What animals euthanasia can teach us about humans
As always happens when we think carefully about other animals, we are reminded both of the many things that we have in common, but also the significant ways in which we differ.
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Populism’s dangerous moment
Syriza membes are not fascists, and Tsipras is not Farage. But Syriza is a populist party, and in that respect, it has much more in common with the likes of the Front National and even Golden Dawn than it is comfortable having its sympathizers admit.
ReadDon’t feel my pain – do something!
The fact that Merkel does not come across as the kind of person you’d want to share your problems with over Kaffee und Kuchen does not make her any less fit to be the leader of the most powerful country in Europe. In fact, it might make her more so.
ReadA recipe for festivals
The experience of speaking at food festivals made me wonder whether we should shake up our assumptions about the way book festivals do and should work. Book lovers could learn a few lessons from the foodies.
ReadThe case for shame
Most people seem happy to harness the power of shame when the victims are the rich and powerful. But our attitudes to shame are actually much more ambivalent and contradictory. That’s why it was a stroke of genius to call Paul Abbott’s Channel Four series Shameless. We are at a point in our social history where the word is perfectly poised between condemnation and celebration.
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