Politics
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Stricken Boris Johnson in intensive care
Can government carry on with a sick leader? The tradition of covering up and carrying on is tenacious. But history shows that there is little to fear from a period of illness at the top.
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‘The cure could be worse than the disease’
Is it worth sacrificing the economy for the coronavirus? An increasing number of experts now say that the long-term impact of Covid-19 could be more devastating than the pandemic itself.
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Keep us safe – we don’t mind how you do it
Is herd mentality creating police states? Governments have been allowed to tackle the pandemic with measures which stifle personal freedom. Many worry that these could become permanent.
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It must be true – I saw it on the internet
Can we defeat the misinformation virus? Efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic are being undermined by fake news and scams – and it is not the first crisis to be aggravated in this way.
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Brexit, Athens, and a lesson from history
Can an ancient Greek general shine a light on Britain’s future? Coronavirus has suddenly made Boris Johnson’s career look uncannily similar to that of his hero, the Athenian leader Pericles.
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The sound of one million hands clapping
Should we applaud more? Last night, millions in Britain followed dozens of other countries celebrating health workers by bringing our hands together – an ancient and profoundly human act.
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Generation C: The virus that changed everything
What will the world look like when the pandemic ends? We might be far from seeing the back of the coronavirus, but the rest of the 21st Century will be defined by how we overcome it.
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In the footsteps of Lincoln, Gandhi, Gorbachev
Is this one of those turning points in history? This was the week a British prime minister declared a state of emergency and called on a nation to come together to fight a deadly enemy.
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Liberty, solidarity, and a new world dawning
Could the choices we make now, change our lives for years to come? The historian and modern seer, Yuval Noah Harari, believes the shape of our economy, politics, and culture is up for grabs.
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Coronavirus catastrophe closes in on Africa
Could Africa see the worst outbreak yet? As the virus begins to spread across the world’s poorest continent, experts warn the impact could be much more severe than in Europe and Asia.
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Trump’s ‘delusional’ microbe meltdown
Could the virus topple Trump? With the financial markets crashing, US coronavirus tests hard to find, and a rising number of infections – the US president is facing an unprecedented challenge.
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TikTok’s ‘sight bites’ capture the zeitgeist
Should we take TikTok politics seriously? One of the most successful apps in the world was developed for teenagers messing around. Now, it is being adopted by political campaigners.
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Let us spray: a nation goes into quarantine
Is Italy a grim warning to the world? There is anxiety and confusion on the ground as the country implements its most restrictive measures since World War Two, in its battle against Covid-19.
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Marchers around the world call for equality
Will women ever have equal rights? “An equal world is an enabled world,” declared thousands around the globe as they took to the streets yesterday. But what do the hard statistics tell us?
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Turkey threatens Europe with refugee crisis
Should Europe welcome more refugees? Turkey has “opened the human floodgates” in retaliation for lack of support in Syria. Rich, Western nations are trapped in an agonising, moral dilemma.