Volume 126 Issue 5 September/October 2011

Editorial: Big talk: David Cameron says Britain is broken. But can the Big Society fix it?

Cover Story

Repeat offender: New Humanist interviews Ricky Gervais: Ricky Gervais on his new shows, shock comedy and why God loves him really

Chown's cosmos: Crack up: Marcus Chown wonders if there is life beneath Europa's icy surface
Brain rot: What is neuroscientist Susan Greenfield on about? asks Sally Feldman
Unholy matrimony: Is there a role for marriage in secular society, or should humanists rejoice in its withering along with religion? asks Pamela Haag
Norway’s tragedy calls for perspective: We must respond to extremism by protecting liberal values, argues Kenan Malik
Egypt's three revolutionary fronts: As Egypt prepares for post-Mubarak elections, could the activists of Tahrir Square be in danger of losing out to more reactionary forces? asks Austin Mackell
Is it over for Catholic Ireland?: The deteriorating relationship between the Vatican and the Irish state is good news for the Republic, says Padraig Reidy
Briefing: Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People: Adam Rutherford remembers getting atheists reciting the Lord's Prayer at last year's rationalist jamboree

Varieties of irreligious experience: There are many ways not to believe. Jonathan Rée on the evoluton of atheist thought
Faith in the Big Society: David Cameron would like religious groups to deliver public services. But can they be trusted? asks James Gray
A match made in heaven: As the new football season kicks off, West Ham fan Sam Delaney has a crisis of faith
Leaving the Jehovah's Witnesses: When Vicky Simister was excommunicated by the religious sect she lost her family, her friends and her faith
Aftershock: 9/11 ten years on: A decade after the destruction of the Twin Towers, the greatest change to the world has been the reinvention of Islam, says Stephen Howe
I am bovvered: White trash, vermin, underclass, broken Britain. When Owen Jones published his book Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class, he wasn’t expecting such an onslaught
Human folly: Half a millennium ago a book by a Catholic theologian unwittingly ignited a secular revolution. Matthew Adams salutes Erasmus

Quiz: a tea-time teaser: Rational thought is required in the humanist tearooms, in Quizmaster Chris Maslanka's latest New Humanist quiz
Endgame: Never let me go: Laurie Taylor finds it hard to say goodbye

Apocalypse then: As John Martin's visions of Armageddon go on show at Tate Britain, Aaron Rosen argues that they are powerful because they're genuinely scary

Book review: Collected Ghost Stories by MR James: Stephanie Merritt has some rational praise for MR James's classic tales of the supernatural
Book review: The Tyranny of Choice by Renata Salecl: Nina Power appreciates a sharp critique of consumerism
Book review: Barefoot into Cyberspace by Becky Hogge: Bill Thompson embraces the digital revolution
Book review: Humanity 2.0 by Steve Fuller: Angela Saini is frustrated by Steve Fuller
Book review: Ragnarok – The End of the Gods: Philip Womack is chilled by AS Byatt's magnificent retelling of the Norse myth