The U.K. Has Already Opted Out of the ‘Ever Closer Union’ With Europe

But the British May Yet Remain in an EU That Is More Democratic and Stops Obsessing About the Single Currency

On June 23, British citizens will be asked, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

On the surface, this would seem to be a simple yes-or-no question. But what exactly are voters supposed to take into consideration when casting their votes? What does the European Union mean to them? And what exactly does “remaining” or “leaving” even mean, in the context of the U.K.’s ties to the continent? Those were some of the themes explored last night at a Zócalo/Democracy International event …

By Jia-Rui Cook | March 11, 2016

How Fashion Overcame the Transatlantic Divide

Celebrities Erased National Differences in Women's Style, but American Men Still Refuse to Dress With British Sophistication

By Lauren Goldstein Crowe | March 11, 2016

An American woman I know in London recently posted on Facebook about being grateful to be out of the country during the current presidential election. That prompted a feisty response …

Does the British Empire Still Have a Grip on America?

From the Coins We Count to the Democracy We Practice, the Mother Country’s Influence Is Holding Strong in Our Demographic Whirlpool

March 8, 2016

In 1776, on the brink of his first battle with British troops after America declared independence, George Washington gave a spirited defense of breaking from British rule. “The fate of …

Ben Franklin Was One-Fifth Revolutionary, Four-Fifths London Intellectual

The Enterprising Philadelphian Was a Longtime Royalist and a Late-Blooming Rebel Who Infused the American Project with English Ideals

By George Goodwin | March 3, 2016

Two hundred and fifty years ago, in February 1766, Benjamin Franklin, the most famous American in London, addressed the British House of Commons. His aim, which he achieved triumphantly, was …

Can Rain Hold Us Hostage?

I Barely Made It Through England's Wettest Year. Now El Niño Looms Over My California Dream.

By Jia-Rui Cook | February 2, 2016

We’ve bought sand bags at Home Depot, installed new gutters, and patched up the roof of our house in Los Angeles. We’ve asked a plumber to check our industrial-grade sump …

Henry VIII Wasn’t a Glutton—He Was Just an Injured King

Then Why Is the English Monarch Portrayed as a ‘Fatso’ Who Tossed Chicken Bones?

By Glenn Richardson | November 23, 2015

Henry VIII is the most famous king in English history. Like all fame, Henry’s is a mix of fact and myth. He is most famous for having six wives, which …

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