contents

1. New Statesman magazine
Halima Ahmed
Source: https://www.newstatesman.com/uk
Politics
How biga risk is thegovernment takingin not ordering a lockdown to combat Covid-19?
The implicitlogicof yesterday’s statement is that the stories abouthow effectively South Korea has tackled the
outbreak will giveway to stories aboutits recurrence in that country.
BY STEPHEN BUSH
ELECTIONS
The local elections will takeplaceatan unprecedented scalein a completel y different UK
The postponed local elections will nowbe the UK’s biggest ever, after a period that will changeBritish politics
in a radical and unpredictableway.
BY STEPHEN BUSH 13 MARCH
ECONOMY
For Labour, Rishi Sunak’s Budget is an opportunity – but also a danger
This isn’ta budget any Labour chancellor should wantto give, but it does present a new challengefor the
party.
BY BRIDGET PHILLIPSON 13 MARCH
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady speaks at a demonstration againstthe Conservative government on
September 29, 2019 in Manchester.
UK
Frances O’Grady: Childcarecould bea “massiveproblem” if schools closedueto coronavirus
The TUC general secretary warns that a lack of affordablechildcarecould bemore of an issuefor workers than
sick pay if the government asks schoolsand nurseries to close
BY ALONA FERBER 13 MARCH
UK
Covid-19 will exposea gapinghole in Rishi Sunak’s budget
Once again the government delayed makingone of the most important decisions of all:howto reform social
care?
BY GEORGE GRYLLS 13 MARCH
UK
Why aren’t we on lockdown for coronavirus yet?
The government is under fire for its approach.Here’s what it’s thinking.
BY AILBHE REA 12 MARCH
Jeremy Corbyn with Labour Party general secretary Jennie Formby.
UK
Labour HQ is the subject of distrustand division –even within the building
The suspension of Trevor Phillips and thedelay in members receivingleadership ballots havedeepened
concern over the party’s head office. How would Keir Starmer respond as leader?
BY GEORGE GRYLLS 12 MARCH
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Keir Starmer and Lisa Nandy
UK
Labour must unite if it is to form an effective opposition
Keir Starmer offers a new model of leadership based on respect and collaboration.
BY BILL ESTERSON 12 MARCH

2. Donald Trump and Boris Johnson hold a meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, 24 September 2019.
UK
If you think coronavirus isscary,waittill you remember who’s defending us from it
This generation of Tories has turned out to be better at winningelections than some expected. But that is not
the same as being good at administration.
BY JONN ELLEDGE 12 MARCH
SPOTLIGHT
Why construction is aboutoutcomes as much as output
The Chartered Instituteof Buildingand the New Statesman gathered a panel of experts to discussthewider
social and economic impactof the builtenvironment.
BY SPOTLIGHT 02 NOVEMBER
George Osborneglowers.
WELFARE
George Osbornewas a bigger welfare nationalistthan Rishi Sunak
The Chancellor is doingsomethingnew and radical –but he is also strikinga note of continuity.
BY STEPHEN BUSH 12 MARCH
A sign directs patients towards an NHS 111 coronavirus (Covid-19) pod.
HEALTH
The viral statisticon sparehospital beds reveals a real problemfor the government
Culture
The Rules of Contagion shows the parallels between epidemics, recessions and fakenews
Crackingdown hard on onlinemisinformation and disinformation is equivalentto vaccination.
BY ANJANA AHUJA
FILM
“Miss World 1970 was a lightningconductor for political protest”: Gugu Mbatha-Raw and PhilippaLowthorpe
on their new film,Misbehaviour
Can you be a feministif you aspireto be a beauty queen? In Misbehaviour,opposinginterpretations of
feminismcome head to head.
BY ELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER 13 MARCH
BOOKS
Riseof the keyboard fascists:howthe internet enables radicalisation
In Going Dark, Julia Ebner goes undercover onlineto study the dynamics and tactics of far-rightextremist
networks.
BY MARK O’CONNELL 11 MARCH
POETRY
A new poem by Serhiy Zhadan,translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin.
BY SERHIY ZHADAN 11 MARCH
BOOKS
How Shakespeare shaped America’s culture wars
The United States has always looked to Shakespeare to illuminateits politics –and in the polarised ageof
Donald Trump his work feels as urgent as ever.
BY SARAH CHURCHWELL 11 MARCH
TV & RADIO

