TheatreDown's syndrome Changing attitudesThe life of Daniel Miller perfectly illustrates the change in attitudes to people with Down's syndrome over the past 40 years on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the 1960s people with Down's syndrome were almost automatically institutionalised at birth. Reports of life in those institutions are grim. There are stories of people pretending they could not speak or read in an attempt to go unnoticed. Others tell of shackles used to restrain unruly children and teenagers still wearing nappies because of the lack of toilet-training.
Books This article is more than 4 months oldIn praise of short books: to start and finish in one sitting is a rare, unbridled joyThis article is more than 4 months oldPaul DaleyWriting a short novel is an enviable skill that, when pulled off, can be utterly transportive. Here are some recent favourites
What’s the best short book you’ve ever read? Join us in the commentsIn recent weeks and months, more by chance than planning, I’ve been reading more much shorter books than I usually do.
From Rock's BackpagesMusicInterviewLeonard Cohen: 'For me to commit suicide or OD would be ... unbecoming'Mick BrownAhead of his 80th birthday and the release of a new album, here’s a classic interview from Sounds in 1976, courtesy of Rock’s Backpages Leonard Cohen discusses Hallelujah Listen to our exclusive stream of Leonard Cohen’s new album
The poster outside Bristol’s Colston Hall announced the appearance that evening of “The Poet of Rock and Roll”.
MusicalsReviewPark theatre, London
Lydia White is magnetic as the aspirational Jo in an uneven but stirring adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic
Jo March is a heroine well suited to musical theatre. She pulses with enthusiasm; she’s obsessed with the dramatic; she’s just a tiny bit full of herself. “I am bursting with energy,” Jo sings in this adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s most famous novel. And so is Lydia White’s compelling performance as the March girl who wants to live more than the life that 19th-century society has ascribed to her.
PlantwatchScience This article is more than 3 years oldThis article is more than 3 years oldLockdown may have given us more respect for the wild plants, and the work they do, in our urban areas
Weeds have a public image problem – unloved, trodden on, dug up and sprayed with herbicides. But during lockdown, the weeds in towns and cities have given a contact with nature, no matter how humble their roots.
BooksReviewKathy Kleiman’s offers a valuable boost to our understanding of modern computers and their beginnings in wartime
In 1942, the unthinkable happened. This “help wanted” ad appeared in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin: “Looking for Women Math Majors.”
Under the Skin review: US healthcare, racism and a terrible toll takenRead moreThe ad was placed by the US army, which was hiring women to work at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, at the University of Pennsylvania.
Crosswords Thu 7 Dec 2023 00.00 GMT Quick crossword No 16,720 Print | PDF version | Accessible version Thu 7 Dec 2023 00.00 GMT Time on your hands? Stay connected and keep in touch with your friends with our new Puzzles mobile app. You can access more than 15,000 crosswords and sudoku and solve puzzles online together. Download and try it for free now. Time on your hands? Stay connected and keep in touch with your friends with our new Puzzles mobile app.
Russia This article is more than 8 years oldRussia steps up hostility against Turkey with war room briefingThis article is more than 8 years oldForeign press and diplomats invited to hear Moscow denounce ‘Turkish elites’ for stealing 200,000 tonnes of oil a day and channelling funds to Isis
Although Turkey may have replaced the US as Russia’s rhetorical enemy No 1, the animations playing on the giant screens in Moscow’s new “war room” complex hadn’t yet been updated: they still featured the glowing red outline of North America under laser-like lines that seemed to suggest crosshairs.
Barbie actor Margot Robbie attends the film’s premiere in Seoul on 2 July. The movie struggled to attract big audiences in South Korea. Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenBarbie actor Margot Robbie attends the film’s premiere in Seoul on 2 July. The movie struggled to attract big audiences in South Korea. Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesSouth KoreaCritics point to patriarchal society where feminist themes can still be regarded as taboo
US CongressObituaryCharlie Wilson obituaryFlamboyant Texan congressman who masterminded covert US support for the mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan warIt is rare for one individual seriously to divert the course of history. To have done so virtually unnoticed was the astonishing achievement of the former Texas congressman Charlie Wilson, who has died aged 76 after suffering a cardiopulmonary arrest.
His accomplishment in launching and sustaining America's largest clandestine war – supplying arms to Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets in the 1980s – might have been more understandable had he been a discreet figure sliding greyly through the corridors of power.