Typically fascinating from the great and powerful Jacob Phillips
thecritic.co.uk/decline-of-the…

Like us online? We’re even better in print
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“Perhaps Bennett was most at home with characters who live in disguise, behind masks” — David Herman reflects on Alan Bennett at 90
thecritic.co.uk/alan-bennett-a…

“The Turner’s ritualistic pursuit of novelty inevitably began to look desperate” — Aidan Harte explores the Turner’s identity crisis
thecritic.co.uk/the-turners-id…

Congratulations to our law columnist.

“In effect, we — the taxpayers — are commissioning the nudgers to furtively influence our day-to-day thoughts and actions” — Dr Gary Sidley reflects on the nastiness of nudging thecritic.co.uk/you-are-being-…

As the West’s influence around the world wanes, write Timothy Less and Sam Olsen, it might not have much choice but to accept border changes
thecritic.co.uk/pushing-the-bo…

“The possibility of achieving an integrated city-system seems even more unreachable than it was at the time of Dickens” — Jacob Phillips reflects on London in a time of liquid modernity thecritic.co.uk/decline-of-the…

Jeremy Black joins Graham Stewart to discuss the shifting culture and priorities of the University of Exeter
thecritic.co.uk/exeter-portrai…

The Critic thecritic.co.uk/alan-bennett-a… My tribute to Alan Bennett at 90 for The Critic.

There was a time when our governments mainly relied upon transparent rational argument to influence the electorate. Not anymore, it seems. Our thoughts and actions are being furtively influenced, on an unparalleled scale.thecritic.co.uk/you-are-being-…

From the small screen to the stage, writes David Herman, Alan Bennett has been the poet of awkwardness and isolation
thecritic.co.uk/alan-bennett-a…

I have had thousands of Twitter arguments on Israel. So I put them all (or most of them) in a single article, in dialogue form.

Every pro-Israel argument: A Greek dialogue on Israel, Mark Humphrys, The Critic, 9 May 2024.

thecritic.co.uk/every-argument…

The Turner Prize has elevated a lot of rubbish, writes Aidan Harte, but in Claudette Johnson this year’s judges have unintentionally shortlisted a deserving artist
thecritic.co.uk/the-turners-id…

“A mimicry machine that can produce knock-offs to order may not be what the world most needed in 2024” — Alas, writes Andrew Orlowski, that is what generative AI amounts to thecritic.co.uk/ai-and-the-gre…

Dr Chris Newton Certainly there are some in all types of institutions who aim to exploit academia for naked activist purposes. I think this is an abuse of the responsibility entailed in working in HE. See the quotes about the decolonisers’ Leninist agenda here: thecritic.co.uk/exhausting-div…

Dr Chris Newton This may be inevitable in weaker institutions whose commitment to independent critical scholarly enquiry is at the very least open to question. I’ve heard this issue raised in the case of various ex-polytechnics, in which deference towards activist academics is expected.

Job titles and descriptions are used as a strategy to ensure only those of particular types of politics are appointed to academic jobs. Here is an especially egregious example.

jobs.ac.uk/job/DHS543/pro…

Tories are complaining about symptoms while refusing to address the underlying conditions, argues Fred de Fossard
thecritic.co.uk/the-tories-are…

A renewed Britain — and a renewed conservatism — depends on a robust national plan for regeneration, argues Gavin Rice 🇬🇧
thecritic.co.uk/britain-must-r…