NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2012
REGULARS 5 Editorial Mind your language 6 Godless globe 9 Witness Padraic Rohan,
James Randerson, Darren Hayman 12 Yours sceptically Letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor’s springs a leak
FEATURES 14 Right to offend? As a crude anti-Muslim film triggers protests across the globe, Paul Sims asks whether there can be any compromise on the right to free speech 18 Q&A: Alice Roberts TV’s top osteoarchaeologist on belief, evolution and why she loves bones 20 Malicious intent Beena
Sarwar examines Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws 24 Big ask Science has plenty to tell us about the “why”, says Michael Brooks 26 Christmas survival pack
Martin Rowson’s sour seasonal cards, Christina Martin’s perfect presents, and Myra Zepf’s hints for a happy humanist holiday 28 The chosen ones In
America’s Presidential election, the evangelical vote is up for grabs, says Abigail Ohlheiser 31 A reasonable life
Matthew Adams profiles the President of the Rationalist Association, Jonathan Miller 34 Redrawing the lines
Sociologist Linda Woodhead argues that new forms of religion are on the rise. Caspar Melville meets her
37 Lessons unlearnt Kenan
Malik assesses Salman Rushdie’s memoir of the fatwa years 40 A sense of scale Caspar
Henderson marvels at airborne beasts great, small and microscopic 42 Talking ’bout a revolution
The work of Victor Serge is being rediscovered. Not before time, says Owen Hatherley
COLUMNS
17 Chown’s Cosmos The rings of
Saturn
BOOK REVIEWS
[18]
Science in her bones
44 Jonathan Rée on the Lady
Gaga of philosophy 46 Martin Robbins takes some
Bad Pharma 47 Philip Womack revels in the short stories of Joseph O’Connor 48 Michael Bywater is primed for atheism
[ 26 ] [40]Creaturesgreatand small
Christmas survival pack Everything an atheist needs for a rollicking Yuletide rollicking Yuletide
[31]BeingJonathan Miller
[31]BeingJonathanMiller
NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2012 New Humanist 3
NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2012 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2012 New Humanist New Humanist New Humanist New Humanist 3
