Category Archives: Culture

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY – OCTOBER 11, 2025 PREVIEW

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Day Of Darkness’ – With antisemitism on the rise in Britain, was the Manchester attack inevitable?

Last week was Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. A day of prayer and staying away from news. As people made their way to Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester, they saw a small car being driven erratically before it crashed into the gates. In seconds, Jihad al-Shamie had jumped from the vehicle and started stabbing those nearby. Within six minutes three people had been killed, including the attacker, who was shot by armed police.

For our cover story, Chris Osuh and Geneva Abdul speak to members of the Jewish community about how they feared such an assault was likely, as well as their hopes for unity in the face of hatred. Our reporting team pieces together what is known about Shamie, and Jonathan Freedland says the terror attack was no surprise amid rising antisemitism, but must be a turning point.

Five essential reads in this week’s edition

Spotlight | A chilling message
David Smith reports on how Donald Trump is stepping up attacks on Democratic donors little more than a year before the midterm elections for Congress

Science | Catching Zs
If you’ve ever found yourself awake in the small hours, mind whirring, you’re not alone. Jillian Pretzel asks experts about what causes maintenance insomnia – inability to stay asleep – and which treatments can help to tackle it

Feature | Broken connection
A volcanic eruption in the South Pacific in 2022 ripped apart the underwater cables that connect Tonga to the world. Samanth Subramanian examines how losing the internet catapulted the archipelago back in time

Opinion | Man without a plan?
Latin American governments are fretfully watching a big US military buildup around Venezuela as Donald Trump steps up action against drug cartels. The president’s efforts to act as a neighbourhood policeman, writes Simon Tisdall, are regressive, dangerous and almost certain to backfire

Culture | Boss mode
New biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere captures the musician at a pivotal point in his career. Alexis Petridis speaks to the film’s cast and crew about bringing the musical icon to life

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 13, 2025 PREVIEW

The cover of the October 13 2025 issue of The New Yorker in which a man creates a leaf motif with a leaf blower.

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest cover features Brian Stauffer’s “Winds of Change” – A gust of fall.

Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and the “War from Within”

Peace abroad and war at home? It’s an unusual note to strike in an electoral democracy. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells

Before Kimmel, the Smothers Brothers Ate It

President Nixon got the brothers’ variety show cancelled after they wouldn’t let up on Vietnam. In the wake of the new late-night wars, Dick Smothers is having flashbacks. By Bruce Handy

The Prime Minister Who Tried to Have a Life Outside the Office

As the thirtysomething leader of Finland, Sanna Marin pursued an ambitious policy agenda. The press focussed on her nights out and how she paid for breakfast. By Jennifer Wilson

The Hague on Trial

The chief prosecutor has obtained warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes—but faces allegations of sexual misconduct. By David D. Kirkpatrick

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 5, 2025

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 10.5.25 Issue features Matthieu Aikins and Victor J. Blue reporting on crimes and impunity in the U.S. Special Forces.

They Celebrated Vigilante Justice on the Battlefield. Then They Brought It Home.

Pete Hegseth’s advocacy for service members accused of war crimes, and Trump’s pardons of them, have helped usher in an era of military aggression and disregard for the rule of law. By Matthieu Aikins  and  Victor J. Blue

Did a Green Beret Unit Commit One of the Worst U.S. War Crimes in Decades?

In 2012, after a team member was nearly killed, a Special Forces unit went on a rampage that might have been one of the worst war crimes in recent U.S. history. By Matthieu Aikins and Victor J. Blue

How War-Crime Accusations Against Green Berets Were Denied and Buried

As cases of lawless behavior and extrajudicial killings mounted, the Special Forces had to decide how to respond — and whom to protect. By Matthieu Aikins and Victor J. Blue

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 6, 2025 PREVIEW

The illustrated cover for the October 6 2025 issue of The New Yorker in which two dishevelled parents lovingly watch a...

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest cover features R. Kikuo Johnson’s “Free Play” – The overwhelming delights of parenting.

Grace and Disgrace

Hope lies not in expecting a late-in-life conversion experience in the Oval Office but in carrying out the ordinary work of civic life. By David Remnick

Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It

In 1989, Sir Tim revolutionized the online world. Today, in the era of misinformation, addictive algorithms, and extractive monopolies, he thinks he can do it again. By Julian Lucas

Carol Burnett Plays On

The ninety-two-year-old comedy legend has influenced generations of performers. In a string of recent TV roles, she has been co-starring with some of her closest comedic heirs. By Rachel Syme

Where the Battle Over Free Speech Is Leading Us

Doxing, deplatforming, defunding, persecuting, firing, and sometimes killing—all are part of an escalating war over words. What happens next? By Louis Menand

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER 24, 2025

Cover of Country Life 24 September 2025

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The latest issue features St Michael’s Mount at low tide.

The roads less travelled

Now you see them, now you don’t: Roger Morgan-Grenville treads the ephemeral sea paths of Britain, those often-ancient routes at the mercy of the tides

Spreads from Life Country Life 24 September 2025

A stitch in time

Deborah Nicholls-Lee unearths Mr Darcy’s shirt, Bertie Wooster’s dressing gown and Poldark’s tricorn hat in a fascinating trawl through the Cosprop wardrobes

Property market

A quartet of significant West Country houses is seeking buyers, reports Penny Churchill

Properties of the week

A Devon longhouse, Cornwall cottage and Somerset thatch catch Arabella Youens’s eye

Spreads from Life Country Life 24 September 2025

When your art is in the right place

To whom do the experts turn for the best in framing, restoring and valuing? Leading art and antique dealers open their little black books for Amelia Thorpe

