menu_open Columnists

The Guardian
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

How the French fell in love with family-driven memoirs and autofiction

How the French fell in love with family-driven memoirs and autofiction

In my neighbourhood bookshop, La Galerne, the shelves are well organised. On the ground floor, there’s a corner for foreign literature and another...

yesterday 20

The Guardian

Anne-Laure Pineau

Wild animals are great gift givers – and there’s one present in particular I’d love to receive for Christmas

Wild animals are great gift givers – and there’s one present in particular I’d love to receive for Christmas

This Christmas morning, are you worried you didn’t choose quite the right gift for that someone special? I always try my hardest, but everywhere I...

yesterday 10

The Guardian

Helen Pilcher

The hill I will die on: Fruit with meat? What kind of pervert are you?

The hill I will die on: Fruit with meat? What kind of pervert are you?

As a grumpy old woman in the prime of my pedantry, I have already died on many hills, and I have the scars to prove it. I have sacrificed myself on...

yesterday 10

The Guardian

Katy Guest

Did 2025 mark the end of British parliamentary democracy as we know it?

Did 2025 mark the end of British parliamentary democracy as we know it?

Was this the year that British democracy as we have known it began to turn into something else? Politicians, voters and journalists have made this...

yesterday 40

The Guardian

Andy Beckett

The Guardian view on May 2026 elections: a new political geography is coming into view across Britain

The Guardian view on May 2026 elections: a new political geography is coming into view across Britain

Next year will be pivotal in British politics, and 7 May will be the point around which things pivot. Elections to local councils, the Scottish...

yesterday 10

The Guardian

Jimmy Kimmel

Dear Britain: things are bad, but America will recover from Donald Trump. Just give us three years

Dear Britain: things are bad, but America will recover from Donald Trump. Just give us three years

I have no idea if you know who I am, but I was asked to deliver this year’s alternative Christmas message (which I’ve heard is a big deal) so I...

yesterday 50

The Guardian

Jimmy Kimmel

My five-year-old daughter is learning to love cricket. It’s a source of delight in a difficult summer

My five-year-old daughter is learning to love cricket. It’s a source of delight in a difficult summer

One of the many joys of this Ashes series is that this summer my daughter has begun to care about cricket. And there is nothing that reminds you of...

yesterday 5

The Guardian

Kate Lyons

Why are drug prices so high in America? Trump doesn’t have the right answer

Why are drug prices so high in America? Trump doesn’t have the right answer

When Donald Trump spoke about drug prices on 19 December, he struck a familiar note. Americans, he said, were paying far too much for medicines –...

previous day 20

The Guardian

Susi Geiger And Théo Bourgeron

A key question for every believer: does God approve of Santa Claus? I hope so, or I’m in trouble

A key question for every believer: does God approve of Santa Claus? I hope so, or I’m in trouble

When I was first ordained, an older priest gave me three commandments for a successful ministry: one, try not to upset the flower ladies; two,...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Ravi Holy

No bickering around the Christmas tree! If your family are trapped by their algorithms, here’s the way out

No bickering around the Christmas tree! If your family are trapped by their algorithms, here’s the way out

December: a time of cultural rituals around food, gathering and taking to TikTok to bemoan bigoted relatives. Indeed, this new cultural ritual is...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Kaitlyn Regehr

Some like it hot: why cold Christmases are a feeble imitation of celebrating in summer

Some like it hot: why cold Christmases are a feeble imitation of celebrating in summer

If we have learned anything from the influx of holiday movies, mass-produced decorations, Mariah Carey and the smorgasbord of other jingle bell-...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Eleanor Burnard

When my father first came to the UK, people bonded and looked after him. Would that happen now?

When my father first came to the UK, people bonded and looked after him. Would that happen now?

