Man v Rat
A fascinating study of the age old battle between humans and rats, one of the few species to challenge our supremacy on this planet.
Britain’s Secret Wars
The story of Britain’s little known 20th century conflicts, including a protracted and violent engagement in Oman.
Not the end of The World: the return of DubaiÕs ultimate folly
Dubai’s iconic / infamous reclaimed offshore property development went bust during the financial crisis and was left empty for years (apart from a solitary beach club in Lebanon). A few developers stayed the course and are now imagining ever more ambitious architectural smorgasbords to entice the global elite.
Murder in Hampstead: did a secret trial put the wrong man in jail?
A look at the contentious circumstances surrounding a murder case that went to a secret trial and put a long-time MI6 informant in jail.
Dmitry Medvedev: the whipping boy for Russia’s discontented
A profile of Vladimir Putin’s political foil.
A tale of decay: the Houses of Parliament are falling down
The iconic building of the British state is in a state of serious disrepair. It caught fire forty times in a four year period, and the list of required repairs is mind-boggling. Yet the way to deal with this increasingly pressing concern is not at all clear.
My Double Life as a KGB Agent
The story of Albrecht Dittrich, an East German chemist who spent years as a spy under the identity of Jack Barsky, a computer analyst working in Manhattan.
Libor scandal: the bankers who fixed the world’s most important number
A look deep inside the Libor scandal that reads like a Hollywood clich of corporate malfeasance.
Orbiting Jupiter: my week with Emmanuel Macron
A profile that looks beyond Emmanuel Macron’s charismatic personality and assesses his rise to power, performance in office, and future prospects.
An unsolved murder at Italy’s most notorious tower block
The story of a murder at an apartment block marketed as a luxury development when it opened in 1968, but now “like an inverse of Dante’s layers of hell”. The building is disintegrating, but houses a large and diverse population, including an estimated 50 drug dealers. This is a story about the changes in fortune in the Italian economy, urban development, immigration, integration, and failing public infrastructure.