19 September 2005

From the Editor…

Welcome to the New Statesman website. Whether you are a new reader or an existing one - online or via the magazine - I hope you'll enjoy the great writing, fresh ideas and provocative debate that make the New Statesman Britain's award-winning current affairs weekly

Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

Cover story

The gathering storm

Historic change is looming in the heart of Europe. At stake is far more than a mere change of leaders - Germany and France face economic and cultural upheavals of a kind that comes once in a generation. With Daniel Johnson on Germany, and David Lawday on France

By Daniel Johnson and David Lawday

Features

The women of Afghanistan find a leader

By F Brinley Bruton

As the country wakes up from 25 years of conflict and despair, a young female politician is taking on the warlords and winning. F Brinley Bruton reports from Farah Province

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Behind America's façade

By John Pilger

The destruction caused by Katrina has enabled us to glimpse realities that are usually carefully hidden away. And what we discover is that New Orleans and Baghdad are not so far apart

The state should stop playing God

By Nick Cohen

Our pious government wants faith-based bodies to run our schools and provide our welfare services, and justifies this by pretending Britain is a religious country. But it isn't

Digital TV = Atomised Family?

By Jonathan Leake

A brave new world is nearly upon us: time to throw out the telly and embrace the all-in-one "hub machine" that will become the heart of the 21st-century home. But at what price, and at what cost to family life? Jonathan Leake reports

Notes from a maternity ward

By Angela Carter

A New Statesman article from December 1983, by Angela Carter. Introduced by Kira Cochrane

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Why Brown should hold his nerve this time

The Politics Column

The politics column - Martin Bright fingers a bully

By Martin Bright

David Blunkett has not replied to recent charges that he is intimidating and duplicitous. Could it be because even his biographer has stated that "whatever else he may be, he is indeed a liar"?

Michela Wrong wakes up with a bang

By Michela Wrong

The BBC's "Why I love Africa" spot encapsulates everything that drives me crazy about attitudes to the continent

Commons Confidential

Village life - Kevin Maguire spots the PM

By Kevin Maguire

The Premier drops in, Big Mac risks one Big Gordie joke and Tim Allan avoids a tight spot

Competition

Win vouchers to spend at any Tesco store

Culture

The Persian Renaissance

By Tom Holland

A spectacular exhibition devoted to the glories of the ancient Persian empire has opened at the British Museum. It represents one of the great success stories of ancient history

Come out of the bedroom!

By Iain Simons

Video games - Deploying friendly brands is the latest tactic from a gaming industry trying to escape the geek tag

Whirling in stone

By Richard Cork

Contemporary art - Animal, vegetable, mineral; Richard Cork goes down a chalk pit to assess the sculpture of Tony Cragg

Archdukes of pop

By Alex Gibbons

Art rock - Champagne-quaffing Christs and ready-salted crisps: Alex Gibbons enjoys Franz Ferdinand's new album

Theatre

Michael Portillo - Industrial cheek

By Michael Portillo

Theatre - A tale of unruly New York workers deafens its audience, writes Michael Portillo Switch Triptych Soho Theatre, London W1

Film

John Lyttle - Fight the power

By John Lyttle

Film - A Depression-era hero strikes a blow for America's underdogs, writes John Lyttle Cinderella Man (12A)

Television

Andrew Billen - Marr's the merrier

By Andrew Billen

Television - A youthful egghead replaces Sir David on the sofa, writes Andrew Billen Sunday AM (BBC1)

The Fan

The fan - Hunter Davies counts foreigners

By Hunter Davies

No more foreigners, please - from now on, our footie will be strictly British

Books

The white man's burden. While colonialism took a terrible toll on the inhabitants of India, they were not its only victims. Pankaj Mishra on the men, women and children whose lives were transformed by serving Britain abroad

By Pankaj Mishra

The Ruling Caste: imperial lives in the Victorian Raj David Gilmour John Murray, 383pp, £25 ISBN 0719555345 Children of the Raj Vyvyen Brendon Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 362pp, £20