There is one Christmas story from when my father first arrived in the UK, 43 years ago, that can still make me howl with laughter. It was a cold...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Nell Frizzell

This Christmas, peace won’t come from the politics of envy. It will come only by building a more equal Australia

This Christmas, peace won’t come from the politics of envy. It will come only by building a more equal Australia

The Christian scripture “Peace on Earth and goodwill to all” is not only the hope of those who celebrate Christmas, it’s also both the weary...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Brad Chilcott

Labour is living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks it has plenty of time to turn Britain around

Labour is living in a fool’s paradise if it thinks it has plenty of time to turn Britain around

All governments go through bad patches, when nothing seems to go right and voters turn against them. Often they bounce back from the midterm blues...

previous day 20

The Guardian

Larry Elliott

In Berlin, I took an evening class on fascism – and found out how to stop the AfD

In Berlin, I took an evening class on fascism – and found out how to stop the AfD

In 1932, the Berlin-born writer Gabriele Tergit set out to memorialise what she saw as a disappearing world: the lives and fates of the city’s...

previous day 50

The Guardian

Tania Roettger

The hill I will die on: Being late can be the height of good manners and decorum, actually

The hill I will die on: Being late can be the height of good manners and decorum, actually

Many people are out there labouring under the impression that lateness is always terribly rude. I am here to tell you this is totally wrong. There...

previous day 10

The Guardian

Rachel Connolly

Free calls to Santa from payphones are a gift – and a reminder that public goods have a value beyond money

Free calls to Santa from payphones are a gift – and a reminder that public goods have a value beyond money

In a world that seems increasingly keen to monetise every interaction we have with it, how nice it was to watch my daughter discover she could make...

previous day 9

The Guardian

Cressida Gaukroger

When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control

When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control

If AI did not change your life in 2025, next year it will. That is one of few forecasts that can be made with confidence in unpredictable times....

tuesday 50

The Guardian

Rafael Behr

Trump and Putin share a craving for status. That’s why they both want to destroy Europe

Trump and Putin share a craving for status. That’s why they both want to destroy Europe

There are people who argue that Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is not motivated by fears or imperial ambitions, but by other countries’...

tuesday 40

The Guardian

Henry Farrell And Sergey Radchenko

Bad blood between the Beckhams at Christmas might seem trite. But here’s why it’s important

Bad blood between the Beckhams at Christmas might seem trite. But here’s why it’s important

There is not one saga I have been more invested in this year than the Beckham family feud. In case you are not as shamelessly showbiz-pilled as I...

tuesday 10

The Guardian

Jason Okundaye

The NSW parliament is once again rushing through anti-protest laws. Will they survive a court challenge?

The NSW parliament is once again rushing through anti-protest laws. Will they survive a court challenge?

History tells us that anti-protest laws rushed through parliament often have an unhappy ending in the courts. In 2022 laws were whipped through the...

tuesday 4

The Guardian

Anne Twomey

Australia’s gun laws have long been the envy of the world. They must remain so, especially after Bondi

Australia’s gun laws have long been the envy of the world. They must remain so, especially after Bondi

After the awful attack at Bondi, Australia is facing several reckonings. There’s a long-overdue national focus on antisemitism, something that the...

tuesday 5

The Guardian

Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz

Santa’s making a list but who’s checking it twice?

tuesday 2

The Guardian

Not Everyone Understands The Spirit Of Christmas

The hill I will die on: Ignore the haters, TK Maxx is actually quite good

The hill I will die on: Ignore the haters, TK Maxx is actually quite good

‘Oh it’s a mess!” my mum says, shaking her head. “It’s like a jumble sale.” I’m fresh from a trip to TK Maxx, and all I’m getting is negativity. A...

tuesday 3

The Guardian

Hannah J Davies

Britain’s cities are desperate for better transport. Why is Westminster derailing our plans in Leeds?

Britain’s cities are desperate for better transport. Why is Westminster derailing our plans in Leeds?

‘As an unabashed socialist, I am concerned with the distribution of wealth, but if you don’t create any in the first place it is a bit of an empty...

tuesday 2

The Guardian

Thomas Forth

Is Susie Wiles an innocent bystander in Trump’s White House?

