Latest from Coffee House

Friday

24 Jul 2026

Therapy speak is turning us into sissies

As one who’s always been keen on putting their hand up and admitting to their faults (a perverse form of boasting, I suspect) I was always suspicious of the medicalization of character flaws which apparently render us helpless in the clammy hands of Fortuna. It was bad enough when friends who’d generally always seemed highly capable jumped on the ADHD bus in later life, suddenly flinching at loud noises when they’d spent a good deal of their lives dancing to ear-splitting techno.

Sean Thomas

British men should lean into their evil reputation

I was about 19 years old and threatening to kill myself with a Bic disposable razor (not easy: I was bluffing) when I realized that Women Love Bastards. The revelation arrived like this. I was a heartbroken student, having been dumped by, ah, let's call her Emilia. For months I mooned about, bereft, wondering why Emilia had chucked me when I was so NICE – attentive, gift-giving, loyal. Then a good female friend – bless her wicked heart – took me aside and said: "Sean, girls don't like nice. They like a guy with swagger. Stubble. Slightly mean." She sighed. "I think we prefer bastards, if I'm honest." Putting down the razor, I picked up her advice, and I have used it ever since. I’m happy to say it works.

Freddy Gray

Will Trump’s ‘massive attack’ be on Yemen?

It is my solemn duty to report that, as ever in Trumpworld, the news zone has flooded and we are paddling through a reality-bending time loop. Last night, the government reapplied tariffs on more than 80 countries, on this occasion using dubious concerns about "forced labour" to justify the charges on Britain, the EU, Australia and elsewhere. Tonight, the President will attend the rearranged White House Correspondents’ Dinner, three months after the last one was canceled following another assassination attempt. The dinner will be held at the Waldorf Astoria, DC, which used to be the Trump International Hotel. The guest list and security will be tighter this time, and Donald should have a chance to make some good jokes.

Freddy Gray

Is the radical left taking over the Democratic Party?

Freddy Gray is joined by David Weigel to discuss the Democratic primary battle taking place in Michigan between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens. Freddy and David examine how the contest has become a proxy for the wider battle over the Democratic Party's future, pitting the Obama-era moderates against the ascendant progressive left. They discuss how Israel has emerged as one of the campaign's defining fault lines, how the issue of affordability has been used for different political ends, and what the result could mean for the party as it looks ahead to the 2028 presidential election. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Jacob Heilbrunn

The Fetterman Show

Will he or won’t he? Senator John Fetterman is causing heart palpitations among Democrats with his recent threat to cross the political aisle should they “officially become the anti-Israel party.” Ever since he announced that he would form a joint campaign fundraising committee with his fellow Pennsylvania Republican senator David McCormick, Fetterman has captured the spotlight, which is how he likes it. New York magazine reports that in 2026, Fetterman has already popped up on Fox News 56 times. It’s quite a remarkable turnaround for Fetterman who originally campaigned for the Senate from the Left, defeating his more mainstream Democratic rival Conor Lamb in the 2022 primary.

Joshua S. Treviño

America must rediscover statecraft

The Prime Ministerial tenure of Andy Burnham was not 24 hours old before the report came that he would allow American use of United Kingdom bases – most crucially in Diego Garcia – for “defensive” strikes on Iran. The qualifier is so expansive as to be meaningless except in the realm of legal technicality: the United States’s war against the Islamic Republic rests in no small part upon British goodwill. It is not, of course, the first time that Britain has lent its capabilities to war in the Middle East in which the Americans are involved. The Royal Air Force was active in downing Iranian drones sent against Israel and Qatar, at the least, at various points in 2024, 2025, and 2026. The RAF joined the United States Navy in strikes on Yemeni positions in spring 2025.

