Reputation-polishing-artwork: the rise of the vanity documentary
From CEO memoirs to Netflix documentaries, the new status symbol is a carefully crafted life on screen
April 14, 2026
Sam Leith
Sam Leith is the literary editor of The Spectator, a columnist for the Evening Standard and author of You Talkin’ to Me?
Latest articles
A passage back to India
May 12, 2025
The ‘cultural vibe’ to expect from the Trump/Musk administration
February 4, 2025
Why AI will eat itself
October 15, 2024
All Articles
J K Rowling and the magic of her writing ‘shed’
Authors have traditionally been seen as 'gardeners' or 'architects' but J K Rowling puts forward a new metaphor for…
July 15, 2024
A rich man’s plaything: the case for billionaire newspaper ownership
If the print media industry is to survive, we need more crazy billionaires to own and operate newspapers and…
April 4, 2024
Why children’s literature could spell the end of pocket money
Parents, rejoice! It's time to bring back the benevolent strangers of children's literature
December 21, 2023
Could the British Library cyber-attack bridge a social divide?
Ordinarily, academics and HNWs don’t see eye to eye. The ransomware attack on the British Library might change that
December 8, 2023
How an early form of tax avoidance influenced architecture in Puglia
Alberobello's Unesco protected trulli were influenced by some medieval creative accounting
September 13, 2023
Misery of the rich: Why the arts still portray the wealthy as sad and dysfunctional
Being rich makes TV characters easy targets, argues Sam Leith. But why do the wealthy remain fair game?
May 17, 2023
Apple TV presents a cure for corporate malaise
Does sci-fi thriller Severance depict a corporate dystopia? It’s a matter of perspective, says Sam Leith ‘Why should I…
September 5, 2022
Intellectual property: Why the best time to sell a classic author’s estate is yesterday
The era of Netflix and online gaming has breathed new life into the works of some long-dead authors –…
May 7, 2022
