The Sunday Times Magazine
The Sunday Times
This year, we sent our crack team of writers and photographers to the places that mattered. In a piece credited with changing government policy, Christina Lamb braved the hell camps of Northern Syria to tell the stories of the British Isis brides and their children left to languish. Ahead of Cop 26, she travelled deep into the Amazon rainforest to stay with the Munduruku tribe on the frontline of climate change. In Ukraine, Louise Callaghan visited the nightclubs of Kyiv as they were hastily repurposed as bomb shelters in late February. Closer to home, science editor Ben Spencer revealed the tiny Oxford lab on the brink of solving the energy crisis by cracking nuclear fusion, and Matthew Campbell got the only access inside the MOD crash course that is turning 10,000 Ukrainian civilians into soldiers – in the West Country. Our interviews are the most talked-about of any supplement: Emily Ratajowski on being sexually assaulted by Robin Thicke; Kirsty Young on the life-altering illness that nearly finished her career; Nadine Dorries on party-gate and her “undying loyalty” to Boris Johnson. Long-reads get under the skin of the most intriguing stories, be it the first in-depth report on the Rolex Rippers, the female gang of watch thieves terrorising the golf clubs of Middle England, the actor Rob Delaney writing a heartbreaking exposition on grief following the death of his toddler, or the first interview with James Watt, the Brewdog boss mired in bullying allegations. Journalistic stars are born on our pages. Megan Agnew, Josh Glancy and Matt Rudd are all fast becoming the writers of their generation. Meanwhile our veteran big guns never fail to surprise: lifelong curmudgeon Jeremy Clarkson disclosed his emotional vulnerability in a cover feature on mortality in April. The Magazine specialises in the unexpected. One unforgettable cover unearthed an image of Vladmir Putin as a cherubic schoolboy. Inside, Philip Short’s forensically-researched profile revealed illuminating details about the childhood events that shaped the future tyrant. The Magazine has never looked better. A trawl of the archives for the 60th anniversary special issue provided the inspiration for March’s redesign. Photography is now back at the heart of each issue, while a fresh look breathes new life into the much-loved regulars (Relative Values, A Life in the Day) and the recipe pages look good enough to eat. This year, we have focused on growing our digital audience, in particular targeting new young and female readers. Canny commissioning, engaging videos and headlines, and a clever social media strategy has brought success on all fronts. Our stories are regularly among the Sunday Times’s best-read pieces. 60 years in, Britain's first colour supplement is the best it’s ever been.