Thursday

23 Jul 2026

Cockburn

Mike Lindell’s long-shot bid for Minnesota governor

“For the best night’s sleep in the whole wide world, visit mypillow.com” is a jingle that punctuates every hour of Fox News viewing. Now “MyPillow guy” Mike Lindell is changing his tune: for the best governor of Minnesota in the whole wide world, vote Mike Lindell 2026. Lindell is a Trump ally, businessman and election conspiracy theorist. He’s known for his rags-to-riches origin story, rising from a crack cocaine addiction to achieving sobriety and turning to religion. He founded My Pillow in Minnesota in 2004. For readers unfamiliar with Lindell’s political history: before his run for governor, Lindell was sued by a voting machine company, then known as Dominion Voting Systems, for defamation pertaining to false conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

Olivia Potts

My quest for the perfect muffuletta

Everyone knows the story of the Earl of Sandwich: keen not to interrupt a late night card game at his club, he asked for roast beef to be sliced and put between two slices of bread, to allow him to eat it with his hands without stopping his game. And lo, the sandwich was born. But perhaps less familiar to us is that 140 years later, some 4,500 miles away from the Earl’s cribbage game, another problem was being observed, and was solved in a strikingly similar way. The turn of the 20th century saw an influx of Sicilian immigrants to New Orleans; almost 300,000 arrived in the city between the 1880s and 1920s, setting up shop (literally) in the French Quarter, in an area that became known as Little Palermo.

Steve Morris

Are you a party bore?

Some years ago, I managed to get an invitation to a very exclusive party. One of the guests was Prince Philip, consort to Elizabeth II, and some way into the evening he drifted over in my direction. He used the classic royal conversation opener: “Hello, what’s been keeping you busy?” “I work in marketing,” I replied. “Oh dear,” he said. He turned away and went to find someone more interesting. I was officially boring. That’s fine, because I have made it my lifetime’s work to seek out the boring at parties. Those who drone on, those who tell the same story over and over, and those with that odd nasal monotone that makes most people desperate to escape their company. I am not alone in this. C.S. Lewis did the same thing.

John Power

Is Ed Miliband preparing to take on Donald Trump?

Just one day after Ed Miliband was made UK Foreign Secretary we heard in the Telegraph that the White House is upset about the appointment, and even warned against it. Donald Trump is apparently unimpressed by Miliband’s role in blocking North Sea oil drilling. Miliband has also railed against Trump in the past, calling him a “racist, misogynistic self-confessed groper” on the BBC’s World at One in 2016, as an example – but in fairness his predecessor David Lammy called Trump “beneath contempt” before he became foreign secretary. Trump can forgive and forget – so long as his interlocutor is willing to forget their own pride. Miliband could bend the knee, but there is also some appetite to confront Trump.

Wednesday

22 Jul 2026

Cockburn

Energy investor that bailed on Britain IPOs for $230 million

Britain is losing out as a result of its changeable energy policy. That’s the main takeaway from Samos Energy’s recent closing of a $230 million initial public offering. On July 13, Samos Energy Acquisition Corporation announced the conclusion of its IPO of 23 million units, sold at $10 each to raise a total of $230 million. This number included an extra 3 million units that were bought due to high demand. The IPO comes after the company shifted its attention from the UK to Africa and South America, when co-founder Jacques Tohme called out the problems on the North Sea that influenced his decision. “The UK Treasury has become very unstable and lacks engagement with the industry,” Tohme said in 2023.

Matthew Lynn

Why aren’t American companies passing on tariff refunds?

Even for an economy as large as the United States, $70 billion still counts as a significant sum of money. After the first round of President Trump’s tariffs were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court, customs officials have already issued that amount in refund checks. Here’s the problem, however: none of it appears to have been passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. In reality corporate America is pocketing the money – but it is also playing with fire by inviting retaliation from President Trump. Almost no major policy has ever been quite so chaotically implemented as the tariffs imposed by President Trump on the oddly named Liberation Day in April last year.

Gavin Mortimer

Macron won’t stop at a social media ban for children

France has become the first European Union country to ban social media access for under 15s. The National Assembly passed a Bill Tuesday evening that will prevent children using platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat. The Bill also bans the use of cell phones in high schools. In a message on X, a jubilant President Emmanuel Macron hailed the legislation and expressed his gratitude to MPs, who approved it by 279 votes to 81. “It’s up to the Constitutional Council to rule, then on to action to make this measure concrete and protect our children online,” he said. Macron would like the legislation to take effect from September, the start of the new school year, but first the Bill will be examined by the Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional authority in the Republic.

