10 July 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

The house of slaves

In the murky basement of his home in Washington's affluent Georgetown district, Andrew Stephen makes a discovery that leads him to some terrible truths about America, past and present

By Andrew Stephen

Features

Why we are failing our children

By Donald Hirsch

Despite tax credits and other measures, the government is further away than ever from meeting its child poverty targets. Real change will come only when society realises the damage being done

Trying hard to make good

By Mary Braid

Two single mothers tell Mary Braid of their struggle to get by

Where were you?

Five things you might have missed last week

Regulars

New Statesman Leader

Not so much mission creep as mission deceit

If we quit, Afghanistan will sink into the medievalism of the pre-2001 Taliban era. If we stay, will this conflict dwarf Iraq?

The Politics Column

The sham goes on

By Martin Bright

Only one proposal put forward by Muslims who gathered to tackle the causes of extremism has been taken up

Commons Confidential

Whips size up Old Testament Bob

By Kevin Maguire

Prize worthy No 3936

Set by Hank T Romein We've got the Nobel, the Pulitzer. We wanted to know for what qualities or achievements the Archer, the Bragg or the Prescott, for example, might be awarded

Culture

Internet killed the video star

By Viv Groskop

As the digital revolution gathers pace and the export of American culture becomes increasingly fraught, MTV is losing its cool

Losing yourself in music

By Emily Jeal

MTV has been "Indianised" - but is it still an American brand at heart? Emily Jeal investigates

Between the lines

By Rachel Aspden

Rachel Aspden meets a photographer documenting Arab-Israeli soldiers' painful struggle for identity

The sound of music

By Christopher Bray

Bernard Herrmann's soundtracks proved too good for Alfred Hitchcock

Theatre

Sesame Street grows up

By Rosie Millard

A cynical, riotous adult puppet show is a tonic for anyone over 30 Avenue Q Noël Coward Theatre, London WC2

Film

Sun, sea, sand and horror

By Ryan Gilbey

Beachside dreams go sour in two gruesome tales Pirates of the Caribbean: dead man's chest (12A) dir: Gore Verbinsky Heading South (15) dir: Laurent Cantet

Television

Officers and gentlemen

By Andrew Billen

At the Battle of the Somme, heroism was not confined to ordinary soldiers The Somme - From Defeat to Victory BBC1

Radio

The call of the wild

By Rachel Cooke

Ian Hislop makes a tame exploration of Middle England

Books

The prophets of prosperity

By Terry Eagleton

Suicide of the West Richard Koch and Chris Smith Continuum, 224pp, £14.99 ISBN 0826490239 Christianity, science, individualism, economic growth: is it really these that have ensured the "success" of our culture? Terry Eagleton on the nasty myth of western progress

Girls on top

By Kate Saunders

Words of Love: passionate women from Heloise to Sylvia Plath Pamela Norris HarperCollins, 501pp, £25 ISBN 0002571781

For richer, for poorer

By John Kay

Adam Smith, Radical and Egalitarian: an interpretation for the 21st century Iain McLean Edinburgh University Press, 224pp, £40 ISBN 0748623531 Adam Smith and the Pursuit of Perfect Liberty James Buchan Profile Books, 288pp, £15.99 ISBN 1861979053