Columnists

We are still not doing enough about sexual harassment at work

In the wake of Harriet Harman’s report on harassment of women at the bar, it’s time to challenge power imbalances at work

Peppa Pig fans conclude Daddy Pig looks like their own father

It’s not a comparison I like, even if it is close to the truth…

The ugly truth behind beauty’s obsession with packaging

Beauty products now have their own covetable merch, but the packaging can’t conceal the perils of over-consumption

Trying to look young is even scarier than ageing

An extreme facelift in Guadalajara is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the quest for eternal youth

AI’s punctuation is only human – I love an em dash too

The proliferation of the grammatical device is correlated with the rise of LLMs. But don’t forget, they learn from us

‘Accessible’ new builds are fine to visit, but don’t move in

If you’re after a suitable council home for a wheelchair user, prepare for a wait of up to 100 years

The book that transformed my writing life

The Artist’s Way is full of hokey self-affirmations – but it taught me to stop worrying and love the brainstorm

The case for… Baths

‘Lying in your own filth’? How dirty are these people?

Putin’s fear of death is his weak spot

For most autocrats, with the approach of mortality comes vulnerability and paranoia – no wonder so many have dreamed of conquering death

British identity isn’t neatly tied in red, white and blue

The current debate over flying the national flag is not as important as the common values we want to ascribe to it

Rayner’s departure may bring Labour anxieties to the boil

The approaching contest for a new deputy leader could turn out to be a proxy vote of confidence in the prime minister

“She listened to Grenfell’s bereaved. Rayner had pure class”

Unlike her predecessors as housing minister, she confronted the issue of the tower and demolition has started

Nostalgia and nausea at the British seaside

Taking the kids to the seaside comes with a heady dose of nostalgia. Little seems to have changed – even the attendants are still surly

Brits don’t just knock the rich – we have a go at everything

Downton Abbey’s creator should realise that ‘having a pop’ is a socioemotional safety valve that operates far beyond envy

Park your fears, there's a roadmap to an electric car future

Anxiety over infrastructure and premiums still dog the takeup of EVs, but things are improving

Taylor Swift: is she really all that?

I get that Taylor Swift’s fame is stratospheric but isn’t the reaction to her engagement a bit much?

My week as a vespillo burying beetle

Each week, Simon Barnes hears what the past seven days have been like for a member of the animal kingdom

Angela Rayner called me Clement Twatlee

Grown-up advice from everyone’s favourite centrist