Mark Galeotti

China has Russia over a barrel

Vladimir Putin just can’t keep away. Having visited Beijing in May on the heels of Donald Trump, it has been announced that the Russian leader – who has been to China more than two dozen times during his tenure as president – will lead his country’s delegation to the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November. This apparent sign of amity, though, is actually an expression of Russia’s growing dependence on China – and Putin’s growing frustration with its refusal to green-light a new gas pipeline project.

John Fund

The urgent need to fix voter fraud

New Jersey officials just admitted that roughly 6,600 non-citizens were illegally registered to vote between 2023 and 2024. More than 400 of them actually cast ballots in one or more elections. Officials blamed a software error at DMV offices that registered non-citizens to vote when they applied for drivers’ licenses even after they admitted they weren’t citizens. Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill blasted “the reckless failures that allowed this to happen.” She even pointed a finger at her Democratic predecessor then-Governor Phil Murphy and the “lack of transparency shown by those in charge at the time.

Tuesday

21 Jul 2026

Alexander Munguía

Colombia’s transition is being brokered on the Potomac

It is another sweltering afternoon in Washington, and the room at the Atlantic Council is filling with businessmen and diplomats for a speech already ten minutes late. José Manuel Restrepo, Colombia's vice-president-elect and a former finance minister, is no stranger to the venue: since last fall he has been a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. But the think-tank polish sits on top of a crisis back home. In June, the right-wing outsider Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's presidency by a whisker – some 250,000 votes out of 26 million – beating the chosen candidate of the outgoing president, Gustavo Petro. Petro, the country's first leftist leader and a former guerrilla, has refused to accept the result.

Thomas Munson

Spain has reinvented soccer

There is something intimidating about sporting royalty in the stands. At many great clubs, retired legends seem almost gargoyle-like, perched high above the pitch, judging those sent to inherit their legacy. Manchester United have long played beneath the watchful gaze of Sir Alex Ferguson; other clubs have their own ghosts. Spain’s World Cup triumph offered a different spectacle. As the Spanish greats of the past – from David Villa to Iker Casillas – watched Lamine Yamal, Rodri and co defeat reigning champions Argentina, they resembled something more saintly; a reassuring reminder of Spanish supremacy. It was a far cry from the shaking head of Ronaldo watching yet another Brazilian disappointment or protestations of England’s World Cup alumni.

Matthew Fraser

My Paris neighborhood has become a no-go zone

When I moved into Paris’s seventh arrondissement, I was not expecting to find myself living in one of the city’s dreaded no-go zones. My neighborhood, admittedly, is not one of the notorious districts on lists of forbidding no-go zones in the French capital’s bleak north end, plagued with crack houses and criminal gangs. I live in one of Paris’s poshest areas. The seventh arrondissement is known for its burnished boulevards and grand monuments. Every morning, I walk my two dogs on the Champ de Mars in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Le Point magazine observed that “France is dishonored by the state of the Champ de Mars” World famous for the annual fireworks display to celebrate Bastille Day, the Champ de Mars boasts a glorious past.

Monday

20 Jul 2026

David Blagden

Why Elbridge Colby’s NATO warning shots will backfire

It is hardly news that US relations with the rest of NATO (“rNATO” hereafter) are at an unprecedentedly low ebb. But they took a new and interesting twist last week when the US Under Secretary of War for Policy, Elbridge Colby, issued a curious statement via social media, opining that “middle powers” have no coherent basis for alignment independent of the United States, and that they would therefore be foolish to try. The “middle powers” in question here are erstwhile US allies with enough of their own wealth and technological capacity to pursue meaningful sovereign capabilities, but not enough to independently rival systemic great powers such as the United States (the likes of Germany, Japan, Britain, Canada, Australia and so forth). Colby is a serious strategic mind.

Jawad Iqbal

Andy Burnham’s good vibes just won’t cut it

Andy Burnham became Britain's Prime Minister today – the seventh leader of the country in the last decade. It is a case of all hail the new messiah, who promises to build “a new politics” (the eternal empty vow of every politician when taking power), but this time with a shiny new twist. Burnham, who oozes a desperate desire to be liked, will lead a government focused on good vibes and the fantasy of a mythical Labour paradise lost, rather than anything grounded in the harsh political realities of today. His approach to power boils down to trusting his instincts (those vibes, again), based on the delusion that he has a special connection with ordinary voters.

