Culture


Be careful what you wish for

The best- or worst-timed book in history

“The Technological Republic” calls for techies to work with Washington. But that is already under way

Living the dream?

Orwell, Kafka, Heller: a new book taps a dystopian-fiction boom

Laila Lalami’s “The Dream Hotel” tackles technology and privacy

The Economist reads

What to read about the end of the second world war

Five books about history’s bloodiest conflict

Hot box

What to watch this weekend

A selection of recent films and television shows, recommended by our correspondents

Dream on

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: novelist or polemicist?

The celebrated thinker and writer is at her best not in the realm of fiction, but of fact

Back Story

Surreal “Severance” brilliantly captures the reality of office life

Which is the real you—your “innie” or your “outie”?

A basketball star for a bullet tsar

Prisoner swaps are controversial, but there are sure to be more

The case of Viktor Bout, Russia’s “merchant of death”, shows why

A (bit)coin toss

Why the art market is growing more friendly to crypto

Everyone wins: buyers avoid taxes, and auction houses make money

Let them eat (and make) cake

Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show is out of touch with the times

In it she positions herself as an elite Martha Stewart

Don’t mention it

This year’s Oscars were notably apolitical

Hollywood has ditched resistance in favour of toeing the line

Let the camera troll

AI unleashes a weird new genre of political communication

Donald Trump’s Gaza video offers a taste of what is to come

Been there, heard that

Why are live albums back in fashion?

Hitmakers including Niall Horan, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran have released them