London Review of Books

Between ambulance delays, an aging population and a lack of beds, emergency medical care in England is on the brink of collapse. Compounding the issues is the fact that the country’s National Health Service is trying to reform its entire structure, and so far the transition is not a smooth one.

Facebook is really in the surveillance business, and it uses our data to market us stuff. Mark Zuckerberg wants to make sure you don’t know this, because if you did, why would you still use Facebook?

“And now it feels, in the addiction and vertigo of the digital revolution, as if this ancient organism is wheezing, drawing its final breaths. We were never more than an extension of the geology of the Thames Valley.”

Mary Beard’s epic essay on women in power “from Medusa to Merkel” takes aim at representations of power throughout history, and how the definitions of authority, expertise, and knowledge have long excluded women.

With the rise of Trump’s authoritarianism and campaign against truth, people are rereading George Orwell. This review of two books about Orwell offers a sidelong view into Orwell’s work and the person behind it, in order to show that Orwell is more than a brand and symbol. He was person of strange habits, strong convictions, artistic vision and foul smells.

Rose’s essay goes deep on trans narratives.

From Napster to Spotify, the story of how music got “free.”

Julian Barnes on Vincent van Gogh, and the difficulties of seeing his well-known work with fresh eyes.

Lanchester takes us through the possibility of a robotified future that completely changes our economic landscape.

Writer Jenny Diski on coming to live with Doris Lessing during her teen years in London.