In this week's Deserter's Songs column, David Bell considers the way in which music can cut across binary distinctions, and considers a Polish term which may help us understand the complex, contradictory emotions that music can throw up.
Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man was written in 1962, but much of it reads as if it could have been written today. In a forensic and robust re-assessment, political theorist Andrew Robinson highlights the merits, and lacunae, of this pivotal work.
In this week's Chess Corner, Paul Lam interviews Natalia Pogonina, one of the chess world's female superstars and a three-times European Champion. The interview touches upon her beginnings, her ambitions and the female presence in a game long dominated by men.
In this week’s column, Shirin Sadeghi takes a look at the case of M.I.A., who made headlines this week when, at an awards show, she appeared on the red carpet with a highly stylized but completely covering abaya and niqab. As Sadeghi shows, what makes M.I.A.’s work, in its visceral impact, so important is that it forces both the “East” and the “West” to face, and know, each other.
The Con-Dem cuts, the latest attempt to dismantle the welfare state, will see massive, catastrophic changes to the social make up of the country. In his latest column, Mikhail Goldman says the fightback already under way can stop the unfolding disaster, but only through unity, courage and an awareness of past mistakes.
In this week's Modern Times column, Corin Faife looks at the case of Jimmy Mubenga, who died a few days ago during his attempted deportation as a result of excessive force. Faife reminds us that Mubenga's plea to his impassive fellow passengers, “what kind of people are you that do nothing?”, must act as a wake-up call to all of us.
In the news this week in Latin America: Chile celebrates a happy ending to the miners' saga, Chavez and Medvedev sign a nuclear agreement, catastrophic rains in Nicaragua and much more. Ceasefire correspondent Tom Kavanagh delivers his weekly round up of what's been going on south of the border.
Is the mainstream media biased? Do you find its bias to be always against your own opinions and views? Is this a coincidence? In this Month's science column. Sebastian Meznaric takes a look at a recent book, 'True enough' by Farhad Majoo, that aims to uncover how humans interpret and detect bias in the information they receive, with surprising results.
In this week's Deserter's Songs column on music and politics, David Bell considers the relevance of free improvisation for a 'new way of making and living education'. In so doing, he examines the resonances between the practice of free improvisation and what is commonly termed 'critical pedagogy'.The similarities, he contends, are startling.
This week, more than five years after the events, an official inquest has been launched into the London bombings of 7/7. As Rizwaan Sabir shows in his latest column, an inquest might answer some of the questions, but only a public inquiry can ensure the right lessons are learnt