Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR

CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album

New releases from The Mountains Goats, Ed O’Brien, and YHWH Nailgun

ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung

RON JACOBS enjoys a great tale, told by a US communist, of the lives of working-class New Yorkers

BRENT CUTLER searches a new history of contemporary Iran for an understanding of the Islamic Republic, finding both interesting detail and glaring omissions

MARIA DUARTE recommends the true story of the remarkable woman who sued Donald Trump for sexual assault not once, but twice