Published in The Observer (November 4th, 2012) Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich by Chrystia Freeland (Allen Lane) Who is the richest person to have […]
Crime / Policy / United States / World
The tough-on-crime Texan judge closing down jails
Published in The Observer (September 30th, 2012) The motley gaggle of miscreants shuffles into the court, lining up silently in three rows on the benches. There are some […]
Arts / Books / Politics
Why conservatives are fair and liberals are weird
Published in The Observer (April 22, 2012) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt (Penguin) When Barack Obama won the […]
Arts / Books / Nigeria
Disorder, dereliction…and decency
Published in The Observer (January 29th, 2012) Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria by Noo Saro-Wira (Granta) Nigeria does not top many people’s lists of the ideal holiday […]
Arts / Books
Fancy footwork with the facts
Published in The Observer (January 15th, 2012) Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions by Paul Mason (Verso) One of the best things about Newsnight in recent months […]
Disability
The demonisation of the disabled is a chilling sign of the times
Published in The Observer (December 4th, 2011) Peter Greener endured a barrage of hate from his neighbour. Sometimes, it was eggs thrown at his house, stones thrown at his […]
Africa / Equatorial Guinea
The strange and evil world of Equatorial Guinea
Published in The Observer magazine (October 23rd, 2011) It is hard not to be impressed when you arrive in the newly rich nation of Equatorial Guinea, especially when […]
Arts / Books
Well, that’s easy for you to say, Mr President…
Published in The Observer (October 16th, 2011) You Talkin’ to Me? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith (Profile) As the Barack Obama bandwagon began to roll […]
Africa / Zambia
A good news story out of Africa brings hope
Published in The Observer (September 25th, 2011) Even in this remarkable year of uprisings and unpredictable events, it was an inspirational moment that revealed the pace of change […]
Afghanistan / Arts / Books / World
The day that shook the world
Published in The Observer (September 11th, 2011) The Eleventh Day by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (Doubleday); The 9/11 Wars by Jason Burke (Allen Lane); Granta 116: Ten […]