Henry Oliver

A conversation w writer, critic, and lover of the classics Henry Oliver on BOTH ARE TRUE LIVE

The hero of Trafalgar shows us that meritocracy alone doesn’t always get the best results

Michelangelo was a prodigy and a late bloomer. As befits the greatest genius of his or perhaps any age, his talents blossomed early and late. In his twenties he was a renowned sculptor; in middle age he became a major painter; and just at the point when he wanted to retire, the Pope insisted that […]

Michelangelo was a prodigy and a late bloomer. As befits the greatest genius of his or perhaps any age, his talents blossomed early and late. In his twenties he was a renowned sculptor; in middle age he became a major painter; and just at the point when he wanted to retire, the Pope insisted that […]

With the revival of faith, flag and family at the recent National Conservatism conference, the inevitable questions have gone up about whether the Tory party is becoming Americanised, whether they believe in anything other than power, and what happened to ‘one nation’ conservatives? Many answers run to the same conclusion: this is a populist takeover […]

With the revival of faith, flag and family at the recent National Conservatism conference, the inevitable questions have gone up about whether the Tory party is becoming Americanised, whether they believe in anything other than power, and what happened to ‘one nation’ conservatives? Many answers run to the same conclusion: this is a populist takeover […]

Twentieth century advertising was created by two titans, both with a background in door-to-door sales. One became the darling of Madison Avenue, wrote successful books, is still routinely quoted as an authority in the industry, and inspired Mad Men. That was David Ogilvy, who went from Aga salesman to advertising mogul, via a stint as […]

Twentieth century advertising was created by two titans, both with a background in door-to-door sales. One became the darling of Madison Avenue, wrote successful books, is still routinely quoted as an authority in the industry, and inspired Mad Men. That was David Ogilvy, who went from Aga salesman to advertising mogul, via a stint as […]

Keir Starmer has big constitutional plans if he becomes the next Prime Minister. The Labour leader has said he wants to abolish the Lords as it currently exists, replacing it with an elected upper house. There’s a simple reason this plan won’t work: Starmer wants his Lords 2.0 to remain an advisory…

Russian culture is being cancelled everywhere. The Royal Opera House called off a residency of the Bolshoi. The BBC scrapped performances of Tchaikovsky. In Canada, Alexander Malofeev, the piano prodigy, was cancelled even after he denounced Putin’s war. The same thing happened to filmmaker Kirill S…