Archive - The Ruffian

All Hail the Paperback of 'John & Paul'!

It Took Me Years To Write Will You Take a Look

22 hrs ago • Ian Leslie

A Special Message For My Favourite Subscribers

Behold: the Paperback of John & Paul!

Jan 13 • Ian Leslie

The Stamina Gap

The Capacity for Deep Concentration Is Becoming a Luxury Good

Jan 10 • Ian Leslie

Why Did I Start The Ruffian and Has Paul McCartney Read My Book?

Answering Reader Questions. Plus a Ton of Optimism For 2026.

Jan 3 • Ian Leslie

December 2025

Best of The Ruffian 2025

Thanks For Subscribing

Dec 27, 2025 • Ian Leslie

How the Mad Men Lost the Plot Again

Revisiting My Longread On the Ad Industry, Ten Years On

Dec 23, 2025 • Ian Leslie

How To Do Politics When Nobody Knows Anything

If You Want To Make God Laugh Tell Him Your Political Strategy

Dec 20, 2025 • Ian Leslie

Podcast Pt II: Books We Didn't Like or Didn't Read, with James Marriott

In which friend-of-The-Ruffian James Marriott and I talk about the books we didn’t get along with in 2025, and what makes us stop reading or avoid…

Dec 18, 2025 • Ian Leslie

23:32

New Podcast: Books of the Year with James Marriott

A Conversation About Our Favourite Reads of 2025

Dec 17, 2025 • Ian Leslie

38:47

When The Mind Outlasts the Brain

How To Build "Cognitive Reserve"

Dec 13, 2025 • Ian Leslie

How To Choose Your Nemesis

What Makes a Rivalry Productive?

Dec 6, 2025 • Ian Leslie

November 2025

My Ten Favourite Books of the Year

Plus Every Other Book I Read In 2025 - and a special offer

Nov 29, 2025 • Ian Leslie

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts