In her first speech as Prime Minister, Theresa May directly addressed the ordinary citizen, the person outside the corridors of power, who works hard and plays by the rules but is struggling. From the steps of 10 Downing Street she said: “When we pass new laws, we’ll listen not to the mighty but to you. […]
Seal the tent! Somebody has just gobbled up the Great British Bake Off and all eyes are on that commissioning editor dabbing the corners of his mouth with the end of his novelty Countdown tie. It’s criminal, I tell you! Sue Perkins had barely turned her back on the show, sitting as it was in […]
If the polls this far out seem to favour Hillary Clinton, there’s still enough volatility in the numbers to make one pause and wonder. If something unusual does happen in the months leading up to November, then where might we be in the New Year? The answer, I suspect, is at the start of a […]
One of the great pleasures of visiting other countries is seeing how different cultures have attempted to solve the great human problem of getting from A to B. The question of transit is both a personal human undertaking and also a national challenge, essential for individuals and societies to thrive. What’s so interesting is the […]
Seven years after being commissioned, with 150 witnesses heard, over 150,000 documents scrutinised, and more than ten million pounds spent, the Iraq Inquiry will finally be released on July 6th this year. The long-awaited report on Britain’s role in the Iraq War is set to tell a devastating tale of astonishing incompetence. ‘Chilcot’ the play, […]
The political profile is a paradoxical thing, and that is part of its fascination. Power is rarely introspective: at its height it is usually unable to reflect or describe itself, and even at rest the last person you would ask for insight into the politician is the politician. But there comes a phase in political […]
The Smartest Places on Earth: Why the Rustbelts are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation. Antoine van Agtmael & Fred Bakker. Perseus Books Group, RRP £17.99 Rustbelt cities are becoming the unlikely hotspots of global innovation. At least, that’s the view according to Antoine van Agtmael, the economist who coined the term “emerging markets”, and Fred Bakker, […]
As history tells us, the Mayflower and its unhappy boatload of disgruntled worshipers found the shores of what would become Provincetown Harbor in 1620 by following a copy of John Smith’s map of 1614. But from that point on, P-town, as it is commonly called, would get a reputation for living on the edge, both […]
Shakespeare’s Cultural Capital: His Economic Impact from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-first Century. Dominic Shellard & Siobhan Keenan (eds.). Palgrave Macmillan, RRP £19.99 “Money buys lands, and wives are sold by fate” (Mistress Ford, Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V Scene 5) What motif denotes a Shakespearean play? Is it the star-crossed lovers, a comedic brawl, […]
We live in a world where time is all important. Nanoseconds mark the difference between success or failure to make an electronic transaction and where we are continuously reminded of “the time”: of being early or late, of having missed an appointment or arriving “before time”. In today’s world, time now governs our life. In […]
On February 2016, Donald Trump began a public relations war against one of America’s most successful companies. He directly threatened Amazon.com and its founder Jeff Bezos with political reprisal should he become president. Why? It seems like every consumer loves Amazon. What gives? “I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought The Washington Post […]
Cars and watches, watches and cars. For no obvious reason where you find a love of one you will inevitably find a love of the other; the petrol-head who has no interest in the timepiece on your wrist has not yet been born. Whatever the reason for this marriage of passions it has done nothing […]
Money Changes Everything. How Finance Made Civilization Possible. William N. Goetzmann. Princeton University Press, RPR £24.95 William Goetzmann in his new book takes readers on a whirlwind tour of financial history starting in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago and leading up to an outlook what a roadmap into the future might look like. A professor at the […]
Radiohead’s new album A Moon Shaped Pool is the best work the band has produced since they began working over twenty years ago. It’s also their most artistically consistent creation. The album begins with Burn The Witch, pre-released as a music video. It exerts a visceral demand on our attention. Using the imagery of 1960s children’s television […]
According to one estimate there are about 11,000 business books published every year. Many sell well and some sell millions: business advice is very big business. Companies and entrepreneurs – the active ingredients of capitalism – seem to be weirdly desperate to find out how to operate the machinery of capitalism. Leadership, teamwork and organizing […]
No trip to Brazil is complete without a visit to the Iguassu Falls. It might seem an odd choice to skip the Amazon or leave Rio early just for some waterfalls – do it anyway. Take as many connecting flights as you must to make it to the tiny town of Foz do Iguaçu, which […]
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