News
Why this crypto winter might be permanent
42+ min ago (691+ words) For years, the true believers have shouted from the rooftops of social media, preaching a bitcoin gospel of decentralisation and "digital gold. But last weeks turmoil in the markets, which was nothing short of historic, has been followed by a…...
Mono-fanaticism in a sunburnt country
1+ hour, 32+ min ago (918+ words) The most effective political leaders are semi-housetrained polecats, which is also a famous insult. You cannot lay a glove on them; if you do it is terribly painful, at least for those who are hostile. Most leadership then ends in…...
Hate speech and Islamic regulation
12+ hour, 47+ min ago (591+ words) Just to recap on how the coalition got into its current pickle. In the wake of the Bondi massacre (December 14, 2025), Sussan Ley, seeking political advantage, demanded the government urgently recall Parliament to pass hate speech legislation. "The Coalition calls on…...
Celebrity Justices compromise the Supreme Court
15+ hour, 14+ min ago (810+ words) The real problem with US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson attending the Grammys wasn't that it revealed her true colors as a liberal, but that it showed the slow and steady erosion of the court's institutional reserve. Senator Marsha…...
It is Anas Sarwar who must now resign
16+ hour, 19+ min ago (801+ words) Anas Sarwar has done much the same with his statement calling for Keir Starmer to resign as prime minister over the Peter Mandelson/Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Addressing journalists in Glasgow, he said ... It is Anas Sarwar who must now resign…...
Now Starmer's Cabinet Secretary exits too
17+ hour, 14+ min ago (259+ words) Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from London and beyond. Email tips to [email protected]. Now Starmer's Cabinet Secretary exits too Will the last person out of No. 10 please turn out the lights? First, it…...
Scottish Labour leader calls for Starmer to quit
21+ hour, 37+ min ago (309+ words) Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from London and beyond. Email tips to [email protected]. Scottish Labour leader calls for Starmer to quit Oh dear. It really does seem like the end of days for…...
The extraordinary daftness of Olivia Colman
22+ hour, 50+ min ago (171+ words) Colman was speaking to the "Them" website (tagline: "Get the best of what"s queer") to promote a forthcoming project, described in a dismayingly obedient way by the Daily Mail: The sense of "specialness" this very ordinary woman possesses is…...
We are more than a blue square
1+ day, 59+ min ago (1315+ words) On Sunday night, during the Super Bowl " one of the largest shared cultural moments on the planet " an advert about antisemitism reached tens of millions of homes. Funded by Robert Kraft, it set out to "stand up to Jewish hate....
Are podcasts killing off nonfiction books?
1+ day, 4+ hour ago (198+ words) There is (isn't there always?) a crisis in nonfiction publishing.But this time it really is a crisis, or at least, itseemsmore of a crisis than thepreviousones. The problem is: not enough people arebuying the stuff anymore.Last year's nonfiction…...