22 May 2006

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

Heroes of our time - the top 50

Inspirational - yet worlds apart: there was no doubt about the victor in our readers' survey to find the heroes of our time. But who could have predicted such strong support for Margaret Thatcher and the Queen? Jason Cowley on the winners and losers

By Jason Cowley

Features

Excuse me, is this 'the left'?

By John Kampfner

On the day Hugo Chávez hit London, Tony Blair launched his "Let's talk" initiative. John Kampfner listened to both men, and came to a few conclusions

Giving something back

By Kathryn Corrick

Social enterprise is about more than recycling and restaurants - as the winners of an awards scheme show. Kathryn Corrick reports

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Stop the ugly attack on our human rights

If you take the protection of the law away from any minority, however unpopular, you endanger all minorities and all individuals

The Politics Column

The politics column - Not the way to fight terror

By John Denham

We need a coherent strategy to prevent young British Muslims being drawn into extremist violence. But no such strategy yet exists

Michela Wrong meets an African version of herself

By Michela Wrong

"Kenyan men of my age openly talk of beating their girlfriends," says a friend. "The attitudes are identical to their fathers'"

Ziauddin Sardar wants to rename the Balkans

By Ziauddin Sardar

It would help free "the Balkans" from their orientalist baggage if we replaced the name with "south-east Europe"

Commons Confidential

Village life - Kevin Maguire has a vision of Jack Straw, naked

By Kevin Maguire

Strangers on a train, Jack laid bare, and a Chief Whip with a grudge

Competition

Win vouchers to spend in any Tesco store

Culture

The writing on the wall

By Rachel Aspden

From ancient Arabic script to Gaza City graffiti, a fascinating exhibition shows that the written word is a cornerstone of Middle Eastern identity, finds Rachel Aspden

Price check

By Richard Brooks

The government is leaving responsibility for funding to big business. Will the arts suffer for it, asks Richard Brooks

Jailbreak

By Imogen Carter

Musicals - Theatre is cashing in on TV's mass appeal, but a good show requires more than bums on seats

Radio

Radio - Zoe Williams

By Zoe Williams

I felt I had discovered the comic dervishes responsible for Down the Line. How wrong I was

Theatre

Rewriting history

By Michael Portillo

Theatre - A paranoid dictator's imagined nightmares fail to convince, writes Michael Portillo Breakfast With Mugabe Duchess Theatre, London WC2

Film

Too cool for school

By Victoria Segal

Film - A life-or-death struggle lurks behind glittering teen clichés, writes Victoria Segal Brick (15)

Television

Behind the curve

By Andrew Billen

Television - A clumsy adaptation mangles a Booker winner's subtle touch, writes Andrew Billen The Line of Beauty (BBC2)

Books

In search of the good life

By Richard Reeves

The Secrets of Happiness Richard Schoch Profile, 288pp, £15.99 ISBN 1861979096 A Brief History of Happiness Nicholas White Blackwell Publishing, 208pp, £9.99 ISBN 1405115203 The Challenge of Affluence: self-control and well-being in the United States and Britain since 1950 Avner Offer Oxford University Press, 454pp, £30 ISBN 0198208537 Books about happiness are pouring off the presses, but we still haven't cracked the secret of well-being. Is our culture of instant gratification the problem? Is it the job of the state to make us feel better? Richard Reeves ponders some suggestions