It was a similar story with plant life: crops selected for greater production (wheat and barley were two of the first) were often in proximity to their wild relatives and exchanged genes. This entry ...

We talk to historian David Olusoga about revisiting the story of the Empire, religion in Britain – and why logic gets you nowhere on "The Traitors" ...

This piece accompanies Marcus Chown's feature on the discovery of cosmic background radiation, from the Spring 2015 edition of New Humanist. Perhaps the most famous accidental discovery of all is ...

With the great powers facing off and a global authoritarian slide, we are entering a new era of brazen propaganda. But for all those who keep their heads down, there are many more who refuse to go ...

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Although he has on occasion crossed the line to become a parody of himself – in Asteroid City, twee charm is not quite enough to suspend disbelief about a vending machine selling real estate. But I ...

The vast domain of space is easy to ignore. It’s up there, invisible, while our headlines focus on billionaire rocket launches. But every single one of us has a vested interest. We need to act to ...

This article is a preview from the Summer 2015 edition of New Humanist. You can find out more and subscribe here. Religious disbelief is viewed with alarm in most Arab countries. Two government ...

Time’s Monster: History, Conscience and Britain’s Empire (Allen Lane) by Priya Satia Priya Satia begins Time’s Monster with a statement: historians, she says, are above all storytellers. At first ...

If all the world’s a stage, maybe all the world’s a concept album too. Where does West End Girl begin or end? And why does it matter?

God: An Anatomy (Pan Macmillan) by Francesca Stavrakopoulou. We don’t know his real name. In early inscriptions it appears as Yhw, Yhwh, or simply Yh; but we don’t know how it was spoken. He has come ...

Satire today is dominated by a narrow elite. No longer a threat to authority, it is a means for the establishment to protect itself. Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, illustrated as part of the set for the ...