3. Glenda Jackson is superb as the eccentric poet in Radio 4’s Edith Sitwell in Scarborough
Jackson is justso Jacksonian throughout: projectingfast-thinkingand decisiveintelligence,and a complete
inability to suffer fools.
BY ANTONIA QUIRKE 11 MARCH
TV & RADIO
Postcards froman infected world: Reports from the cities impacted by coronavirus
As public lifeis shutdown, travel is curtailed and economies falter, writers from blighted cities report on the
reality of livingwith the coronavirus epidemic.
BY NEW STATESMAN 11 MARCH
TV & RADIO
It is hard to feel anythingfor the sleep-deprived parents in Sky’s comedy Breeders
It may be that I’m getting a bitsoft in my old age, but I think the tone is all wrong.
BY RACHEL COOKE 11 MARCH
FILM
Miss World comedy Misbehaviour staystrueto the upbeat but simplisticBrit-comformula
In this story of Women’s Lib protesters interruptingthe 1970 pageant, it’s unclear what the story gains
repackaged as drama rather than documentary.
BY RYAN GILBEY 11 MARCH
TV & RADIO
Netflix’s datingshow Love is Blind is horrific butcompellingviewing
Grown men talk about “butterflies”. Dogs drink wine. And that’s before the weddings…
BY ANNA LESZKIEWICZ 11 MARCH
FOOD & DRINK
Borders can’t control grapes any more than they can control people – some of the best wines emerge when
winemakers refuse to followthe rules
We arebetter off for obscurewines brought across borders to our table.
BY NINA CAPLAN 11 MARCH
CULTURE
Teenagers are turningto TikTok not justfor dance clips,butfor urgent political debate
TikTok has become a hotbed of political debate, social issueadvocacy and policy arguments – and most
recently, a battleground for the abortion debate in the US
BY SARAH MANAVIS 11 MARCH
Q&A
Marlon James Q&A: “I was an exorcistin another life”
The Booker Prize-winningauthor on Thomas Piketty, Buffy and why firemen are his heroes.
BY NEW STATESMAN 11 MARCH
MUSIC & THEATRE
Christineand the Queens at MOTH Club: a mesmerising shape-shifter
At her smallestLondon show to date, the French pop star's quips stand alongsideher vulnerability.
BY ELLEN PEIRSON-HAGGER 09 MARCH
PODCASTS
A comedy of comforts: Meet Catherine Cohen, cabaretactand unofficial millennial therapist
The New York comedian’s podcast,Seek Treatment, features all thehilarity and intimacy of a closefriendship.
So how does she see herself?
BY EMILY BOOTLE 09 MARCH
ART & DESIGN
The changingface of the ideal man

4. The ideal man is an archetype that changes with the times. A new Barbican exhibition asks –what does he look
like,then and now?
BY YO ZUSHI 04 MARCH
MUSIC & THEATRE
Soccer Mommy: “I can’t justbe myself”
Sophie Allison –the singer-songwriter behind Soccer Mommy – on fame, therapy and lookingforward to
death.
BY EMILY BOOTLE 04 MARCH
BOOKS
Kate Fall’s The Gatekeeper: an insider’s viewof the Cameron years
Eloquent and full of human detail,this is a dramatic eyewitness accountfrom someone who was once “the
most influential woman in British politics”.
BY AILBHE REA 04 MARCH
FILM
Onward: a weepy Pixar animation thatearns every teardrop
Director Dan Scanlon makes plot the strong suitof this father-son story.
BY RYAN GILBEY 04 MARCH
BOOKS
Pete Paphides’s Broken Greek: a strikingmemoir of immigration and music
Music journalistPaphides tellstheimmigrant’s story with clarity and tenderness.
BY ALAN JOHNSON 04 MARCH
TV & RADIO
The BBC’s Noughts + Crosses is WestSideStory with added identity politics
And I mean that in the best possibleway.
BY RACHEL COOKE 04 MARCH
BOOKS
The sacrifices of George Orwell’s firstwife
Discoveringthe lifeof Eileen Blair,the “black holeat the centre of Orwell studies”.
BY FRANCES WILSON 04 MARCH
BOOKS
Hilary Mantel’s complex,conflicted Thomas Cromwell
Much has been made of the idiosyncrasy of Mantel’s treatment of Cromwell. But as her new novel
demonstrates, she has never simply given him a moral free pass.
BY ROWAN WILLIAMS 04 MARCH
NATURE
Watchingseeds grow is nothingshort of a miracle.So how do you ensure they have the best chance of
survival?
There’s much to consider:when to plantseeds, where to plantthem, and how to move them.
BY STEFAN BUCZACKI 04MARCH
BOOKS
How Thomas Piketty losttouch with reality
Acclaimed by the left, Piketty wants to transform European politics.But he ignores the real concerns of most
people.
BY PAUL COLLIER 04 MARCH
TV & RADIO
Why do we keep returningto The Call of the Wild?
The BBC is airingits third readingof the shortnovel in four years.So what makes this book so worth revisiting?

