The Searchers by Andy Beckett review – the legacy of the radical left
“Persistence,” writes Andy Beckett, “is one of the left’s qualities that its enemies like least.” These hair-shirted zealots spend countless hours meeting, rallying, consciousness-raising, drumming up meagre support for seemingly lost causes. While he was the Greater London Council leader, Ken Livingstone lived…
The Spin | ‘New lease of life’: how walking cricket is giving the over-50s a taste of Bazball
In Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult’s terrific book on the subject, James Anderson is asked what Bazball means to him. “Bazball is trying to encourage people to get back to the kid in you,” he says. “How you imagined the…
Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna review – a love letter to London under pressure
London has long been both literary character and setting, showing its many different faces in fiction from Oliver Twist to Mrs Dalloway, Zadie Smith’s NW to Andrew O’Hagan’s newly published Caledonian Road. Now Evenings and Weekends, the debut novel from an Irish spoken-word…
Like Love by Maggie Nelson review – music, passion and friendship
“As a child I had so much energy I’d lie awake and feel my organs smolder,” Maggie Nelson wrote in 2005’s Jane: A Murder. She was a dancer before she was a writer and you can feel the commitment to the fire of…
Dark Matter review – Joel Edgerton abducts himself in fun multiverse thriller
I feel as if I’ve been living in a parallel universe since about 2016. Everything intangible we depend on – democracy, the rule of law, policing by trust, yadda yadda yadda – is going terrifyingly wrong. Reality has become disorientating…
NHS trial uses daily doses of food allergens to tackle severe reactions
Children have been able to enjoy foods that previously would have triggered potentially life-threatening allergic reactions after they took part in a “life-transforming” NHS clinical trial, doctors have reported. A pioneering £2.5m study is using daily doses of everyday food…
AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines
AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus. The announcement follows the pharmaceutical company in March voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorisation,…
Salman Rushdie: Through a Glass Darkly review – a harrowing first-person account of a knife attack
‘One of the first things I thought when I saw him coming at me was: ‘Oh, it’s you … ’ I did wonder if someone was going to jump out of an audience one day.” When news broke in August…
Pakistan Super League may poach county cricketers after schedule change
English counties face losing more of their leading homegrown talents during the first two months of next season – and potentially in years to come – amid a proposal for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to run concurrently with the…
Saracens to continue team-bonding trips despite Billy Vunipola incident
Saracens intend to continue their team-bonding social trips, with Mark McCall insisting the recent excursion to Mallorca was “really enjoyable” despite Billy Vunipola’s arrest. McCall insisted that as far as Saracens are concerned “the case is closed” over Vunipola, who…