Prospect Magazine

Short and tweet

John Naish Free entry

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

The media is full of scare stories about how Twitter and other new technologies are shrinking our attention spans. But there could be hidden benefits to our busy, distracted lives

The kindness of witches

Andrew Brown Free entry

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

Stieg Larsson’s fiction replaces Sweden’s socialist dream with an individualist nightmare. Is this what has made him the country’s biggest literary phenomenon?

Comment (2)

How to shrink the banks

Jonathan Ford and Peter Thal Larsen

18th November 2009 — Issue 165 Free entry

The only way to restore sanity and security to finance is to stop banks growing so big

Comment (6)

Afghanistan: Avoiding failure means embracing the country's patronage politics—bribes and all, writes Alex de Waal

Hazy politics: David Nutt’s sacking stems from scientists’ overconfidence in their ability to shape policy, argues William Cullerne Bown

Green means beans: supporting Kenyan vegetable growers is more important than obsessing about buying British

Features >

In pictures: The lion and the tiger

Prospect

20th November 2009 — Issue 165

Images of the international FIDE chess championships in Armenia by Magnum photographer Stuart Franklin

How dictators watch us on the web

Evgeny Morozov

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

The internet is meant to help activists, enable democratic protest and weaken the grip of authoritarian regimes. But it doesn’t—in fact, the web is a boon for bullies

Comment (3)

The lion and the tiger

David Edmonds

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

Armenia excels at chess. Its top player now has a shot at becoming world champion. How did this tiny country become a giant at the game?

Web exclusive >

Dying to belong

Philippa Stroud Free entry

13th November 2009 — Issue 164

We are losing a generation of young people to gang violence. An incoming Tory government will have to start from scratch if it is going to make a difference

Is Microsoft opening up at last?

Paul Anderson Free entry

30th October 2009 — Issue 164

The software giant has suddenly begun to embrace its rivals' free-to-use software. What's really going on here?

Comment (2)

Is Britain's future renewable?

Lewis Smith Free entry

28th October 2009 — Issue 164

The financial crisis has cast a shadow over the future of Britain's renewable industry. It will need a lot of government help to stay afloat

Comment (1)

Opinions >

The mother of all paradoxes

Catherine Hakim

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

Stronger maternity rights can help mothers, but they will hurt employers and women in general

Comment (1)

Hazy politics, man

William Cullerne Bown

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

David Nutt’s sacking stems from scientists’ overconfidence in their ability to shape policy

How green are your beans?

Mark Ashurst

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

Supporting Kenyan vegetable growers is more important than obsessing about buying British

Science and Technology >

Lab briefing

Philip Ball

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

The top science stories this month

Heavy metal

Robin Powell

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

China’s monopoly on rare earth metals could choke economies across the world

Say what?

Jim Giles

18th November 2009 — Issue

New web software is changing the way we create language

Arts & books >

The sound and the fury

Malise Ruthven

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

Richard English explores the shifting meanings, causes and effects of terrorism—and offers a sober corrective to some dangerous recent misconceptions

Cultural notebook

Sam Leith

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

The fad for the undead reflects the anxiety of the middle classes—caught between proletariat zombies and vampire toffs

Tales of talent and cruelty

William Skidelsky

18th November 2009 — Issue 165

A biography of one of America’s greatest short-story writers eloquently depicts his battles with drink and depression, but fails to link that man to his art