FEARLESS, INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM ON CULTURE, POLITICS AND TECH

WEEKEND EDITION

Stewart Lee: Move over, Nigel – it’s time for the Bin Supremacy

Jul 10, 2026

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5 min read

Stewart Lee: Move over, Nigel – it’s time for the Bin Supremacy

A comedy writer with a refuse receptacle on his head may be the only thing that stands between Britain and fascism. He’s just the man for the job

Stewart Lee

Jul 10, 2026

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3 min read

He was looking for a job, now he’s found a job: Burnham, Manchester and the power of the Smiths

The band inspired the PM-in-waiting as a teenager. Now his generation has reached middle age, he is using their lyrics to explain policy – and perhaps even speak to a new electoral coalition with adherents from left and right, writes Jude Rogers

Jude Rogers

Chequers gatherings, Johnson's diary and a new jet fighter... how billionaire Christopher Harborne became a big player in defence

Jul 5, 2026

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11 min read

Chequers gatherings, Johnson's diary and a new jet fighter... how billionaire Christopher Harborne became a big player in defence

Soon after the Ukraine war broke out, the investor emerged as a highly favoured backer of the Tory government – and then a major shareholder in privatised defence lab QinetiQ at a transformative moment for its fortunes. By Carole Cadwalladr and Charlie Young

Jul 10, 2026

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11 min read

‘At the heart of change is always protest’: Misan Harriman on Gaza, George Floyd and the spirit of activism

At a special Nerve screening of a new documentary about his work, the acclaimed photographer and campaigner sat down with Carole Cadwalladr and director Andy Mundy-Castle for an in-depth discussion of race, culture, cancellation and more

We’re being asked to save two buckets of water a day. Meanwhile data centres drink a town’s worth

Jul 7, 2026

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3 min read

We’re being asked to save two buckets of water a day. Meanwhile data centres drink a town’s worth

England is heading for a 5bn-litre daily water shortfall by 2055 – so why is the government fast-tracking one of the most water-hungry industries there is, and letting it keep its consumption private, asks campaigner Adele Walton

Jul 10, 2026

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3 min read

The Recommender: Greentea Peng

The London-born psychedelic R&B singer shares her current cultural favourites

Jul 10, 2026

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3 min read

Review of the Week: Rosebush Pruning

Karim Aïnouz’s stylish, starry satire about a super-rich family indulges our obsession with the depraved excesses of the wealthy, but it’s no Parasite, writes Nerve film critic Ellen E Jones

Jul 10, 2026

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2 min read

The Nerve Weekend Dish: One-pan Thai curry salmon with coconut rice

Zena Kamgaing shares a speedy, delicious dinner from her easy-cook recipe book

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May 22, 2026

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10 min read

Billionaire Christopher Harborne donated millions to Farage and Johnson. Then the pro-crypto announcements began. Is there a connection?

The crypto investor’s £5m gift to Reform’s leader coincided with the party’s new-found advocacy for digital assets – part of a pattern of significant political donations that also included £1m to the former Tory prime minister. Report by Charlie Young and Lucia Osborne-Crowley

Charlie Young, +1

The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science

Feb 13, 2026

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14 min read

The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science

Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-long project that cloaked eugenics, race science and sexual misconduct in Ivy League respectability

Virginia Heffernan

Peter Mandelson, the Russian superyacht and the scandal we completely misread

Feb 24, 2026

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14 min read

Peter Mandelson, the Russian superyacht and the scandal we completely misread

When Britain's most powerful political fixer was caught on an oligarch's boat in Corfu, we called it Yachtgate and moved on. The Epstein files now reveal the full picture: a web of Russian money, paedophile kompromat and New Labour access that shaped a decade of British politics, writes Tamsin Shaw

Tamsin Shaw

‘What will Jesus say?’ Tony Blair, Big Tech and the Israel connection

Sep 30, 2025

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18 min read

‘What will Jesus say?’ Tony Blair, Big Tech and the Israel connection

As Trump announces the former British PM as his choice to help govern Gaza, Carole Cadwalladr investigates the opaque workings of Blair's institute, its funding from friends of Israel's government – including billionaire Larry Ellison – and an emerging rightwing media takeover of the global information space

CULTURE

Jun 26, 2026

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9 min read

The Nerve's summer books 2026

From a sweeping Korean family saga to a love letter to George Michael, our team of writers and editors each recommend a perfect read for your summer getaway – and one they’ll be taking on holiday. Plus three Bookstagrammers share their top picks

The Festival of Britain’s boldest dream has been forgotten

Jul 3, 2026

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5 min read

The Festival of Britain’s boldest dream has been forgotten

Down the road from London’s South Bank landmarks, the exhibition committee built a model social housing estate – for everyone, for the future. Seventy-five years on, where is that spirit now? By Phineas Harper

Phin Harper

Jul 7, 2026

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4 min read

The Nerve Hotlist

This week's top cultural picks, from Olivia Wilde's sexy couples comedy to a celebration of ice cream, as enjoyed by our team of editors and writers

THE HARBORNE receipts

‘I need to make money’: the story of Nigel Farage’s crypto-awakening

Jun 19, 2026

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5 min read

‘I need to make money’: the story of Nigel Farage’s crypto-awakening

In the latest part of our series The Harborne Receipts, we look at how the chief architect of Brexit fared in post-EU Britain – short of cash, out of politics, but becoming increasingly attracted to digital currencies. Report by Lucia Osborne-Crowley

Lucia Osborne-Crowley

Crypto, peerages, or political self-sacrifice – why did Farage gift Boris the 2019 election?

