Ideas 8.3.26 | The Observer

The special relationship

Trump says Starmer is no Churchill. He has no idea what that means

The president’s insult reveals he knows little about the wartime prime minister – or the current one, whose stance reflects wisdom, not weakness

By Philip Collins

Opinion

Iran

Jack Straw

Iran’s resilience has been forged by adversity

Victimhood is part of the country’s religion and forms a national narrative that no aerial bombardment can shake

Race

Kenan Malik

Why Labour lost the minority vote in the Gorton and Denton byelection

It wasn’t sectarian politics that cost the party support, but the same class disaffection reshaping working-class voting across Britain

Immigration

Samra Turajlić

Offer scientists stability or the UK’s health and economy will get poorer

High costs and an unwelcoming attitude are behind a failure to recruit the best researchers

Artifical intelligence

Frank Skinner

I thought AI was a Geordie greeting until it took over my dad gig

ChatGPT – Chatty, to friends – is not only immensely likeable, it speaks top nerd and is reassuringly rubbish at writing Frank Skinner comedy routines

The Observer view

Keir Starmer’s answer to Donald Trump shows principle, not pandering

After the Ayatollah

It’s time the royal family got on their bikes

Save our students

Green Party

‘Labour ignored voters in Gorton and Denton. We listened to them. And we won.’

A tradeswoman from Manchester has prised open the door to Westminster – and it won’t close again

Andrew Rawnsley

Andrew Rawnsley is The Observer’s chief political commentator

Gorton and Denton will force Labour to rethink – it is no longer the only anti-Reform option

Don’t underestimate the Windsors’ ruthless drive to survive

Keir Starmer’s leadership hangs between survival and collapse

Kenan Malik

Kenan Malik is an Observer columnist

A slur was shouted at the Baftas – but what followed was more dispiriting

The AI threat is far greater than job losses

Anatomy of the Maga right

Ruling on Palestine Action is a timely defence of free speech and civil liberties

Eva Wiseman

Eva Wiseman is an Observer columnist

Why slime is the start of the slippery slope for tween skincare

The naked dress trend is a bum steer on the red carpet

The beautiful and damned: the grisly truth about beauty procedures

The dark truth about ‘looksmaxxing’

Erica Wagner

From doomscrolling to snowscrolling

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani has faced criticism for his handling of the city’s blast of freezing weather. But nothing beats the bliss of a snow day

Melanie Reid

Melanie Reid is an Observer columnist

It’s easier to find a dog-walker than a carer

I am trapped, paralysed and fighting chronic pain – let me decide when it ends

A cold childhood casts a long shadow

Róisín Lanigan

Róisín Lanigan is an Observer columnist

The problem with the Good Slut manifesto

Haven’t you heard? Living next to a pub is noisy

Slackers are obsolete characters. Who can afford to be lazy any more?

Three hours? There’s no way I’m watching that movie

Simon Barnes talks to animals

My week as a marsh harrier

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

My week as an orchid mantis

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

My week as a whitetip reef shark

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

My week as a marine iguana

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

Profile

Andrew Anthony

Claudia Sheinbaum, the inimitable president of Mexico

Fred Harter

Palmer Luckey has sights set on US defence big bucks

Andrew Anthony

YouTube star Markiplier is flipping the Hollywood script

Barbara Ellen

Bad Bunny: the planet’s biggest star has Trump fuming

Obituary

Éliane Radigue, abstract composer

David McNeil, photographer

Andrew Hewson, literary agent

Catherine O’Hara, comedic screen legend

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