LifeJeremy Clarke

Jun 16, 2024 | thespectator.com | Rana Mitter |Nick Macpherson |Marc Oestreich |LifeJeremy Clarke

“There is only one China in the world,” Wang Wenbin, the spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, declared at a press conference late last month. “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.” The previous day, on May 23, Beijing carried out major military exercises around the island under the title “Joint-Sword 2024A.” The Chinese Communist Party said it wanted to practice how to “seize power” in Taiwan, and to “punish” its new leader, Lai Ching-te, and his supporters in the US.

Jun 15, 2024 | thespectator.com | Catriona Olding |Nick Macpherson |Marc Oestreich |LifeJeremy Clarke

The other week my eldest daughter and I were staying with friends in Richmond for the launch of Jeremy’s third collection of Low Life columns. The night before the anniversary of his death — the day of the launch — I woke at 2 am and unable to sleep was back in the cave holding Jeremy’s hand; machines clicking and beeping as his life ebbed unpeacefully away. He died at 9 am.

Jun 8, 2024 | thespectator.com | Alexander Masters |Nick Macpherson |Marc Oestreich |LifeJeremy Clarke

Here’s a profound question about beards: is the number of acrobats with beards the same as the number of bearded people who are acrobats? Go with your gut instinct. It’s not a trick question. If you answer “yes,” then you’ve understood the central idea behind Bayes’s theorem. If you’re one of those people who likes to titter about how bad you are at mathematics, stop it.