Mary Harrington

1 day ago | unherd.com | Mary Harrington

DeclinediverseKanye WestNazismOswald SpenglerPoliticsRomanticismThe West In Munich, in the fractured aftermath of the First World War, an impoverished writer published what would become one of the most famous works of cultural analysis of the 20th century.

4 days ago | maryharrington.co.uk | Mary Harrington

The new Pope is American. Robert Prevost, now Leo XIV, is a Chicago-born Augustinian friar, who spent much of his ministry in Peru. I wish him grace as he takes up the task of leadership in these turbulent times. The immediate online response to his announcement yesterday, across both sides of the culture war, was striking: a frenzied rummaging in rumour, social media, and previous utterances for where the new Pope might stand on political matters, especially immigration and “gender”.

1 week ago | unherd.com | Mary Harrington

EuropeSecond World WarSocietySpitfireUKVE DayVeterans Though the Second World War was never fought on British land, only in the skies overhead, the country’s fabric is marked by the conflict in innumerable ways. Near my home is a stretch of woodland I often run through with the dog. In 1945, an Allied plane crashed among its trees, killing several of the men on board. To this day, local legend has it that visitors to the crash site will hear voices or coughing, or smell smoke.

1 week ago | maryharrington.co.uk | Mary Harrington

This week in silly internet discourse, the singer Olly Murs got fit, and posted Before and After shots. Then the psychologist William Costello posted the shots, and polled men and women on which looked better. More men chose the After shot, but vastly more women chose the Before. Cue pandemonium, including a lot of mensaying the women who claim to prefer “Before” are lying. But what if they’re not?

2 weeks ago | unherd.com | Mary Harrington

Donald TrumpFirst 100 daysMAGANew world orderPoliticssouthern borderUS Considering his recent antics have taken tens of thousands off the retirement savings of some in Britain, and led others to fear World War III is about to break out, it’s rare to find anyone now who has no opinion on the second Presidency of Donald Trump. Of course he’s always been a polarising figure. But I don’t remember him being quite this universally enraging last time round.