Published in The Guardian (March 23, 2012) Life’s a mashup these days, isn’t it? Not just online but in the real world too. From arts to science, from […]
Arts / Books / Nigeria
Disorder, dereliction…and decency
Published in The Observer (January 29th, 2012) Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wira (Granta) Nigeria does not top many people’s lists of the ideal holiday […]
Arts / Books
Fancy footwork with the facts
Published in The Observer (January 15th, 2012) Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions by Paul Mason (Verso) One of the best things about Newsnight in recent months […]
Arts / Music
Another top ten albums of 2011 list
Published on The Spectator website (December 18th, 2011) Picking my favourite albums this year reminded me of three things about the current state of music. First, the obvious […]
Arts / Books
Well, that’s easy for you to say, Mr President…
Published in The Observer (October 16th, 2011) You Talkin’ to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith (Profile) As the Barack Obama bandwagon began to roll […]
Afghanistan / Arts / Books / World
The day that shook the world
Published in The Observer (September 11th, 2011) The Eleventh Day by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (Doubleday); The 9/11 Wars by Jason Burke (Allen Lane); Granta 116: Ten […]
Arts / Books / United States / World
The other Barack: Bigamist, drunk and wife-beater
Published in the Daily Mail (August 12th, 2011) The Other Barack by Sally H. Jacobs (Public Affairs) Shortly after being elected first black president of Harvard Law Review, […]
Arts / Books
After the wave, the emotional deluge
Published in The Observer (July 31st, 2011) Let Not the Waves of the Sea by Simon Stephenson (John Murray) On what would have been his brother’s 28th birthday, […]
Arts / Immigration / Music / Policy
We must stop treating world-class artists with such routine contempt
Published in The Observer (July 10th, 2011) Idrissa Soumaoro should have been rehearsing with the celebrated Malian musicians Amadou & Mariam for a show at the Manchester international […]
Afghanistan / Arts / Books / World
It’s a fiasco, says our man in Kabul
Published in the Daily Mail (July 1st, 2011) Cables from Kabul: The Inside story of the West’s Afghanistan campaign by Sherard Cowper-Coles (Harper Press) Two years ago, during […]
Arts / Music
Spotify Sunday: Shuffle…
Published on The Spectator website (April 16th, 2011) Like many music fans, I could spend months pondering a playlist and coming up with dozens of variations. Since I […]