Beth Harmon is profoundly wounded from being rejected by her parents and by others who should have loved and accepted her. The orphaned chess prodigy who is the subject of Netflix’s new original series, The Queen’s Gambit, turns to drugs and alcohol not only to cope, but to play chess and win.

There is so much bad faith and general dishonesty in public discourse over contentious issues, and particularly when people argue about abortion, that it is refreshing when someone tells the unvarnished truth about what they believe. This happened in the white-hot abortion debate in Argentina, which ended last night as the nation’s senate approved a

Chapter House columnists and contributors to this page share their favorite Christmas story, book, movie, or music.

Fr James Bradley remembers a transformative evening in Hyde Park

‘A lot of people nowadays want to come to a decision – not only on criminal matters – without giving people the benefit of the doubt’

Long before its collapse became evident, three writers foretold the decline of the Irish Church – and worried about what would come next

St Augustine and Aquinas led Jennifer Frey to the Faith. Now she wants Catholic and contemporary philosophers to ‘talk more to each other’

St Mary of the Angels in Gloucestershire is a monument to the care and devotion of two remarkable women, says Rachel Morley

Go-ahead finally given for ‘the world’s largest database of hope stories’

The supposedly ‘boring and suburban’ style reflects English self-confidence and a spirit of moderation, argues Jacob Phillips

Why the Left has changed its criticisms of the right

There are practical ways to limit the negative impact of technology, and maximise the good