Daniel Kalder gives his take on David Bowie’s long and consistently great music career, from Space Oddity to Blackstar… David Bowie: what a career, what a talent. When the news of his death broke on Monday I immediately shelved the piece I had prepared on his recent (and excellent) release, Blackstar. Instead- I now … Read More…

Daniel Kalder discovers a French comic book about Vladimir Putin, which reveals much about how western Europe struggles to categorise the Russian president… As regular visitors to this site will know, I have an interest in bandes dessinées, i.e. French comics. Every now and again I like to bring a particularly … Read More…

So, The Day of Reckoning has finally arrived. As Scots – or rather, current residents of Scotland – head to the polling booth with the fate of the Union on a knife-edge, our own Daniel Kalder explains, particularly for the benefit of non-Britons, what the hell is going on with the … Read More…

In advance of his appearance on BBC Radio4 this evening, Daniel Kalder takes us for a trip around a dictator’s digital archive. make sure you tune in this evening to find out more… Stalin, like all murderous totalitarian tyrants, was big on secrecy. It’s therefore probably a safe bet to assume … Read More…

Daniel Kalder examines the phenomenon of otherwise intelligent people falling head-over-heels for murderous tyrants… Mussolini: you might think he was just a blustering fool in a fez, but once upon a time many people took him very seriously. I remember my shock when, aged 15 or so, I learned from my … Read More…

Daniel Kalder on a space adventure that would really annoy Nigel Farage… I’ve never been much of a Star Trek fan. It’s not because I don’t like Science Fiction- Star Wars and alien invasion B-movies were a big part of my childhood, I grew up reading 2000AD, and I wrote my … Read More…

Justice for the dead – Daniel Kalder wonders whether it makes sense… The other day I read an interesting story: Apparently a recent investigation in Russia’s Far East has just resulted in Fyodor Dostoyevsky being cleared of instigating contempt of court. I’m sure that came as a great relief to the … Read More…

Big books for small talk… There’s a lot of talk in this world. Indeed, thanks to the technological gizmos on which we now spend so much of our time, we are surrounded by talk. The jibber jabber is constant, whether we get it directly from the mouths of the people around … Read More…

The first of a two-part meditation on the mostly morbid music of a marvellous miserabilist. Although he may not have racked up the body count of a Nick Cave or Johnny Cash, the late Lou Reed sang about death more often than many a popular musician. Indeed, he did it often … Read More…

Forced to move house, Daniel was facing the dreaded prospect of a book clearout. Luckily he managed to find a novel solution… This week I have been moving house, as my landlord decided to sell the building I was living in. It’s been a major pain in the neck, especially as … Read More…