The joy of lex: Demure

Sarah Ogilvie

Philosopher-at-large: Breaking the Maga spell

Following Donald Trump’s victory, a familiar narrative has

Diary

Paula Byrne, author

The government needs help seeing the bigger picture

Sam Freedman

THE PROSPECT GRID

Our monthly cut-out-and-keep guide to who falls where on the taste hierarchy

What makes a good death?

Mark Mardell

Letters

Words from our readers...

What happens when pollsters stop listening

Ethan Zuckerman

Brief encounter

Kate Summerscale, historian & author

ONE WOMAN AGA INST THE CARTELS

Can Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, end the decades-long war between drug lords and the government?

DOOM SPIRAL

The far right thrived in 2024 but the erosion of liberal democracy is the stor y of the centur y so far, writes Cas Mudde . It didn’t have to be this way

UNBREAKABLE

Bombarded by Russia, close to the frontline, Kharkivites anointed one building as the symbol of their resistance. Jen Stout goes to see it

25 THINKERS FOR AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

Twelve months ago, we published our shortlist of Top Thinkers for 2024—and you, Prospect readers, chose well. You picked Daron Acemoglu as the winner

THE BEAUTY FALLACY

As the government conjures up plans for a new town of some 300,000 people near Cambridge, it must resist the narrowest definition of what makes for good architecture

BOOM OR BUST

Labour has promised to deliver a housing revolution by tearing up planning laws. That won’t be enough

SAVING THE WEST, ONE POLEMIC AT A TIME

Over many years, Douglas Murray has built a huge following as a darling of the global illiberal right. His intellectual journey is a reproachful mirror for our times

OUR TRUE HISTORY

A Scottish castle reveals the cruelty and riches of the slave trade, telling a stor y usually hidden by the narratives of British heritage

LOSING THE PLOT

As a fellow of the RSL, I’ve watched this beloved institution descend into turmoil over questions of censorship, free speech and diversity. Can it still be saved?

UNICORNS and DINOSAURS are EVERYWHERE!

Why do these creatures so dominate the games and clothes we give our children? An exclusive investigation

Story: The next thing

Last Christmas, my father died. It was a typical and singular passing

Tolkien the timekeeper

The author of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ was an incorrigible poet. A new collection of his verse sheds light on his major preoccupations

Mystery writer

In both her fiction and nonfiction, Deborah Levy seizes on the allusive, the hallucinatory, the poetic—and sensible boots

Recommended books

Where to start with Deborah Levy

Lines of beauty

Alan Hollinghurst’s latest novel is as good as anything he’s ever written— and ser ves to repel some of the criticisms previously aimed at him

Asort of justice

It’s taken 50 years, but now we know who to blame for the wrongful imprisonment of four innocent people after the Guildford bombings

BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2024

Politics & Reportage, Ideas, Lives, History

Stage: William Kentridge’s ship of fools

Fiammetta Rocco

Art: A mother’s work

by Rachel Johnson

TV: Badwill to some men

by Imogen West-Knights

Stage: Oh, yes it is!

by Kate Maltby

Classical Notes: Le style français

by Ian Bostridge

PEOPLE

Theodor Meron, Ayman Odeh, Esther Rantzen, Rutger Bregman, Hermione Elliott

Batting for hope

Sporting life

On legacies

Long life

Friends like these

Clerical life

Marching for my heritage

Farming life

Sobering thoughts

Young life

The black sheep

Rural life

It’s all Greek to me

Mindful life

Crossword & Bobby Seagull's brain teaser

Can you crack it?