Week diary: New Yorkers and their attitudes towards the new president
New York: Diary
‘New York feels much calmer than London about the financial crisis. It’s not clear if this attitude is a product of resignation or sheer denial, schadenfreude against wealthy financiers, or perhaps a kind of emotional hardiness born of the 9/11 attacks.’
Tolerating the intolerant
“For those who thought that a global pandemic would sound the death knell for identity politics, think again”
How to prevent the next pandemic
‘I have been reporting as a science journalist for years that the world is at increasing risk of pandemics like this; that this was predicted; that we know what we need to do to prepare and we simply haven’t done it; and that more and worse pandemics are coming so we need to do that, now’
D’où parles-tu? The post-truth world
Power, illusion and the open society: how postmodernism undermines our foundational concepts