The latest tranche of the Jeffrey Epstein files have been in the public domain for less than two weeks, but already their contents have sent shock waves around the world.
Nowhere is this more true than in Britain, where the fallout has come to the door of Keir Starmer over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington, amid questions about how much the prime minister knew of his former envoy’s links to Epstein.
Starmer looks to have weathered the immediate pressure to resign this week, despite having lost his influential chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, over the scandal. But the vultures are still circling and it seems a matter of when, rather than if, the prime minister will go. Kiran Stacey weighs up the possible challengers from within the Labour party, while Oliver Holmes and Chris Michael consider why the scandal hit home so hard in the UK.
Spotlight | The last post for press freedom in the US? Jeff Bezos’s axing of more than 300 jobs at the Washington Post has renewed fears about the resilience of America’s democracy to withstand Donald Trump’s attacks. Ed Pilkington and Jeremy Barr report
Technology | The continuing risks and rewards of AI As policymakers and tech executives prepare for the next global AI summit in India, an annual safety report highlights the issues that will be at stake, writes Dan Milmo
Interview | Can Zack Polanski pull off a green revolution in the UK? With polls and membership at an all-time high, the UK Green party is having a moment – and it’s largely down to the party’s charismatic (if slightly cheesy) new leader. Simon Hattenstone went on the road with him
Opinion | What links UK politics and Epstein? A thick seam of contempt We’re often told the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is a ‘decent’ man. But in appointing Peter Mandelson he chose political convenience over doing right, argues Nesrine Malik
Culture | The sign language of Margaret Calvert Airports, road signs, typefaces … the design legend revolutionised how Britain looked and her brilliantly clear designs are still used today. Catherine Slessor met her
COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE: The fine art issue, featuring Seurat, art in literature and Sir Antony Gormley, plus Ampthill Park House and the long-eared eagle owl.
Cast in the same mould
Sir Antony Gormley examines the parallels between his own Reflect and the Adriaen de Vries bronze of Antiope and Theseus
Don’t believe in modern love?
With Valentine’s Day looming and singlehood rising, Will Hosie seeks dating tips from the finest minds among the Ancients
Ford momentum
Harry Pearson enjoys the thrill of splashing through the countless fords criss-crossing the rivers and streams of the British Isles
Luxury
Jonathan Self is bewitched by the poetry of poesy rings and Amie Elizabeth White says ‘if you only buy one Derby boot…’
Life in the fast lane
Norfolk farmer Gavin Lane tells Julie Harding of the sleepless nights he has endured since taking the reins at the CLA
Sir Thomas Drew and Hélène Duchêne’s favourite paintings
His Majesty’s Ambassador to France and the French Ambassador to the Court of St James share their artworks of choice
Country-house treasure
John Goodall glimpses early-20th-century life at Mapperton House in Dorset in the form of a black-and-gold satin dress
A house of collections
In the second of two articles, Jeremy Musson explores the exceptional modern collection in the historic setting of Ampthill Park House in Bedfordshire
The legacy
Carla Passino hails the artworks amassed by Sir William Burrell
Where the wild things are
Exotic animals from around the world were unveiled to European eyes by artists such as Dürer and Stubbs, finds Michael Prodger
Winging it
Mark Cocker profiles the elusive and elegant long-eared owl
Interiors
Arabella Youens lauds a London drawing room and Amelia Thorpe keeps the home fires burning
Floral geometry
Banish the gloom with glorious winter-flowering Camellia japonica, suggests Charles Quest-Ritson
Slow and steady wins the race
Tom Parker Bowles savours the boozy boeuf à la Bourguignonne
Travel
Ben Lerwill delves into the story of space travel when he touches down at NASA HQ in Houston
Arts & antiques
Georges Seurat’s sublime French seascapes are taking centre stage at the Courtauld Gallery in London, reveals Carla Passino
Write side up
Art has long drawn inspiration from literature — from Ovid and Virgil to Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, discovers Carla Passino
THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest issue features The Anniversary Issue: Dhruv Khullar on Ozempic, David Remnick on Joe Rogan, Ava Kofman on a surrogacy scandal, and more.
Until now, Trump always seemed unembarrassed to crow about his side hustles. But, if the Emirati payment was kept secret, what else might be? By David D. Kirkpatrick
Can Ozempic Cure Addiction?
GLP-1 drugs, which have helped some people curb drug and alcohol use, may unlock a pathway to moderation. By Dhruv Khullar
What Is Claude? Anthropic Doesn’t Know, Either
Researchers at the company are trying to understand their A.I. system’s mind—examining its neurons, running it through psychology experiments, and putting it on the therapy couch. By Gideon Lewis-Kraus
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE:The 2.8.26 Issue features Charles Homans on Minneapolis under siege; Dan Kaufman on Trump’s war on federal workers; Hugo Lindgren on the intersection of Wall Street strategies and golf; and more.
