Putin’s spy game

To view this email as a web page, click [here.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [undefined]( The poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal has left UK-Russia relations in their worst state for decades. In this week's cover story, Lawrence Freedman, Britain's pre-eminent military historian, explains the meaning of "Cold War 2.0" and how it differs from its predecessor. There is, he concludes, one similarity: "Russia has allowed its insecurities to lead it into behaviour that can hurt its adversaries, but in the end will prevent it from addressing the aspirations of the Russian people". Elsewhere, James Bloodworth reveals what he learned while working undercover for six months in the "gig economy", Felix Martin explores what the great economists of the past (Smith, Marx, Keynes) can teach us today, and Phil Tinline explains why "fake news" and the craft of disinformation are nothing new. Also this week, Helen Lewis argues that the left is ducking the hard work of politics by refusing to debate, Stephen Bush warns the Tories that Philip Hammond's political ineptitude could return to haunt them, and John Bew writes that Donald Trump's offer to North Korea is testing "madman theory" to the limit. All this, plus Stuart Maconie on why NME could not survive, Pauline Bock on Marine Le Pen's latest bid to rebrand the National Front and Amol Rajan on the "endless, infinite trauma" of his name. Enjoy and you can subscribe [here](. George [@georgeeaton]( Editor's Picks [Cover story: Putin's new Cold War]( Lawrence Freedman on Russia, Britain and Cold War 2.0 [Stephen Bush on why Chancellor Philip Hammond is no good at politics]( Between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, the Conservative Party is left with little option but to revert to attacking Corbyn. [Five Star's "just fix it!" politics and the new age of digital populism]( Jamie Bartlett on the Italian election and the rise of the Five Star Movement. [Donald Trump's offer to talk to North Korea tests the "madman" theory to the limit]( John Bew on the President's high stakes wager with North Korea. [Amol Rajan: Two words, nine letters and the endless, infinite trauma of my name]( I was born V.Amol, which eventually became Amol Rajan. Simples, right? [www.NewStatesman.com]( [Is there a political benefit to hosting a World Cup?]( Stephen Bush reviews the data. [Helen Lewis on the future of sci-fi]( How Alex Garland's hallucinogenic film Annihilation broke the rules. [podcast]( To unsubscribe click: [here](