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• ‘‘There is no such thing as the fall of the Roman Empire’’

  A Q&A with Mary Beard.

• Persecution of non-believers is on the rise worldwide

  This year's annual Freedom of Thought report paints a bleak picture of jihadist violence and state repression.

• South Asia’s age of intolerance

  Attacks against secularists and religious minorities have deep historical roots.

• Where next for capitalism?

  Is the rise of technology strengthening capitalism or tearing it down? New books by Matt Ridley and Paul Mason take very different views.

• "Don't waste time on climate change deniers - put your energy into action"

  An interview with author and environmentalist Tim Flannery

• Who is to blame for the current chaos in the Middle East?

  A Q&A with Jean-Pierre Filiu, whose new book examines the role of Arab dictators in encouraging jihadism.

• Is there a future for humanitarian intervention?

  The principle has been greatly tarnished in recent years. In an unstable world, does it have a future?

• Modi’s soft war on secularism

  India's government panders to the Hindu majority. This can seem silly, but scratch a little and it reveals an ugly religious agenda.

• Immigration, free speech, feminism: the New Humanist democracy reading list

  As the dust settles from the 2015 election, here is a collection of recent essays and interviews on democracy and rights.

• It’s election year, but where’s the vision?

  The media-Westminster nexus that governs us is old in every way.