Archive - The Ideas Lab

Sunday round-up 26 October 2025

Birthdays for Jaclyn Smith, Hillary Clinton and the incomparable Roger Allam, a slew of early British saints and the anniversary of the Gunfight at the…

Oct 26 •

In defence of the Holy Roman Empire, and on the usage of "empire"

Voltaire's barb about the Holy Roman Empire was pointed and witty, but glib and unsatisfactory; we can, and should, do better

Oct 22 •

Sunday round-up 19 October 2025

Eighty candles for Gloria Jones, John Lithgow and Jeannie C. Riley: coincidence? You tell me... Plus the downfall of Lloyd George and the feast of St…

Oct 19 •

Defence and security digest: stories you may have missed

Structural change at the German Ministry of Defence; a flurry of aircraft purchases; a securocrat par excellence

Oct 16 •

Sunday round-up 12 October 2025

Admit it, when did you last hold Carlos the Jackal and Les Dennis in the same thought? Yet birthday boys both today; and various forms of Columbus Day…

Oct 12 •

Cousin marriage: can we blame Henry VIII?

The Tudor monarch has been dragged into the culture wars and hugely misrepresented and misunderstood on the peculiar subject of consanguinity

Oct 10 •

Sunday round-up 5 October 2025

Clinking glasses for Peter Ackroyd, Bob Geldof and Imran Khan, the first aerial combat and International Day of No Prostitution—lots to get through...

Oct 5 •

What age should a Labour leader be?

Having charted the ages at which Conservative leaders took office, I repeated the exercise for the Labour Party

Oct 2 •

September 2025

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