Culture
Top Culture stories
The TV shows people risk death to watch
Why fluffy, glossy K-dramas tempt North Koreans to brave the firing squad
What to watch this weekend
Stories of tennis players, chefs and rock stars
Hollywood’s new favourite villain
In films from “Mission Impossible” to “M3GAN 2.0”, AI is the bad guy
Stop crying your heart out—for Oasis have returned to the stage
They are much more popular today than their Britpop peers
A YouTuber kicks up a stink over a flatulent “reaction” video
Copyright lawyers debate the transformative power of passing gas
Before there was Oprah’s Book Club, there was the Book Society
Celebrities have been in the business of recommending books for nearly a century
Books
William F. Buckley, the man who put the charm into conservatism
He was the 20th century’s most influential journalist
Chinese cops are cuffing erotica
Local police have found a perverse way to raise money
Six books about tennis’s greatest players
Enjoy these titles with strawberries and a glass of Pimms
The best novels published in the second quarter of 2025
American and Irish writers dominate the list
How to think about the manosphere
A new book examines a much-worried-about phenomenon
Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the age of the genius
The perils of bowing to those anointed as special
Television and film
The 15 best films and TV shows released so far in 2025
Stories from Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro and a galaxy far, far away
“F1 The Movie” is a very expensive promotional film
Will it rev up new fans for the motorsport?
How zombies explain Brexit: the satire of “28 Years Later”
In a post-apocalyptic horror sequel, monsters and mockery co-exist
As “Jaws” turns 50, who is the blockbuster’s real hero?
Steven Spielberg’s saga of man v shark is not the film you remember
“The Handmaid’s Tale” reveals the limits of dystopian television
Six seasons of suffering is more than enough
Anna Politkovskaya knew that tyranny respects no borders
A timely tribute to a martyred critic of the Kremlin
The arts
A new Dutch museum tackles migration through art
Fenix, in Rotterdam, lets visitors make up their own minds
The year’s chicest shade is good enough to eat
Yet wearing it is not for the yellow-bellied
African architects have cool designs for a warming planet
They take inspiration from everything from the local terrain to termites
Museums should open up their storerooms
The V&A is putting more of its collection on show. Others should follow suit
Food
China’s booze business looks smashed
First terrified officials went off the lash; now young people are going dry
Globalisation is nuts
A brave and high-tech attempt to export nuts
The hottest gadget of the summer? A portable pizza oven
The question is why many spend time making a food that is easily bought
Are juice shots worth the price?
Fresh fruit is probably a cheaper alternative
Water sommeliers say the simplest drink is the future of luxury
A dispatch from the Fine Water Summit
What does space miso taste like?
It should make the diets of astronauts more interesting
Music
The six best “lost” albums
Great records that have been mislaid and rediscovered
How to hear a Hollywood star sing, for free
Rachel Zegler’s streetside “Evita” reveals a lot about fame and London
The Laurel Canyon sound has reverberated down the decades
A district in the Hollywood Hills has had a profound influence on popular music
Brian Wilson and the bliss of bubble-gum pop
The hitmaker and member of the Beach Boys left an inimitable catalogue of breezy doo-wop
Hit songs are getting shorter
The trend is not as bad as it sounds
A new London attraction hopes to revive interest in Elvis
At “Elvis Evolution”, the king of rock ’n’ roll ain’t dead
Is there anything left to learn about The Beatles?
The famous band has been amply covered. But analysing one friendship offers new insights
Latest coverage
Culture
What Superman tells you about American foreign policy
Should a man who can do anything choose to do nothing?
Culture
Handling feelings with rubber gloves: the odd life of Muriel Spark
An abandoned son, scorned lovers and dazzling, manipulative prose
Culture
Why the left gains nothing from pop stars’ support
Artists are entitled to share their views. Doing so is not always noble or wise
Culture
Stop crying your heart out—for Oasis have returned to the stage
They are much more popular today than their Britpop peers
Culture
Inside the uneasy, incongruous coalition of the Big Three
A new book traces the wartime relationship between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin
Culture
The TV shows people risk death to watch
Why fluffy, glossy K-dramas tempt North Koreans to brave the firing squad
Culture
Before there was Oprah’s Book Club, there was the Book Society
Celebrities have been in the business of recommending books for nearly a century
Culture
A YouTuber kicks up a stink over a flatulent “reaction” video
Copyright lawyers debate the transformative power of passing gas
Culture
Hollywood’s new favourite villain
In films from “Mission Impossible” to “M3GAN 2.0”, AI is the bad guy
Culture
Six books about tennis’s greatest players
Enjoy these titles with strawberries and a glass of Pimms