Searches: Selfhood in the digital age – A chat with ChatGPT July 7, 2025 In the year 2025, using ChatGPT to write about ChatGPT has already become a cliche. But Vauhini Vara may have been the first. In 2020, having previously shadowed Open AI CEO Sam Altman for a tech profile, Vara asked him if she could try out the new text generator they were then testing: GPT-3. Using [...]
Forget Dry January – now it’s time for Dry July July 7, 2025 Not content with one month of sobriety in the form of Dry January, I have been made aware Dry July is now a thing too. At least this time of year makes a little more sense to me. January is a bitter, joyless month where the comforts of a glass of good red wine by [...]
Rolls-Royce Spectre Black Badge: Bright sparks, dark dreams July 7, 2025 The typical Rolls-Royce buyer – if such a person exists – is now 42 years old. For the Spectre, the average age drops to just 35. Given that I recently celebrated my 46th birthday and drive a 19-year-old Golf, those feel like sobering statistics. Clearly, I should have worked harder at school. Rolls-Royce’s shifting demographic [...]
Was publishing Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel an act of betrayal? July 4, 2025 It’s “an act of betrayal”, acknowledge Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s own sons Rodrigo and Gonzalo in the book’s preface. “We decided to put his readers’ pleasure ahead of all other considerations. If they are delighted, it’s possible Gabo might forgive us. In that we trust.” Rodrigo and Gonzalo need seek forgiveness because their father was unequivocal [...]
M3GAN 2.0 review: Slasher movie sequel a huge disappointment July 4, 2025 Becoming a viral sensation can be a mixed blessing for movies. Given the fleeting nature of internet stardom, studios get the illusion of success which doesn’t always translate to box office glory. Marvel found this out the hard way in 2022, when the ironic enjoyment of megaflop Morbius led the studio to re-release the film, [...]
Toast the City: Is Bob Bob Ricard’s pie the best dish in London? July 4, 2025 City AM’s inaugural Toast the City Awards has set off to discover the things that make the Square Mile great, from the coffee shop you always stop at to the gym class you never skip. Among the categories is the Best Meal, which will celebrate the single dish that stands out as the finest the [...]
Gordon Murray Automotive: The supercar stars of Goodwood July 4, 2025 This week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will celebrate the 60-year career of Gordon Murray CBE. From his early days at the Brabham F1 team to establishing his own car company, Murray is one of the motoring world’s greatest innovators. Born in South Africa, the young Murray designed, built and raced his own ‘IGM-Ford’ sports car. [...]
Lunchtime tourism: Rosetti at Guildhall Art Gallery July 3, 2025 Bob Vylan at Glastonbury 2025 showed how art and entertainment is often explosive in the political and cultural discourse. ‘Twas ever thus. Just take a walk into the Guildhall Art Gallery. Upstairs in the Victorian section you will find La Ghirlandata, Dante Gabriel Rosetti’s self-proclaimed “very best picture,” painted 152 years ago in 1873. Her eyes [...]
Whisky Business: Commando Spirit’s unique brand July 2, 2025 Whisky Business: City AM’s monthly look at the world of whisky. A handful of big-name brands dominate the world of whisky, but there’s a growing number of smaller, artisan whisky brands carving out niches in the market. One of these is Commando Spirit, the brainchild of retired Royal Marines Brigadier Rory Copinger-Symes CBE. Commando Spirit is [...]
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: Behind the culinary icon July 2, 2025 During my first visit to Le Manoir I could neither speak nor talk. This is not hyperbole about dumbfounded luxury – I was just a baby. But my parents still tell the story of how Raymond Blanc, in full chef’s whites, came to ask them if I had enjoyed the fresh pasta and butter the [...]