This week's New Statesman is a special issue guest-edited by Jemima Khan. Inside, Hugh Grant reveals what happened when he turned the tables on the News of the World phone-hackers by secretly recording a former NoW executive. Elsewhere, Jemima talks to Nick Clegg, the "Tim Henman of British politics", who admits that he "cries regularly to music", reveals that his nine-year-old son asks, "Why are the students angry with you, Papa?", and explains why he won't be dining with James Murdoch any time soon.

Other contributors include Julian Assange, who argues that WikiLeaks stands firmly in the tradition of the American radical press, the Hollywood film director Oliver Stone, who delivers a damning verdict on the Obama presidency so far, James Fox, who warns that the law in New Orleans is out of control, and the Conservative MP Rory Stewart, who says the west must learn the limits of intervention.

Also, don't miss Tony Benn on how freedom of information enabled the Arab revolt, Russell Brand on why Richard Dawkins is the best argument for the existence of God, and Jarvis Cocker on the long hangover since Labour's victory in 1997.

All this, plus Mehdi Hasan on why David Cameron, not Andrew Lansley, is the one to blame for the NHS fiasco, John Pilger on the real reasons for the military excursion in Libya, and Alain de Botton on the delicate art of conversation.