One of Orbán’s clampdowns on democracy was pushing the Central European University out of Budapest. In March 2019 I went and talked to its then Rector, Michael Ignatieff, about his struggles with Orbán, his friendship with Bruce Chatwin, and his father and Tito. avauntmagazine.com/were-on-the-...

Sadly unsurprising news that the IUCN has announced today that the emperor penguin has been moved onto its endangered list. Last month, Neil Mason and I sat down with emperor penguin expert Peter Fretwell to talk about his unique insights into the species. open.spotify.com/episode/3gKR....

Nominate today! The deadline for this year's Shackleton Medal for the Protection of the Polar Regions is April 10. The award celebrates those with a pioneering spirit, physical courage and determination against the odds. It just takes five minutes to nominate. shackleton.com/pages/shackl...

Fantastic evening. Gregor A Mayrhofer's 'Recycling Concerto for Percussion' could have been a gimmick, but proved to be ingenious, owing much of its spirit to Bernstein. Vivi Vassileva, for whom he'd composed it, performed with the joy and spirit of a flamenco dancer. @barbicancentre.bsky.social

Nice to have my review of 'The Manningtree Witches' as editor's pick today. Fantastic production of a fantastic play. Currently sold out at the Mercury, Colchester – hopefully it will get to tour.

Taking the victories where I can get them this week. Wordle 1,710 2/6 ⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yet another James Graham triumph. Punch, Apollo Theatre review – powerful play about the strength of redemption www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/punc...

For a moment I thought it was smoke, then I realised it was clouds of rosin coming off Jordi Savall's bow! www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

Doom and decapitated heads made for a surprisingly uplifting evening. Here's my review of 'Saul' at Glyndebourne - a playful, visually ravishing descent into darkness www.theartsdesk.com/opera/saul-g...

A fantastic night at the Barbican - so pleased that all the fuss around it last summer proved to be merited. "Fiddler on the Roof, Barbican review - lean, muscular delivery ensures that every emotion rings true" www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/fidd...

Would have been embarrassing if I hadn't got this in two really... Wordle 1,439 2/6 🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well, I thought this was amazing. Maybe not to the wider world, and maybe not on a Saturday afternoon, but let me summon a few folk on @theartsdesk.bsky.social to spread the word - @grahamrickson.bsky.social, @hallibee1.bsky.social, @bernardhughes.bsky.social and @joemuggs.bsky.social.

I really loved this lively guide to the baroque trumpet at the Wigmore Hall. #wigmorehall #laserenissima www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

A couple of illnesses on the team meant I was asked to help out with the Sunday Times theatre column this week. Great to have a chance to get my teeth into Ibsen and why we're still watching him today...

Very happy that the Guardian has now run my interview with Karen Kyllesø, the extraordinary Norwegian woman who's less than five foot tall and became the youngest person to ski alone and unsupported to the South Pole this January, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

It's very interesting to see the panic surrounding what's going to happen to the genomic data that 23andMe collected now that it has gone bankrupt. Thanks to a tip-off from Caroline Rivett I wrote about precisely this concern for Avaunt six years ago. avauntmagazine.com/ripped-genes/

It was very surreal interviewing Oleg Gordievsky. He gave me smoked salmon snacks and Bulgarian red wine. At the end of our interview I found out he loved feeding foxes, which seemed all too appropriate for a spy who had come in from the cold. Here's a link... web.archive.org/web/20090206...

I worshipped Athol Fugard at university. Then in 2002 I got to interview him for the Evening Standard. (The link wrongly records it as 2012) A real pinch-me moment in journalism. www.standard.co.uk/culture/thea...

Always great to catch up with what Sebastian Copeland is doing. Here he is talking about his fantastic new book The Arctic: A Darker Shade of White www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...

Sheku KM "The Arts Desk is such a valuable website for everything cultural.With its critics often venturing where other publications do not, it shines a much-needed light on the depth and breadth of the arts in this country. I'd really like to see it continue and to flourish." (pic: Chris O'Donovan)

My interview with polar photographer Sebastian Copeland on a lifetime of chronicling the dramatic changes in the Arctic www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/...

I've wanted to hear Martha Argerich for a long time – what a fantastic opportunity to catch her with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican. Not surprisingly she was the life and soul of the concert. www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

This is our first action. This is how we make history.  February 28th The 24 Hour Economic Black Out Begins.

I had a ball at this - as, it seems, did most of the critics. theartsdesk.com/theatre/much...

On a very different note, I'm also very happy to have been able to chronicle the extraordinary career - to date - of filmmaker Natalie Hewit, who's survived an encounter with a bear and witnessed the moment when the Endurance shipwreck was discovered. shackleton.com/blogs/articl...

