The Critic Magazine

Can great wine be made from “inferior” grapes?

Their rivalry was the stuff of titans, an intoxicating mix of sublime aptitude and violent conflict Source

The Committee for Academic Freedom has launched its own investigation into Jason Arday to ask whether equality law or “equity” is driving academic recruitment Source

Expansion of the European Union is fraught with complexities and risks Source

There is no short-term solution to prison overcrowding.

Is the RSC returning to the star system Peter Hall replaced?

Too many people in British politics have a confidence in themselves that is not supported by what they do and say Source

The case for rejoining the EU is based on errors and hypocrisy Source

We cannot have a one-size-fits-all policy when it comes to neighbourhood health Source

Such a gifted man has no excuse for leaving such an ineffective legacy Source

You cannot celebrate tradition while blandly accepting wholesale change Source

No, folic acid is not going to kill us Source

If you are going to buy a box of Partagas Cedros, you might as well purchase a Dupont Torch to ignite them Source

Jan Rüger’s Great Powers: A History of Britain and Germany and Liana Fix’s Germany Rearmed: The Return of War and the End of Illusions Source

Protecting our countryside and rural communities the conservative way Source

Attacks on Polish schools have brought to light a dangerous and disturbing trend among teenagers Source

Government rots from the head down Source

Remembering James Stuart and a lost age of competent Scottish governance Source

The market is held back by analogue information Source

Andy Burnham floats reversing Brexit, yet its old champions can only grumble about the hassle.

Devocrats don’t want control over water — they just want to be seen to deserve it Source

How the Windsor Framework is a backdoor to rejoining the EU Source

The more anti-immigration unrest grows, the more repressive the state is becoming Source

Ageism often lurks within the ideas and rhetoric of trans activists Source

Peter Burke’s The Connoisseur: A Cultural History Source

Propagating plants that flourished this year can help climate-proof your plot Source

What seems tolerant and progressive actually attacks freedom and family life Source

We are failing our great British brewing heritage Source

Hay Fever, Wyndham’s Theatre, London Source

J S Bach: The well-tempered clavier (Hyperion) Source

To find your audience after all the wilderness years is a beautiful thing Source

Britain is resilient but that does not mean that its resilience has no limits Source

The war in Ukraine is full of visceral terror and complex technology Source

Will Self’s new book asks fascinating questions about agency and history Source

Sentencing for animal abusers is disgracefully lenient Source

America needs to focus on its domestic issues to remain powerful Source

Daisy Dixon’s Depraved: The Story of Dangerous Art Source

Critics underestimate this popular Christian campaigner at their peril Source

Anti-Tory narratives can be more lazy and outdated than the ideas they attack Source

A poet’s response to events might have little to do with the events themselves Source

Enabling the lawless and pursuing the law-abiding will result in mass non-compliance Source

Theocratic barbarism is a threat in the West as well as in the Third World Source

Country notes Source

Signed a book deal?

The case for rejoining the EU is as weak as it has ever been Source

Penny Mordaunt returning to politics would signal that the Conservatives have not changed Source

The temperance lobby is making a comeback Source

In Essex, Reform unveiled a 100 day plan: how have they done?

Pedro Sánchez should have been evicted from office a long time ago — but who could replace him?

How to start a baby boom Source