A tale of two Dickens
The great Christian chronicler of Victorian destitution was also a ‘wicked man’. Matthews Adams talks to biographer Claire Tomalin about the conflicted life that fed his art
Culture
Quiz: do bears sit in the woods?
Chris Maslanka challenges you to work out the Three Bears' exam results
Book review: The Pursuits of Philosophy by Jenny Bunker
Jenny Bunker enjoys an unusual introduction to Hume
Book review: What it Means to be Human by Joanna Bourke
John Appleby explores the meaning of humanity
Book review: The Secrets of Pain by Phil Rickman
Natalie Haynes endures a painful crime novel
Book review: The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe
Mark Pagel faces the threat from pandemics
Book review: Religion in Human Evolution
Where did religion come from? Keith Kahn-Harris reviews a monumental study
Nine highlights from Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People
The best bits and the inside scoops from three years of our seasonal rationalist jamboree
Walk the tightrope
We don’t need religion, but mystical traditions still have a lot to teach us, says John Burnside
Let the kids believe in Santa
Atheists shouldn’t crush the magic of Christmas, says Myra Zepf