Issue 1392

How to give a fig
Our weakened democratic systems have left us with a cohort of populist demagogues who don’t represent the people, leaving us with unequal societies in which nobody is happy. Turkish-born writer and political scientist Elif Shafak tells Kevin Gopal that our language and our tech need democratising too, and why in her new book she even gives voice to a tree.

Mastiff inspiration
Alexis Fleming runs one of the only animal hospices in the country. She tells Susan Griffin about the dog that inspired her to open it, how it’s paradoxically a joyous place to be – and about her own brush with death.

Plus
News, arts and entertainment, columnist Saskia Murphy on the Olympics and Simone Biles, Jackson Browne’s letter to his younger self, crossword, Sudoku and more.