Thursday, August 15, 2024

NEW HUMANIST

Britain's new era: our Autumn 2024 edition asks, what now?


It's time to take stock of where the country is, and where we'd like to be. What's happening with discipline in our schools? How do we heal the "toxic culture" in our NHS? And will refugee rights be restored under the new government?

By Editorial Staff , Thursday, 15th August 2024



The Autumn 2024 issue of New Humanist is on sale now! This issue we're delving in to Britain's new era – from schools to the NHS to refugee policy.

Spare the rod

Cherry Casey explores the rise of super strict schools across England. Some are achieving impressive results – but at what cost?


"The ultra-disciplined approach – often referred to as championing “high behavioural standards,” “strong leadership” and a “no excuses” mantra – is spreading ... Yet many pupils, parents and teachers feel it comes with heavy costs to children’s mental health, wellbeing and educational outcomes. And they are speaking out."
Crisis of compassion

Following the revelations of the Birth Trauma Inquiry, journalist and former midwife Pavan Amara looks at persistent reports of a "toxic culture" within the NHS, the institutional failures that have led to it – and what can be done to fix it.


“If you talk to people who have never worked in the health service, they have no idea that it’s a lot like the army. It’s a tough place, everyone is in survival mode."
Ken Loach

Director Ken Loach – renowned for his films documenting the lives of working people in Britain – talks to us about reclaiming solidarity in British politics.

"Human values have political implications … If someone falls down in your street, you would help ... And yet we elect people to represent us who do the opposite."
In this together

Writer and feminist Natasha Walter talks to us about refugee rights, climate activism, and what humanism means today.


"For a few years we got policy wins [on refugee rights] ... But then came this unbelievable backlash. I felt we won certain battles but we lost a war in the last few years."

Credit: Alamy

Also in the Autumn 2024 issue:Michael Rosen follows the history and meaning of the word "landslide"
Peter Salmon explores why political defections feel so wrong
Kunal Purohit meets the Indian communities fighting back against religious hate
Jody GarcĂ­a looks at where the battle for Guatemala's democracy could lead
Jody Ray tracks one of the world's first malaria vaccine rollouts in Sierra Leone
Shaparak Khorsandi offers tips on the lost art of eavesdropping
Samira Ahmed issues a call to remember the Pacific War, before it's too late
Jessa Crispin has a hot take on what's really driving Swiftmania
A brush with cancer gets comedian Richard Herring laughing about death
Dan McCarthy thinks it's no bad thing if adults are acting like kids
Briley Lewis takes an astronomer's eye to a Hollywood blockbuster about Apollo 11
Bethany Elliott describes how Ukraine's national identity was put to the ultimate test

Plus more fascinating features on the biggest topics shaping our world today, and all our regular science columns, book reviews, original poetry, the cryptic crossword and brainteaser.


To celebrate the launch, we're offering six months of New Humanist for just £1! Subscribe now using code AUGUST24 (offer valid until the end of the month) or buy a single issue online and in all good newsagents. Read on for a peek inside the magazine.

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