It’s easy to get disillusioned. It’s easy to look out and see, well, a sea of shysters – politicians, businessmen, billionaires, influencers, Vanity Inc, deplorable individuals who act as sufficient evidence to suggest that cream does NOT rise.

This list of writers (46), therefore, is an attempt to restore the balance, to let beautiful words and observations flow over us and let everyone firmly know that the original people in this world are watching and are often incredibly intelligent and funny too.

Adams, Tim

Applebaum, Anne

Ascherson, Neal

Butler, James

Cockburn, Andrew

Collini, Stefan

Coppins, McKay

Davies, William

Ferguson, Andrew

Foer, Franklin

Frank, Thomas

Freedland, Jonathan

Frum, David

Garber, Megan

Garton Ash, Timothy

Gilbert, Sophie

Goldberg, Jeffrey

Graham, David A.

Ketcham, Christopher

Kirsch, Adam

Kornhaber, Spencer

Lamont, Tom

Lanchester, John

Leibovich, Mark

Lewis, Helen

Malik, Nesrine

Meek, James

Mount, Ferdinand

Nichols, Tom

O’Connell, Mark

O’Hagan, Andrew

Oltermann, Philip

Parker, James

Penman, Ian

Piepenbring, Dan

Prideaux, Sue

Remnick, David

Runciman, David

Shatz, Adam

Sinclair, Iain

Smith, David

Stanley, Tim

Tarnoff, Ben

Toibin, Colm

Younge, Gary

Zizek, Slavoj