It proved to be a long journey - taking more than a year - to get this published, but I'm very happy to have been able to share the story of Muzaffar Shah's impressive devotion to founding Grand Passion Pianos and raising the profile of Chopin's favourite piano maker www.thetimes.com/life-style/l...

Fantastic as ever to see Through the Noise going from strength to strength. Thoroughly enjoyed this concert on Friday evening at 229 – Braimah Kanneh-Mason, Fernandes, Gent - a beguiling trip around the world www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

Good to see the orange and pink light this morning rebelling against the Monday greyness.

The FAA is facing its first major aviation disaster in 16 years without a leader because Elon Musk helped push him out. The former FAA administrator stepped down on Jan. 20th after Musk called on him to resign. Musk was angry after the FAA fined SpaceX for failing to get approval for launch changes.

➡️ January 20: FAA director fired ➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen ➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded ➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees ➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years Making America Great Again!

Elsewhere in the interview being reported, he describes Brexit as the biggest disaster of his lifetime. An interesting choice of headline in the cirumstances... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Amid this week's AI stories one quote stood out for me. A British army officer - fed up that the [now defunct] system he was using absorbed loads of information and yielded little – complained that the software 'ate like an elephant and shat like a mouse'. Makes me smile every time I think of it.

In the last few days I've googled 'Who is Syria's leader' twice.(The fact that we first knew Ahmed al-Sharaa as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is still too much for my creaking brain to retain). Both times the answer has come up as Bashar al-Assad. Which is disturbing. Maybe someone should let Google know.

This morning's light while I was getting the paper...

When I make a literary discovery of any kind I also immediately run around the room taking off all my clothes. This is standard behaviour among scholars.

This sadly couldn't feel more topical with Trump's re-election. Here's my review. ''Kyoto', Soho Place Theatre – blistering, darkly witty play raises more questions than it answers www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/kyot...

I appear to have spent most of this week in cultural orbit. Mahler's vision of the cosmos in his Third Symphony, Terry Riley's whistling electron-filled 'Sun Rings' and – to finish things off – Samantha Harvey's beautiful 'Orbital'. It's been extraordinary but I'm ready to come down to earth now...

I thought long and hard about the controversy surrounding this after Maduro's snatched election. But I concluded that what the orchestra does transcends dictatorship. Here's my review. Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Dudamel, Barbican - an epic journey. www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

Finally caught the National Van Gogh exhibition last night. Such an eruption of life. Amazing that two years of manic production yielded such variety and originality at the same time. Inspired too on the curators’ part to have no captions.

Victor Vescovo is our most successful deep sea explorer who's now revolutionising the mapping of the sea bed. Great to see this piece. www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor... Here's our own conversation with him on Drink The Wild Air. shows.acast.com/drink-the-wi... www.thetimes.com/world/us-wor...

Lovely light on the coast from Ramsgate to Broadstairs today...

Is it my imagination, or does ‘Charade’ get better with every viewing? m.youtube.com/watch?v=pFhD...

Another Otter mis-transcription gem this morning - in which Shostakovich has become 'shots to COVID'.

I finally got to see 'You Me Bum Bum Train' - @TheBumBumTrain - last night. Happily it was as great as everyone says. Here's the impossible review I had to write without divulging any details... www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/you-...

I enjoyed the exhilarating dash to Sussex to see this last night. Messiah, Wild Arts, Chichester Cathedral review – a dynamic battle between revelatory light and Stygian gloom www.theartsdesk.com/classical-mu...

Plenty of psychedelic fun to be had at A Midsummer Night's Dream, RSC, Barbican. Here's my review - visually ravishing with an undercurrent of violence www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/mids...

I interviewed Syrian exiles for Delayed Gratification @dgquarterly after the first uprising against Assad about what needed to be done to form an effective opposition. Very much hoping that the right people will prevail in forming a brave new Syria. www.slow-journalism.com/from-the-arc...

I remember interviewing people who'd been tortured under the Assad regime. It felt that this day couldn't come soon enough. The fear is that what comes next will be like Libya. Hoping I'm wrong on this...

A great London moment yesterday - wandering down a nondescript street on a cold windy afternoon to see a queue forming for @alehousefiddler and the barokksolistene at @villageundrgrnd for @through_t_noise. Inside a crowd of all ages having a riotously joyful time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR2M...

Sharon D Clarke - easily the best Lady Bracknell I've ever seen. Here's my review of The Importance of Being Earnest, National Theatre – no shortage of acid-tipped delight to tantalise your sensibilities www.theartsdesk.com/theatre/impo...