Digging up the present

Crunch time

It’s fair to say that Brexit isn’t going as anyone

Move the capital up north

Paul Collier’s article on the failures of the British

Foreign Office in crisis

Steve Bloomfield’s searing critique of the Foreign

Dora Montefiore’s victory

The 1868 legal battle for women’s suffrage on the basis

The thrill of competition

Kudos to Prospect for its periodic coverage of the

ΑΠΙΕΝΑΙ ΨΗΦΙΣΑΣΘΕ

Charlotte Higgins (“A second referendum,” November)

In fact

Over three million Britons work night shifts. Trades

Out, and into the winds alone

Britain’s former spy chief on Brexit and isolation on a dangerous planet

March of the incompetents

Our overlords have no idea what they’re doing, and they’re not ashamed

Trust your gut

Codifying our moral reactions could help robots—and us

Sex lives of others

One of the most striking misperceptions around is held

Doom loop

The response to every pensions crisis sows the seeds of the next

Aiming off

Before the Budget, there was speculation that inheritance

A monster made in Brazil

Bolsonaro isn’t just a “tropical Trump.” He embodies a nation’s return to its oldest hatreds

Second thoughts

A new poll reveals some Brexit jitters

Is killing ever justified?

YES I have respect for well-meaning people who say

Pulling back from the brink

Brexit is only one corner of a fracturing Europe. But it’s not too late for a country—or a continent—to change direction

The Brexit endgame

Leaving the EU didn’t have to be done in this shambolic way, argues David Allen Green—and we can still reset the whole strategy. Alongside, Prospect examines the options parliament still has to force ministers to change tack

Meaning of “meaningful” How MPs will have their say

Brexit is not yet a done deal. Some arcane parliamentary

Taking back control What hope for MPs if PM falters?

Most of the chatter about a “meaningful vote” assumes

Emergency room

Medical crises are supposed to play out in A&E. But the one to watch just now is taking place in the surgery of your family doctor

The end of all our exploring

Human beings won’t go on forever, and nor does their ability to grapple with eternity

AT THE CREATIVE FRONTIER

Video games are the most profitable arm of the entertainment industry. But as Tim Martin discovers, away from the headline-grabbing, money-spinning, ultra-violent games designers are creating true works of art

PRESS X TO START

Classic games that defined their eras

The whole problem

In her last ever interview, the philosopher Mary Midgley spoke to Prospect about her place in a remarkable generation of female thinkers, her long-running dispute with Richard Dawkins and what it really means to be human

Three to read

Key works by Mary Midgley

As you like it

For half a century, a fringe alternative to Miss World has been joyfully playing with gender

Facing down the whitelash

How we vote increasingly depends not on class but ethnicity. To stop us going down this dangerous path liberals should listen, understand and argue back, says Philip Collins

Minorities report

As long as certain groups face marginalisation because of who they are, identity will be a political issue, argues Nesrine Malik

Object lessons

A new gallery at the heart of the British Museum gloriously explodes the old clichés about Islamic art and peoples, finds Sameer Rahim

In her defence

Helena Kennedy has spent decades fighting for women’s rights— and she’s not giving up, says Sarah Langford

Books in brief

The Finance Curse: How Global Finance is Making Us

Recommends

V&A Cast Court Victoria & Albert Museum, from

Merry Chanukah

Depending on your experience, “family” and “Christmas”

Dive in

At the close of the year, it is nice to look back on

Winners and losers

I was always a competitive kid, maybe because I spotted

Old wisdom on new whiskers

Some years ago, frolicking by night in the streets

The way we were

Extracts from memoirs and diaries by Ian Irvine

Present tense

Nowhere is the gap between how we aspire to feel and

Policy report: Power and the planet

Britain’s energy mix has changed a lot, but government remains committed to doing whatever it takes to kick our carbon habit

Events

The Prospect Book Club meets every third Monday of the month at 6.30pm at 2 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1H 9AA. To book tickets please visit prospectmagazine.co.uk/events

Is the United Nations the new League of Nations?

Tuesday 4th December, 6.30-8pm, Prospect offices

The generalist by Didymus

4 In ancient times, a Christian recluse who lived on

Enigmas & puzzles

House nous

How to enter

The winner receives a copy of Around the World in 80

Brief encounter

The 1931 general election. I was seven and I stood