Books
Ernest Bevin: working-class hero
In an era obsessed with social mobility, Britain has somehow forgotten about the trade union titan who rose from 11-year-old orphan farm labourer to become a world-shaping statesman
Reasons to be cheerful: despite what we see on the news, things are getting better all the time
Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's manifesto for optimism reads like a 400-page TED talk
Inside the chaotic world of Zoom punditry
Our talking heads live in homes—probably nice ones. Why all the weird Zoom backgrounds?
What 20 years of teaching creative writing have taught me about confined living
Or: Wednesdays, at a writers’ retreat
The rise of audiobook snobbery—and what it's really about
Reading a book—not listening to it—has become its own sort of status symbol
"Book murderer": What debates over damaging books are really about
Why do people cleave so strongly to one side or another of this bibliographical culture war?
Margaret Atwood on The Gift that keeps on giving
Should works of art be bought and sold like potatoes? Or are they, like the best presents, items on which no real price can be placed?
The myth of the golden age of reading
Even before the digital age, book-lovers were always prone to distraction
James Robinson: “everywhere people are interested in liberty”
The co-author of Why Nations Fail is back with a far-reaching interrogation of the roles of the state, society, and the conditions required for freedom
What childhood fairytales can teach adults
The understated wisdom of Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood
Alasdair Gray's literary socialism
The master of improper arts talks Jane Austen, the NHS, and why he's losing faith in an independent Scotland
Watch: Prospect Book Club—Sameer Rahim on “Asghar and Zahra”
This month your usual host turns guest to discuss the themes in his debut novel