Architecture for the people
What do the "culture palaces" of the 20th century tell us about the world today?
Mind, Body & Life
Travels in Yangzhou, where authenticity is a state of mind
For a visitor accustomed to the cult of the individual, the ordering of experience in Chinese art can be disarming.
How to give the impression of being a fully paid-up don
Speaking at a seminar, Laurie Taylor struggles to recall his academic past.
What use is a football team’s glorious past, if they’re losing?
This article is a preview from the Winter 2014 edition of New Humanist. You can find out more and subscribe here. What keeps football interesting is the conflicts it creates…
Boys, keep out! A feminist history of the handbag
No-nonsense rationalists might sneer at the passion for women’s handbags, but they began as a way of making men obsolete
What is our fascination with severed heads?
A new book explores the magnetism that severed heads hold in Western culture.
Mocked prophet: what is David Icke’s appeal?
David Icke is famous for believing the world is run by lizards. So why do thousands turn out to hear him talk?
Revolution, the Russell Brand way
A 12-step programme to overcoming neoliberalism, courtesy of the new book by comedian-turned-activist Russell Brand.
The complex relationship between late-night TV and inebriation
Laurie Taylor wonders if he is losing the plot.
Ways to go: meeting death without religion
More than any other rite of passage, death separates the devout from the damned. So what can a secular funeral offer?