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The best and worst of the internet in 2015
A (semi) definitive ranking of the year's online highlights. Like any tool, the internet is really just a reflection of those who use it. Of course, it's also one of the most powerful tools human...
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The films to look out for in 2016
A baker’s dozen of interesting or noteworthy titles coming our way in the new year. This time last year, I ended my preview of 2015’s coming attractions by quoting Michael Haneke, who was keeping...
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Oliver Letwin's non-apology for his racist remarks isn't enough
David Cameron's policy chief must do more than merely regret "any offence caused" by his 1985 memo to Margaret Thatcher. Oliver Letwin has a special talent for creating negative headlines for the...
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Best of the NS in 2015: Arts
Our best pieces from the past year. In this selection, our favourite writing about the arts.*/ If Bond villains reflect the anxieties of their era, what can we learn from today's baddies?By...
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The top ten best videogames of 2015
Travelling back through the year to see which games were the best. Each year we expect games with better graphics, sound design, bigger actors and more marketing power than we can endure. Who wants to...
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From the archive, December 1993: Sarah Baxter profiles Tony Blair
In December 1993, Sarah Baxter asked Tony Blair, the Labour leader hopeful, what it would take for Labour to win again."A return to what we are really about, what we believe in, would be a healthy...
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I’m happy in my imaginary place because it is devoid of that hellish thing:...
Come with me to my magical memory island. On second thoughts . . . just leave me alone The method of loci was a mnemonic system developed in the classical period as an aid to displays of rhetoric. By...
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Want a real fresh start and a shot at your resolutions? Let's move New Year...
Why do New Year's resolutions fail? Because, in Northern Europe, January isn’t a beginning. Time to move New Year back to where it used to be. The “Merry Christmas” phase is over and the “And a Happy...
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Labour suspends Simon Danczuk MP over claims of sexting a 17-year-old girl
The party has suspended its MP while it investigates The Sun's story. The Labour MP for Rochdale Simon Danczuk has had his party membership suspended. This is while Labour investigates allegations...
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Slavoj Žižek: Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?
A reply to my critics. My short comment on the "war on terror" published online by New Statesman has triggered a series of critical reactions which definitely looks like a well-coordinated campaign,...
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Austenmania: why 1995 was the year Jane Austen catapulted into pop culture
Twenty years on from Austen’s cinematic rise, her influence shows no sign of waning.“First there is no Jane Austen and then it’s raining Jane Austen.” When a flurry of cinematic adaptations saw...
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Best of the NS in 2015: Opinion
Our best pieces from the past year. In this selection, our favourite opinion writing.*/ On Nerd Entitlement By Laurie Penny White male nerds need to recognise that other people had traumatic...
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The best new technologies (probably) arriving in 2016
We sort the fluff from the futuristic. Predicting successful new technologies is a risky business - for every iPad or lightbulb, there's also a portable travel hammock or an Apple Newton. With that...
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My father and other animals
Judith Kerr’s dad, Alfred, was an outspoken German critic who railed against Hitler – but he had a soft spot for baby seals. It’s never too late: that’s the lesson you learn if you’re lucky enough to...
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Best of the NS in 2015: Syria and Isis
Our best pieces from the past year. In this selection, our favourite writing about Syria and Isis.*/ The men saving Syria’s treasures from IsisBy Jeremy Bowen A remarkable group of archaeologists are...
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The five most exciting videogames set to be released in 2016
A look at some of the most highly anticipated and unusual titles slated for release this year. Whereas my best of year list for 2015 included a variety of titles, both big and small, looking ahead...
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A child let loose in nature
The award-winning writer's winter reflection. I was standing next to a stranger in a bookshop. Both of us were grinning as we leafed through copies of The Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis, one of...
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Best of the NS in 2015: World
Our best pieces from the past year. In this selection, our favourite writing about world affairs.*/ Russia vs the west: the consequences of Putin’s invasion of UkraineBy Elizabeth Pond Russia’s...
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Five predictions for what will happen in politics in 2016
Stephen Bush looks ahead to the coming political year. Labour will win City Hall Labour haven’t won an election outside Wales since 2005 and they’ve won the mayoralty just once in 2004. But I expect...
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Magical thinking: the history of science, sorcery and the spiritual
The Book of Magic: from Antiquity to the Enlightenment by Brian Copenhaver invites us to reflect on the long history of magic in culture. Sir James Frazer still casts a long shadow. The wonderful...
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