Will Self reflects on comedy, asking what really makes us laugh. Read more
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What's Funny?
Will Self reflects on comedy, asking what really makes us laugh.
Why Orwell Is the Supreme Mediocrity
Will Self takes on one of the nation's best-loved figures, George Orwell.
When fiction comes to the historian's rescue
Lisa Jardine on how fiction can be more useful than fact in helping us understand the past
The Horror of War
Lisa Jardine says commemorating a war should not mean losing sight of its horror.
Red Dress Sense
Red may be now fashionable, but in the past it was powerful, reflects Lisa Jardine.
Keeping Time
Lisa Jardine reflects on the history of timepieces and the power of clocks and watches.
Short and Successful
Adam Gopnik thinks there is a simple reason why short men enjoy stable marriages.
Dying with Dignity
Adam Gopnick thinks we fail all too often to let people die with dignity.
The Football Fallacy
Adam Gopnik explains why the English are better at watching football than at playing it.
A Lesson from Love Locks
Adam Gopnik draws a lesson on the nature of love from the eyesore of love locks in Paris.
Cures for Anxiety
Adam Gopnik identifies four different types of anxiety that afflict modern people.
Capitalism and the Myth of Social Evolution
John Gray reflects on why the advance of capitalism is not inevitable.
Soylent and the Charm of the Fast Lane
John Gray explores why human beings crave busy lives.
Dostoevsky and Dangerous Ideas
John Gray points to lessons from the novels of Dostoevsky about the danger of ideas.
Thinking the Unthinkable
John Gray argues that 'thinking the unthinkable' means exaggerating fashionable beliefs.
Faking It
Roger Scruton muses on the difference between genuine art and that based on fake emotion.
Kitsch
Why the fear of producing kitsch art has led to a new kind of pre-emptive kitsch.
Art: The Real Thing
What constitutes real art, as opposed to kitsch or that based on fake emotions and cliche?
Monarch's Message
David Cannadine reflects on the history of the Queen's Christmas message.
The Pursuit of Happiness
AL Kennedy reflects on what it means to pursue happiness.
Charlie Hebdo
Adam Gopnick reflects on the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
Language and Listening
AL Kennedy reflects on the importance of learning languages and listening to one another.
The Power of Art
AL Kennedy reflects on the power of art to sustain the human spirit.
Losing Touch
Will Self laments diminishing personal contact as a result of the rise of technology.
Having Children
Will Self reflects on the growing divide between people with and without children.
The Purpose of Satire
Will Self finds himself driven to reconsider the nature and purpose of satire.
The Power of Fiction
Will Self reflects on the power of our relationship with fictional characters.
Post-Image
A weekly reflection on a topical issue.
The Nature of Time
Will Self reflects on the unsettling nature of time.
Cognitive Decline
Tom Shakespeare says wisdom in middle age is some compensation for cognitive decline.
Trial by Select Committee
Tom Shakespeare thinks that reformed select committees have revitalised Parliament.