For the thousands of foreign visitors who travelled behind the ‘bamboo curtain’ to visit Mao’s China, hospitality workers – guides, drivers, waiters, chambermaids – were unofficial ambassadors for the new socialist state, and the state knew it.
In 1943 letters reporting starvation and death in Bengal began to reach Indian soldiers serving the British overseas. Despite colonial censorship, their testimonies revealed the devastating reality of famine.
The Victorian reading public had access to a vast array of classical literature from Asia in multiple translations by experts and amateurs. What did they read, and why?
The legacy Kate Green hails Gavin Maxwell’s Ring of Bright Water, a remarkable tale of living with otters.
Fifty years young The King’s Trust is celebrating half a century of supporting young people. Ambassadors explain the secrets of its success and longevity to Paula Minchin.
Country-house treasure Intricate decorative ceilings at Thirlestane Castle, Berwickshire, catch the eye of John Goodall.
Alexander Campbell’s favourite painting The Royal Academy of Dance artistic director is moved by a compelling nocturnal scene.
A tower house reborn Mary Miers explores how the derelict tower house at Balgone in East Lothian has been transformed into a Classical seat.
Whisky galore From illicitly distilled dram to tipple of choice around the globe, Henry Jeffreys raises a glass to the world’s most popular spirit.
Winging it Mark Cocker adds the greylag goose to his Unloved Birds’ Club.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss James Fisher welcomes Joe Root back to the helm of English cricket.
Interiors Arabella Youens admires a Blenheim estate house in Oxfordshire and Kuba is king for Amelia Thorpe.
Cool as a cucumber sandwich This refreshing staple of English picnics is no sarnie-come-lately, reports Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she reveals its Indian roots.
Arts & antiques Allan Scott, the scriptwriter and executive producer, tells Carla Passino why he will never part with a prized perpetual calendar.
Luxury New columnist Justine Picardie admires the Highland influence in the late Queen’s wardrobe and Amie Elizabeth White presents a bonnie Scottish selection.
Clash of the tartans What does it take to toss the caber and putt the stone? Harry Pearson muscles in on the heavyweight Highland Games.
Heart Nouveau Robyne Calvert reveals how the bold Glasgow Style of art and design conquered Europe.
Travel Rosie Paterson experiences the ultimate in luxury camping when visiting a conservation success story in Tanzania.
Rhythm and views Three decades of dramatic planting has paid off at Craichlaw House in Dumfries and Galloway, as Kirsty Fergusson discovers.
Summer of love A double bill of innovative open-air Shakespearean comedy benefits from dream casting, suggests Michael Billington.
The curtain came down last week on the summer sideshow of the Clacton byelection, called by Nigel Farage amid mounting scrutiny of his finances.
For our big story this week, Daniel Boffey explores what this campaign – in which the Reform UK leader’s main challenger was a parody candidate called Count Binface – tells us about the current state of politics in Britain.
Farage’s byelection win brought the situation full circle as, shortly after he was declared victor, parliament’s standards watchdog announced it had reopened its investigation into him, report Rowena Mason and Peter Walker.
Analysing the result, political correspondent Alexandra Topping brands the contest futile and says that while Farage aimed to make the financial questions surrounding him disappear, it was the MP himself who has been absent from the political stage over the past few weeks.
Spotlight | Scramble for soldiers As battlefield losses mount, Pjotr Sauer asks whether Vladimir Putin will order another mobilisation
Science | Wing and a prayer A disease threatening bat species has spread to northern Canada. Trina Moyles reports on the race to find a cure
Feature | A hymn to the weekend In 1926, Henry Ford gave his employees both Saturdays and Sundays off – and the two-day chunk of time to party, pray or simply do nothing was born. Now the weekend has changed beyond recognition, says Jess Cartner-Morley
Opinion | Meet the second most dangerous man in the US As chief US diplomat, Marco Rubio could do great good. But, says Simon Tisdall, his pandering and neglect are a disgrace we shouldn’t ignore
Culture | Through my eyes As their new album is released, Sam Smith talks to Juan A Ramírez about fans, fame and finding sanctuary in New York
HARPER’S MAGAZINE:Erin Somers charts the rise and fall of cultivated meat, Barrett Swanson reports on the Ugly People Festival in Italy, Kyle Berlin on the French bestseller whose controversy divided the country, a pseudonymous memoir of a government official in Beijing, Finn Brunton on prediction markets and crypto-anarchism, Thomas Frank on the Obama Center, Kasia Boddy reviews William Kennedy’s Albany Trilogy, five stories from Diane Williams, and more.
Where’s The Beef?
The lab-grown-meat revolution that wasn’t by Erin Somers
SpaceX and other companies want to put millions of satellites into space. Could orbit run out of room?
What really happened on Easter Island?
For decades, an influential theory blamed the Rapanui for their own downfall—a story made famous by Jared Diamond’s book Collapse. New evidence tells a different tale
How NASA turned a spy satellite into its new dark energy telescope
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon launch to unravel the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter
Why your brain turns life into stories
Neuroscience is revealing how our brains are wired for narrative
On September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush gave a major speech to Congress and the country in which he outlined the coming U.S. response to al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attack. He said, “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.” Thus began what would soon be known as the “Global War on Terror,” or GWOT, in its unlovely acronym
It’s a confusing time to be a man. For decades, the cultural left has insisted that “toxic masculinity” is roaming the land, threatening women’s safety and rights.
Boomers Daily 