5. BY ANTONIA QUIRKE 04 MARCH
Q&A
Miranda HartQ&A: “My earliestmemory? Standing face-to-face with a goose”
The comedian talks The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron,swimming with wild dolphins and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
BY NEW STATESMAN 04 MARCH
CULTURE
Strutting warriors,bare-armed filmstars:is thereany greater performance than being a man?
I spent much of Thursday staringatmen.
BY TRACEY THORN 04 MARCH
World
POLITICS
How Joe Biden became the front-runner to take on Trump
The former vicepresident’s surgein the Democratic primaries reveals a splitbetween those who aspireto
transformthe US politically –and those who seek victory atany cost.
BY GARY YOUNGE
The Al Noor mosque in Christchurch,New Zealand,the scene of the 15 March 2019 shootings.AUSTRALASIA
How the far right still threatens New Zealand,a year on from the Christchurch attacks
The country’s failureto challengethe roots of fascistideology has emboldened extremists.
BY JAMES ROBINS 13 MARCH
WORLD
Why did the World Health Organisation waitso longto declarecoronavirus a pandemic?
Havingtried to avoid panic,the international body now believes that complacency is the bigger danger.
BY LAURA SPINNEY 12 MARCH
EUROPE
Postcards froman infected world: Germany’s esoteric capital refuses to sign up to coronaviruspanic
Berlin is behind the curve. At the time of writing,48 people here have the virus and the city remains relaxed.I
have seen no one wearing a face mask. There have been only limited signs of panic buying.
BY JEREMY CLIFFE 12 MARCH
NORTH AMERICA
Postcards froman infected world: Coronavirus highlights the deep flaws in the US healthcaresystem
Twenty-seven million Americans do nothave health insuranceand many more have insufficientinsurance
coverage; the US could be sleepwalkinginto a public health catastrophe.
BY SOPHIE MCBAIN 11 MARCH
ASIA
Postcards froman infected world: Once Tokyo smelled of plum blossom,now it is soap
Coronavirus has hitJapaneseexports,and is keeping consumers athome. Shops, bars and restaurants are
quiet and Tokyo Disneyland is shut.Any hope that the falteringeconomy will recover this yea r is gone.
BY TOM FEILING 11 MARCH
EUROPE
Postcards froman infected world: Can the EU operate with justa virtual capital?
As the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in EUinstitutions rises,there is speculation thatthe
European Parliamentwill soon fully shutdown.
BY DAVE KEATING 11 MARCH
WORLD
Grace under pressure: how coronavirus istestingthe world’s self-image

6. Stoicismis a partof many nations’identity,not justBritain’s:can the pandemic be met with dispassionate
resilience?
BY JEREMY CLIFFE 11 MARCH
EUROPE
Postcards froman infected world: In Italy,people are stayingoff the streets. Avoiding hand gestures is harder
Italiansbraced themselves for the worst, and they were right. Now that the lockdown has been extended to
the entire country, people are despairingover the harsh measures.
BY BEN MUNSTER 11 MARCH
SPOTLIGHT
Why construction is aboutoutcomes as much as output
The Chartered Instituteof Buildingand the New Statesman gathered a panel of experts to discussthewider
social and economic impactof the builtenvironment.
BY SPOTLIGHT 02 NOVEMBER
ASIA
Postcards froman infected world: Life is returningto normal in China,but the costs are yet to be seen
After weeks of quarantine,Shanghai is slowly reopening.Many here say that China is the safestplacenow: no
new cases havebeen reported in the city for four days.
BY JACOB DREYER 11 MARCH
The Canary Wharf financial districtin London.
WORLD
Why the UK is badly prepared for a coronavirusrecession
The slowesteconomic recovery in history and the threat of a no-deal Brexit mean Britain is in a dangerously
fragileposition.
BY GEORGE EATON 09 MARCH
NORTH AMERICA
New Statesman appoints Emily Tamkin as US editor
Tamkin will bebased in Washington,DC, from where she will writea weekly column on American affairs.
BY NEW STATESMAN 06 MARCH
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders duringthe Democratic presidential primary debatein Charleston,South
Carolina.
NORTH AMERICA
Why Elizabeth Warren’s withdrawal is notthe silver bulletBernieSanders is hopingfor
Fewer than half of Warren’s supporters may defect to the second-placed senator.
BY BEN WALKER 06 MARCH
Greek anti-riotpolicegathers migrants and refugees from the Moria camp on March 4, 2020.MIDDLE EAST
As the Syrian refugee crisisreturns,the EU appears heartless
The scenes atthe Greek border are holdinga mirror to our shared loss of empathy and humanity.
BY KAYA GENÇ 05 MARCH
WORLD
Far from makingnations more insular,thecoronavirus outbreak will transformglobalisation
Whilethe virus may discouragetransglobal trade,itwill also emphasisethe reality of interdependence and the
benefits of diverse markets.
BY JEREMY CLIFFE 04 MARCH
Joe Biden speaks ata Super Tuesday campaign event at Baldwin HillsRecreation Center on 3 March 2020 in
Los Angeles, California.