Andrew Collingwood

There is no alternative to the Strait of Hormuz

As a UFC aficionado, President Donald Trump might know what a twister is. It works by cranking the victim’s head one way while controlling his hips in the other. Apparently, the pressure that this places on the spine is agonizing, leading to a rapid tap out or life-altering injuries to the back and neck. In the Middle East, the President finds himself in a geopolitical twister. On the one hand, Iran’s Memorandum of Understanding terms are too unpalatable for President Trump to swallow – crystalizing as they would an unambiguous defeat, with all the strategic and political consequences that that would entail. On the other, the US Air Force has been unable to suppress or interdict Iran’s missiles and drones.

William Atkinson

The sheer awfulness of CPAC GB

Readers, I have been to a few political conferences in my time. But none of them were as empty, miserable, or downright weird as CPAC GB. Having heard that Liz Truss was bringing the American conservative jamboree across the Atlantic, I felt obliged to go, and comforted myself that there would at least be a bar to flee to if it all got too grotesque. But there was no bar. Or at least there wasn't until I discovered the secret pathway from the Intercontinental Hotel that emerged next to the O2's Wetherspoons. Until then, being cursed with vision, hearing and sanity meant enduring an event that made Truss's premiership look like a model of tact and foresight.

Margaret Mitchell

Are you enjoying a ‘nun girl summer?’

The nuns were wrapping up their night prayer when I entered the chapel at Tyburn Convent. I couldn’t see them but heard their soft voices singing the last phrases of the “Salve Regina”: “O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.” Across the road in Hyde Park, an outdoor concert heaved. What was I doing, spending my Friday night here instead? I had come to see if the rumors of a “nun girl summer,” as it’s being called on TikTok, were true. Earlier this year, a video of two nuns discussing their ultimate frisbee skills went viral: “Sister, you are so good at that!” “Sister Miriam, you also are!

Saturday

18 Jul 2026

Jane Stannus

Trump is smoke-signaling with his forest fire tariff

The latest incursion into American airspace is forest fire smoke from Canada. An invasion, according to President Trump. And the man with a tariff for every occasion does not disappoint “We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their Forests, and Brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted, and unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous, and totally unacceptable! I will call the Prime Minister,” promised Trump. “(…) This is Willful Negligence, and becoming a yearly occurrence, costing the United States Billions of Dollars, which cost of this pollution must of necessity be added to the TARIFFS Canada is currently paying.

Friday

17 Jul 2026

Roger Kimball

Only cheats fear the SAVE Act

David Axelrod, Barack Hussein Obama’s chief strategist, was clearly worried about Donald Trump’s prime time speech about election integrity last night. Hyperventilating on X Tuesday, he warned that “If @POTUS really trots out Pulte, Patel and a crew of political apparatchiks posing as intel experts... to announce they've uncovered ‘evidence’ of foul play in 2020, it’ll only heighten fears that he'll claim an ‘emergency’ down the line and claim extraordinary fed power over elections. If so – and there are plenty of other signs of manipulation brewing – the most important battles of the midterms may be in the courts.” Let’s begin by considering Axelrod’s rhetoric.

Freddy Gray

Does the Donroe Doctrine support Argentina on the Falklands?

So FIFA is going to take action against the Argentinian players for unfurling their "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" banner after beating England in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final. The act was a clear violation of the Federation’s rules about politicizing the game. Typically, however, any fines or suspensions will come into force after the final is out of the way on Sunday – meaning the punishments will be all but pointless. Cue more wild conspiracy theories about FIFA’s closeness to Argentina, the Nazis and the Masons, and goodness knows what else. Sane people probably realize that it’s not worth getting too het up about what a bunch of overpaid, talented but dishonorable sports stars think about the Falkland Islands, which have belonged to Britain for two centuries.

Ian Williams

The real Chinese election plot

China’s political interference is in many ways worse than President Trump asserts, but the true nature and scale of Beijing’s activities may be obscured by his efforts to use it for partisan gain. Whatever Trump’s motives in accusing China of meddling in the 2020 presidential election – “the largest compromise of election data in history,” as he put it – Beijing has undoubtedly become more aggressive in its political interference. Beijing has adopted Russian-style disinformation operations in its attempts to undermine its western rivals, and the United States in particular. The pandemic was a turning point.

