Culture
John Cooper Clarke: ‘I could go to six funerals a week. But no man can live on vol au vents alone’
The Bard of Salford, who is publishing his latest poetry collection at 77, talks to Ursula Kenny about getting older, wrestling with technology and the joys of cycling on very flat roads
Q&A
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Review of the Week: The 90s: Art and Fashion
We were due a rigorous cultural appraisal of an increasingly mythologised decade. Sadly, Tate Britain's jarring clash of modern masterpieces and glossy-mag photoshoots is not it, writes Nerve art critic Ben Luke. Plus, he picks five shows to see during Frieze month in London
Reviews
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‘When you feel something, that’s what fuels you’: how a new generation of performers is reviving the theatre of protest
On stages across the UK this autumn, theatre companies are fighting social issues head-on, using clowns, choreography and even food donations from the audience. Maddy Costa reports
Culture
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The Nerve Hotlist
The best culture to enjoy this week – from Salman Toor’s richly imagined queer worlds to AK Blakemore’s dazzling novel of a 19th-century English revolt – as chosen by our editors and writers
Culture
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Review of the Week: The Standard of Living at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Uniquely talented at turning political history into lively drama, the playwright James Graham’s soulful, timely portrait of economist John Maynard Keynes explores what it means to lead ‘a good life’, writes Dorian Lynskey
Reviews
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‘I’m surprised we came through it so well’: Salman Rushdie and Rachel Eliza Griffiths on surviving assassination
As a new documentary remembers the three-decade fatwa against the novelist that led to his near-fatal knife attack in 2022, he and his wife discuss hope, history and how his life was saved by the courage of strangers
Culture
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The Recommender: Kiell Smith-Bynoe
The star of Ghosts and Stath Lets Flats shares his favourite recent cultural favourites
Culture
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The Nerve Hotlist
The best culture to enjoy this week, from Austen remixed to photographer Sunil Gupta's loving portraits of queer life, as chosen by our editors and writers
Culture
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Laurie Anderson: ‘I learned a lot through blunders. I’m not trying to live a perfect life’
The pioneering artist answers the Nerve Q&A about Trump’s threat to culture, how she finds inspiration – and her forthcoming first-ever show in Wales. Interview by Jude Rogers
Q&A
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The Recommender: Clint Dyer
The actor, director and playwright shares his recent cultural favourites
Culture
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The Nerve Hotlist
The best culture to enjoy this week – from Sharon Horgan's hilarious new comedy to Thelma & Louise: the musical – as enjoyed by our team of writers and editors
Culture
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From celebrity intellectual to anti-woke outlaw: how Steven Pinker lost his way
The pop psychologist’s new book seems to betray a lurking fear of others’ criticism – about his Epstein links, his manosphere admirers and his discredited former field of study, writes Virginia Heffernan
Culture
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‘We don't want just bums on seats’: how the Yard, London’s coolest theatre, was reborn
Created from scavenged scaffolding in a scrappy corner of Hackney in 2011, the venue became celebrated for innovation and talent spotting. Now reopened following a £7m rebuild, its artistic director Jay Miller intends to keep breaking boundaries. Interview by Fergus Morgan
Culture
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The Nerve Hotlist
The best culture to check out this week – from a Tilda Swinton tour de force to the new album by jazz stars Ezra Collective – as enjoyed by our editors and writers
Culture
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Parlour games and real-life pain: the enduring, subversive power of Agatha Christie
As a season of Christie TV, theatre, books and events kicks off, Dorian Lynskey sees the author’s everlasting play The Mousetrap for the first time – and finds it far from what he was expecting
Culture
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Lyse Doucet: ‘The fear of not being a journalist was bigger than the fear of what was around me’
The BBC correspondent and winner of the 2026 Women's prize for non-fiction answers the Nerve Q&A on friendship, bravery, and the importance of Yorkshire tea. Interview by Ursula Kenny
Q&A
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We need to talk about the Bayeux Tapestry show and its billionaire sponsor
Igor Tulchinsky, whose name and portrait are front and centre of the British Museum’s blockbuster show, has funded the IDF and donated to Trump even as the president undermines cultural institutions, writes Nerve art critic Ben Luke
Culture
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Meera Syal: ‘The government is like a typical Asian parent. Art is seen as a waste of time’
The actor, novelist and star of Goodness Gracious Me talks to Tara Joshi about racism, growing up, and blazing a trail under the gaze of disapproving aunties
TV
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Jon Ronson: ‘The worst moments of my life are when I’m between stories’
As his new book The Castle is published, the author and journalist talks to Dorian Lynskey about male midlife crises, country life and why he’s written about his former friend Graham Linehan
Q&A
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Saul Williams: ‘Resistance fighters need something to listen to’
The multitalented musician, poet, film-maker and Sinners actor talks to Kate Hutchinson about finding energy, his friendship with Robert Del Naja, and making music in troubled times
Q&A
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Bella Ramsey: ‘I go to Quaker meetings and just sit in silence for an hour!’
The Game of Thrones and Last of Us actor, now starring in the buzzy indie drama Sunny Dancer, talks to Hanna Flint about coming of age, looking for faith ... and the apparently endless process of doing the laundry
Q&A
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Ellen E Jones: AI can already create films. What it can’t create is art
A machine-made movie has premiered at Tribeca and virtual actor Tilly Norwood is about to star in a feature. But if there’s no soul, no emotion, or no attempt at human connection ... who cares? By Ellen E Jones
Culture
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The 10 best things to see at Edinburgh festival 2026 – from chaotic monks and teen punks to Bigfoot hysteria
Four thousand shows, one month: how do you choose? Critic and dedicated festivalgoer Fergus Morgan offers a guide to the hottest tickets
Culture
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Joe Lycett: ‘Part of me thinks: we've had so many prime ministers, why not give the bin a go?’
Ahead of a major solo exhibition, the comedian, artist and presenter answers the Nerve Q&A - on Celebrity Traitors, politics, and how his toddler has already started heckling Richard Tice. Interview by Michael Hogan
Q&A
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