Is Susie Wiles an innocent bystander in Trump’s White House?

Susie Wiles has the gimlet eye of an alcoholic’s daughter. She is always on edge, vigilant to the slightest movement, fearful of sudden danger, and...

tuesday 1

The Guardian

Sidney Blumenthal

Now that phones alter our photos without us knowing, how do we know what’s real?

Now that phones alter our photos without us knowing, how do we know what’s real?

I was flicking through a photo album at my grandma’s when I came across a picture of my mum as a child. I took a photo and sent it to her, but on...

tuesday 30

The Guardian

Isabel Brooks

My family has never believed in Father Christmas – I don’t want to hurt my kids if the money ever runs out

My family has never believed in Father Christmas – I don’t want to hurt my kids if the money ever runs out

In my house, Christmas Day looks very normal. My boys will wake me up at the crack of dawn then tumble downstairs, falling over each other, to find...

tuesday 7

The Guardian

Matt Taylor

The Guardian view on the festive season: a suffering world needs messages of peace, hope and goodwill

The Guardian view on the festive season: a suffering world needs messages of peace, hope and goodwill

In one of his last sermons, the great Christian theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich asked: “Do we have a right to hope?” As an army chaplain to...

tuesday 3

The Guardian

Margaret Sullivan

Ella Baron on AI at Christmas – cartoon

tuesday 2

The Guardian

Margaret Sullivan

Bari Weiss yanking a 60 Minutes story is censorship by oligarchy

Bari Weiss yanking a 60 Minutes story is censorship by oligarchy

One tries to give people the benefit of the doubt. But now, when it comes to Bari Weiss as the editor in chief of CBS News, there is no longer any...

tuesday 2

The Guardian

Margaret Sullivan

The Guardian view on animal welfare: a timely reminder that cruelty is wrong

The Guardian view on animal welfare: a timely reminder that cruelty is wrong

Looking after wildlife and improving the lives of farm animals and pets are the related but distinct aims of the government’s new animal welfare...

tuesday 1

The Guardian

Margaret Sullivan

Crunch time: are freeze-dried fruit and veg actually healthy to eat or just chips in a different form?

Crunch time: are freeze-dried fruit and veg actually healthy to eat or just chips in a different form?

When you think of summer fruits, it’s inextricable from the sweet juice that bursts from the soft skin on the first bite, often running down the...

tuesday 8

The Guardian

Natasha May

Trump’s shuttering of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is Stalinist

Trump’s shuttering of the National Center for Atmospheric Research is Stalinist

The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin would no doubt have understood and even appreciated the latest attack by the Trump administration on climate...

22.12.2025 50

The Guardian

Michael Mann And Bob Ward

The EU’s deeds as much as Putin’s words will ensure the war in Ukraine continues

The EU’s deeds as much as Putin’s words will ensure the war in Ukraine continues

Vladimir Putin’s marathon press conference on 19 December, an annual year-end event, offered no evidence that Russia may abandon the goals the...

22.12.2025 30

The Guardian

Rajan Menon

Christmas is a season for forgiveness. But is saying ‘sorry’ enough?

Christmas is a season for forgiveness. But is saying ‘sorry’ enough?

It’s a strange season to talk about forgiveness. While streets glow with fairy lights and shop windows promise that compassion is only a gift-box...

22.12.2025 9

The Guardian

Fatma Aydemir

Barcelona and Madrid have very different ideas on tackling Spain’s housing crisis. Which will succeed?

Barcelona and Madrid have very different ideas on tackling Spain’s housing crisis. Which will succeed?

In Spain, two cities face the same crisis, but are responding in fundamentally different ways. Over the past decade, the cost of housing in Madrid...

22.12.2025 5

The Guardian

Jaime Palomera

Three ways Australia can stop tech giants from walking away from journalism that serves us all

Three ways Australia can stop tech giants from walking away from journalism that serves us all

The government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) consultation paper is welcome but it has taken too long to get to this point, the envisaged scheme...

