Volume 123 Issue 1 January/February 2008

Editorial: Incredible Mr Darwin: The more science uncovers, the more brilliant the father of evolution is revealed to be

Cover Stories

Interview: Watching David Attenborough: Laurie Taylor turns the microscope on to the man who’s brought us life on earth, in the freezer, under the oceans and in the undergrowth

Doomsday diary: Filmmaker Ben Anthony visits the cult at the end of the world
End Game: Lean on me: Laurie Taylor offers his shoulder to cry on
Thinker: Carl Jung: Underlying Carl Jung's brand of radical metaphysics, claims Paul Bishop, is a deep vein of rationalism

Dinner with Darwin: To celebrate the 199th birthday of the father of evolution we asked a selection of scientific commentators what they’d like to say to him round the supper table
The closing of the Christian mind: In the late fourth century political expediency led a ruthless Roman emperor to shut down debate within the Christian church. Charles Freeman explains
Spoil yourself: Luxury may mean excess, vulgarity and obscene waste. But, argues Sally Feldman, it’s also a basic humanist instinct
Backward Christian soldiers: Evangelicals are taking over the US military, reports David Belden. And one man’s determined to stop them
Taking liberties: True freedom requires not wealth but faith, says social theorist Stein Ringen
Acting up: He speaks approvingly of Lenin and Robespierre and packs lecture halls across the world. But is “stand-up philosopher” Slavoj Žižek serious? asks John Clark
Fall out: For many years the government has been in bed with the Islamists of the Muslim Council of Britain. But, finds Dave Rich, the tide is turning

Capture the moment: Truth, immediacy, humanity – Peter Hamilton celebrates the work of two major photographers

Politicised religion requires a militant response: It’s not peace in heaven that religion is after, but political power here on Earth, says Elizabeth Wilson
American barbarity: How do you justify the unspeakable? Simply invoke the threat of terrorism, says Stan Cohen

The Happiest Man in the World by Alec Wilkinson: Michael Bywater is in awe of Poppa Neutrino
African Psycho by Alain Mabanckou: Natalie Haynes is unimpressed by an African murder mystery
Villages of Vision: A Study of Strange Utopias by Gillian Darley: Ken Worpole visits utopian villages with Gillian Darley
Death at Intervals by José Saramago: Philip Womack admires another fable from Nobel Laureate José Saramago
Counterknowledge by Damian Thomson: AC Grayling reviews a Catholic attack on nonsense
The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr: Bill Thompson is excited by the digital revolution