‘I was young and naive – now I’m wizened and cynical’: James O’Brien on the politicians who always let you down

If Britain is broken, the talk radio host knows who to blame, from Nigel Farage to Jeremy Corbyn to Boris Johnson. True, he once voted for some of them, but he’s not going to let them off the hook

Laura Bates: ‘The algorithmically facilitated mass radicalisation of young men is lads’ mags on steroids’

The feminist activist and author on writing her first fantasy novel, dealing with online death threats and why the new generation of teenagers gives her hope

We live in troubled times, but can fear be a force for good?

Anxiety is an obvious response to world events. But what if fear is actually a motivational emotion driving change? Here, author Robert Peckham reveals why the history of fear is the history of hope

‘We didn’t half have a laugh’: writers Nina Stibbe and Deborah Moggach on living together, breakups and needy cockapoos

Stibbe’s warm and witty new book describes the year she lodged with Moggach, the author of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Sunday with Michael Morpurgo: ‘We go to the pub where I was inspired to write War Horse’

The children’s author on lunch at the pub that changed his life, alcohol-free Guinness, and games with grandchilden

Samantha Harvey: ‘I like Alien as much as anybody else. But I see this novel as space pastoral’

The novelist who’s been likened to Virginia Woolf on her new book set on the International Space Station, how insomnia has changed the way she thinks – and her fascination with time and faith

Nobel prize winner Jon Fosse: ‘It took years before I dared to write again’

In 2012, the Norwegian novelist and playwright collapsed. He gave up drinking, retreating from the public eye – then, earlier this month, he got a call from the Swedish academy. He discusses how it feels to win a Nobel prize

‘The band, the scene… I put it all in there’: Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore on his memoir of a rock’n’roll life

With cameos from William Burroughs and Iggy Pop, Sonic Life – the musician’s new autobiography – chronicles his long relationship with Kim Gordon and life at the vanguard of US indie-rock

John le Carré biographer Adam Sisman: ‘He wanted to make me love him’

Sisman, whose new book on the spy turned novelist chronicles his many extramarital affairs, discusses the morality of biography and how le Carré attempted to seduce him

‘I accomplished my dream. Why did I feel invisible?’: Leigh-Anne Pinnock on Little Mix, racism in pop, and going solo

With five chart-topping singles and three Brits, the singer realised her childhood dreams of pop stardom, but at a cost. She reflects on fame, loneliness, and why she no longer feels the need to compromise

Novelist Jesmyn Ward: ‘Losing my partner almost made me stop writing’

When the father of her children died suddenly, the US National Book award-winning author’s world fell apart. Three years on, she talks about grief, starting over and how she wrote her searing new novel about slavery

Tony Birch: ‘I got into a lot of fights. I was a very good street boxer’

Life could have turned out very differently for Birch, who was twice expelled from school as a boy. The celebrated author reflects on masculinity, AFL and surviving domestic violence

‘Steve Bannon is watching us closely’: Naomi Klein on populists, conspiracists and real-world activism

Author speaks candidly about a ‘mirror world’ that feeds our anxieties, distorts reality and fuels the polarisation of society

‘Mind-boggling’: Johnny Marr on his 53 favourite guitars – and the one Noel Gallagher smashed

They were used to write Smiths classics like Still Ill and What Difference Does It Make? As the star publishes a coffee-table book telling the stories of his most adored guitars, he remembers the loan to Noel that made him give up booze

The woman who walked alone across the desert: what Robyn Davidson learned by risking everything

In her 20s, Davidson trekked 1,700 miles through the Australian wilderness. This led to the bestselling book Tracks and global fame. Half a century later she has written about what motivated her – including the tragic early death of her mother