PinnedThe Fragility of Democracy: An essay on our timesPart I: The lessons of authoritarianismOct 4, 20201Oct 4, 20201
PinnedThe Fragility of Democracy IV: Fear and hope‘The clumsy system of public gatherings had been long since abandoned; neither Vashti nor her audience stirred from their rooms.’Jan 9, 2021Jan 9, 2021
Spyless in Tirana: Lessons from AlbaniaIn the spring of 2019 I spent a month in the Albanian capital of Tirana as part of research for a book about European cities. I was halfway…Mar 16Mar 16
The Trouble with MayorsFor most of my life I’ve held what you could call a child’s view of mayors. The mayor first entered my consciousness through the children’s…Feb 19Feb 19
Next month, on February 29th, the father of the 15-minute city is going to give a talk at Oxford…The idea behind the event is clearly to gain support for an experimental scheme that was approved by Oxford County Council in November 2022…Jan 18Jan 18
Musicals as soundtracks for the timesContrary to stereotype, musical theatre is not a light art form. Its songs and stories cover the range of human experience, capturing…Jan 2Jan 2
On the rise of eco-authoritarianism: is the Green Movement divided or confused?Little Green Alex, who has lived in me since childhood is an instinctual, inconsistent, non-ideological kind of Green: she gets upset…Nov 13, 2023Nov 13, 2023
Somebody Actually Did SomethingIn fact, quite a lot of people are doing things. Among the minority who have recognised that something is fundamentally wrong and that the…Aug 8, 2023Aug 8, 2023
