Archive - Strangers and Intimates

We used to blame society. Now we blame ourselves

Revisiting a pioneering documentary exposes the shift from social analysis to psychological voyeurism

Jun 10 •

Strangers and Intimates

May 2025

Why Strangers and why Intimates

My book Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life is now published in the UK, and I am delighted to share that it has already received…

May 19 •

Strangers and Intimates

April 2025

Every Child Needs a Little Secrecy

Even in times of transparency and openness

Apr 28 •

Strangers and Intimates

Rising Counter Movement Challenges Overdiagnosis Trends

A review of three outstanding books about the expansion of diagnosis in mental health and biological diseases, published first in Englesberg Ideas.

Apr 16 •

Strangers and Intimates

March 2025

The iPhone did not kill the book

On World Book Day, a reflection on why reading is in decline

Mar 6 •

Strangers and Intimates

February 2025

Even Scumbags Need Privacy

Sending a racist or sexist message in a private WhatsApp group should not constitute a criminal offence

Feb 11 •

Strangers and Intimates

January 2025

Books to read in 2025

Start as you mean to go on

Jan 10 •

Strangers and Intimates

June 2024

Cowardice, Not Hypocrisy, Leaves UK book festivals in turmoil

The decision by the Hay Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and now the Borders Book Festival to end their sponsorship deal from asset…

Jun 4, 2024 •

Strangers and Intimates

April 2024

The smart phone is not to blame for the 'epidemic' of anxiety in young people

What the psychologist Jonathan Haidt gets right, and wrong

Apr 22, 2024 •

Strangers and Intimates

December 2023

Why the Elgin Marbles matter

The row over ownership is obscuring the sculptures' meaning and value.

Dec 6, 2023 •

Strangers and Intimates

November 2023

The British Museum & the Elgin Marbles

How the Museum acquired them and why they should keep them

Nov 28, 2023 •

Strangers and Intimates

The Strange Death of Private Life

The internet did not kill privacy

Nov 26, 2023 •

Strangers and Intimates

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