Tom Hodgkinson reveals what’s in our fantastic May/June edition

Our new issue is out now. Big thanks to our cover star Rachel Weisz for a great interview about the making of her new show Dead Ringers, and for listening politely to my own pitch for a six part TV drama based in Ancient Athens (what was I thinking?). Here’s a short extract on the Idler website. To read the whole story, you must buy a copy or get a subscription.

It was also a blast to meet Griff Rhys Jones, who kept me entertained for an exhilarating two and half hours with excellent anecdotes from a life in showbiz. Read an extract here.

The issue as a whole has a Goth vibe, and I love Cathi Unsworth’s essay on the origins of Goth, from Joy Division and Siouxsie to Magazine. Read it here.

Elsewhere you’ll find Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson giving us his opinion on opinions, Dan Kieran with a guide to taking a sabbatical, Colin Tudge on Tolstoy’s vision of anarchy and an argument to “Make Sex Slow Again” by Alexandra Blanchard.

All that and our regulars:
Idler art director Alice Smith’s fashion story with lots of skulls and black laceTim Richardson’s Art Flâneur visits Gainsborough’s House in Suffolk
Stewart Lee offers his musical tips for the season
Mark Vernon on the nature of freedom
How to create a herb garden by Graham Burnett
The perfect picnic from Lindsey Bareham
Your problems solved by Virginia Ironside
Rachel Kelly on the healing power of awe
Old tech revisited by Lee Osborne
Victoria Hull drops in on the Polish Hearth Club
Alex Bellos’s brilliant puzzle page
Bibliotherapy with Ella Berthoud
Best books by Simon Petherick, Rob Greer and Julia Lasica
Beekeeping in Kensal Green cemetery with Bill Anderson
Easy money with Michael Gilmore
The Astounding Bargains of Waitrose by the Money-Saving Amateurs
Alex Johnson on the story of London cabmen’s shelters
Georgina Williams visits a lovely idle home in Monmouthshire
Oli Meade and Joseph Piercy sample festival beers and Japanese whisky
Arthur Smith gets up and stands up
In “How I Live”, meet Joy Lo Dico, the woman who bought a forest
Cartoons from Modern Toss, Harry Venning and Shadbolt

If you still have not subscribed, click here to get yourself a free real-life hard copy of this issue, plus the next three issues, for under a tenner, saving an astounding £28 on the shop price. Or just get down to your nearest Waitrose, Waterstones or WHSmith. Overseas readers, check out your options here.

PS Victoria has asked me to clarify our new system for booking on to our “Drink with the Idler” events. These events are FREE to all paying subscribers, and £7.50 to everyone else.

In order to register for your free ticket, subscribers must be logged in to idler.co.uk. Once logged in, find the right event, then click GET TICKETS. Fill in your name and email address and Eventbrite will send you a confirmation email. We also send the direct Zoom link out to all subscribers in a separate email on the day.