What Britain won’t face

Am I a chin-scratching intellectual?

I appeared in a walk-on role in an excellent profile of Andy Burnham

Letter of the week: Total political recall

Write to [email protected] to have your thoughts voiced in the New Statesman magazine

Finding hope for humanity at Hay

Also: the tiresome return of Brexit, and a cultural workout

The fight for No 11

Also: sober frustrations, and learning from Robert Skidelsky

An approaching comet augurs a Burnham ascendant

Labour might be in retrograde, but it has one shooting star

For the over-forties, day-clubs are the new nightclubs

My generation relives its clubbing glory days

Is it time for Labour’s first female leader?

Party members find their history embarrassing

Why is America still talking about Kamala Harris?

The Democrats need a fresh face

In defence of vox-pop journalism

Spontaneous interviews offer a vital insight into the lives of ordinary people

Can Andy Burnham survive the pressure of Westminster?

He calls his approach “Manchesterism” – but he looks lost when he tries to define it

The Iran debacle didn’t stop Trump in Cuba. It spurred him on

Cuba is not Venezuela. A military operation to topple its regime would be a massive gamble

How Sylvia Plath dissected her pain

A new edition shows Plath’s journey to genius, and self-destruction

Whose liberty and how much equality?

American historiography is still infected by an uncritical strand of nationalism

Foursomes in the time of cholera

Susan Pedersen’s new book describes the life of a powerful 19th-century quadruplet

Douglas Stuart’s harsh visions

The Booker Prize-winning writer’s third novel is his most morally knotty

Backrooms: How 4chan “creepypasta” became Hollywood horror

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve star in an unforgettable exploration of soulless cityscapes

Gareth Southgate couldn’t fix England

Dear England is a parade of patriotic fantasies

The viruses that heal us

A new radio programme makes replaces despair and disgust with optimism

Miles Davis’s blues is more alive than ever

The trumpeter and innovator refused to be defined by his greatest hits

Arsenal winning made me absurdly happy

Things have been much more bearable since the whistle blew at 9.25pm last Tuesday

Fish Central: the pollock is great, it’s not their fault the British can’t make chips

This contrived tradition breaks the laws of taste – and physics

1984: Tony Benn seeks to reenter parliament via by-election

Beer and sandwiches: At Lucky 7 in Cricklewood

This column is our weekly pub review, written by pintsmen, women and children across the nation. Suggestions to [email protected]

Our elections look like a game of Ludo

When winning on votes fails to get you elected, is it still democracy?