Culture

Treat your shelf

The best books of 2024, as chosen by The Economist

Readers will never think the same way again about games, horses and spies

The Economist reads

What to read to understand Elon Musk

The world’s richest man was shaped by science fiction

Dove or raven?

Woodrow Wilson’s reputation continues to decline

A dispassionate new biography chronicles the former president’s hostility to suffrage

Valley and the gods

Tech and religion are very much alike

They both have gods, rich institutions and secretive cultures

Love him or loathe him?

The cult of Jordan Peterson

What the Canadian intellectual gets right about young men

Sing it from the rooftops

The New York-London arbitrage for musicals

Can you guess which is more expensive: Broadway or the West End?

In earshot

The best podcasts of 2024, as picked by The Economist

They cover AI, war and mass hysteria

It’s a whole new ball game

Canadian v American football: can you catch the difference?

This weekend’s Grey Cup, the Canucks’ “Super Bowl”, gives Canadian football a chance to shine

Back Story

In “Anora”, strippers and Russian heavies are not what you expect

Many stories rely on character types. The best reimagine them

The night that nearly broke Paris

The long shadow of the Paris terrorist attacks of 2015

November 13th shook the French capital—but has not changed it

Let me live among the stars

Samantha Harvey wins the Booker prize for “Orbital”

A slim, slightly worthy novel in which everything and nothing happens

Ancient Rome on screen

What does “Gladiator II” get wrong?

Its artistic errors are even worse than its historical ones