7. NORTH AMERICA
The comeback king: how Joe Biden triumphed over Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday
The former vice-president’s victory in Texas and eight other states makes him the unambiguous favouriteto
take on Donald Trump.
BY IVO DAWNAY 04 MARCH
MIDDLE EAST
Israeli voters have rewarded Netanyahu's divisivetactics
With 90 per cent vote counted, the right-religiousbloc istwo seats shy of a majority – and a constitutional
crisisnowlooms.
BY ALONA FERBER 03 MARCH
Democratic presidential candidateBernie Sanders speaks duringa rally atValley High School in Santa Ana,
California,February 21,2020.
NORTH AMERICA
Is Bernie Sanders a socialist,or a social democrat?
Why the Democratic presidential frontrunner may be best described as a “class -strugglesocial democrat”.
BY GEORGE EATON 02 MARCH
Israeli workers preparean election banner for the Labour-Gesher-Meretz allianceparty.MIDDLE EAST
Can the Israeli leftreinvent itself?
To overcome voter disillusionment, left parties must unite Jews and Arabs with a progressivevision for the
country’s future.
BY ALONA FERBER 02 MARCH
Science and technology
SCIENCE & TECH
What makes us vulnerableto Covid-19
Why are some people worse affected by Covid-19 (and other viruses) than others? Estimates of the fatality
rate vary from country to country.
BY MICHAEL BARRETT
CORONAVIRUS
Covid-19 will exposea gapinghole in Rishi Sunak’s budget
Once again the government delayed makingone of the most important decisions of all:howto reform social
care?
BY GEORGE GRYLLS 13 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
Why aren’t we on lockdown for coronavirus yet?
The government is under fire for its approach.Here’s what it’s thinking.
BY AILBHE REA 12 MARCH
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson hold a meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, 24 September 2019.
CORONAVIRUS
If you think coronavirus isscary,waittill you remember who’s defending us from it
This generation of Tories has turned out to be better at winningelections than some expected. But that is not
the same as being good at administration.
BY JONN ELLEDGE 12 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
Why did the World Health Organisation waitso longto declarecoronavirus a pandemic?
Havingtried to avoid panic,the international body now believes that complacency is the bigger danger.
BY LAURA SPINNEY 12 MARCH

8. CORONAVIRUS
How does the Budget change sick pay and benefits?
Can you afford to take time off duringthe coronavirus outbreak?
BY ANOOSH CHAKELIAN 11 MARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
Riseof the keyboard fascists:howthe internet enables radicalisation
In Going Dark, Julia Ebner goes undercover onlineto study the dynamics and tactics of far-rightextremist
networks.
BY MARK O’CONNELL 11 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
The contagious power of fear: why some believe that panic is a virus
Panic evokes the past,as well as offering nightmarish visionsof the future.
BY ROBERT PECKHAM 11 MARCH
SOCIAL MEDIA
Teenagers are turningto TikTok not justfor dance clips,butfor urgent political debate
TikTok has become a hotbed of political debate, social issueadvocacy and policy arguments – and most
recently, a battleground for the abortion debate in the US
BY SARAH MANAVIS 11 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
On TikTok, coronavirus isjustanother way to gain clout
By falsely claimingto have tested positivefor the disease,teens across thevideo app are going viral and
gainingthousands of new followers.
BY SARAH MANAVIS 10 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
How the spectre of the Black Death still haunts our collectivememory
Despite 800 years of medical advancement, coronavirus has resurrected our dormant fear of the plague.
BY HELEN CARR 06 MARCH
CORONAVIRUS
How coronavirus isworseningthe UK's problem with unlicensed drugs
The epidemic has caused a sudden boom in illicitmedicines fromabroad.
BY WILL DUNN 06 MARCH
A sign directs directs patients to an NHS 111 Coronavirus Pod testing serviceatUniversity College Hospital in
London.
CORONAVIRUS
Why coronavirus is so difficultfor politicians and medics to judge
The ill-fated swineflu vaccination programmein the US in 1976 shows the dilemmas faced by leaders.
BY HUGH PENNINGTON 05 MARCH