Tommy Robinson’s long shadow
Easily dismissed as a diminutive thug, the unfortunate reality is that he understands perfectly the role he has to play in propagating hateful racist nationalism in a country increasingly receptive to his message
The Magazine
Two speeches, 20 years apart, show Starmer how to tackle Farage
Farage’s political gameplan has one key weakness that Starmer needs to exploit ruthlessly
The Reform party conference and the end of democracy
Farage is getting ready for power, but his party is becoming much more politically extreme than he is. If he gets the chance, will he give them what they want?
Starmer’s reshuffle is not enough
The PM needs to remove the blockages that are preventing policy from becoming reality. If he doesn’t, the result could be Reform, and disaster
Dear liberals, don’t forget what free speech means
Too many progressives have forgotten the importance of free speech. It’s time to speak up
When a patriot becomes a nationalist
Where is the line and how do you know when someone has crossed it?
Taylor Swift: the capitalist juggernaut
Anything she releases is devoured by her millions of fans. But what, really, is she selling?
Arts & Culture
Taylor Swift: the capitalist juggernaut
Anything she releases is devoured by her millions of fans. But what, really, is she selling?
David Bowie, the Great Curator
The Golden Lion goes to men… again
The Rest of Our Lives lacks a punchline and a point
Jane and Louise Wilson, the twins who saw it coming
Audio
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the fall of Peter Mandelson
Two inevitable topics dominate the Matts discussion today – first up, the murder of US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. It’s a simply atrocious event but the reaction from many has been shameful. The Matts explain why Kirk was unusual in the MAGA organisation … and why his assassination matters so much. In the second half, […]
If Labour don’t rescind Palestine Action ban, here’s their nightmare scenario
The Matts get to grips with the turmoil of the last few days and use their meticulous political calculus to work out whether Keir Starmer is weaker or stronger than he was a week ago. Spoiler alert: they haven’t got a clue. But they certainly enjoy themselves finding that out. One thing they know – […]
Do cannibals go to heaven?
Philosophers have long debated the concept of immortality but now Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are concerned too
When I unpacked the Putin papers
Today, the west sees Putin as a bloodthirsty dictator hellbent on destroying peace democracy in Europe. 25 years ago, the picture was very different
Angela Rayner, Take 2. She should go.
On Tuesday the Matts were staunch in their defence of Angela Rayner. Then she came out and admitted she had paid too little tax on her new flat. The Matts work through the various scenarios available to her and conclude she should resign – but not for the obvious reason. Also – Nigel Farage was […]
How Trump lost the moral high ground to China
Right now, Xi Jinping is letting Trump do all the soft power heavy lifting for him
Why Authoritarians can’t silence journalists
In today’s world, media doesn’t need AI – it needs real journalists
How much does the Daily Mail hate Angela Rayner?
Labour’s Deputy PM Angela Rayner has been the brunt of a propaganda campaign waged relentlessly by the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph. What is it about her authentic working class credentials that these two newspapers find so threatening? The Matts have some thoughts. But first, will Keir Starmer’s government reshuffle change the trajectory his premiership […]
Did Artificial Intelligence kill Adam Raine?
The Matts are shaken by the story of a 16-year-old who took his own life after pouring his heart out to ChatGPT which, his parents claim, encouraged him to act. It’s a desperate case and raises profound questions about the technology and how it will change society. The conversation focuses on the need for governments […]
Farage, migrants and racism … it’s complicated
The pod is back after its summer break! The Matts analyse Reform’s anti-immigrant policies and ask themselves how might Labour counter them? Which leads them into a discussion about what is, and what isn’t racist, and how helpful is it for centrists to sneer at every St George’s flag they come across. But first, Matt […]
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Politics
‘Violence is as American as cherry pie’
Dear Wes Streeting: Naming and shaming hospitals fixes nothing
Putin’s parrots in Paris
Trump broke the US economy. How?
Afghanistan, the land of catastrophe
Brexit is silencing British musicians
Exclusive poll: how Labour can win on immigration
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the new American darkness
Writers
Alastair Campbell
When I unpacked the Putin papers
Marie Le Conte
Britain’s trains are enough to radicalise you
Matthew d’Ancona
David Bowie, the Great Curator
Patience Wheatcroft
When a patriot becomes a nationalist
Tanit Koch
Uli Hoeneß and the summer’s record-breaking transfer frenzy
Paul Mason
Starmer’s reshuffle is not enough
Latest
‘Violence is as American as cherry pie’
Trump broke the US economy. How?
Putin’s parrots in Paris
Dear Wes Streeting: Naming and shaming hospitals fixes nothing
David Bowie, the Great Curator
The mystery of Reform’s ‘local pensioner’
Podcasts
The Two Matts
The killing of Charlie Kirk and the fall of Peter Mandelson
The Two Matts
If Labour don’t rescind Palestine Action ban, here’s their nightmare scenario
The Two Matts
Q&A: Why didn’t Nigel Farage go back to school with the rest of class?
The Two Matts
Angela Rayner, Take 2. She should go.
The Two Matts
How much does the Daily Mail hate Angela Rayner?
The Two Matts
Q&A: Should Tony Blair be getting involved in Gaza?
Brexit
Brexit is silencing British musicians
The bureaucratic demands put on artists touring the continent are so great that many acts are simply giving up. And the government is doing nothing about it
Sarah Vine’s Windsor knot
The Daily Mail commentator thinks bringing the late Queen into politics is distasteful. It’s hard to imagine a more hypocritical view
No, the Queen didn’t back Brexit
The Sun claimed the late Queen backed leaving the EU. Now, nine years later, its then editor has been forced to change his tune
The Reform voters who think Brexit has failed
Labour have failed to connect Farage with economic disaster in the minds of ordinary people. That must change
Nigel Farage, the man who broke Britain
The man who would be PM has already spent a decade getting much of what he wanted – and none of it has worked
This is the moment Britain went wrong (and it’s not Brexit)
The financial crisis left Britain weaker, poorer and more vulnerable to liars – and we’ve never recovered
Ukraine
The Ukrainians reclaiming Odesa’s history
Vladimir Putin claimed the city was Russian in 2023, but staking the claim doesn’t make it so
Why Trump can’t end the Ukraine war
Donald Trump says his interventions have brought Ukraine and Russia close to peace. So why does it feel further away than last week?
The warm embrace that could freeze Europe
Donald Trump has favoured Ukraine over Russia in recent weeks. But when he meets Putin in Alaska, all that could change
War in the quiet hours
Russia has intensified its aerial assault on Kyiv. One night may pass in relative calm, giving a fragile sense of normality. The next, destruction starts again
The drone and the death of compromise
The first unmanned flying weapon was launched over a century ago – the full implications of that flight are only now being understood
How to beat Putin
Europe could save Ukraine and defeat a dictator by shutting down Russia’s shadow fleet and scaling up its own defence production. But will wary voters accept rising tension as the price of peace?
The big picture
Joe Caroff’s instant creativity
A giant of 20th-century design had fallen into obscurity – but then it turned out he was still alive
The last ride of James Dean
Seventy years after his fatal crash, a pilgrimage to the place where an actor died and a legend was born
Great Lives
Salvador Allende, the Chilean too much for the Nixon White House
Sérgio Mendes, the man who drove the new Brazilian sound to worldwide acclaim
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and the studio that changed music for ever
Aretha Franklin, the Lady of Mysterious Sorrows
Nancy Wake, the White Mouse the Gestapo couldn’t corner
Gore Vidal, the man who lived for verbal jousting
This movie is magnificent – and at atomic speed
Algospeak, the language of the machine