JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2009

CONTRIBUTORS

Rahila Gupta is a journalist and activist and a member of the campaiging group Southall Black Sisters. Her most recent book is Enslaved (Portobello Books). On page 10 she asks why the government is outsourcing the care of vulnerable women to faith organisations.

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22] Before the dawn Could the blogosphere herald an end to Iranian apathy? asks Nasrin Alavi

BOOK REVIEWS 44] Brenda Maddox enjoys some Renaissance history 45] Philip Womack barely survives the tedium of a new Chinese novel 46] Bill Thompson gets down with the teenagers 46] James Randerson encounters a strange legend of physics 48] Andrew Mueller enjoys some journalism with a human touch 48] Nina Power considers complicity in Iraq

Angela Saini is a science journalist and broadcaster who has worked for ITN and the BBC. Her piece on page 14, which argues that many greens have come around to nuclear power, is based on the reseacrh for her recent documentary for Al Jazeera.

Michail Ryklin is a Russian philosopher and cultural critic. A prominent Putin critic, he has been living in exile in Berlin since 2007. On page 18 he reveals the role of the Russian church and state in the recent tragic death of his wife, the artist Anna Alchuk.

Theodore Dalrymple is a retired doctor and prolific author. His always elegant, often cantankerous polemics have appeared in a wide range of publications including The Spectator and City Journal. On page 28 he warns against secular smugness.

JANUARY FEBRUARY 2009 New Humanist 5