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.
Behemoth, bully, thief: how the English language is taking over the planet
Far from being under threat as is sometimes claimed, the English language’s global dominance appears to be stronger than ever. Not only is it on a user acquisition spree that would make any tech startup jealous, but it has also turned into a “net exporter” of words, infiltrating other languages with Anglicisms. This piece examines these and other ways in which it is asserting its position as the first “hypercentral” language.
Eat, pray, live: the Lagos megachurches building their very own cities
They started as accommodation to support huge events, but have expanded to become highly desirable living quarters for the Lagos faithful.
The George Soros philosophy – and its fatal flaw
This story profiles a long time bogeyman of the Trumpian right, the billionaire fund owner and philanthropist George Soros, and assesses the state of his vision for an open society.
Yearning for the end of the world
The story of life as a member of an underground church in 1980s Iran, waiting for the end of days and the promised Rapture.
How Britain let Russia hide its dirty money
A piece looking at the influx of Russian money into the UK.
Where global warming gets real: inside Nasa’s mission to the north pole
The story of Nasa’s evocatively named Operation IceBridge.
The Most Potent, Permanent and Elusive Figure in British Politics
A fascinating January 2016 profile of Jeremy Heywood, the man heading the UK civil service. He has been an instrumental part of government during the reign of the last three Prime Ministers, and reportedly has a seat at every table that matters.
Hugh Cudlipp Lecture 2018: James Harding
The former Director of BBC News and Editor of The Times asserts in this lecture that technology is damaging democracy. The piece is elevated from the multitude of others with a similar theme by its superior writing, wry humour, and effective deployment of numerous case studies from this time of “democratic recession”.