Clive Stafford Smith: ‘The jury system in this country is utter insanity’
The lawyer and founder of Reprieve on defending clients on death row, why the whole justice system is flawed – and his fear of appearing sanctimonious
Iris Origo: the author honoured by a music festival
Origo was an aristocratic Italian writer who dreamed of creating a new society. Selma Dabbagh visits the magnificent Tuscan estate where her grandson has set up a yearly celebration
Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan by Rajiv Chandrasekaran – review
This account of America's decade-long adventure in Afghanistan makes for essential reading, writes Jason Burke
Ukraine’s war of the words
Andrey Kurkov: The politicisation of our language means Ukrainian writers like me who use Russian are under real pressure
Why Marxism is on the rise again
Capitalism is in crisis across the globe – but what on earth is the alternative? Well, what about the musings of a certain 19th-century German philosopher? Yes, Karl Marx is going mainstream – and goodness knows where it will end
The tyrannical world of Thomas the Tank Engine
Sarah Ditum: Kids love this little dipstick of an engine and Mattel loves the merchandising opportunities. But what a chilling isle Sodor is
Try Irn Bru, leave the square sausage, advises Japanese guide to Scotland
A new guidebook has some blunt tips for Japanese visitors to Scotland, including avoiding football fans and council estates
Afghanistan: the war within a war
Rajiv Chandrasekaran's new book, Little America, shows how infighting between the US and British military has wrought disaster in Afghanistan
Theatre takes Socrates’s teachings on tour of crisis-hit Greece
Socrates is as relevant as ever, 2,400 years after his death, say creators of one-man performance of The Apology
John Donne, priest and poet, part 7: puns in defiance of reason
Roz Kaveney: How to believe: One of Donne's most serious poems about death and fears about salvation is structured around an elaborate series of puns
Ebooks shouldn’t be restricted by European borders
Neelie Kroes: Why have ebooks if not to access them in an instant? Europe needs a digital single market for consumers to buy books across boundaries
Nora Ephron had a reputation for sharpness, but she was absurdly kind
Romantic films were what made Ephron famous though she was by constitution a reporter – sarcastic and irreverent
Salman Rushdie fatwa turned into Iranian video game
The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of his Verdict unveiled as Tehran hosts games expo
What books do you think prisoners should read?
Open thread: Erwin James: Unlike Brazilian prisoners, I didn't get a sentence reduction for reading books – but they helped me immeasurably. Tell me which books you would recommend for inmates
John Donne, priest and poet, part 6: struggling with mixed metaphors
Roz Kaveney: How to believe: For Donne, there are no mixed metaphors in religious poetry, because everything is a symbol of the same God-given truths