Never meet your heroes
In my youth, I saw an incredible aura around professional footballers. I only occasionally went to games, where they were separated from me by touchlines and advertising hoardings, so they…
Culture
The medium and the message
From his novels to his innovative use of social media, Teju Cole encourages his readers to think before they feel, writes Fatema Ahmed
Against nature
The films of Lars von Trier promise to challenge traditional ethics – but the director is too self-involved to say anything profound, writes Agata Pyzik
All in the mind
Terry Eagleton and Roger Scruton are the latest in a line of thinkers to suggest that, without religion, something is missing in our lives. They’re wrong, argues Peter Watson
Win tickets to see Stewart Lee, courtesy of Arts Emergency
Arts Emergency, a national network of volunteers who mentor young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, comes to London’s Bloomsbury Theatre on 18 and 19 June with a mini-festival of comedy and…
Dreaming big
Josie Long’s charm and energy have established her as one of our funniest stand-ups. Now she wants to change the world. Interview by Ariane Sherine
Fading privilege: Girls
HBO’s hit comedy-drama Girls depicts a white, educated middle-class America in the midst of its own demise, writes Mark Fisher
Silence is gruesome
This article is from the Spring 2014 issue of New Humanist magazine. You can subscribe here. No doubt all long-term jobs carry some sort of physical or psychological risk, the…
Win tickets to this year’s How the Light Gets In festival
How the Light Gets In, the world’s largest philosophy festival, returns this year with a glittering programme of debates, talks, comedy and live music – including New Humanist’s commissioning editor…
Book review: Sonic Wonderland by Trevor Cox
This article is from the Spring 2014 issue of New Humanist magazine. You can subscribe here. A few years ago, while holidaying in Kent, my partner and I visited an…