Alain de Botton: let’s talk about sex – live Q&A
Join Alain de Botton at 12pm to debate sex, love, desire and the dilemmas of modern sexualityAs part of a series of self-help volumes he edited, Alain de Botton has written a self-help book about sex – he wrote for us about the concept of "self-help"...
The Second Sexism is just victim-envy | Suzanne Moore
It is perfectly possible to understand that many men are suffering at the moment without blaming it on feminismAre men the new women? Are they having a harder time than silly moaning ladies? Has feminism gone too far? Has political correctness been put...
Michael Gove’s Bibles: good for schools? | Poll
This week, copies of the King James Bible were sent out to every state school in the country, courtesy of the education secretary Michael Gove. They were paid for by donations, not from the public purse. Tell us if you think the scheme is a good idea ...
I’d rather be a Catholic than be ‘respectable’ | Catherine Pepinster
Hilary Mantel says the Catholic church is no longer a place for 'respectable people'. But respectability is a problematic notion One of the heartaches of being a Roman Catholic in recent years has been the clerical abuse scandal. No pain that any of us...
Effort to ban Tintin comic book fails in Belgium | Jogchum Vrielink
Offensive as Tintin au Congo may be, recourse to the law is misguided and counterproductiveTintin is experiencing new and exciting adventures these days. Not just in the cinema, but in Belgian courts as well.Bienvenu Mbuto Mondondo, a Congolese nationa...
Machiavelli’s The Prince, part 8: a lingering love of justice
While he looks brute force in the face, Machiavelli's view of the balance between might and right is ultimately ambivalentThe Prince is in fashion today. Business gurus write books on "Machiavelli for managers". Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's former chi...
Want a bestseller? Write about Henry or Hitler…
From Tudor England to the Third Reich, history's megalomaniacs continue to make great literary fodderWhat is it about Henry VIII? Shakespeare tiptoed warily round the subject but English writers and readers ever since have been addicted to his charisma...
What is left unsaid is often more powerful and poetic | Biljana Scott
Implicit communication is vital to diplomacy – as we can keep our options open while not causing offenceWhy use implicit communication? Wouldn't life be so much simpler if people just said what they meant? Perhaps, but it would also be much poorer, f...
In defence of self-help books | Alain de Botton