Book review: The Church Of Fear: Inside The Weird World Of Scientology
The Church of Scientology almost scuppered the career of BBC reporter John Sweeney. He gets his own back with this brave and blackly comic book, says Andrew Mueller
Culture
Book review: How to Create the Perfect Wife
Sarah Ditum on the incredible true story of Thomas Day, the 18th-century Englishman who tried to use the ideas of the Enlightenment to mould his ideal bride
Pussy Riot: one year on
It is one year to the day since members of the punk collective Pussy Riot were detained following a 'blasphemous' guerilla anti-Putin performance in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.…
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
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