Quillette Competitors

"The Atlantic will be the organ of no party or clique, but will honestly endeavor to be the exponent of what its conductors believe to be the American idea." —James Russell Lowell, November 1857 For more than 150 years, The Atlantic has shaped the national debate on politics, business, foreign affairs, and cultural trends.

The Spectator is a weekly delight if you love good writing, contentious opinion and hard-hitting comment. With the finest writing on current affairs, politics, the arts, books and life, you'll read regular columnists who delight, provoke and amuse and editorial features of incredible breadth and depth. Established in 1828, The Spectator is the oldest continuously published magazine in the English language. Its taste for controversy, however, remains undiminished. There is no party line to which its writers are bound – originality of thought and elegance of expression are the sole editorial constraints. The result, week after week, is that Britain’s best columnists, critics and cartoonists turn out their finest work for the magazine and give you their views unfiltered and at cask strength.

When the herd takes off in one direction, what do you do? UnHerd is for people who dare to think for themselves. The Western world is divided and uncertain. In the realms of politics, morality, science and culture, establishment opinion is skittish, but assertive — quick to form a consensus and intimidate dissent into silence. Meanwhile, increasingly powerful anti-establishment voices are fast forming into their own tribes. UnHerd tries to do something different — and harder. We are not interested in contrarianism, or opposition for its own sake; but we make it our mission to challenge herd mentality wherever we see it. This may be to speak for people who are otherwise dismissed; to challenge lazy consensus; or to make the argument for dimensions of existence that are lost in the din. We seek out thinkers who can bring the broader wisdom of history, philosophy, science and religious thought to bear on the current moment. We try to give a platform to the overlooked, the downtrodden and the traduced; and to people and places that the world has chosen to forget. We have no allegiance to any political party or tradition. Our writers often disagree with each other. Our approach is to test and retest assumptions, without fear or favour. The effect, we hope, is to get a little bit closer to the truth — and to make people think again. Welcome to UnHerd.