Leslie MacLeod Miller’s favourite painting

The impresario picks a portrait of a 19th-century singing sensation

Country-house treasures

The fortunes of a Cumbrian castle rest with the ‘Luck of Muncaster’, finds John Goodall

A Regency prospect

Steven Brindle looks at the remarkable story behind a fine Georgian creation — Samuel Wyatt’s Belmont House in Kent

Spreads from Life Country Life 24 September 2025

The legacy

Emma Hughes toasts the genius of Dennis Potter, the man who gave us the darkly comic and gritty Singing Detective

Beginning to see the light

John Lewis-Stempel and his dogs are up with the skylark to witness the dawning of a spectacular September day

Luxury

Amie Elizabeth White on tartan, tweed, timepieces and fruity jewels, plus a few of Victoria Pendleton’s favourite things

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe admires the makeover of a guest bedroom at a Scottish country house and picks the best bedside tables

Spreads from Life Country Life 24 September 2025

Plum advice

Charles Quest-Ritson shares his favourite forms of plum, gage, mirabelle and damson from the 20-plus varieties he has grown

Slightly foxed

Second-hand bookshops can be a goldmine of gardening wisdom, says John Hoyland

Scale model

David Profumo is transported back to childhood by the spiny, swashbuckling stickleback

Travel

Mark Hedges takes a break from reality on Bryher, a heather-clad haven in the Isles of Scilly

Arts & antiques

Art dealer John Martin tells Carla Passino why he can never part with a panel he stumbled upon by Nigerian sculptor Asiru Olatunde

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE – SEPT. 21, 2025

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 9.21.25 Issue features David Wallace-Wells on how the world has soured on climate politics; Christina Cauterucci on a new brand of climate activism; Brook Larmer on China’s green-tech ambitions; David Gelles interviews six world leaders about their plans to navigate climate change; and more.

It Isn’t Just the U.S. The Whole World Has Soured on Climate Politics.

How do we think about the climate future, now that the era marked by the Paris Agreement has so utterly disappeared?

Political Violence Isn’t New. But Something About This Moment Is.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination fits into American history. How does it fit into our politics? By Jia Lynn Yang

How Reese Witherspoon Figured Out Who She Really Is

The actor and producer booked her first big role when she was 14 years old. More than 30 years later, she’s an entertainment-industry powerhouse. By Lulu Garcia-Navarro

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE – SEPT. 29, 2025 PREVIEW

The illustrated cover of the September 29 2025 issue of The New Yorker in which Donald Trumps hand holds a remote...

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest cover features ‘Barry Blitt’s “Remote Control” – The President’s watch list.

The Grave Threat Posed by Donald Trump’s Attack on Jimmy Kimmel

The President and his allies are using the power of the state to silence speech they dislike. By Isaac Chotiner

The Great Student Swap

For years, public universities have aggressively recruited out-of-state and international students, charging them higher tuition. But those pipelines may be drying up. By Jeffrey Selingo

J. D. Vance, Charlie Kirk, and the Politics-as-Talk-Show Singularity

Broadcasting from the White House, the Vice-President seemed to complete the merger of politics and red-meat live streams—and to threaten more ominous crackdowns ahead. By Andrew Marantz

HARPER’S MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 2025 PREVIEW

HARPER’S MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Soldiers Of Misfortune’ – Why the world’s richest military keeps losing wars.

Mission Impossible

The sad state of the American armed forces by Seth Harp

The Good Pervert

A friend’s life, a brutal death by David Velasco

Bedside Manners

Can empathy be taught in medicine? by Rachel Pearson

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY – SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 PREVIEW

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Divided States’ – Will Charlie Kirk’s Death Change America?

The killing of Charlie Kirk last week sent shock waves through America among both supporters and opponents of his views. Yet until last week, the young rightwing activist was relatively unheard of – by older generations anyway – outside the US.

As the ripples and implications of his death continue to spread across the US and beyond, our big story takes a step back. Washington bureau chief David Smith explains how the young activist rose to prominence and gained a place within Donald Trump’s inner circle, his provocative brand of populism and charisma playing an outsize role in the Republicans’ 2024 election victory. As Steve Bannon, the prominent rightwing commentator, told the Guardian, Kirk’s popularity with young voters “changed the ground game” for Trump and the Maga movement.

Spotlight | Why has England become festooned with flags?
Chief reporter Daniel Boffey visits a Birmingham suburb to track down the genesis of a movement that wants to see the union jacks or the flag of St George displayed across the country

Special investigation | Boris Johnson’s pursuit of profit
A cache of leaked documents show a blurring of lines in the former prime minister’s private business ventures and political role after leaving office, our investigations team reveals

Feature | The porn business stripped bare
In Amsterdam, at Europe’s biggest pornography conference, Amelia Gentleman discovers the perils of a booming industry, from burnout to the advent of AI

Opinion | Trump is just a paper tiger
While the US president likes to present himself as the biggest, baddest strongman, he crumples in the face of Benjamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin’s belligerence, says Simon Tisdall

Culture | The power of pure pop
Famous for getting us through lockdowns with her kitchen disco and a stream of catchy hits, Sophie Ellis-Bextor tells Rebecca Nicholson about why the perimenopause is a gift to renewed creativity

THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE – OCTOBER 2025 PREVIEW

THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Amend It’

How Originalism Killed the Constitution

A radical legal philosophy has undermined the process of constitutional evolution. Jill Lepore

Fifty Years After History’s Most Brutal Boxing Match

The Thrilla in Manila nearly killed Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Vann R. Newkirk II

A Tale of Sex and Intrigue in Imperial Kyoto

A thousand years ago, Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji, the world’s first novel. Who was she? Lauren Groff