Pi in the sky
The narrator of Ang Lee’s sumptuous film Life of Pi promises that his story will make you believe in God. Does it? asks Brian McClinton
Culture
The joy of Essex
You may have thought that the English county of Essex was all dodgy geezers, fake-tan and vajazzles. But Jonathan Meades, whose latest telly-essay with director-photographer Francis Hanly is broadcast on…
Fringe benefits
In which Laurie Taylor visits an experimental theatre, and regrets it
Mission improbable
The Book of Mormon, by the creators of South Park, smashed records on Broadway and debuts in London's West End in February. But is it any good? Natalie Haynes has…
Mussel-shells, corncobs and the Sears catalogue
Before toilet paper wiping your bottom could be a hazardous business, and religious advice hardly helped matters. Richard Smyth sifts through the evidence
New faces of televangelism
The switch to digital has given British religious broadcasting a boost. James Gray visits one of the new Christian channels redefining faith on TV
Book review: Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith
Warren Ellis enjoys a ripping rewrite of the nativity, from the man who brought us Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Book review: The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín
The latest novel from "collapsed Catholic" Colm Tóibín – a fictionalised account of the "crochety old widow" Mary – confirms him to be the greatest living writer in English, says…
Book review: Ban This Filth! Letters from the Mary Whitehouse Archive edited by Ben Thompson
Andrew Mueller enjoys the peevish outrage of the inadvertently hilarious moral crusader Mary Whitehouse
Q&A: Labi Siffre
During his 50-year career singer-songwriter Labi Siffre has played Soho jazz clubs, been covered by Madness and Kenny Rogers, sampled by Dr Dre and Kanye West and gained global status…