Sam Leith

Pacy, fast-moving and graphically lavish: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 reviewed

2 August 2025 9:00 am

Grade: B+ Tony Hawk is an old guy these days. The most famous sk8r boi ever to have lived is…

Why Middlemarch is ‘the perfect beach read’

28 July 2025 5:03 pm

At the time of writing, I am not more than a few hours away from leaving this dismal hell-hole and…

Superman has always been ‘woke’

21 July 2025 5:06 pm

The moment I heard that there’d been a backlash against James Gunn’s reboot of the Superman franchise on the grounds…

Banning disposable vapes was a waste of time

14 July 2025 6:03 pm

When we’re debating the introduction of a new law – ban this, ban that, crack down on the other –…

There’s one thing readers enjoy more than a story like The Salt Path

7 July 2025 10:11 pm

Only last week, I was having lunch when The Salt Path came up in conversation. ‘That’s the one about the…

The bluster and waffle of George Freeman

30 June 2025 5:40 pm

Retromania is well and truly upon us. Neil Young just headlined Glastonbury. Noel Edmonds is back on the telly. And…

Does anyone really want AI civil servants?

15 June 2025 4:28 pm

Of course they’ve called it ‘Humphrey’. The cutesy name that has been given to the AI tool the government is…

Will Donald Trump’s defenders finally admit the truth?

9 June 2025 4:38 pm

So, there we have it. The President of the United States wants to bypass state governors and deploy the National…

Why are NHS staff refusing to be vaccinated?

2 June 2025 5:11 pm

Some wise person – I have a strong sense it may have been our own Christopher Fildes – once offered…

Means-testing winter fuel was obviously correct

26 May 2025 4:00 pm

I’ve seen a lot of people, lately, making the case that the big problem with Sir Keir Starmer’s government is…

Starmer’s EU e-passport plan would be the ultimate Brexit win

19 May 2025 4:21 pm

Last week, I was passing through Stockholm’s Arlanda airport on the way to a professional commitment in Sweden. A WhatsApp…

Congratulations to Graham King, the asylum billionaire

12 May 2025 11:43 pm

It’s always heartwarming to hear of a person who starts from humble origins and, through sheer entrepreneurial vim, makes something…

Gene-editing won’t save our fruit

5 May 2025 6:32 pm

The other day, I had a dismaying experience while making my usual frugal lunch. Usually, a cheese sandwich does me.…

How the EU youth mobility scheme could save Brexit

28 April 2025 4:57 pm

Rachel Reeves sounds surprisingly perky. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has, of course, been forced – we may think, through…

Winning little narrative adventure: South of Midnight reviewed

26 April 2025 9:00 am

Grade: A– For this winning little narrative adventure we are in the South – all gris-gris gumbo yaya, decaying mansions…

Keir Starmer’s Easter message wasn’t offensive

21 April 2025 4:00 pm

Fun though it is to bash Keir Starmer for everything he says or does, there’s surely a point at which…

Schools should butt out of parent WhatsApp groups

14 April 2025 6:39 pm

As if schools didn’t already have their work cut out for them controlling the behaviour of their students, they’re now…

AI slop is flooding the zone

5 April 2025 9:00 am

There are two accounts of the negative effects for humanity of the explosion of generative AI: one minatory, one trivial.…

The police raid on a Quaker meeting house is unforgivable

31 March 2025 11:39 pm

Is there anyone in the Met Police, I wonder, low-minded enough to think of things in PR terms? “I’ve got…

Ridiculously fun: Assassin’s Creed – Shadows reviewed

29 March 2025 9:00 am

Grade: A Sometimes you want to admire the pluck and inventiveness of an indie developer. At other times, you just…

Why is Keir Starmer pretending he ‘likes and respects’ Donald Trump?

24 March 2025 5:00 pm

Anyone who relishes the humiliation of Sir Keir Starmer – and I know that in this respect, if only this…

Is ‘good enough’ all we want from TV?

17 March 2025 5:23 pm

For those people with a therapeutic bent of mind, the phrase ‘good enough’ has an almost magical power. It says:…

The moral shortcomings of Palestine Action

10 March 2025 6:39 pm

Pro-Palestinian activists under the banner of Palestine Action have been waging what it’s not too much of an exaggeration to…