CultureStrange Relations: Unusual pairings of ordinary thingsOn what happens when otherwise mundane, familiar items are placed together – in museum displays, encyclopaedias, and other strange...
BooksCourse Correction: Obstacles to readingOn the things that get in the way of reading, and some possible methods of clearing those obstacles. I’m a sucker for the charm of New...
CultureWhy Facts Without Values Can Be DangerousHow following the facts without a preferred destination can lead us into hell. The character of Ian Malcolm, Jeff Goldblum’s rock-star...
CultureHow to Begin Again After TragedyH G Wells not only recovered from suffering but built a better life out of it – and we can do the same. H G Wells almost did not become...
Cinema"Midnight Mass": Disturbing the comfortableHow great fiction allows us to inhabit other lives, and how the Netflix series Midnight Mass exemplifies this. W H Auden may have thought...
CultureReaching Out: On the value of open dialogueOn the impulse to condemn and close conversation, and why we need – now more than ever – to remain open to those with whom we disagree....