Open Season
There have always been “woke” students—the problem is their elders
‘The people running these institutions—they’re the people who are actually cancelling the songs, renaming the buildings and withdrawing the paintings’
Can a white conservative be trusted?
There is particularly fertile ground for mistrust in an era in which fear has become a dominant public perspective
A defence of difference
“We seldom hear much about freedom from contemporary social justice activists. They don’t want freedom — freedom would mean taking responsibility for one’s life”
That’s entertainment
‘Vast swathes of the television production community stopped working overnight. Any television show involving camera crews, studio audiences, the general public, travel, or proximity of any kind, was, at best, postponed indefinitely; at worst, cancelled outright’
God’s waiting room
‘The homelessness charity St Mungo’s believes the pandemic can lead to a significant long-term reduction in rough sleeping when the lockdown ends. But the current situation suggests this vision might as well have been expressed by Walter Mitty’
Britain must reinvent itself
‘We should seize the opportunity presented by Brexit to reinvent ourselves’
The perils of two-wheeled oiks in lycra
‘The cyclist’s pent-up hostility and cavalier attitude to rules finds its apotheosis in confrontations with pedestrians’
Living in Cancerland
Cancer is no joke. But staying cheerful helps
In the bleak midwinter
Christmas can be a bleak time of year. While some feel isolated, others are overwhelmed by the need for a perfect family Yuletide when their reality is different
Personality journalism started with Paxman. It’s pernicious
‘When I was at the BBC, the cliché was that we left our politics at the door. It appeared not to need saying that other aspects of your personal identity should also be left at the door’
The Brexit crunch approaches
Thorny issues remain unresolved as the transition period comes to a close. Yet the hurdles to a deal are not insurmountable
Meritocracy makes a new ruling class
Innovation has often come from hard work by unlettered people. But young progressives now seem to treat education as a proxy for virtue
Some black lives matter more than others
Black Lives Matter misses the point—we should highlight the progress we have made, not split society and trap ourselves in victimhood