United Kingdom
Race Riots in a Divided City
For the moment, the racist elements of Northern Ireland — vastly outnumbered by those protesting against them — have been routed. But this is only the beginning of the work that needs to be done. Both the racist growth and the lack of investment must be addressed or we will see more violence from this small part of the population.
An English Disorder
While the Labour government under Starmer can punish rioters and gain plaudits for restoring order, altering Britain's national conversation and overturning its legacy will be a far greater challenge.
Inside the British Isles: A Foreign Correspondent’s View — with Michael Peel, Barbara Serra and Karl Sharro
The Lede celebrated its 100th episode with a special program recorded in front of a live audience at the Frontline Club in London. New Lines hosts Faisal Al Yafai and Lydia Wilson brought together a panel made up of foreign correspondents Michael Peel and Barbara Serra as well as satirist Karl Sharro to discuss Peel’s book “What Everyone Knows About Britain* (*Except The British).”
Britain’s Boring Election? — With Lydia Wilson
New Lines Culture Editor Lydia Wilson and Global Insights host Kwangu Liwewe discuss the upcoming election in the United Kingdom which, despite potentially heralding a change in government for the first time in 14 years, seems to be a bit … boring?
The Postwar Revival of British Fascism
In 1946, years of war against the Axis powers had affected every man, woman and child in the U.K. Yet violence from Zionist paramilitary groups in Mandatory Palestine provided the opening for a campaign of antisemitism and a brief revival of Britain's own fascist movement.
The Roots of Anger at Britain’s Migrant Barge
But many residents of Portland don’t see it as a national saving but rather an imposition on a small town of 13,500. They complained that London chose to dock the barge on their shores because they were too far away as well as too small and too economically weak for their voices to be heard in the capital. There have been protests against the barge and counter protests against these protests. The opposition to asylum seekers here is emblematic of the larger opposition they face elsewhere in the U.K. and in Europe but with its particular set of local grievances that have contributed to an anti-refugee sentiment.
Making the Music for King Charles III’s Coronation
This dual function of church music, for both private worship and common enjoyment, could be a metaphor for the coronation itself, in its mix of the most extravagantly public gestures combined with private moments between clergy and king — one entirely hidden behind the “anointing screen,” another the personal act of taking Communion.