Author: John Mitchinson

John Mitchinson finds inspiration in a book that explores why linguistic diversity is the key to a healthy culture

‘Jonathan Black’ was revealed to be the successful publisher Mark Booth, and much was made of his insider’s knack for finding an intelligent and accessible way of presenting material of cosmic weirdness and obscurity.

Margaret Heffernan has been blurring the line between business leadership and creative thinking for more than two decades.

Martin Shaw’s life resembles one of the stories he tells with such fluency and grace.

Zakia Sewell is a writer and broadcaster and the presenter of the ever excellent ‘Dream Time’ show on Radio 6 Music on Sunday evenings. 

Michael Pollan is a celebrated American journalist and author of nine non-fiction books, several of which have become bestsellers.

Amia Srinivasan is the Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at All Souls, Oxford. She is the youngest person, the first woman, and the first person of colour, to have ever held this prestigious position (Isiah Berlin was a previous incumbent).

If you are feeling overwhelmed or exhausted by the debates raging over the power of Big Tech and the seemingly impossible task of reversing the intrusions of surveillance capitalism, the work of Carissa Véliz will come as a welcome blast of courageous common sense.

Caspar Henderson cut his teeth as an environmental journalist working first on the BBC Radio 4 flagship programme Costing the Earth, and then as a senior editor at openDemocracy.

Melanie Challenger is one of the most interesting writers currently working in the rich seam that connects natural history, environment, and ethics.

If you have even a passing interest in regenerative business, sustainable development, or ways we might reverse climate change, then Hawken is your man: he has been a key thinker and activist in these areas for the last six decades.

These are difficult times. The sense of being engulfed by a history one can’t control.

Even if you have only the most glancing interest in economics, you are likely to have heard of Kate Raworth and her doughnut. Her idea was first presented in a paper written for Oxfam in 2009 called ‘A Safe and Just Space for Humanity’ and, in 2017, became the basis for a bestselling book, Doughnut…

If there is a patron saint of this column then it has to be the American writer and activist Rebecca Solnit. Her ability to weave together original historical research, personal memoir, and political activism has inspired millions.