Volume 120 Issue 4 July/August 2005

Off the Boil: Sally Feldman chokes on her Oates
Lobbing Horseshit: With everyone talking about the need for respect Martin Rowson reckons its time to come clean about what they really mean

Features

God is my nigga: Caspar Melville reports on the resurrection of religion in black popular music
Remarkable things: How should sociology respond to a globalised world? Les Back recommends a return to the link between individual stories and the bigger picture
Trapped by buddha: Itï¿½s not just China that is preventing the emergence of a modern Tibet. Western romantic delusions are just as stifling, argues novelist Jamyang Norbu
Serious intent: Laurie Taylor interviews Isabel Hilton: Acclaimed journalist Isabel Hilton talks to Laurie Taylor about China, democracy, dictatorships and her passion to represent those at the bottom of the heap

Bad Karma: A recent court case in the United States has found Hare Krishnas guilty of child abuse on a massive scale. Mary Garden uncovers the story of a hidden scandal

Born to be mild: Stanley Middleton's new novel fails to live up to its title says Chris Paling
Dem bones: Brenda Maddox on a remarkable pioneer of paleontology
Matinee idylls: Andrew Tudor samples this summerï¿½s holiday blockbusters
Coming home: Judi Herman finds that love is thicker than blood
Coming out on top: With nipple counts at an allï¿½time high, inflated sales of silicon implants, and the relentless rise of topless celebrities, Sally Feldman puzzles over the sexual politics of breasts
From the front: Dorothy Rowe is touched by messages from the past
Thinking aloud: Mark Pagel on what makes scientists tick

Who wears the frocks?: Raffaella Malaguti reports on the latest challenge to the Vatican boys' club
Turn me on, dead man: What do the Beatles, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, Patricia Arquette and Michael Keaton have in common, asks Michael Shermer
Believe it or not: David Pollock asks why the government is reluctant to grant humanists their human rights
Aura Bore: Laurie Taylor wonders what you do when friends go freaky
God can't save Africa: Manmade problems require manmade solutions, argues Ebenezer Obadare
Taliban tendency: What is the right balance between authority and autonomy, between prohibition and freedom? This has become the overarching question during Tony Blairï¿½s third term.
No god in the details: A new film threatens to explode Christianityï¿½s central myth. Director Brian Flemming asks what if Jesus didnï¿½t exist
Game theory: Peter Cave tries some thought experiments