What I saw, as federal agents stormed the city and residents banded together to protect themselves, was a dark, dystopian future becoming reality. By Charles Homans and Philip Montgomery
With 300,000 employees gone and collective-bargaining rights eliminated, the administration has hobbled organized labor. Did it also start a movement? By Dan Kaufman
Have Donald Trump’s hard talk and the arrival of a strike-ready flotilla finally made Tehran blink? It certainly seemed so by Monday evening, when Iran said it was willing to talk. A week of trading threats turned to strong indications that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, and Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s minister for foreign affairs, were readying to meet in Istanbul on Friday. In this week’s big story, Ashifa Kassam and Andrew Roth chart how momentum to war slowed and fears of a wider regional conflict eased, albeit marginally.
The background to Trump’s war of words against Tehran was the huge protests that rocked Iran last month, until they were brutally repressed by the regime. Analysts suggest a fragile domestic security situation prompted the Iranian government’s softening towards US demands. Our diplomatic editor and longtime Iran watcher, Patrick Wintour, explains that while the streets are now quiet, a shift in the balance of power between the people and the government has emboldened domestic demands for a full investigation of the killing and imprisonment of protesters.
Spotlight | The Epstein files, part two Daniel Boffey details the biggest bombshell among the 3m newly released documents: disgraced former minister Peter Mandelson’s deep and compromising relationship with the convicted paedophile
Environment | Nature runs wild in Fukushima Free of human habitation after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, Fukushima is now teeming with wildlife. But this haven could vanish if people come back, finds Justin McCurry
Features | From hope to despair The postwar new town of Newton Aycliffe with its boarded up shops is a symbol of the Britain’s economic gloom – and a warning for Labour as it battles the rise of Reform UK, reports Josh Halliday
Opinion | Art, groceries, Greenland – thieves are everywhere Jonathan Liew reflects on how we all seem to live in a world defined by petty theft and no one, whether it’s the pickpocket or the big AI company, seems to get punished
Culture | Small acts of magic Mackenzie Crook tells Zoe Williams how his approach to comedy has mellowed with age. Gone is the nervous, awkward energy of Gareth from The Office, to be replaced by the gentle curiosity that animates his new series Small Prophets
THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest issue features Nathan Heller on Gavin Newsom, Joshua Yaffa on Russia’s single-use agents, Michael Schulman on A.I. in film, and more.
California’s governor has been touted as the Democrats’ best shot in 2028. But first he’ll need to convince voters that he’s not just a slick establishment politician. By Nathan Heller
How Russian military intelligence is recruiting young people online to carry out espionage, arson, and other attacks across the Continent. By Joshua Yaffa
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 2.1.26 Issue features Emily Bazelon and Rachel Poser on what’s going on inside the F.B.I.; Taffy Brodesser-Akner on “Operation Mincemeat”; Michael Steinberger on the human rights lawyer Philippe Sands; and more.
The state is in a standoff with the federal government over who has the power to investigate the killing of protesters. It’s not a fair fight. By Emily Bazelon
With 300,000 employees gone and collective-bargaining rights eliminated, the administration has hobbled organized labor. Did it also start a movement? By Dan Kaufman
Is the worm turning against Trump? Last week saw a concerted pushback against the US president by western allies over Greenland. This week, it is on the domestic front where the Trump administration seems to be buckling – this time under intense criticism after the killing of another American citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis.
The massive winter storm that swept across North America last weekend could not obscure from the nation video footage of an ICE agent shooting dead Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse and father of three who was seemingly rushing to protect a woman as she was pepper-sprayed by Border Patrol personnel.
As our Washington bureau chief David Smith writes in this week’s big story, the events were seen by many as clear evidence of fascistic overreach and a potential moment of reckoning for Trump in the US. A wave of condemnation from politicians across the political spectrum led to a swift softening of tone from the White House, though not before leading administration figures had wrongly tried to pin the blame on the victim.
From Minneapolis, Rachel Leingang reports on the sense of shock and fury in the city, while in a stark commentary, Francine Prose voices her fears that the US may be on the brink of an authoritarian takeover.
Spotlight | Are Trump’s tantrums pushing America’s allies closer to China? After a week of diplomatic turmoil, some western nations are turning to a country that many in Washington see as an existential threat. Amy Hawkins reports
Science | Fly me to the moon, again Nasa is readying its most powerful Artemis II rocket for a new, 1.1 million km lunar circumnavigation flight – and lift-off could come as soon as next week. Science editor Ian Sample sets the scene
Feature | Secrets of the superagers Why do some people age better than others? Five extraordinary individuals – who scientists are studying – share their tips with Isabelle Aron
Opinion | It’s now clear. Labour needs a new leader – and quickly UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s dismal decision to block likely leadership challenger Andy Burnham from standing in a byelection has bought him time, but it won’t change his fate, says Polly Toynbee
Culture | Has Netflix killed our attention spans? Matt Damon has got it right, argues Stuart Heritage: the streaming giant knows we all just watch TV with one hand gripping our smartphones, which is why we need plotlines explaining to us over and over again
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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