JULY & AUGUST 2010

REGULARS

5 Editorial Cartoon villains 6 Parish news 10 Yours sceptically Readers’

letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor looks through a glass darkly

FEATURES

13 Q&A On the eve of his first appearance at the Knebworth rock festival, we catch up with rising rationalist star Tim Minchin 14 OMG! It’s Muhammad’s footprint

Nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy is sceptical about a miracle in Pakistan 18 Interview: David Harvey

Laurie Taylor meets the Marxist geographer who is suddenly being taken seriously 24 Slings & arrows Timothy

Taylor digs up the invention that made us truly human 26 What price offence? Ophelia

Benson and Paul Sims debate the case of the atheist convicted for leaving “offensive” cartoons in an airport prayer room 28 Variety The great American philosopher William James died a hundred years ago. Jonathan Rée thinks it’s high time for a revival 32 Fun-loving Muslims Islamic dating sites reveal Muslims to be just as shallow as everyone else, says Theodore Dalrymple 34 The listeners Les Back on the ordinary virtues of paying attention 40 Call of the wild The useless,

the tragic, the deranged. Werner Herzog’s subject is always the human, says Fred Rowson

[13]

Music, comedy, reason... it’s Tim Minchin

[14]Prophetor bigfoot?

COLUMNS

9 Diary There are no bad books, just special ones, says Robin Ince 16 Opinion Let’s make the

Pope’s visit uncomfortable, says Keith Porteous Wood 17 Abs fab Sally Feldman in praise of younger men 23 Chown’s cosmos Marcus

Chown watches the death of a star 38 Opinion Who are you calling a fanatic? asks Alberto Toscano BOOK REVIEWS

43 Richard Wilson discovers

Britain’s collusion with Islamists 44 Winston Fletcher undresses the office affair 46 Anatol Lieven assesses

Neoconservatism 48 Louise Foxcroft enjoys an unusual biography 49 Andrew Mueller is untickled by a satire of atheism

[18]

David Harvey tells Laurie Taylor why Marx is back

[28]

Jonathan Rée on the varieties of William James varieties of William James