RICHARD MURGATROYD enjoys a readable account of the life and meditations of one of the few Roman emperors with a good reputation
Living through Gramsci’s worst nightmare
JOE SOLO tells ALEX HALL about life as a working-class artist, and the meaning of his new anthem These Are My People
ALEX HALL asks whether intelligence, and stupidity, are the outcomes of poverty and wealth, and cultural norms
BRENT CUTLER is persuaded by a new account of the rise of Christianity, and the fall of the Roman empire
If non-human nature is devoid of value under the capitalist mode of production, this book presents the case for its reintegration, suggests HENRY BELL
The Bard takes issue with a BBC portrait of The Balkans, and sets the record straight
ANGUS REID urges you to visit Britain’s most remarkable - and mind-blowing - festival of contemporary music
MARIA DUARTE reviews Desperate Journey, Blue Moon, Pillion, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
JOE SOLO is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer from Scarborough.
His musical odyssey began in 1987 and, on top of releasing 21 albums since 2004, he helped create WE SHALL OVERCOME in 2015, a campaign pushing for a positive response from the music community to the poverty and hardship inflicted on ordinary people by the government’s austerity program.
Since October 2015 the movement has organised more than 1,100 gigs up and down Britain and beyond, raising an estimated £750,000 in cash, food, clothing and bedding for those hardest hit, and on the back of his efforts the Morning Star named Solo “Human Being of the Year.”
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