Robert Fulford
Remembering Gropius, the man we thank (or blame) for architecture
Students of Bauhaus brought a furious energy to their studies, in large part because they had suffered in the trenches and barely emerged with their...
On Stonewall, and the 50 years of incredible change since
As Pride Month ended last week, with parades and much public happiness, it was clear that the argument behind it had been made
Lord Tweedsmuir, the near-forgotten near-Canadian
Canada's first governor general is perhaps best known as the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, a thriller that Alfred Hitchcock captured on film
When Gloria Steinem went undercover against Hugh Hefner
Hefner's success famously attracted the FBI, but it also attracted a tenacious young journalist using the fake name of Marie Catherine Ochs
The BDS halo is slipping as its critics grow louder
BDS groups accused of advocating 'a reign of verbal terror, and … violence against anyone who dares to be pro-Israel'
The glories and controversies of archeology
Archeology has pushed humanity's knowledge backwards, creating new historical horizons for all of us
Offspring, the warm and funny show about sex
Much of the action in Offspring takes place in the maternity ward of a Melbourne hospital, where obstetricians, nurses and birthing couples have many...
The story of Picasso from Françoise Gilot, the one person who can truly tell it
When Chaplin, Chagall or Matisse showed up at Picasso's home, Gilot was all ears, as her book shows
A wonderful new book takes you into a fascinating, historical club
Damrosch's book is a cleverly interwoven story of Edmund Burke, David Garrick, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, Joshua Reynolds and some of their friends
Old movies show a better age for journalism
As I looked through the titles at the Fourth Estate Film Series, I realized they had ignored a favourite of mine, Deadline – U.S.A.
How the Oxford English Dictionary helps our language skinkle
It occurs to me that the OED is my favourite book. Every day it sends me a word online, complete with definition and a list of previous uses
A still-dangerous ISIL starts to turn against itself
As one expert on terrorism put it ISIL 'still has its brand and an ability to inspire.' Scores of it leaders have died in battle but many volunteers...
Why the Arabs are ready for peace with Israel
Arab states appeared permanently tied to the Palestinians. They felt guilty because they were relatively prosperous. But that guilt can fade
Vladimir Nabokov's remarkable works remain as powerful as ever
In 1955 his renowned and scandalous best seller, Lolita, was a way of signalling that America had become one of his subjects
Brave Soviet dissident Vasily Grossman gets recognition at last
Grossman was one of a kind. He lived under a severe dictatorship but wrote as a free man, even comparing the U.S.S.R. to the Nazi regime
The spies that helped make Israel
If Jews could play Arabs, then Arabs could play Jews, which led to complications. Sometimes the Jews would capture Jews when believing they were...
The world's a lot better off than you think
The authors of Clear and Present Safety clearly believe that almost everyone is mistaken about the state of the world. They're right
An Israeli show's peek into an unusual life
This Netflix series about ultra-orthodox Jews is part soap opera, part melodrama, and definitely addictive
How age (wrongly) makes women invisible
Being invisible is unsettling for many women who reach their 60s or 70s. In youth and middle age they were clearly identifiable, but in their latest...
Why has history forgotten Canada's own Hugh Kenner?
Kenner was a man of parts, and the parts were always coherent, the result of an enviable combination of intelligence and passion
Socialism suddenly returns to American political life
Socialists take it for granted that socialist ideas can be adopted without changing the quality of freedom in a society. Many Democrats believe they...
An OxyContin protest at the Met might change the charity game
If donors like the Sacklers are eventually shunned, the idea won't stop with drugs. We can imagine would-be donors to cultural institutions will be...
The strange but real success of theocratic Iran
Iran has withstood isolation, massive student protests in 1999, and an uprising in 2017. Now it has spread its influence to several other states,...
Why James Baldwin came back to fight racism in America
Baldwin thought of himself as an optimist. But on the way to that optimism, he said, 'you have to reach a certain level of despair to deal with your...
The smartphone has killed boredom — and that's a wonderful thing
The smartphone has transformed the tone of city life. Urban crowds no longer seem grim and relentless as they walk. Often they are animated by what...
'Vice' doesn't even try to be good history
Writer and director Adam McKay takes so many liberties with the subject of Dick Cheney it would be reasonable to label this film a work of fiction
How Gary Hart must envy Donald Trump's timing
If we compare Hart's fate with Trump's, we can learn something essential about the shaping and reshaping of public opinion
Roma's director drew on his past to create touching cinematic triumph
Alfonso Cuarón recreates the atmosphere of his childhood in Mexico City and the girl who was his nanny
Iran's evil is spreading. Who's still to accept this?
You can't keep up with them. They put money into Lebanon long ago but who knew until recently that they were in Yemen? And now Gaza
The Canadian artist who left his mark on the world
This week the Art Gallery of Ontario has a tribute exhibition in Michael Snow's honour, a celebration of his 90th birthday. And he's still working
How weird the Mafia must find The Sopranos
The truth is that the Mafia is no ordinary band of rogues. It's an institution and a culture. It should be studied in history departments
The BDS movement, where the anti-Semites find room to flourish
Who else are you campaigning against? Why do you show no interest in the perceived sins of states other than Israel?
A literary adventure reminds us of slavery's enduring evil
Esi Edugyan's latest novel reawakens us to one of the great crimes of history. But in the 21st century, slavery is not by any means dead
1968, the year that still echoes today
The U.S. stumbled badly in the Vietnam War; Star Trek shone boldy with an interracial kiss; and Apollo 8 sent a shout out to Santa
How David Sedaris found the fame he craved
Living in the age of celebrity, he felt shut out. He was miserable, drank and did drugs. Then someone waved a magic wand
We thought anti-Semitism was finished. We were wrong
What keeps this neurotic anger alive? Will it be with us forever? Or just as long as there are Jews to hate?
Humour, and loyal readers, make the Post great
From the beginning the Post's writers expressed their own personalities, without a whiff of a corporate style imposed from above. Naturally, I wanted...
The growing power, and awareness, of America's Asian citizens
Novelist Lisa Ko complains of coworkers who have mistaken her for Asian-American colleagues, while Harvard is sued over its admissions process
Britain's wartime goof was a gift to Canadian art
Perhaps the biggest surprise in Oscar Cahén's life was when Britain arrested him as an 'enemy alien,' imprisoned him, then shipped him to Quebec
In dictionaries, a history of language, and of us
The OED tells us the truth about our language today. It's not a prescriptivist dictionary, it's descriptivist. It traffics happily and unabashedly in...
Armed with cameras and computers, China's latest crackdown begins
China has invented a version of social media that makes the rest seem both marginal and harmless. It sets out to shape 1.3 billion people into a...
The many layers of the 'tragic, wretched' human Ezra Pound
Pound was an anti-Semite who broadcast pro-fascist and anti-American opinions during the Second World War. Pound was also the acknowledged inventor of...
Not just great Israeli TV — Fauda is among the best TV shows, ever
Although the series is shot within Israel's borders, the producers try to show Arab life, especially in the crowded alleyways of densely packed Nablus