Charlie Gammell

The Middle East is drifting into chaos

The war in Iran rumbles on, in parallel to talks that are aimed at stopping it. Both sides would rather the war were over; this limbo is causing mayhem in Iran’s economy and politics, while MAGA too has been bent out of shape. Yet a reality might be starting to take hold in which fighting simply drifts aimlessly, much like the peace talks. And much like the ships that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, too. As both sides try to game the stalemate, unintended consequences are emerging The US is calculating that a naval blockade, in the absence of a memorandum of understanding, can economically constrict Tehran, narrowing its room for maneuver and eventually forcing Tehran back to the table.

Jacob Heilbrunn

Trump looks like a spent force

Pete Hegseth has announced that the US military will test soldiers over 30-years old for low testosterone. But judging by President Trump’s pallid performance on Thursday night during his election integrity speech, the testing should commence with him. Trump appeared to be a spent force, slurring many of his words and rehashing old grievances ad nauseam. His principal complaint: starting in 2019, China engaged in machinations to make it look like “your president wasn’t so hot.” This speech wasn’t a show of strength, but a confession of weakness Last night, Trump himself never brought the heat. The American left went into overdrive, fretting that Trump would fire an opening salvo to seize control of the midterm elections in November.

Gavin Mortimer

Will assisted dying be Macron’s only legacy?

France’s National Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday granting terminally ill adults the right to end their lives with medical assistance. Macron is desperate to leave one legacy, no matter how divisive and controversial it is The assisted dying bill (droit à l’aide à mourir)was backed by 291 MPs with 241 against. It is the fourth time the text has been approved by the lower house, but in the past the upper house (the Senate) has rejected the bill. The impasse prompted the government to activate a mechanism in the constitution that allows the Assembly to have the final say without the consent of the Senate.

Thursday

16 Jul 2026

Cockburn

Who can blame the White House teleprompter operator, America’s savviest gambler?

Taking the luck out of betting might lessen the thrill, but it certainly ups the profit. White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez allegedly made more than $100,000 by using inside knowledge of the President’s speeches to place bets on prediction market Kalshi, according to ABC News. Perez, who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, is believed to have placed bets on more than a dozen speeches – including February's State of the Union address. At times, he would even alter the bets mid-speech if he saw that the President was skipping a section on the teleprompter. Cockburn can't help but respect the hustle. His account’s winning streak was tracked and reported to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is now initiating a full investigation.

Freddy Gray

The Trump monotony

One of Donald Trump’s greatest strengths is his ability to repeat himself endlessly. It takes some doing. At 9 p.m. tonight, he says, he’ll give the world a big primetime showstopper announcement. It’s expected that he will reveal something about foreign influence or operations in "the stolen election" of 2020. Escalate, threaten, befuddle, try to find an off-ramp on more agreeable terms, and if necessary bore the enemy into submission We don’t know exactly what, but we can be sure Trump will reiterate that he actually won three presidential elections, not two, and that he’ll use this stunt to push The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) Act. That’s currently his pet obsession. And Trump just keeps going until he gets what he wants.

Douglas Murray

Let right-wing politicians rest in peace

I don’t know if you remember that old saw: “Always speak ill of the dead.” I don’t recall being brought up with it myself, but a number of people apparently were. After the brutal killing of Ann Widdecombe last week we saw some fine examples of people following this rule. Peter Tatchell – a prominent member of the “be kind” brigade – took to social media to describe the death of Widdecombe in celebratory tones. He listed her crimes, such as her belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and then ended his tweet by saying: “BIGOT!” As though final judgment had been passed down from on high.

Wednesday

15 Jul 2026

Cockburn

Who wants to read Joe Biden’s presidential memoir?

Joe Biden confirmed the release of his next memoir today, titled Promise Me, America, which will detail his time as president. The book is out November 17, two weeks after the midterms, and will offer the “complete story,” according to the promotional video. Promise me, America: that’s not what his autopen inscribed. “It’s about the challenges we faced as a nation,” Biden said in the video. “It’s about the decisions I made and why I made them.” Biden’s book will address his handling of Covid-19, January 6, the retreat from Afghanistan, Ukraine and his work with NATO. It will also detail his decision to run for reelection and subsequent last-minute withdrawal.