22.12.2025 2

The Guardian

Rod Sims

The Guardian view on sending letters: the writing’s on the wall

The Guardian view on sending letters: the writing’s on the wall

Predictions of the demise of letter writing are not new. The invention of the telegraph and the rise of the postcard were both seen as potential...

22.12.2025 3

The Guardian

Editorial

The Guardian view on hope: with your help, charities can help to repair the social fabric

The Guardian view on hope: with your help, charities can help to repair the social fabric

Austerity, cost of living pressures and a chronic lack of investment have damaged the physical and social fabric of some UK towns and...

22.12.2025 7

The Guardian

Editorial

The hill I will die on: ‘Small plates’ are fiddly and cost a fortune – ban them

The hill I will die on: ‘Small plates’ are fiddly and cost a fortune – ban them

It’s lovely going out for dinner in London. It’s a gastro capital with cuisines from all around the world. One night, Indian, French the next,...

22.12.2025 20

The Guardian

Jonny Woo

Palestinian reporters have paid a terrible price in another horrific year for journalist killings

Palestinian reporters have paid a terrible price in another horrific year for journalist killings

In January this year, Anas al-Sharif was filmed being lifted into the air after taking off his helmet and flak jacket to celebrate a ceasefire that...

22.12.2025 40

The Guardian

Jane Martinson

Reward countries that toe the line, punish those that don’t: that’s how Trump is exerting control in Latin America

Reward countries that toe the line, punish those that don’t: that’s how Trump is exerting control in Latin America

For the past generation, Latin America has been a place of unstable stability. Marked on the surface by protests, political pendulum swings and...

22.12.2025 20

The Guardian

Jordana Timerman

Let me tell you the good things the government has done in 2025 – because it certainly won’t

Let me tell you the good things the government has done in 2025 – because it certainly won’t

Warning. This column contains good news, when it is an (un)truth widely acknowledged that only grim stories attract public attention. News must be...

22.12.2025 2

The Guardian

Polly Toynbee

Yet again, released Epstein files raise more questions than answers

Yet again, released Epstein files raise more questions than answers

After months of public outcry and pressure from within the Maga coalition, Donald Trump’s justice department released what it called The Epstein...

22.12.2025 3

The Guardian

Moira Donegan

I thought an edible would take the edge off family Christmas. I spent the day on the floor

I thought an edible would take the edge off family Christmas. I spent the day on the floor

Face-down on the carpet of my bedroom floor, unable to move, I make feeble pleas to the heavens: “Please let me live. I’ll never complain again....

22.12.2025 4

The Guardian

Bunny Banyai

The Guardian view on gene editing: breakthroughs need a new social contract

The Guardian view on gene editing: breakthroughs need a new social contract

Just a small fraction of our 20,000 genes can cause disease when disrupted – yet that sliver accounts for thousands of rare disorders. The...

21.12.2025 5

The Guardian

Editorial

We’re pastors. The fight against Maga Christianity starts locally

We’re pastors. The fight against Maga Christianity starts locally

Donald Trump wants us to believe that the “war on Christianity” is spreading across the globe. The US president recently sounded the alarm on the “...

21.12.2025 90

The Guardian

Doug Pagitt And Lori Walke

Flamboyant, furious and full of hope: CMAT is the sound of 2025

Flamboyant, furious and full of hope: CMAT is the sound of 2025

What has it felt like to be alive in 2025? The basic answer probably touches on a few aspects of the 21st-century experience. One is the horror and...

21.12.2025 6

The Guardian

John Harris

The Guardian view on Labour’s difficult year: denial of hard choices is no longer an option

The Guardian view on Labour’s difficult year: denial of hard choices is no longer an option

The formula for stable government, according to Britain’s constitution, is a big parliamentary majority and divided opposition. Sir Keir Starmer’s...

21.12.2025 30

The Guardian

Editorial