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Culture

Film

The mean streets that made me

Martin Scorsese grew up close to violence and thinks it’s a part of being human. He tells us why cinema can help us understand the darkness within

Features

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Features

Tanya Gold
Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Inside the mind of a 21st-century monster

Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Interviews

Andrew Hankinson
Graham Linehan won’t shut up

In the vicious debate around trans issues no one has been as stubborn as the Father Ted creator. Even in Arizona, he’s not going away

Graham Linehan won’t shut up

Science & Technology

James Tapper
The ‘digital bridge’ that could help the paralysed walk again

A team of scientists is giving those with spinal injuries fresh hope of renewed movement

The ‘digital bridge’ that could help the paralysed walk again

Interviews

Andrew Anthony
Sir Magdi Yacoub: ‘Princess Diana would visit children on my ward’

The pioneering surgeon on his extraordinary career and why he loves the NHS

Sir Magdi Yacoub: ‘Princess Diana would visit children on my ward’

Tom Stoppard 1937-2025

‘Tom Stoppard redefined Britishness as something freedom-loving’

David Hare

‘Tom Stoppard redefined Britishness as something freedom-loving’
Tom Stoppard was a conscience to us all

Hermione Lee

Tom Stoppard was a conscience to us all
‘Knowledge and art weren’t negotiable commodities for him’

Richard Eyre

‘Knowledge and art weren’t negotiable commodities for him’
‘He will be remembered for his wit, irreverence and generosity of spirit’

Vanessa Thorpe

‘He will be remembered for his wit, irreverence and generosity of spirit’

We Have Notes

Wicked: For Good suffers from sequel overload

We’re back in the land of Oz for the second half of the Wicked adaptation. It’s a box office hit, but critics have been divided

Listen

The critics

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Art

Laura Cumming
Turner and Constable as they’ve never been seen before

World-famous masterpieces and rarely exhibited works by the two artists are put side by side in this monumental, thrilling show at Tate Britain

Turner and Constable as they’ve never been seen before

Theatre

Katherine Cowles
Paddington The Musical is an irresistible love letter to London

This winking, camp production contains child-proof storytelling, catchy songs, and a fine cast

Paddington The Musical is an irresistible love letter to London

Pop

Kitty Empire
How My Bloody Valentine became an arena band

This chaotic noise outfit has grown big enough to fill large venues, 40 years since its inception

How My Bloody Valentine became an arena band

TV

Barbara Ellen
Prisoner 951 is a Kafkaesque hostage nightmare

The BBC show takes viewers on the British charity worker’s harrowing journey

Prisoner 951 is a Kafkaesque hostage nightmare

More critics

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Ivo van Hove’s All My Sons is a revelation

Theatre

Susannah Clapp

Ivo van Hove’s All My Sons is a revelation
How a ruined religious complex became a modern university faculty

Architecture

Rowan Moore

How a ruined religious complex became a modern university faculty
Nico Muhly and the danse macabre

Dance

Sarah Crompton

Nico Muhly and the danse macabre
Pillion shows the hard and soft sides to leather culture

Film

Wendy Ide

Pillion shows the hard and soft sides to leather culture

The big picture

The heroine of Havana

Coming of age in Cuba, the girl who doctors didn’t expect to live past the age of 13 celebrates her womanhood

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Books

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The Observer’s books of the year 2025

The essential guide to what to give this Christmas

The Observer’s books of the year 2025
Jenny Erpenbeck: ‘I’ve seen a whole system collapse and fade away’

The International Booker-winning author on ephemera, why her childhood belongs in a museum, and the Brothers Grimm

Jenny Erpenbeck: ‘I’ve seen a whole system collapse and fade away’
Paperback of the week: We Live Here Now by CD Rose

The 2025 Goldsmiths prize winner is a fitfully brilliant tale set in the art world that blends the arcane with the mundane and the uncanny

Paperback of the week: We Live Here Now by CD Rose
Is Taylor Swift a great poet?

In two new books, Stephanie Burt and Maggie Nelson make the case for the singer to be studied alongside Pope and Plath

Is Taylor Swift a great poet?

Reading guides

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What to read to understand winter
What to read to understand winter
What to read to understand the weather
What to read to understand the weather
What to read to understand quests
What to read to understand quests
What to read to understand friendship
What to read to understand friendship

The grid

Signs of life in Svalbard

Marta Bevacqua's icy photographs from the Norwegian archipelago are dotted with human warmth

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Columnists

In defence of manic pixie dream girls

Róisín Lanigan

In defence of manic pixie dream girls
Paul McCartney stages a silent protest against AI

John Naughton

Paul McCartney stages a silent protest against AI

On my radar

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Arinzè Kene: ‘The film My Father’s Shadow had me in tears’
Arinzè Kene: ‘The film My Father’s Shadow had me in tears’
Maggi Hambling: ‘I was warned to drink only one but I had three and a half’
Maggi Hambling: ‘I was warned to drink only one but I had three and a half’
Julia Ducournau: ‘I never get tired of Poirot’s contempt for sloppiness’
Julia Ducournau: ‘I never get tired of Poirot’s contempt for sloppiness’
Harold Offeh: ‘There was a visceral reaction to Lauren Halsey’s art’
Harold Offeh: ‘There was a visceral reaction to Lauren Halsey’s art’

Time well spent

What to read this week: a Christmas books special
What to read this week: a Christmas books special
Playlist of the week: the best Radiohead covers
Playlist of the week: the best Radiohead covers
What to do this weekend, from holy dancing to William Kentridge’s sculptures
What to do this weekend, from holy dancing to William Kentridge’s sculptures

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