Issue 50; The Editorial, 1st December, 2025

What a milestone—fifty issues! The big 5-Oh. And 10 Years old. Honestly, how did we get here? What started as a couple of scrappy articles and some rough writing back in Issue 1, has grown into what you now know as The Fake Intellectual. From those humble beginnings, we’ve somehow ended up with hundreds of readers and a loyal following. It’s been a journey, and I couldn’t be more grateful. As always, if you’d like to help spread the word, we’d truly appreciate the support.

Now, you might think we’d throw a huge party for our fiftieth issue, champagne, celebrity contributors, the works. But in true Fake Intellectual fashion, we just carried on doing what we do best. We even had to send Leo back to Esquire—no need for glossy photoshoots here. Maybe when we hit Issue 100 we’ll throw that big shindig. Until then, here’s Issue 50, delivered to you just as we always have.

In this issue, Piers casts his eye across UK society, exploring the rise of right-wing voices “politics without the politics,” as he puts it. I share my new obsession with Padel (yes, the sport), wax lyrical about the joy of lunch, and reflect on the books I’ve been devouring over early mornings and toast. For our email subscribers, there’s also a short essay on film and television, Anything Good On?, which looks at the current state of entertainment. And if you’re not already signed up, there’s no better time, all new subscribers this December will get the extra content straight to their inbox with a re-issue of the email.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy this milestone issue. And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts, just drop us an email anytime mail@fakeintellectual.uk.

With gratitude,
Thomas W. Coombs
Editor-in-Chief

Issue 50; Just Hit It

Words by Thomas W Coombs

The first thing you need to know about Padel is… how on earth do you say it? “Pad-del”? “Pad-dal”? “Pad-ell”? “Pa-dél”? I still have no idea. What I do know is that it’s spelled Padel here in England, where the racket sport is spreading like a Californian wildfire, and yes, this writer has officially joined the "hype".

Issue 50; Maybe It’s Not the End

words by Piers Little

Is this what the street preachers meant by “the end is nigh”, but digitised, flattened into tweets, panic headlines, and people screaming into the void of the internet? Sometimes it feels like the whole world is turning in on itself. No one seems to like anyone anymore, and individual ego seems to have taken top billing over basic humanity.

Issue 50; The Morning Read Book Review

In this section, I share my thoughts on the books I’ve been reading over coffee and breakfast.  For this issue, I brushed up on my wine adventure, with Who’s Afraid of Romanée-Conti? by Dan Keeling and hit up my History prowess with Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

Issue 50; A Simple Lunch

words by Thomas W Coombs

Am I the only one who’s had enough of brunch?

That smug, overexposed, avocado-strewn “non-meal” that has, for over a decade now, inserted itself into our weekends and, somehow, the rest of the week too. Since the dawn of social media, brunch has been less about eating and more about performance, a meal you could only participate in if you snapped your smashed avocado on sourdough and uploaded it with a hashtag like #blessed or #brunchvibes.