Jun 12, 2026

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14 min read

Crypto, peerages, or political self-sacrifice – why did Farage gift Boris the 2019 election?

Part two of the Harborne Receipts, the Nerve’s investigation into the billionaire's influence on UK politics brings us to the 2019 election – which took the UK out of Europe while dumping 300 Brexit party candidates, leaving a wound on the far right still raw today. By Carole Cadwalladr and Lucia Osborne-Crowley

May 22, 2026

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10 min read

Billionaire Christopher Harborne donated millions to Farage and Johnson. Then the pro-crypto announcements began. Is there a connection?

Charlie Young, +1

SPOTLIGHT ON PALANTIR

The Palantir pipeline: how Peter Thiel's surveillance firm hired more than 30 senior UK officials

Apr 24, 2026

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8 min read

The Palantir pipeline: how Peter Thiel's surveillance firm hired more than 30 senior UK officials

The AI company holds £670m in UK government contracts. It has also hired dozens of senior officials from the departments awarding them – raising what transparency experts call an 'acute' corruption risk, write Charlie Young, Carole Cadwalladr and Ian Tucker

Charlie Young, +2

‘It beggars belief’: MoD sources warn Palantir’s role at heart of government is threat to UK’s security

Mar 13, 2026

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10 min read

‘It beggars belief’: MoD sources warn Palantir’s role at heart of government is threat to UK’s security

Experts say that claims UK data remains under government ownership miss the point that the company has the capability to build its own detailed picture of the British population, and even infer state secrets. Report by Charlie Young and Carole Cadwalladr

Charlie Young

Revealed: Palantir deals with UK state total at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency

Jan 27, 2026

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13 min read

Revealed: Palantir deals with UK state total at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency

EXCLUSIVE Nerve investigation finds Trump ally Peter Thiel's surveillance firm has won at least 34 contracts, including management services for Britain's nuclear deterrent, with MPs warning of 'gaping vulnerability' as US president threatens Nato allies. By Carole Cadwalladr, Charlie Young and Max Colbert

THE NERVE WEEKEND DISH

Jim Moore’s Gold Coast-inspired coconut and lime shrimp skewers

Jul 3, 2026

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2 min read

Jim Moore’s Gold Coast-inspired coconut and lime shrimp skewers

The Northern Irish barbecue champion shares a sun-soaked, Australian-influenced recipe for the grill from his new book

Jun 19, 2026

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2 min read

Ursula Ferrigno’s Italian courgette pie

The Italian-born food writer shares an easy, summery dish perfect for antipasti, picnics or lunch in the sun.

May 22, 2026

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2 min read

Honey & Co’s herby chicken burgers

The restaurateurs and life partners Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer share a fresh, summery dish for a sunny weekend

May 8, 2026

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2 min read

Ranie Saidi’s lime steamed sea bass

The London-based supper club host shares a fragrant recipe for ikan siakap stim – inspired by one of his beloved Malaysian grandmother’s dishes, painstakingly recreated for his debut cookbook

FEARLESS, INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM ON CULTURE, POLITICS AND TECH

WEEKEND EDITION

Stewart Lee: Move over, Nigel – it’s time for the Bin Supremacy

He was looking for a job, now he’s found a job: Burnham, Manchester and the power of the Smiths

Chequers gatherings, Johnson's diary and a new jet fighter... how billionaire Christopher Harborne became a big player in defence

‘At the heart of change is always protest’: Misan Harriman on Gaza, George Floyd and the spirit of activism

We’re being asked to save two buckets of water a day. Meanwhile data centres drink a town’s worth

The Recommender: Greentea Peng

Review of the Week: Rosebush Pruning

The Nerve Weekend Dish: One-pan Thai curry salmon with coconut rice

SIGN UP TO STAY UP TO DATE AND SUPPORT THE NERVE

FREE

£0

ANNUAL member

£68

MONTHLY member

£6.95

FOUNDER member

£250

POLITICS & INVESTIGATIONS

Billionaire Christopher Harborne donated millions to Farage and Johnson. Then the pro-crypto announcements began. Is there a connection?

The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science

Peter Mandelson, the Russian superyacht and the scandal we completely misread

‘What will Jesus say?’ Tony Blair, Big Tech and the Israel connection

CULTURE

The Nerve's summer books 2026

The Festival of Britain’s boldest dream has been forgotten

The Nerve Hotlist

THE HARBORNE receipts

‘I need to make money’: the story of Nigel Farage’s crypto-awakening

Crypto, peerages, or political self-sacrifice – why did Farage gift Boris the 2019 election?

Billionaire Christopher Harborne donated millions to Farage and Johnson. Then the pro-crypto announcements began. Is there a connection?

SPOTLIGHT ON PALANTIR

The Palantir pipeline: how Peter Thiel's surveillance firm hired more than 30 senior UK officials

‘It beggars belief’: MoD sources warn Palantir’s role at heart of government is threat to UK’s security

Revealed: Palantir deals with UK state total at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency

THE NERVE WEEKEND DISH

Jim Moore’s Gold Coast-inspired coconut and lime shrimp skewers

Ursula Ferrigno’s Italian courgette pie

Honey & Co’s herby chicken burgers

Ranie Saidi’s lime steamed sea bass