Politics
Nate Silver interview: ‘Politics is uniquely full of bullshit’
Nate Silver doesn’t suffer fools gladly — especially fools who pass themselves off as experts. In the second chapter of his book, The Signal and the Noise: The Art and… Continue reading
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The Glorious Revolution and small ‘c’ conservatism
From a dialogue between a non-juring clergyman and his wife by Edward ‘Ned’ Ward Wife: Why will you prove so obstinate, my dear, And rather choose to starve, than yield to… Continue reading
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Dreams and Nightmares: Europe in the twentieth century
So much abuse has been heaped on the European Union in recent years that it is easy to forget that Europe and the EU are not the same thing. Geert… Continue reading
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In defence of Niall Ferguson
One of the most striking divides in the left/right political debate is this. Those on the right disagree with people on the left. They find left-wing opinions misguided, incorrect or… Continue reading
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Interview: Jared Cohen and The New Digital Age
Jared Cohen is Director of Google Ideas, a think tank set up by Google dedicated to understanding global challenges by applying technological solutions. Cohen is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow… Continue reading
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Interview with a writer: Evgeny Morozov
Evgeny Morozov is an iconoclast. He believes that technology, if abused or misused, has the potential to make society less free. His latest book, To Save Everything , Click Here,… Continue reading
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Maria Miller and Britain’s creative industries need to talk
Everyone seems to like talking about the ‘creative industries’ these days. For arts folk, it gives the impression that what they do is hard-edged and economically viable, it makes geeky… Continue reading
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At home with the Balls family
Do you recall The Politician’s Wife by Paula Milne? It was a TV drama that aired in the dying days of the Major government. Milne recognised that Major’s government was more… Continue reading
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The renewal of the class system
Fun can be had by playing with the BBC’s new class calculator. The calculator, which was designed with the help of several eminent sociologists, replaces the 3 classes with seven stratifications,… Continue reading
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Michael Dobbs tight lipped on House of Cards plot
It was a gamble that seems to have paid off. American online entertainment giant Netflix commissioned their first ever original series with a Washington adaptation of Lord Dobbs’s classic, House of… Continue reading
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Surely Katie Price demeans marriage more than gay marriage ever could?
The right of gays to have a civil marriage in a non-religious service is once again an issue. There have been large and slightly violent protests in Paris as well… Continue reading
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Zero Six Bravo proves that too much secrecy over Special Forces is a bad thing
Zero Six Bravo tells of 60 Special Forces operators forced to remain silent in the face of accusations of ‘cowardice’ and ‘running away from the Iraqis’ in the 2003 war.… Continue reading
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Heard it on the Gove-Vine
Times journalist Sarah Vine has written the diary in the forthcoming edition of the Spectator. For those wondering why that caught Mr Steerpike’s eye, Vine is the wife of Education… Continue reading
1 Comment Interview with a writer: Jaron Lanier
In his new book, Who Owns The Future?, computer scientist, Jaron Lanier, argues that as technology has become more advanced, so too has our dependency on information tools. Lanier believes that… Continue reading
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The View from 22 — Peter Lilley vs. George Eustice on press regulation and the 2013 Budget
The Spectator has categorically said ‘NO’ to signing up to the government’s new regulatory body, but why are MPs so divided? In this week’s View from 22 podcast, Peter Lilley… Continue reading
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Budget Day: should our times really be called ‘the age of austerity’?
It is Budget Day. Prepare for another barrage of “messages” about the virtues or perils, depending on your point of view, of ‘austerity’. From where has this ubiquitous term come?… Continue reading
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When art imitates Wee Dougie Alexander
Is Labour MP Douglas Alexander paranoid or very candid? The Shadow Foreign Secretary told a group of luvvies and great minds at the Names Not Numbers festival in Suffolk that… Continue reading
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Help! What is ‘lurching’?
David Cameron is not for lurching. No lurch to the right, he says. The word ‘lurch’ underscores commentary on the government’s difficulties; but what does it actually mean? As so… Continue reading
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Footsie at the FT
Steerpike is back in this week’s magazine. As ever, here is your preview: How much would you stump up for the Economist? Most of us would draw the line at a… Continue reading
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Interview with a writer: Jared Diamond
In his latest book The World Until Yesterday, Jared Diamond analyses the behavioral differences between human beings in tribal stateless-societies and those living in bureaucratic nation states. Diamond says that if… Continue reading
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