Culture
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Free speech ‘in greatest peril since WW2’
Is free speech REALLY under threat? A new mass-membership organisation, launched yesterday, claims that one of society’s most important freedoms is facing its greatest challenge since 1945.
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Readers lose their heads for Tudor trilogy
Are stories truer than facts? The most anticipated novel of the year charts the rise and fall of the ruthless Thomas Cromwell, and takes readers to places where historians do not dare to go.
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Outrage over top author’s support for genocide
Can you separate a writer’s work from their political views? A furious attack just published in the Washington Post lambasts a Nobel Prize-winning author for defending war crimes in Bosnia.
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‘Posturing, self-indulgence and surreality’
Have the Oscars become unbearable? Last night, millions of people worldwide watched Hollywood’s biggest spectacle – but critics argue it is a self-congratulating waste of time and money.
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Johnson to go for hardline trade deal with EU
Is he denying reality? Today, Boris Johnson will make a fiery speech asserting the UK’s autonomy. But with British culture so merged with Europe’s, is he going against the grain of history?
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At the Baftas, white actors are the winners
Is the film industry too interested in stories about white people? Despite years of debate about representation, there was a remarkable lack of diversity at last night’s Bafta film awards.
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Studio Ghibli goes for global dominance
Are the best animated films made in Japan? With the first Studio Ghibli films moving to Netflix tomorrow, we examine why anime has become so popular and if it can ever surpass Disney.
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Adieu, EU – it was a fascinating 47 years
What is Europe? Today, history will be made as the UK leaves the European Union. Boris Johnson has hailed it as “a new era”. But Britain will still be part of a wonderfully varied continent.
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Sumo wrestler’s tears make waves in shock win
Are tears good for sport? A sumo wrestler has thrown tradition out of the ring. His tears of joy delighted his fans, but raised doubts about whether it is ever acceptable for athletes to cry.
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One woman’s fight to capture whiff of the past
Should there be museums for smells? As our lives move online and artificial intelligence takes over, some think it has never been more important to preserve culturally important aromas.
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Mystic lamb’s humanoid face shocks art world
Does restoration ruin art? One of the world’s most famous paintings has been described as “a shock for everybody” after a clean-up revealed a sheep with extremely human-like eyes.
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BBC in its current form ‘facing the end’
Should the BBC be another Netflix? Nicky Morgan, the UK culture secretary, wants a move to a subscription system, ending almost a century of public broadcasting funded by a licence fee.
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Trust is dying across the world, says survey
Whatever happened to good faith? People no longer believe that it is possible for institutions to do the right thing AND be competent. This is creating an unprecedented wave of cynicism.
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Comedy about Hitler leaves critics fuming
Is it morally wrong to make a comic film about the Nazis? Critics are passionately divided about Jojo Rabbit, the story of a ten-year-old boy and his imaginary friend – a goofy Adolf Hitler.
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And now for a new national anthem – for Mars!
Does Mars need a national anthem? Opera singer Oscar Castellino has just given the first performance of his composition, Rise to Mars!, written to encourage colonisation of the Red Planet.