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Regulars p. 3 Editor’s Note p. 6 The Q&A Journalist and author Nesrine Malik p. 9 Witness Compiled by Samira Shackle p. 71 Crossword Set by Chaliapin columns p. 73 Quiz Set by Chris Maslanka p. 18 Rights The abuse scandal that has rocked Poland’s Church By Madeline Roache Contents Winter 2019 p. 16 Cosmos The alien creatures that live in our bodies By Marcus Chown p. 69 In a word “Will” By Michael Rosen p. 74 Endgame Not to be continued By Laurie Taylor Features Richard Smyth on the nature cure, page 34 “The classroom became a mirror for the politics of wider society” Antonia Dawes, page 60 p. 22 History How nostalgia and mythmaking shape both sides of the Brexit debate By Charlotte Lydia Riley p. 26 Medicine A revolutionary new gene therapy could help us – as long as we get the economics right By Peter Forbes p. 30 Cover story The conventional model of rational debate is broken, and here’s how to fix it By Eleanor Gordon-Smith p. 34 Outdoors Why do we so often turn to the natural landscape when we want to be cured of our ills? By Richard Smyth p. 38 Reportage Is Uzbekistan’s thaw the real deal, or just a show for tourists? By Marc Bennetts p. 42 Ideas How the illusion of a borderless world masks the violence of our age By Achille Mbembe Culture p. 48 Music In praise of the trailblazing elder stateswomen of rock By Samira Ahmed P ho t o St o c k y / A l am F l o r i l e g ius 4 New Humanist | Winter 2019
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p. 52 Television The rise and rise of the period drama in the age of streaming By Caroline Crampton p. 56 Technology Is a “digital detox” possible? And what happens when you try it? By Rory Fenton p. 60 Crossings How teaching languages to migrants taught me some valuable lessons By Antonia Dawes Books k e sp e a r e sha o r : e l e an t r at io n i l lus ov e r p. 64 Reviews Luke de Noronha on nationalism in modern Britain; Ralph Cowling on surveillance capitalism; Juliet Jacques on a lost heroine of architecture; Andrew Mueller on propaganda; Les Back on refugees; Jeffrey Lamb on Einstein poetry p. 51 Gerard Smyth p. 55 Greg Delanty p. 59 Tsvetanka Elenkova p. 63 Jordi Doce ontributors Samira Ahmed is a BBC presenter and visiting professor of journalism at Kingston University Les Back is a professor of sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London Marc Bennetts is a reporter based in Moscow and author of I’m Going to Ruin Their Lives: Inside Putin’s War on Russia’s Opposition (Oneworld) Marcus Chown is the author, most recently, of Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand: 50 Wonders That Reveal an Extraordinary Universe (Michael O’Mara) Ralph Cowling works for a technology company Caroline Crampton is a podcaster and author of The Way to the Sea: The Forgotten Histories of the Thames Estuary (Granta) Antonia Dawes is a sociologist who lectures at King’s College London Rory Fenton works in international development and is a former dialogue officer for Humanists UK Peter Forbes writes mainly on biology, medicine and things nano Eleanor Gordon-Smith is an Australian philosopher and the author of Stop Being Reasonable: Six Stories of How We Really Change Our Minds (Scribe) Juliet Jacques is an artist and critic and the author of the memoir Trans (Verso) Jeffrey Lamb is a criminal barrister Chris Maslanka is the author of several puzzle books Achille Mbembe is a Cameroonian philosopher currently based at the Wits Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa Andrew Mueller is the author of I Wouldn’t Start from Here: A Misguided Tour of the Early 21st Century (Portobello) uke de Noronha is a sociologist and author of the forthcoming book Deporting Black Britons: Portraits of Deportation to Jamaica (Manchester University Press) Charlotte Lydia Riley is a lecturer in history at the University of Southampton Madeline Roache is a reporter who focuses on human rights in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union Michael Rosen is a poet and novelist and a professor of children’s literature at Goldsmiths, University of London Martin Rowson is a cartoonist and author Richard Smyth is the author of A Sweet, Wild Note: What We Hear When the Birds Sing (Elliott & Thompson) Laurie Taylor is president of the Rationalist Association and presents Thinking Allowed on BBC Radio 4 New Humanist, ISSN 0306-512X, is published four times a year by the Rationalist Association © 2019 New Humanist Printed by Blackmore Ltd, Dorset The views expressed in New Humanist are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Rationalist Association New Humanist | Winter 2019 5

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Regulars p. 3 Editor’s Note p. 6 The Q&A Journalist and author Nesrine Malik p. 9 Witness Compiled by Samira Shackle p. 71 Crossword Set by Chaliapin columns p. 73 Quiz Set by Chris Maslanka p. 18 Rights The abuse scandal that has rocked Poland’s Church By Madeline Roache Contents Winter 2019

p. 16 Cosmos The alien creatures that live in our bodies By Marcus Chown p. 69 In a word “Will” By Michael Rosen p. 74 Endgame Not to be continued By Laurie Taylor

Features

Richard Smyth on the nature cure, page 34

“The classroom became a mirror for the politics of wider society” Antonia Dawes, page 60

p. 22 History How nostalgia and mythmaking shape both sides of the Brexit debate By Charlotte Lydia Riley p. 26 Medicine A revolutionary new gene therapy could help us – as long as we get the economics right By Peter Forbes p. 30 Cover story The conventional model of rational debate is broken, and here’s how to fix it By Eleanor Gordon-Smith p. 34 Outdoors Why do we so often turn to the natural landscape when we want to be cured of our ills? By Richard Smyth p. 38 Reportage Is Uzbekistan’s thaw the real deal, or just a show for tourists? By Marc Bennetts p. 42 Ideas How the illusion of a borderless world masks the violence of our age By Achille Mbembe Culture p. 48 Music In praise of the trailblazing elder stateswomen of rock By Samira Ahmed

P ho t o

St o c k y

/ A l am

F l o r i l e g ius

4

New Humanist | Winter 2019

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