Reviews

When was the last time a British socialist wrote 40,000 words about anything? Pope Leo XIV has and it's about AI, dignity and the dangers of unchecked capital. Disagree with him if you like – but read him first, says Finn Lees in this review of the pontiff’s latest encyclical.

With the football World Cup starting next week, Andy Walsh has a very timely review of a new book that reveals the dark underbelly of the beautiful game as it hits the headlines around the globe.

A new book charting the history of the far left in Britain from 1956 to the present day offers the reader an illuminating analysis on the left’s strengths and weaknesses, says Clive Hedges.

The new BBC director general Matt Brittin starts work this week. Below, Granville Williams reviews a new book which contains 24 letters of advice to the BBC’s new man at the top.

A searing and often brutal tale of a media family at war, Bonfire of the Murdochs makes TV’s Succession look almost tame in comparison, says Andy Walker in this book review.

The British General Election of 2024 has been lauded as the definitive account of a landmark election, featuring an unprecedented Conservative collapse, a Labour Commons landslide and record fragmentation in voters’ choices. Mike Phipps wasn’t impressed and reviews the book here.