Why there’s no such thing as a civilisation The West is obsessed with the idea that it is under threat, but that fear springs from a misunderstanding of how modern human societies work. By Yuval Harari
UK Chris Grayling’s attempt to blame the rail unions for fare rises won't work Commuters' anger will continue to be directed at substandard rail firms and an inept government. By George Eaton
UK Has a little girl from Northamptonshire just ended local government cuts? After a child and her family challenged their council, the High Court has ruled its decision to close 21 of the county’s 36 libraries unlawful. By Anoosh Chakelian
Observations How the pariah state Zimbabwe is wooing the West for business President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa declared: “Zimbabwe is open for business.” In reality, it seems, the country is for sale. By Panashe Chigumadzi
Film The problem with Disney casting a straight actor to play its first gay character Straight actors playing gay characters is fine – but there are still plenty of reasons for the LBGT+ community to be disappointed. By Louis Staples
Middle East The secret history of Mossad, Israel’s feared and respected intelligence agency Israeli intelligence from the outset occupied a shadow realm, separate from the country’s democratic institutions. A deep state. By Ronen Bergman
Books The post-crash world: how the 2008 crisis led to our current age of extremes Ten years on, the aftershocks of the crash threaten the very notion of the nation state. By Aditya Chakrabortty
Health Why the “gender data gap” means doctors don’t take women’s pain seriously enough For many years, the preclinical pain research was done almost exclusively on male cells and animals. By Caroline Criado-Perez
Technology How AI could kill off democracy Are we willing to give up our freedom in exchange for efficient, data-driven public services owned and run by tech giants? By Jamie Bartlett
Observations How good fortune is self-generated: the personal and social benefits to feeling lucky Luck is usually a matter of perspective – yet those who think they have it often end up attracting more success. By Sophie McBain
The Staggers Labour needs to decide if Corbyn’s foreign policy decisions are a distraction or an asset Team Corbyn can’t work out if their leader’s foreign policy is a distraction or a badge of honour. By Stephen Bush
UK Chris Grayling’s attempt to blame the rail unions for fare rises won't work Commuters' anger will continue to be directed at substandard rail firms and an inept government. By George Eaton
The Staggers All the political parties make this mistake, but there is no word for it Bothism? By Stephen Bush
Sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland Scotland Standing up for Scotland’s microbusinesses Microbusinesses form the fabric of Scotland’s business landscape. By Marcelino Castrillo
UK Will the trade unions defeat Jeremy Corbyn on anti-Semitism? A third union – Usdaw – has called on the Labour leader to adopt the IHRA definition and its examples in full. By Patrick Maguire
The Staggers Did Brexit kill Mark Fisher’s theory of capitalist realism? After the financial crash, Fisher wondered why it was so hard to come up with an alternative to capitalism. By Nicholas Barrett
Books Freedom, flight, oxygen, breath, space: these themes whistle through Tyler’s Clock Dance Her 22nd novel, Clock Dance is neither Tyler’s best work nor her worst. By Rebecca Swirsky
Books Christopher Andrew’s history of spying shows how undercover ops have changed history Spying has been called the second-oldest profession – after prostitution. By Adam Sisman
Q&A Alan Garner Q&A: “As we ran, Alan Turing asked me whether AI was possible” The author talks Alcibiadesk, his portraits, and lifelong advice from his grandad. By New Statesman
Music & Theatre The Globe’s Othello and the National’s Home, I’m Darling suffer opposing problems The former is oddly depoliticised, while the latter wants to make political points, but never quite lands them. By Helen Lewis
Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls is enjoyable, if undeniably cheesy, stunt journalism The BBC Two series doesn’t tell us anything new about the motives of Trump voters, but it does remind us that people – even Trump’s people – are not all the same. By Rachel Cooke
UK Why a select group of men think Yorkshire is the sexiest accent in the world A secret history of sex and the voice. By Kate Mossman
Media The BBC isn’t wedded to balance – it’s dedicated to serving its audience Speaking to, and for, the whole of the UK – means hearing from a wide range of voices, and airing conflicting opinions. By Gavin Allen
Media How the BBC’s balance issue is alienating its supporters – just when it needs them most The pursuit of balance breaks down when applied to people who have no interest in telling the truth, and who in fact set out to deliberately mislead. By Patrick Howse
UK Don’t waste valuable water on your lawn – you’ll only regret it when your vegetables bolt We should not be surprised when plants bolt or run to flower and seed – but if they’re vegetables, it is hard to be sympathetic. By Stefan Buczacki
Media Shout it from the rooftops: Alex Jones’s YouTube ban is NOT a First Amendment issue The alt-right conspiracy theorist doesn’t want free speech – he wants consequence-free speech. By Nicky Woolf
Space What if the same force that created civilisation is the thing most likely to destroy it? Have a lovely weekend, everybody. By Jonn Elledge
Health Does the NHS have a summer crisis? Spikes in demand are now an all-year event. By Saffron Cordery
Middle East How the Islamic State caliphate was lost IS has lost control of most of the territory it once held. But it is not defeated and is morphing into an international movement, inspiring more attacks. By Shiraz Maher
Asia The Nepalese girls who lost their childhoods In 2002, Nepal outlawed indentured labour for children. Now, girls taken from their families are trying to make up for missing out on education. By Helen Lewis
Middle East Trump’s Iran sanctions are a dangerous gamble As US sanctions kick in against the Islamic Republic, Iranians suffer and the world becomes a more perilous place. By Sophie McBain
Africa South Africa is the only country with a chance of stopping the bloodshed in Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa wants the international community to forget the past, but the escalating violence makes it impossible. By Martin Plaut
North America How Michael Cohen’s intervention could mark the beginning of the end for Donald Trump The president has managed to retain some personal distance from the allegations that his campaign colluded with the Russians. No longer. By Sophie McBain
Media The Daily Mail welcomes Syrian refugees – but only if they’re Christian “All the arrivals were Muslims.” By Media Mole
