Book of the dayFictionReviewThis taut debut about a working-class young man wrestling with masculinity and lack of opportunity feels like a genuinely necessary book
Novels about precarity are a precarious business. Far too many debuts of recent years claim to capture what it is like to be a young person in this age of intersecting economic and social crises, when in reality they focus on a set of experiences that are much narrower, much more class-specific and much more temporary. Read More...
TV and radio blogTelevisionThis mix of political thriller and crime drama is being repeated by the BBC for those who don't care about Fifa and Luis SuárezWe're now long past the stage of 11pm kick-offs, but BBC4's decision to repeat the brooding, quietly bonkers 1985 miniseries Edge of Darkness late on Monday nights is the best kind of World Cup counter-programming, even if Gaia – the name of Joanne Whalley's gung-ho eco-militant pressure group – sounds like someone who might play on the left wing for Brazil. Read More...
Brain flappingPresidents Club scandalHow 'provocative clothes' affect the brain – and why it's no excuse for assaultHere’s why the persistent idea that a woman’s outfit can make her responsible for her own assault has no basis in science
Sterling work by undercover reporters for the Financial Times have caused a storm around the Presidents Club. Reports of their annual gala dinner involving horrific harassment of hostesses, paid (surprisingly little) to cater to the whims of rich powerful men under alarmingly draconian conditions have quickly caused the club to close. Read More...
