ontents Winter 2015

Regulars p. 5 Editor’s Note p. 6 Letters p. 8 The Q&A Leading classicist

Mary Beard p. 11 Witness Dispatches on science,

culture and politics p. 71 Crossword Set by Chaliapin p. 72 The Big Question What three things should the city of the future contain?

p. 73 Quiz Set by Chris Maslanka columns p. 10 Cosmos The secret of rock tides

By Marcus Chown v e rs chi

: sam t io n u st ra il ov e r p. 18 Politics Blasphemy and mob killings in South Asia

By Samira Shackle p. 70 In a Word The meaning of “charter”

By Michael Rosen p. 74 Endgame Your couch or mine?

By Laurie Taylor

Leaders, page 40

Fashion, page 50

‘‘We tend to regard the history of religious ideas as an intellectual wasteland’’

Jonathan Rée, page 54

Features p. 20 Rights Learning lessons about the current refugee crisis from those of the

20th century By Lyndsey Stonebridge p. 26 Cults The demise of self-proclaimed God

Jehovah Wanyonyi

By Daniel Sitole p. 28 Stars Forecasting the inevitable and spectacular death of the Sun By Tosin Thompson p. 32 Ideas Is empathy the most underrated force for social and political change? By Roman Krznaric p. 36 Justice Beyond the hyperbole, the reality of sharia law

By Richard Scorer p. 40 Leaders How South Africa shaped

Mahatma Gandhi By Burhan Wazir p. 44 Cover story The looming robot revolution By Will Wiles

New Humanist | Winter 2015

ulture p. 50 Fashion How makeup reshaped the world, as well as cheekbones By Sally Feldman p. 54 Religion The intellectual hotbed of late antiquity By Jonathan Rée p. 58 Television Why Celebrity Big Brother has got even crueller

By Mark Fisher p. 62 Art A striking new exhibition of black British art By Lola Okolosie

Books p. 66 Reviews Dawn Foster on life after capitalism; Sarah Ditum on novelising late-’70s

Lennon; Rory Fenton tackles humanist heavyweights Dawkins and Grayling; Ray Filar on a transgender memoir poetry p. 53 Fiona Sampson p. 57 Denise Saul p. 61 Sudeep Sen p. 65 Kateryna Kalytko

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