Articles
Thought for the Week: On Shepherds
Mark Vernon | Thought for the Week
Mark Vernon looks at why they’re so prominent in mythic traditions
Why I Hate eBay
Gustav Temple | Idler Magazine
Gustav Temple on some nasty dealings at the online giants
Is Andy Burnham Idler-Friendly?
Tom Hodgkinson | Letter from the Editor
Tom Hodgkinson thinks maybe so. Plus your responses
Arthur Smith: Pillow Talk
Arthur Smith | Idler Magazine
Arthur Smith looks back at the many beds he’s slept in
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow: Vanity
Jerome K Jerome | Books
Jerome K Jerome on the vanity of all beings, from our Book of the Week
Thought for the Week: Navigating the Bull
Mark Vernon | Thought for the Week
Mark Vernon on cutting through the claptrap
What Do Messi & Dr Johnson Have in Common?
Tom Hodgkinson | Letter from the Editor
Plus: Buddhist wisdom from Jah Wobble at the Idler Festival
Wig Out!
Gustav Temple | Back Issues
Gustav Temple on the weird dandy cult of the 18th century Macaronis
Football’s Flâneuring Genius
Harry Mount | Comment
Messi’s idle pitch ambling is part of his brilliance, says Harry Mount
Book of the Week: The Pleasures of Life
Sir John Lubbock | Books
Thoughts on the beauty of summer by Sir John Lubbock
Thought for the Week: Philosophy versus Drugs
Mark Vernon | Festival
Mark Vernon on a deeper type of high. Plus today’s festival highlights
Gardening: Plot Twists
Graham Burnett | Festival
Graham Burnett on why weeds are good. Plus today’s festival highlights
The Idler Festival Is This Weekend
Tom Hodgkinson | Festival
Starting this evening at 17.30. Plus festival news from Tom Hodgkinson
Miranda Sawyer: In Praise of “Firestarter”
Miranda Sawyer | Festival
How The Prodigy song set her free. Plus Miranda at the Idler Festival
Uncommon Wealth
Kojo Koram | Books
Idler Festival star Prof Kojo Koram on Britain’s 1900s oil deal with Iran
Fairy Godmothers
Clare Pollard | Festival
Idler Festival star Clare Pollard on the women who rewrote the folk tales
Book of the Week: Dark Luminosity
Jah Wobble | Books
Jah Wobble on poltergeists and Pistols. Plus see him at the Idler Festival
IDLER FESTIVAL 2026 timetable
Idler staff | Events
Idler Festival timetables confirmed – read each day’s line-up
Interview: Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams | Festival
Tom Hodgkinson’s 2020 meeting with the scholar and Idler Festival star
The Politics of Time
Guy Standing | Books
Guy Standing on reclaiming our leisure. Plus see Guy at the Idler Festival
Disappointments of the Post Match Interview
Tom Hodgkinson | Letter from the Editor
Why sports people can’t express in words the beauty they create