The rise of public man
Michael Sandel is the “moral rock star” every politician wants to cosy up to. JP O’Malley finds out why
Ideas
Prof Hawking backs assisted suicide, and other stories – our news round-up for this morning
Professor Stephen Hawking supports assisted suicide “I think those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their own life…
From the Archive: Marshall Berman on why humanists should read the Bible
Marshall Berman, the American cultural critic and political theorist best known for his 1982 study of modernism, All that is Solid Melts into Air, died on 11 September aged 72.…
Can you teach me how to forgive myself?
From the schoolyard to San Quentin, California’s restorative justice programmes are diverting young offenders from a life of crime and allowing even those convicted of serious crime to take responsibility…
Misery, kindness and fun
Bertrand Russell was inconsistent, spiteful and one of our greatest guides to the terrifying consolations of human life, says his biographer Alan Ryan
Debunking the girls-don’t-do-science myth
It's something of a golden age for biographies of women scientists. Dale DeBakcsy reviews some of the best (and one of the worst)
Day 7, boring old governance (Part 1)
Even if dull, governance is an important part of running a Sunday Assembly, writes Sanderson Jones
Behold the in-vitro burger
Is lab-grown meat the way to more sustainable and ethical future? Anna Vesterinen chews it over
Monogamy – the natural choice?
Two recent studies seek to explain the origins of monogamy. Anna Vesterinen reports on the unromantic conclusions
Pope Francis can’t judge gays
On a flight back from Rio, the Pontiff gave a surprisingly candid press conference