Contents

NOTES FROM THE COUCH

Idler’s Diary 8 Arthur Smith On the pros and cons of hitch-hiking 14 How I Live CC O’Hanlon, Seafarer 16 Philosophy How I learned to stop worrying about AI. By Mark Vernon 22 Idler Heroes Alex Johnson raises a martini glass to slack spymaster Ian Fleming 30 Odium Gustav Temple on why letting dogs in pubs is barking mad 32

FEATURES Interview: What Cath Did Next Having quit her own company, Cath Kidston is now into geraniums and quality lolling 36

How to Smash Big Tech Cory Doctorow on how to smash the electronic surveillance system in these exclusive extracts from The Internet Con 42 Pagan Love Song David Bramwell on the 50-year legacy of Robin Hardy’s folk horror masterpiece The Wicker Man 50 Poetry The Fluffer’s Demise by Murray Lachlan Young 56 Could Try Harder James Thellusson on the dreaded school report 58

STYLE Fashion: White Collar Shirkers by Alice Smith 62 Idle Home Georgina Williams goes East of Eden in the Lake District 68 Slow Tech Make time for the typewriter, says Lee Osborne 78

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