November 2017

November 2017 issue

How the world sees Britain—and how Britain sees itself. Plus how the US turned North Korea into a nuclear power and the dark side of the Moomins.

Past issues

Essays

A picture taken on July 14, 2017, in Paris, shows an aerial view of the Louvre. PHOTO: JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD/AFP/Getty Images

We'll always have (some version of) Paris

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un? Graffiti in Wien. Photo: Wikimedia commons/Bwag

Kim Jong-un has realised there's a benefit to behaving badly

Missiles on parade in North Korea. Photo: AP/Rex/Shutterstock

How the US turned North Korea into a nuclear power

Are the Tories really becoming the party of "working people"? Not if union membership is anything to go by

Daniel Tomlinson

Thousands marched in protest against austerity. But what is the future of the trade union movement? Photo: Getty

Rebooting the rank and file: why there's still hope for the unions

Armando Iannucci on how satirists should tackle strongmen—and what makes a line funny

How I learnt to loathe England

Joris Luyendijk

The Palestinian Museum’s angled exterior. ALAA BADARNEH/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

How a new museum tells Palestine's story

Backing Britain: the 1968 campaign. ©CLIVE MCLEAN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

How imperialism still stops Britain from grasping how it looks to the world

Regulars

Click to enlarge

Stephen Collins's cartoon: May's big speech

Stephen Collins

The Prospect Crossword: November 2017

The Prospect Puzzle: November 2017

Editorial: Rewriting the book of Britain

Edward Heath signs the United Kingdom's Treaty of Accession (Brussels, 22 January 1972)

Negotiating with Europe, from the 1960s to today

We're not eating more calories—so why are Brits gaining weight?

Melanie Luhrmann

Should we fear Putin’s Russia? Photo: PA

Should we be afraid of Russia?

Kendall and Lieven

Opinions

Presidential candidate Norbert Hofer (FPOe) pictured at a press conference in the wake of the Austrian presidential election, in Vienna, Austria, 6 December 2016. Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa

How the rhetoric of the far-right is influencing the Austrian election

Kimberly Bradley

Dominic Cummings, the worried brains behind Brexit. Photo: Getty

Peering over the cliff-edge: why Dominic Cummings fears Brexit will fail

Mohammed bin Salman (or "MBS") is using the driving change to bolster his credentials as a moderniser. Photo: PA

Lifting its famous driving ban is just one facet of Saudi Arabia's global PR campaign

Jane Kinninmont

A live mag of cyber attacks in process. Photo: Flickr/Christiaan Colen

We all have a part to play in protecting cyberspace

Protesters march in Barcelona. Photo: Flickr/SBA73

The Spanish already knew their leaders aren't up to the job—now, the rest of the world sees it, too

BARCELONA, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2017/10/02: Students are seen the mouth taped with a red cross while holding several independence Catalonia flags during the protest. Around 2000 students gathered to protest against the Police clashes that happened on Octobe

Spain (and Scotland) should remember: a flexible constitution is what keeps the show on the road

When it comes to the economy, Britain has a choice: May's 80s rerun or Corbyn's bold rethink

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Arts & Books

Nico Muhly's Marnie runs from November 18 to December 3.

The most hotly-anticipated new opera for November

The Suppliant Women will run at London's Young Vic.

Derek Jarman and Aeschylus: the theatre to book now for November

Michael Coveney

Risk: a Western diamondback rattlesnake.

Snakes, society and Swansea: the science exhibitions to book now

How are languages formed? Photo: flickr/lorenkerns

Is language innate? A new book argues otherwise

Adrian Woolfson

A child feeds pigeons outside a temple in Calcutta.

Why does Calcutta produce so many writers?

Daniel Mendelsohn's new novel is a moving love letter to Homer—and his own father

Francesa da Rimini by William Dyce, 1837.

From Modigliani to Egyptian Surrealism: the exhibitions to see in November

Emma Critchon-Miller

Can a new book unearth the truth about Gerry Adams?

A new book allows asylum seekers to tell their stories

Rt. Hon. W.L. Mackenzie King signing the Multilateral Treaty for the Renunciation of War. Photo: Library and Archives Canada / C-009053

What happened to a 1928 pact to "outlaw war"?

Despite the bleak conditions, the memoir is full of humour.

This junior doctor's memoir is not for the faint hearted

Monboit draws on the enthusiasm of the Sanders campaign in his new book.

George Monbiot's new book is an assault on the status quo

Richard McNeill Douglas

Tove Jansson in her studio. Photo: Wikimedia/Reino Loppinen

The dark side of the Moomins

Clinton's memoir is a surprisingly un-bitter post-mortem. But what comes next for the Democrats? Photo: Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Democratic Party knows what it wants—now, its politicians must learn how to talk about it

Herman Kruyder painted this self portrait for a 1917 exhibition. Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

How the human got his paintbrush

Edward N Wolff's A Century of Wealth in America provides insight into Trump's success. Photo: Max Pixel

It's the inequality, stupid: anyone who wants to understand the rise of Trump should read Wolff

Society and Culture

Dominic West in the Affair. Photo: courtesy TV company

The true life of the writer? Less drinking with adoring fans, more wrestling with the printer

Life is not perfect—but, as with food, we should take advantage where we can.

Making pizza, I finally grasped one of life's elusive, essential truths

Wendell Steavenson

Huw Edwards: “I am a Celt so it’s no surprise that I’m a pessimist”

Why does wine taste different depending on who's drinking it?

In vino veritas? The science behind your taste in wine

Does online therapy work? Even with a four-year-old banging on the door, it's better than nothing