Issue 1352

Songs of innocence and experience
Everything Everything’s back catalogue is a doomy collection of lamentations on the state of the world. This time round they decided to be more optimistic, but then the apocalypse happened. Frontman Jonathan Higgs speaks via Zoom to Gary Ryan.

Evolving ideas
For too long they have been seen as a failed test version of humanity when in fact they were a successful people that survived for over 350,000 years, weathering climate fluctuations like those that threaten our 21st century world. Rebecca Wragg Sykes tells us why we were wrong about the Neanderthals.

Bike to the future
Warm weather, public transport restrictions, quieter roads, closed gyms and time on our hands led the British public to rummage around their garden sheds and dust the cobwebs off their bicycles this spring. Now, as we pedal back towards our lives before lockdown, Steve Lee urges you to stay on your bike, and guides you through buying one.

Plus
News, arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe on sordid staycations, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s letter to his younger self, crossword, Sudoku and more.