The struggle between good and evil in William Golding’s fiction By Alan Jenkins
The many lives of W. H. Auden By Ian Sansom
Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, the controversial US tech company By Emily Jones
Why do we experience consciousness?
As fighting in the Middle East entered its third week, focus has shifted to Tehran’s closure of a key maritime passage, and the potentially huge global economic impact.
For our big story this week, Jillian Ambrose explains how the war in Iran has effectively blocked the Gulf states from exporting a fifth of the world’s oil supply through the strait of Hormuz. Peter Beaumont sets out the significance of the route and the possible options to counter the blockade, while Hannah Ellis-Petersen reports on the building anger and resentment in the region over being dragged into a war they did not start and had diplomatically tried to prevent.
Peter also looks at “the escalation trap” that lies ahead for both sides in the conflict, and we have on-the-ground reports from Jason Burke in northern Israel and William Christou in southern Lebanon, as well as a stark account of day-to-day life from inside Tehran.
Spotlight | ‘Extraordinary cruelty’
Kaamil Ahmed and Alex Clark examine the evidence that starvation is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan
Technology | Star fruit
As Apple reaches its half-century, Chris Stokel-Walker rounds up its biggest triumphs and flops
Feature | Feminism’s not dead!
In a stirring riposte to all those who have declared the death of the women’s movement, Rebecca Solnit outlines the advances that have been made and argues it’s no time to give up the fight
Opinion | The British right’s Maga obsession
UK conservatives were once hostile to the US, but now are keen to emphasise loyalty to Trump above all else, writes Kojo Koram
Culture | One win after another
After 11 nominations without a single win, film-maker Paul Thomas Anderson deservedly struck gold at the Oscars with One Battle After Another, says Xan Brooks
Why the battle for Iran and Ukraine is coming for us all. By Will Lloyd
Iran has discovered a new weapon, much more powerful than its nuclear programme. By Katie Stallard
Britain’s most divisive designer on Labour’s lack of “cultural confidence”, housebuilding, and what makes a beautiful building. By Anoosh Chakelian
Oil and natural gas prices climbed and European gas prices surged as tit-for-tat attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf heightened fears that the war would set off an energy crisis.
Iran’s military retaliation and political defiance evoke a decades-old pattern of unrealized goals for American interventions in the region.
European leaders are pushing Prime Minister Viktor Orban to stop blocking a €90 billion loan to Ukraine. But the issue is a rallying cry in remarkably close elections in Hungary set for April 12.
THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Operation Blind Fury‘
By diminishing the president’s political superpowers, his reckless campaign may make him more dangerous
And Israel must not play the spoiler
But more needs to be done to ensure a prosperous future
A prolonged blockade risks creating a humanitarian crisis on America’s doorstep
But there are ways to rely less o
Boomers Daily 