50% off limited time offer
Subscribe
Northern Ireland
Double standards
There were no riots after Jeffrey Donaldson’s arrest and later conviction for child sexual abuse. The lack of response is telling, RóisÃn Lanigan writes
Social media
Can you spot a deepfake?
The government may require social media companies to identify which news sources are reliable or not. Most users already struggle to tell the difference, Erica Wagner writes
World Cup 2026
Second-game fever
England will still win their group if they beat Panama but their performance against Ghana was dispiriting. Thomas Tuchel will first have to overcome a new national neurosis, George Simms writes
For today
Labour
Catherine Neilan
Andy Burnham’s messaging could be as important as his policies
Money laundering
Matthew Bishop
How to stop the flow of dirty money? First Britain must clean up its own act
Trends
Eva Wiseman
The frenzy for squishy toys shows the squeeze of keeping up with a new fad
Animal kingdom
Simon Barnes
My week as a spotted hyena
Ideas
View more
Brexit
Sadiq Khan
‘Brexit has cost Britain billions. It’s imperative we rejoin the EU’
Class
Kenan Malik
‘Telling it like it is’: far-right parties give a voice to those left behind by the left
Politics
Andrew Rawnsley
Remember Gordon! Why Labour should take a beat before parachuting in Andy Burnham
Film
Barbara Ellen
Andrew Stanton: the Pixar director taking toxic tech to Toy Story
World
View more
Lifestyle
View more
Culture
View more
Q&A
Ellen Peirson-Hagger
Emma-Lee Moss: ‘Hong Kong ceased to exist as I’d known it’
Music
Miranda Sawyer
‘If there was a cultural Olympics, the UK would be champions at festivals’
Ballet
Sarah Crompton
Paul Lightfoot and Sol León’s So We Are takes dancers to unexpected places
Film
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide’s pick of other films: Effi O Blaenau, Familiar Touch, Nino, Virginia Woolf’s Day and Night and Cactus Pears
Sport
View more
Tennis
Jessy Parker Humphreys
Dan Evans’ dip in form for wildcard snub puts Wimbledon in a bind
Cricket
Andy Zaltzman
New batters, new bowlers, new captain, new wicket keeper… same old England
Golf
George Simms
US Open finds itself deep in the rough during America’s summer of sport
World Cup 2026
Andrew Butler
Hot and bothered: how 45 minutes in the Lucy Charles-Barclay ‘pain cave’ scrambled my mind
In Real Life
View more
Observations and scenes from beyond your phone screen
Meet the Observers
To meet more of our team, click here
Tortoise Investigates
Deep Water
In the high-stakes sport of freediving, athletes descend as deep as they can on a single breath. They are used to putting their lives at risk. Through her diving instructor, Lydia Gard discovered a new threat that could tear their community apart: drug use
Sweet Bobby
Kirat is a successful radio presenter. On Facebook she meets Bobby, a handsome cardiologist. He’s a catch. Soon, they get tangled up in a love affair full of lies and manipulation. Then… Kirat discovers a deception of almost unimaginable proportions. Alexi Mostrous investigates a very modern love story
Lucky Boy
Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom. But when she walked out of his life, everything started to unravel. Chloe Hadjimatheou asks: who gets to be a perpetrator, and who gets to be a victim?
