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John Green
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Film of the week / 1 May 2025
1 May 2025

JOHN GREEN recommends a German comedy that celebrates the old GDR values of solidarity, community and a society not dominated by consumerism

Mural depicting the symbol of the revolution - a soldier with a carnation in the barrel of his gun; People celebrating on top of a tank in Lisbon during the Carnation Revolution of April 25 1974 / Pics: IsmailKupeli/CC; Public domain
Books / 24 April 2025
24 April 2025

JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal

PULLING NO PUNCHES: Activists from the feminist campaign gro
Features / 17 April 2025
17 April 2025

Mountains of research show that hardcore material harms children, yet there are still no simple measures in place

(L to R) How many Aunties?, Back Hares Mount, Leeds, 1978; M
Photography / 14 April 2025
14 April 2025

Peter Mitchell's photography reveals a poetic relationship with Leeds

TOUR DE FORCE: for Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus
Film of the week / 10 April 2025
10 April 2025
Odysseus’s homecoming myth is treated as a factual story, with strong resonances for our contemporary world. This is an implicit anti-war film that has an urgent relevance, writes JOHN GREEN
LABORATORY OF BULLYING: A scene from Ken Loach's Kes
Books / 27 March 2025
27 March 2025
JOHN GREEN recommends an entertaining, if harsh and instructive, study of bullying, discipline and power dynamics in schools and at work
MASTERMIND; (L) Jon Pertwee as Dr Who in Invasion of the Din
Books / 13 March 2025
13 March 2025
JOHN GREEN surveys the remarkable career of screenwriter Malcolm Hulke and the essential part played by his membership of the Communist Party
CRUNCH TIME: Voters queue outside a polling station in Nuuk,
Features / 12 March 2025
12 March 2025
As climate change makes vast mineral deposits accessible, the island’s 56,000 residents face unprecedented pressure from Trump’s territorial ambitions while struggling to maintain their traditional way of life, writes JOHN GREEN
KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL: Wycliffe's Bible in the British Library -
Books / 29 January 2025
29 January 2025
JOHN GREEN is dissatisfied with a book that fails to address the promotion of ignorance as a ruling-class strategy to maintain control
REALITY DENIED: Concert in the foyer of the Palast der Repub
Books / 28 January 2025
28 January 2025
JOHN GREEN takes issue with a mainstream novel designed to denigrate the GDR
IDEOLOGICAL CLARITY: East German propaganda against former N
Books / 22 January 2025
22 January 2025
JOHN GREEN advises caution when reading a highly informative account of the way thousands of top Nazis escaped justice and found employment in the West
RISING RIGHT: Activists wearing masks of far-right politicia
Features / 6 January 2025
6 January 2025
Driven on by novel forms of hard-right populism like Modi and Trump, European neofascists are skillfully rebranding themselves and taking power by copying the left's language — just as they did in the last century, writes JOHN GREEN
Illustrations Sue Coe
Books / 18 December 2024
18 December 2024
JOHN GREEN debates the potential of a book that explores fascism in US history and its contemporary impact to reach the audience it deserves
READ THE BODY LANGUAGE: Merkel, Macron, Putin and Zelensky f
Books / 6 December 2024
6 December 2024
JOHN GREEN wades through the autobiography of Angela Merkel in search any trace of political vision or historical awareness
Books / 4 December 2024
4 December 2024
JOHN GREEN appreciates a stunning record of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London
MISUNDERSTOOD BRUTALIST GENIUS: Gordon Benson and Alan Forsy
Books / 27 November 2024
27 November 2024
Despite its anti-socialist bias, JOHN GREEN recommends a new survey of British architecture that seeks to educate and provoke
DOOMED: William Simpson’s depiction of the Charge of the L
Books / 16 October 2024
16 October 2024
JOHN GREEN recommends a history of the Black Sea peninsula, situated at a crossroads between Europe and Asia
Consuelo Kanaga. Young Girl in Profile, 1948.
Books / 3 October 2024
3 October 2024
JOHN GREEN marvels at the rediscovery of a radical US photographer who took the black civil rights movement to her heart
SOLIDARITY: Parents, activists and special needs assistants
Books / 5 September 2024
5 September 2024
JOHN GREEN recommends a useful how-to guide for teaching children with special needs, aimed at those working in education
Cartoon: Songi
Features / 24 July 2024
24 July 2024
Behind the superficial glitter of the Republican election campaign, lie big money interests and an assortment of extreme right-wing groups – including white supremacists, anti-semites and bizarre conspiracy theorists, warns JOHN GREEN
TEACHING MATERIALS: pages from Michal Rosen and Jeff Perks's
Exhibition preview / 28 June 2024
28 June 2024
JOHN GREEN applauds the clarity with which an upcoming exhibition and book make plain Britain's role in the slave trade
CARNATION REVOLUTIONARY: Celeste Caeiro, 90, holds red carna
Features / 25 April 2024
25 April 2024
Covering the revolt for East German television 50 years ago, JOHN GREEN witnessed first-hand how the revolution blossomed and withered, as anti-worker and reformist forces aligned to keep the Communist Party from power
FREE AT LAST: Huge crowds at May Day 1974
Features / 25 April 2024
25 April 2024
In part one of two articles, JOHN GREEN recounts his experience covering the fall of Portugal’s 41-year-old dictatorship in 24 hours, a remarkable moment of unity and hope, as the masses embraced freedom
OF THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE: Mayor Andy Burnham proudly sho
Books / 4 April 2024
4 April 2024
With respect for the authors’ intentions, JOHN GREEN demonstrates the lack of class consciousness that undermines their critique of dysfunctional Britain