The Plot to Subvert an Election: Unraveling the Russia Story So Far
This piece goes back to the beginning and unpacks in meticulous detail and with great clarity, Russia’s interference with the 2016 US Election.
A Spy Story: Sergei Skripal Was a Little Fish. He Had a Big Enemy.
This story goes back in time to Sergei Skripal’s life in the Russian intelligence service, long before he was poisoned in Salisbury. It skilfully intersperses his story with that of the wider geopolitical climate, from the fall of the USSR to today.
Aleppo After the Fall
A powerful piece looking at the complex new reality emerging in a city and country so horribly affected by civil war, where the regime is now feeling a new confidence.
Kidnapped Royalty Become Pawns in Iran’s Deadly Plot
This piece kicks off with an evocative depiction of the scene typically found at the V.I.P. terminal of Baghdad International Airport. It was there where in April 2017 a group of Qataris were held on arrival when their luggage was found to contain $360 million in cash. Their presence was linked to a royal hunting trip turned kidnapping that would significantly affect the Middle East’s geopolitics.
David’s Ankles
A thoughtful piece on the transcendental beauty and structural fragility of one of the most celebrated works of art in the world, Michelangelo’s statue of David.
The Fall of China’s Hedge Fund King
Xu Xiang was China’s most successful hedge fund manager, posting returns in excess of 800% and worth $2.2bn. Unfortunately, his card was marked.
A Lost World of Shipwrecks Is Found
A trove of extremely well preserved vessels has been found in the Black Sea, some a thousand years old.
This Is the Way Paul Ryan’s Speakership Ends
A profile of Paul Ryan, soon to retire as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and constantly treading the fine and somewhat uncomfortable line between the Republican establishment and the incumbent of the Oval Office.
The Preacher and the Sheriff
When he wasn’t satisfied with the answers to his questions about his son’s death in police custody, a preacher in Louisiana decided to investigate himself.
The Plot Against America
An essay on Philip Roth’s 2004 counterfactual novel, which imagines that famed flying ace and isolationist Charles Lindbergh won the Republican nomination for the 1940 US Presidential Election, and proceeded to embark on a campaign of persecution.